Kindly suggest best blade for Wheelchair Para Table Tennis player

[sk159]

Hi friends, I am a wheelchair (para) table tennis player (Class 3). I am spinal-injured, so paralyzed from the chest downwards with basic trunk control. My hands are decently strong. I play close to the table by putting the brakes on my wheelchair. I play mostly on my BH...through pushes, chops, and smashes. On my FH, I do chops, counters, and topspins. I have a good reach for side and short balls.

A year back, I switched to Rakza 7 Soft on my BH...and then a few months ago, the same Rakza 7 Soft on my FH as well. After these changes, I could see considerable improvement in my game. But, still had control issues with a few balls popping out long. So, I discarded my carbon blade and tried an old All Wood 5-ply blade...and found good control. Hence, I am planning to buy an all-wood 5-ply blade in the budget range (40 to 60 dollars).

After some research, I am considering 1. Andro Timber 5 All/S, 2.Tibhar Stratus Powerwood, and 3.Stiga Allround Classic. My requirements

1. All-wood 5-ply blade with good control
2. Lighter weight
3. One that complements Rakza soft rubbers
4. Read Limba's outer layer provides more control, so Limba is the preferred choice.

So, considering my physical condition and requirements, please suggest which one among the three blades will be the best option, OR suggest some other blades of your choice. Thanks a lot.

 

[Sriver1]

Tibhar stratus.

 

[K.K]

if you play close to the table in a wheelchair it makes total sense to have a blade that has a good basic speed but is not too hard in the higher gears. so a fast flexible blade would be the best.

stiga allround classic and timber 5 ALL are way too slow, especially combined with rakza 7 soft.
the andro timber 5 OFF would be better, because it has easy speed and is easy to control so this would be my first choice.
tibhar powerwood is even faster but has a bigger head, so could be a bit harder for quick changes, but be still my second choice.

rakza 7 soft is a good rubber for what you looking for. in case you want it spinnier you could try tibhar fx-s and if you want it faster you could try xiom omega 7 euro. but all of them have a good and controllable catapult and will fit the style you are looking for

 

[sk159]

if you play close to the table in a wheelchair it makes total sense to have a blade that has a good basic speed but is not too hard in the higher gears. so a fast flexible blade would be the best.

stiga allround classic and timber 5 ALL are way too slow, especially combined with rakza 7 soft.
the andro timber 5 OFF would be better, because it has easy speed and is easy to control so this would be my first choice.
tibhar powerwood is even faster but has a bigger head, so could be a bit harder for quick changes, but be still my second choice.

rakza 7 soft is a good rubber for what you looking for. in case you want it spinnier you could try tibhar fx-s and if you want it faster you could try xiom omega 7 euro. but all of them have a good and controllable catapult and will fit the style you are looking for

Thanks a lot for your detailed reply.

Yeah, a flexible and not a harder blade will be a good choice.

I am under the assumption that if the blades are slow, it would be easier to control, and balls won't pop out long. So, thought Andro Timber 5 ALL would be a better fit.
OR do you feel that a blade with good speed will give a punch to my shots and be effective during faster exchanges without compromising on control?

So, can you please clarify these two aspects. Thanks

 

[\_Kairos_/]

Sjan...
Quick info for others: This is only a bait thread. You don't have to respond to him in lengthy replies.

 

[\_Kairos_/]

Little update, before this thread gets deleted. That's what our main troll Sjan posted on his very own "forum":

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"\_Kairos_/ is a true piece of sleazebag garbage Re: Kindly suggest best blade for Wheelchair Para Table Tennis player
by Phankha » October 20th, 2025, 5:33 pm
For those of you who may not know,\_Kairos_/ is one of the biggest thug bully in the ITTF Worship forum TableTennisDaily

\_Kairos_/ , you are a much worse sleazebag than I ever imagined.
What kind of piece of crap would accuse someone of posting pretending to be a disabled player paralysed below the chest.
Your sensitivity and compassion & thoughtfulness is so touching.

Obviously TableTennisDaily forum owner Dan & moderator UpSideDownCarl do not have an ounce of common sense to not delete such vile garbage

re: \_Kairos_/ is a true piece of sleazebag garbage Re: Kindly suggest best blade for Wheelchair Para Table Tennis play
by sbenet » October 20th, 2025, 5:42 pm

I have seen many borderline psychotic posters in ITTF worship forums.
I have seen many posts where \_Kairos_/ bullies other posters.
\_Kairos_/ is clearly very dangerous & his paranoia assuming every new poster is someone he targets is downright scary.
Dan & UpSideDownCarl could face some serious liabilities if this kind of lunacy is allowed to continue in their forum"

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@Sjan
I take it as somewhat of a compliment for (finally) getting under your skin- at least to some degree -, while warning others who don't know you and your type of trolling to not waste their time with you. I must also say that is it relieving to know that I'm still able to sniff you out, even though your trolling has become more subtle and less obvious recently. Keep trying...
Also: Check out your account "Carline" on the "tt news forum". I left you a message there...

 

[Larshos]

the andro timber 5 OFF would be better, because it has easy speed and is easy to control so this would be my first choice.
tibhar powerwood is even faster but has a bigger head, so could be a bit harder for quick changes, but be still my second choice.

Timber 5 OFF is noticeably faster than the TSPW..

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Sjan...
Quick info for others: This is only a bait thread. You don't have to respond to him in lengthy replies.

I don't think this is SJan. I could be wrong. But I don't think it is.

@\_Kairos_/ : I explained to you why I don't think that. Sure SJan picked this up on his site. But that may be because he saw this post I am quoting before I edited something out of the post.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

I play mostly on my BH...through pushes, chops, and smashes. On my FH, I do chops, counters, and topspins. I have a good reach for side and short balls.

Based on what you wrote about how you play, have you ever considered using Long Pips on BH? It might be worth trying to see how you play with it once you get used to it. Based on your shot selection, having one side with LP might be really good for how you are already playing.

It would not help with smashing, but you could always twiddle to the Rakza 7 Soft side when you were going to smash.

 

[sk159]

Based on what you wrote about how you play, have you ever considered using Long Pips on BH? It might be worth trying to see how you play with it once you get used to it. Based on your shot selection, having one side with LP might be really good for how you are already playing.

It would not help with smashing, but you could always twiddle to the Rakza 7 Soft side when you were going to smash.

Thanks for your reply. I have tried Long pips close to a year. It didn't suit my game and I couldn't get hold of it. As you said you can't smash with it ...and I always want to go for smashes on my BH, I switched over to plain rubber. Plus, I couldn't twiddle with it due to limitations in my playing hand.

 

[TampaBayTableTennis]

Have u tried a 7-ply blade? Fextra 7 is a reasonable option.

 

[sk159]

Have u tried a 7-ply blade? Fextra 7 is a reasonable option.

Have read that 5-ply all-wood blades are flexible and less stiff, thus providing more control. On the other hand, 7-ply is harder and faster. Since I am wishing for more control, my preference is 5-ply. Thanks

 

[Tinykin]

Just a general comment on wheelchair players.
I have been to a few tt events for disabled players. As a certified EJ, what surprised me the most was that there was no trend in equipment used that was different to non-disabled players.
That is, the top players used composite blades with Tenergy etc. This includes wheelchair bound players.

 

[godysseus]

Just a general comment on wheelchair players.
I have been to a few tt events for disabled players. As a certified EJ, what surprised me the most was that there was no trend in equipment used that was different to non-disabled players.
That is, the top players used composite blades with Tenergy etc. This includes wheelchair bound players.

We’ve been developing adaptive table tennis blades specifically for para and wheelchair athletes – focusing on neutral balance, optimized feedback, and customizable grip geometry to improve control and comfort in close-to-table play.

Our goal is to better understand the biomechanical challenges and setup preferences of adaptive players and translate those insights into meaningful design features.
More information about our current work can be found here:
👉 https://www.ergopong.at/collections/ergotetra

We’d genuinely appreciate ideas, feedback, or field experience from anyone in the community – collaboration is key to developing truly inclusive equipment.

Warm greetings from Austria 🇦🇹
Ergopong – Adaptive Table Tennis Blades