Equipment advice for a returning player

[PawnOnF4]

Hey all.
A little backstory. I played table tennis as a kid (more than 20 years ago), competing in local tourneys and such. At that time I did not know much about equipment, my coaches made a racket for me, the forehand side was made from cuttings of a good rubber (we were poor), I don't know which one was it, but it was fairly tacky and spinny, not super fast as I can recall. It probably was one of the european/japanese rubbers, as chinese rubbers were not so popular in the club where I trained. The backhand side was dead, with no spin at all iirc, I believe it was one of the anti-spin rubbers, maybe dr neubauer, but I could be wrong.
Fast-forward, about 10 years ago I met a colleague, he is a decent player so we decided to play once/twice a week in a local club. I did my best researching the equipment and ended up with Acuda S2 on FH, BTY Tackiness Chop on BH and BTY Primorac off- blade. I approached it very conservatively, and long story short, I didn't really like it that much, especially the backhand rubber. I'd prefer Acuda to be on the BH and have something more spinny on FH.
Anyway, I want to return to playing and I need new equipment, I don't have access to my previous racket, so can't use the blade.
I did my best reading the forum for the past few days, here is a shortlist of equipment I'm considering, but I'm open to other options.

FH, I want something grippy and spinny. Ideally I'd want as little maintenance as possible, but if let's say boosted h3 is much better option than unboosted Tau 2 I may consider it:
1) Xiom Tau II (it's hard to find but a few shops still sell it)
2) 729 Battle 2 Provincial Gold (does it need boosting?), or Battle 3
3) DHS H3 39 OS
BH, I'm not a very good BH loop player. Looking for a rubber that will give me good over-the-table flicks and serve reception. Options I'm considering:
1) Rakza Z
2) Fastarc G1

Blade - I have no idea, I guess it needs to pair well with the rubbers and I don't want to spend a lot, so something like Tibhar Stratus Power Wood cost-wise, not sure how good it is.

Thanks

 

[mocker88]

Tau II is similar to a boosted H3. Battle 2 is a little stiff, so compared to Tau II it will need boosting. Battle 3 is closer to Tau II, but out of the box I think Tau II is a bit bouncier, but the spin is about the same.

Why not consider something softer, Chinese for backhand? You gain some control with more linear rubbers. I have used Yinhe Big Dipper 38deg for 5-6 years now, but it's not the softest sensation. I'm trying out Yinhe Moon 12 Blue M- now, and it's really nice. Not tacky, but grippy and a little bit softer than BD and gives a little bit more speed.

Some others that really works for backhand and is quite forgiving are the following.
729 - Aurora Max (3 different hardness, untacky, fastest of these)
729 - Focus III Snipe (3 different hardness, untacky, slower than Aurora and more elastic)
Yinhe - Mercury III Euro (really easy-to-play, soft rubber with good grip)
729 - Phoenix (Soft, tacky and slow(ish))
Pimplepark - Epos (German rubber with a mild catapult, soft and tacky. Many different thicknesses)
Yinhe - Mars III Euro (Quite similar to Mercury III Euro, but with a bit higher top speed)

 

[PawnOnF4]

Thanks @mocker88, I read many of your comments, and really appreciate the input! I'm open to trying Chinese rubbers on the BH. My main issue previously was that most of my BH flicks were going to the net. I don't know if it's lack of spin, or catapult on the rubber, or my technique is bad. Do these rubbers provide good flicks? Are European tensors generally better in this aspect?

I'm also considering Yinhe blades, looks like they are really good quality and don't cost a fortune. Would you suggest V14 Pro or Pro-01 for Tau II?

 

[NetProphet]

That blade you had was great, get another or a butterfly Korbel maybe, great blades both.

For grippy and spinny on FH.
Rakza Z it's not too fast so it's great for learning and control on FH, and it's tacky so great control in short game and great spin on serves.
Rakza X is also good, a bit faster, not tacky but lots of grip.
Less expensive but equally good is Yinhe Jupiter Asia III. 38 degree hardness would work for someone learning the game again, move to 39 when new rubber needed.
Sticking with Yasaka, I find both Rakza 7 and Rakza X soft to be very good on BH. Lots of grip and control, easy flicks and great for learning BH Loop. 2.0mm thickness recommend.
Budget friendly is the Yinhe Moon 12 Blue also recommendable for BH, great review and info here

https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/topics/review-yinhe-moon-12-blue.29581/

I find Rakza Z a bit hard for BH myself. And I like Fastarc G1 as a FH rubber so I've never recommended it for BH.
Honestly, at the price of the Yinhe rubbers they are well worth trying out.
Ive been testing Jupiter Asia III and Moon 12 on one setup for ~8 wks now. I found Moon 12 to be exactly how attitude describes in the linked review and the JA 3 I like a lot on FH. It's not too fast but it's a great balance of control and speed imo as it's quite linear and not Tensor bouncy. The control means I can set points up better cos of better placements and can still find power for killshots.
My other setup is FH Rakza Z and BH Rakza X soft.
I'll probably settle on Jupiter Asia 3 for FH and Rakza X soft BH for next season.

 

[PawnOnF4]

Thanks @Sims ! I may try Yinhe Moon 12 Blue on the FH, it costs pennies on Aliexpress. Do you think Primorac Off- is a good match with these rubbers? I noticed people prefer faster carbon blades with Chinese rubbers.

 

[NetProphet]

Thanks @Sims ! I may try Yinhe Moon 12 Blue on the FH, it costs pennies on Aliexpress. Do you think Primorac Off- is a good match with these rubbers? I noticed people prefer faster carbon blades with Chinese rubbers.

Moon 12 for BH. I don't find it good on FH at all

You have to remember that any informative/knowledgeable reviews are written by people who can already play a bit (although I admit it's still hard to know who's writing what and who to put faith in when reading reviews) but you get my drift. Anyone with good experience could very well find Primorac a bit slow with certain rubbers.
But at your level you don't want speed. You want control so you can learn to put the ball where you want.
Any of the rubbers and blades I mentioned are plenty enough for beginners up to intermediate.
If your getting bogged down with too much info and too many choices just stick 2 sheets of Rakza 7 2.0 into an all wood blade and go play, it will serve you very well!!
Btw I highly recommend some coaching too, you'll improve so much more quicky!

 

[mocker88]

Thanks @mocker88, I read many of your comments, and really appreciate the input! I'm open to trying Chinese rubbers on the BH. My main issue previously was that most of my BH flicks were going to the net. I don't know if it's lack of spin, or catapult on the rubber, or my technique is bad. Do these rubbers provide good flicks? Are European tensors generally better in this aspect?

I'm also considering Yinhe blades, looks like they are really good quality and don't cost a fortune. Would you suggest V14 Pro or Pro-01 for Tau II?

Thank you

I think that it might be your stroke that is a bit too slow, combined with your Acuda S2 that might make the ball bounce off too quick. It's easier to go with a softer, more linear rubber like Mercury III Euro, Mars III Euro to get the technique working. They are more forgiving and the ball sinks into the sponge and top sheet longer.

I think both of these will work just fine with Tau II. For me V14 Pro is the better, as it's a little bit slower than Pro-01. But it's individual, so the Pro-01 might work better for you...

 

[PawnOnF4]

For Tau II, what thickness do you suggest (Max vs 2.0)?