Help a newbie out on some questions on my setup

[AcZending]

This
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Dont boost lac at all. The risk of destroying that rubber is way too high, and not even needed. Lac is already strong as it is. Boosting it wont give you much if anything at all.

Aside from that im with the rest, that lac and loki blades arent that beginner friendly. If you are serious about tabletennis, get something decent in terms of quality and learn the game.

Bh rubber is fine imo and can stick with you for quite some time.

Can you suggest something beginner friendly then?
I agree bh rubber was good since I myself felt the difference. J3 Asia was so hard to play with as i kept shooting.

I kept hearing everywhere that k5 is great for beginners so chose that. Can you suggest different blade and fh for me

IMO get a different blade.
Yinhe U2 ask for a light one at around 90g.
This is the best budget blade you can get. And quality is superior to many more expensive blades.

FH Yinhe mercury 2 medium
BH Yinhe Moon 12 medium soft

Im not a Yinhe fanboy per se, but U2 is the most used beginner blade. Mercury 2 is easier too use than Arhur china, but still plenty hard and tacky for a beginner. Moon 12 is a great choice. Both don't need booster.

Telson 100 is harder to play than Moon 12. IMO not a beginner rubber.

I am very leaning towards this setup currently. Please tell me how m2 compares with Jupiter 3 asia? I had heard lots about that being great for beginners but i am having lot of trouble with that…

 

[Pe-ter]

Hey @AcZending,
I'm using the Loki Kirin K5 blade, bought 2 of 'em and they are great. Paired it with Mercury 2 soft on BH and medium on FH. Has lots of control, spin is there, speed only partially and not great when you're away from the table.
Nevertheless, I think that it is an awesome blade for beginners. Just ask for a lighter one as I have one in 87g and the second in 92 (which is more that I'd like to).

My coach wants me to speed up the setup a bit, so putting a battle 2 prov blue sponge on FH instead, but the blade itself is the one I've been looking for for a long time.

 

[AcZending]

Oooh

Hey @AcZending,
I'm using the Loki Kirin K5 blade, bought 2 of 'em and they are great. Paired it with Mercury 2 soft on BH and medium on FH. Has lots of control, spin is there, speed only partially and not great when you're away from the table.
Nevertheless, I think that it is an awesome blade for beginners. Just ask for a lighter one as I have one in 87g and the second in 92 (which is more that I'd like to).

My coach wants me to speed up the setup a bit, so putting a battle 2 prov blue sponge on FH instead, but the blade itself is the one I've been looking for for a long time.

that’s good to hear thanks

 

[Kopp]

Sriver and Mark V!
No way.
If they were €10 each you could make a case for them but a €40 a pop they're an absolute waste of money for anyone really interested in learning and improving, those rubbers will be outgrown so quickly.
Better to spend €15 on Yinhe moon 12 blue and a decent $20 FH rubber.

Considering Xiom's quality control, Musa and Vega Intro are actually cheaper compared to the Chinese rubbers you mentioned. Plus, they're much lighter in weight, which really helps reduce fatigue during multiball or long single-ball training sessions. IMO

 

[BetterTT]

For a beginner, you should focus on proper training more than equipment.

I suggest that you find a club, pay for a private coaching session with a good coach and then that coach can make recommendations for which equipment you should play with.

That way, you get an expert to give you advice on what equipment to use AFTER he/she has seen you play...and you will also benefit from instructions on how to hit the ball properly and that way you aren't practicing something that is wrong and harmful to you. If you practice something bad, then you will just get used to playing badly.

For you, the TRAINING IS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE EQUIPMENT. There is plenty of time for you to become an equipment junkie (EJ) after you have started to play better. Meanwhile get some good guidance from a real live person as opposed to well intentioned people that have never seen you play.

No offense meant to anybody suggesting certain rubbers and blades.

 

[Kopp]

And @Kopp 40$ on rubber would be bit much for me…


@NetProphet please let me know if you have any recs on fh rubbers around $20

Xiom Musa is sold for less than €20 on TT11, they're offering €73.53 for 4 rubbers, which is a great deal. It's a high quality rubber that lasts forever, with excellent grip.

Skip to 2:19 👇

IMO, ESN rubbers are way easier to play with than Chinese ones.

 

[Attitude]

Xiom Musa is sold for less than €20 on TT11, they're offering €73.53 for 4 rubbers, which is a great deal. It's a high quality rubber that lasts forever, with excellent grip.

Skip to 2:19 👇

IMO, ESN rubbers are way easier to play with than Chinese ones.

I actually recommend xiom to beginners and those who have no knowledge about equipment as well for several reasons:
Xiom line of rubbers is quite transparent and easy to understand. Their quality of rubbers is really good as well and their pricetag is probably the best out there for what you get.
If i wouldnt be such a chinese fanboy and using their playstyle, my complete setup would be xiom^^

You can start with musa/intro/europe and go up to pro/x. If you tend to go more down the line with chinese playingstyle you can pick vega china as well later on.

 

[AcZending]

I actually recommend xiom to beginners and those who have no knowledge about equipment as well for several reasons:
Xiom line of rubbers is quite transparent and easy to understand. Their quality of rubbers is really good as well and their pricetag is probably the best out there for what you get.
If i wouldnt be such a chinese fanboy and using their playstyle, my complete setup would be xiom^^

You can start with musa/intro/europe and go up to pro/x. If you tend to go more down the line with chinese playingstyle you can pick vega china as well later on.

So could you rec a xiom fh and a blade ? Bh planning to stick with moon 12 blue.

 

[ShakehandJpenCpenEnjoyer]

My favourite racket right now is Loki Kirin 5 Wood paired with Reactor Corbor. I bought it for less than 10€. It was the cheapest combo i could find in Ali.

Somehow i have more fun playing with this combo than with my other rackets which can cost much much more.

Don't overthink what would be the best for you. You will adapt and learn how to be good with your racket.

 

[Ultravisitor]

Can you suggest something beginner friendly then?
I agree bh rubber was good since I myself felt the difference. J3 Asia was so hard to play with as i kept shooting.

I kept hearing everywhere that k5 is great for beginners so chose that. Can you suggest different blade and fh for me

I am very leaning towards this setup currently. Please tell me how m2 compares with Jupiter 3 asia? I had heard lots about that being great for beginners but i am having lot of trouble with that…

You're overthinking this. Get anything not to extreme and train. This was just a budget option. There are many options, but they don't matter to a beginner.
That said. Mercury 2 is just very easy to play and the best budget rubber out there IMO.

 

[impluse101]

I am ultra beginner and am trying to learn technique from YouTube.

I am gonna buy from alibaba is what I’m thinking.

Here’s my thinking on setup

Loki Kirin 5 blade.
Loki Arthur china fh
Yinhe moon 12 blue bh

I am gonna get them to assemble and then send it my way

Here are my questions.

I saw lot of posts about people boosting LAC (@Attitude ). So is it good advice to boost these two rubbers? Would it wreck the control for a beginner?

I have tried moon 12 blue and love how it forgives mistakes and is very controllable. I also heard Loki telson 100 is very similar. Now that Loki telson china and Germany were just released, how are they?

I am slightly over 5 feet so (I think) for fh, I need a rubber Which has an arc instead of flat hitter. Kind of thought this when playing with Jupiter 3 Asia, as I have to hit little higher and its flat trajectory kept sending the ball out. I heard LAC has better arc and much better control than j3 and hence would be better for a rookie. Any thoughts on this?

Ps- if you feel like some other combi would be much better than one i mentioned, let me know!

ultra beginner.... maybe try like n11s, sweden extra or the suggested yinhe U2 with reactor tornado v5 or yinhe mercury 2 or sanwei t-88 III both sides.

In my opinion jupiter 3 asia or LAC are not for ultra beginner.

 

[Egon]

Not a bad option for a beginner player - Loki Rxton 3. It can be used on both sides

 

[chinacurious]

Not a bad option for a beginner player - Loki Rxton 3. It can be used on both sides

I would not recommend a 40° (53° ESN) hardness rubber for beginners.

 

[AcZending]

Hey folks. Thanks for all your help, especially folks like @Kopp who replied many times.

I decided to go with Chinese stuff cos i have free delivery thing with alibaba and it would get much cheaper. If you like any Chinese company rubbers please let me know

@Ultravisitor decided to mostly go with your recommended setup. Question though, would it be better to use merc 2 soft on bh while learning technique since moon 12, though it was awesome when i played is advertised as offensive rubber?

One more question. Since there is tariff i need to pay and delivery charge being free only first time, i was thinking of getting next set of rubbers i would use after 6-12 months with this order only. Anyone among you people please suggest some next rubbers after acclimatising to merc 2 setup? Thanks

 

[Kopp]

Sriver and Mark V are 40 years old rubbers sold 40$, they're a scam. Better buy Palio AK47.

Sriver's under €20 from Japanese sellers online. I think the price goes up in your place because of shipping & seller's profit or maybe your seller scammed you 😂

 

[ShakehandJpenCpenEnjoyer]

One more question. Since there is tariff i need to pay and delivery charge being free only first time, i was thinking of getting next set of rubbers i would use after 6-12 months with this order only. Anyone among you people please suggest some next rubbers after acclimatising to merc 2 setup? Thanks

If you don't have EJ virus, no need to change your set up. Mercury 2 is already excellent for amateur players.

 

[AcZending]

If you don't have EJ virus, no need to change your set up. Mercury 2 is already excellent for amateur

Oh is that so. O kept seeing Rakza, glayzer, t05, g1 posts in Reddit for those who have been playing for few months so thought m2 might be only for learning and not good enough

 

[ShakehandJpenCpenEnjoyer]

Oh is that so. O kept seeing Rakza, glayzer, t05, g1 posts in Reddit for those who have been playing for few months so thought m2 might be only for learning and not good enough

Yeah those are rubbers for beginners who have no problem with money 🤣
Tenergy 05 is not for beginners tho.. maybe Rozena.

I suggest you to buy the mercury 2 in bulk. People has been complaining about quality control and also durability.

 

[Ultravisitor]

Hey folks. Thanks for all your help, especially folks like @Kopp who replied many times.

I decided to go with Chinese stuff cos i have free delivery thing with alibaba and it would get much cheaper. If you like any Chinese company rubbers please let me know

@Ultravisitor decided to mostly go with your recommended setup. Question though, would it be better to use merc 2 soft on bh while learning technique since moon 12, though it was awesome when i played is advertised as offensive rubber?

One more question. Since there is tariff i need to pay and delivery charge being free only first time, i was thinking of getting next set of rubbers i would use after 6-12 months with this order only. Anyone among you people please suggest some next rubbers after acclimatising to merc 2 setup? Thanks

I think both rubbers are viable for beginners. Moon 12 is very easy to play and forgiving. It may be faster than Mercury 2, but is also less sensitive to spin. I don't think either will hinder you to develop your game.

 

[Tyce]

Oh is that so. O kept seeing Rakza, glayzer, t05, g1 posts in Reddit for those who have been playing for few months so thought m2 might be only for learning and not good enough

Mercury 2 is good for learning, get those others when you don't want to learn
None of those are accessible rubbers. They won't give you confidence to learn to really engage them, hit through, brush with power. Basically all the stuff you want to learn.

Here's the thing: learning table tennis is not a 3 month job. Even the basics like driving, placement, timing will take weeks to months to get the bare minimum in. So even if you consider M2 only good for learning (and it's not, it's a perfectly usable rubber even for people who have played for many years) that learning will take plenty more time than a pair of M2 will last you.

Don't even bother getting two different rubbers at this stage either. Two of the same rubbers will make it easier to feel the difference between forehand and backhand.

If you pick tabletennis11 to order, they also carry Neottec who make very decent quality blades for accessible prices. Their Gamma, Magic Control or even the Voodoo Classic are good blades that will last you years in progress.