Choosing new equipment

[guzzithereal]

I played for 2 years then I stopped for 3 due to health problems now I restarted playing for about 6 months but my racket (tibhar 1q FH and BH, TTtop blade) aged quite badly the sponges are dead and the rubbers are not as grippy as they used to. I also think that the blade might have absorbed some moisture because in the outer parts the rubber doesn't stick even after reglueing. I don't want to spend a lot because I don't play at tournaments anymore but I want a decent racket nonetheless and I'd like some opinions on the gear I'm going to buy. I'm an offensive player. This are the products that I am currently evalueting. Blade: XVT Black Knight 7 FH: 729 Bloom Power 47 degrees , I'm unsure on BH rubber, is it a good idea to have a tacky rubber on BH? I also saw that loki speed glue is the cheapest glue i could find, setting aside boost effect will i need to reglue because the rubber unsticks? Obviously open to thoughts on everything, please let me know what you think!

 

[lodro]

re. XVT blades. I had several blades from them and they were all good.
re. Loki speed glue. I bought a bottle and have problems applying it because it dries so quick one can not spread it nicely and evenly . It is not ""boosting"" the sponge but it is a speedy way of sticking the rubber to the blade and you will not have to re-glue it.

 

[guzzithereal]

Thanks a lot for the info! I saw that Haifu dolphin has roughly the same price as the loki glue do you know anything about that?

 

[WingTT]

If the edges of the racket is not sticking, chances are the glue you are using does not have enough rubber solids or has gone bad. You did not mention a budget but it sounds like you are going for the cheapest things. If you can find it inexpensively, try Copydex glue instead of a table tennis branded one, otherwise, Donic Formula First glue has been quite reliable for me.

I'd advise you to try out the rackets of your other table tennis club members/players to see if something will resonate with you. If you want cheap but highly performant rubbers, I can recommend the Loki Arthur China over anything made by 729. If you can find it for cheap($~35) and it's within your budget, Stiga Mantra Pro H is my BH rubber of choice.

 

[lodro]

Thanks a lot for the info! I saw that Haifu dolphin has roughly the same price as the loki glue do you know anything about that?

yep, same stuff 🤣
I use the waterbased glue normally

 

[guzzithereal]

Budget is tight by choice, most of the time when I played tournaments I blamed always my racket for errors, i think playing with a cheaper racket i will get the benefit of growing mentally. For BH rubber i was thinking that Big Dipper or Jupiter 3 would fit my play style cause i like to attack a lot with BH so i was thinking of getting one of them in a softer variant. I’m basing my information on what I’ve read online because all of the people that play in my club don’t actually know difference in gear, the other day i asked one of the best player in my club( he’s not a pro or anything but a good player indeed) about opinions on rubbers and he said that the coaches bought the racket for him and he just stuck with it. I found out that is a recurring thing for all the club members, the coaches just buy gear for them and most have the same rubbers(always tensor)/blade combo.

 

[Choosikick]

Thanks a lot for the info! I saw that Haifu dolphin has roughly the same price as the loki glue do you know anything about that?

Dolphin also dries quickly, especially on the sponge; on the blade it dries a little slower, but with skill you can stick the rubber on.
If you have a choice between Jupiter and Big Dipper on the backhand, then I think Big Dipper will be better.
Personally, chinese rubbers don’t work for me on the bh, no matter how much I try. If you want a sticky rubber for your bh, then better take the Rakza Z. It's damn grippy, not fast, soft and controllable.

 

[Ultravisitor]

Blade Sanwei CC
Loki rxton 1 fh and bh
20$ setup fast and spinny

 

[Choosikick]

Blade Sanwei CC
Loki rxton 1 fh and bh
20$ setup fast and spinny

I agree, if Rxton1 is treated with a booster. Without a booster it's dead.

 

[WingTT]

Budget is tight by choice, most of the time when I played tournaments I blamed always my racket for errors, i think playing with a cheaper racket i will get the benefit of growing mentally.

Let me disabuse you of the notion that putting yourself at a disadvantage equipment wise will help you grow mentally. Life is not some comic/manga. Having equipment you are happy with, confident and comfortable and feel reliable with is a great start to figuring out ways to improve. You do not want to add barriers to levelling up. Equipment can and does actually cause errors to happen as an example the oft quoted example of someone using gear too fast or unsuitable for their current level/ability/feel/natural preference.

Personally, finding a setup that is a right combination of speed, spin and control is where happiness and most satisfaction with the game lies as it improves my game and let me see where the real issues with my game is. It also amazing to be able to seemingly pull off those pro style shots and rallies in the game knowing it was the direct support of having the right gear. For me the blade is Stiga Inspira Hybrid Carbon, a combination of the best things in a Long5/w968 and an ALC blade.

 

[guzzithereal]

Let me disabuse you of the notion that putting yourself at a disadvantage equipment wise will help you grow mentally. Life is not some comic/manga. Having equipment you are happy with, confident and comfortable and feel reliable with is a great start to figuring out ways to improve. You do not want to add barriers to levelling up. Equipment can and does actually cause errors to happen as an example the oft quoted example of someone using gear too fast or unsuitable for their current level/ability/feel/natural preference.

Personally, finding a setup that is a right combination of speed, spin and control is where happiness and most satisfaction with the game lies as it improves my game and let me see where the real issues with my game is. It also amazing to be able to seemingly pull off those pro style shots and rallies in the game knowing it was the direct support of having the right gear. For me the blade is Stiga Inspira Hybrid Carbon, a combination of the best things in a Long5/w968 and an ALC blade.

I hope not to sound rude but with that statement I didn’t mean that I should buy shit equipment or equipment that doesn’t suit my play style to put myself at disadvantage. The racket I’m currently using was 100€ at the time of the purchase and this time I don’t want to spend that amount of money to get a racket that suits my play style and achieve the mental growth that equipment doesn’t buy neither talent or hard work. I still have trouble expressing my toughts in English so I hope that this answer will clear up the misunderstanding.