my review on calibra tour
http://pingpongclassics.blogspot.com/2016/05/stiga-calibra-tour-review.html
http://pingpongclassics.blogspot.com/2016/05/stiga-calibra-tour-review.html
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only tried it once and playing around.
let's see how it behaves next time I play.
I have the hard version but it's not that hard, just a bit harder than t05.
I'm still using the hinoki shake speedy blade, a pretty soft 5 ply.
let's see how it behaves next time I play.
I have the hard version but it's not that hard, just a bit harder than t05.
I'm still using the hinoki shake speedy blade, a pretty soft 5 ply.
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i got this rubber and now i see the light about it,at first i thought it was a matter of breaking it in ,so i paid no mind to it ,but now its like the rubber is smooth with no grip whatsoever ,im looking for replacement rubbers as i write this ,but the review is on point ,thanks
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I avoid Stiga rubbers at all cost.
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then how can you be considered an equipment expert? I mean, if you avoid all the rubbers of say the second or third most important brand.
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calibra tour -> the kukamonga truth
Well, I honestly don't consider myself an equipment expert. I don't know much about a lot of rubbers. I know the rubbers I like.
3-4 years ago I spent a lot of time trying lots of different equipment. These days I don't try much.
If I know something it is a small amount about blades and different kinds of wood: nothing special.
What I can do is explain to a beginner why someone who doesn't have good touch, feel and technique should probably not use a $200.00+ carbon blade and why, in table tennis, for a low level player, the most expensive blades are usually not the same thing as "THE BEST" blades even though they may be better for a more advanced player.
But I never asked for that label. And I am consistently comfortable expressing what I just explained: that I'm not really an equipment expert.
And I never asked for the moderator tools either. In fact when asked to be I said: "you don't want me to have those moderator tools. I'm going to edit what people write to make them look silly."
But the real reason I was given those tools is so I could delete spam. But it is entertaining to be able to read posts that people have already erased. [emoji2]
And I definitely do not like Calibra. Yes, I have used it. No, I have never bought it for myself. But, I know a pro who uses Calibra LT Sound and any time I want to be reminded about how much I dislike Calibra, I pick up his racket and bang the ball around a bit. It works for this guy because he is a fisher and the long trajectory works well for someone who lobs and then counterloops from way back.
By the way, when I read your review, it seemed a pretty accurate representation of what Calibra LT felt like to me.
And if you do want to sit in a chair from far back and just loop with your wrist, Calibra could be your rubber. It works much better for people who loop with the sponge from further back than it does for people who rely on the topsheet to grab the ball.
Well, I honestly don't consider myself an equipment expert. I don't know much about a lot of rubbers. I know the rubbers I like.
3-4 years ago I spent a lot of time trying lots of different equipment. These days I don't try much.
If I know something it is a small amount about blades and different kinds of wood: nothing special.
What I can do is explain to a beginner why someone who doesn't have good touch, feel and technique should probably not use a $200.00+ carbon blade and why, in table tennis, for a low level player, the most expensive blades are usually not the same thing as "THE BEST" blades even though they may be better for a more advanced player.
But I never asked for that label. And I am consistently comfortable expressing what I just explained: that I'm not really an equipment expert.
And I never asked for the moderator tools either. In fact when asked to be I said: "you don't want me to have those moderator tools. I'm going to edit what people write to make them look silly."
But the real reason I was given those tools is so I could delete spam. But it is entertaining to be able to read posts that people have already erased. [emoji2]
And I definitely do not like Calibra. Yes, I have used it. No, I have never bought it for myself. But, I know a pro who uses Calibra LT Sound and any time I want to be reminded about how much I dislike Calibra, I pick up his racket and bang the ball around a bit. It works for this guy because he is a fisher and the long trajectory works well for someone who lobs and then counterloops from way back.
By the way, when I read your review, it seemed a pretty accurate representation of what Calibra LT felt like to me.
And if you do want to sit in a chair from far back and just loop with your wrist, Calibra could be your rubber. It works much better for people who loop with the sponge from further back than it does for people who rely on the topsheet to grab the ball.
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ah cool, I was just talking about that little box below your nick that says equipment expert.
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I don't think Carl knew that it was a pandora's box 
... just kidding. @kukamonga : I think Carl made an excellent post somewhere detailing out how he got his experience on equipment. I think it was along these lines, he had an EJ in his club who used to make him try different combinations and ask him to feel the difference , so on and so forth.
I think the box that you are talking about automatically appears when you submit a certain number of reviews ? Isn't that so Carl ?
... just kidding. @kukamonga : I think Carl made an excellent post somewhere detailing out how he got his experience on equipment. I think it was along these lines, he had an EJ in his club who used to make him try different combinations and ask him to feel the difference , so on and so forth. I think the box that you are talking about automatically appears when you submit a certain number of reviews ? Isn't that so Carl ?
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The honest truth is, I think Dan has seen me use diplomacy and common sense to help people make intelligent decisions. I think Dan gets to choose whose opinions he values.
ttmonster is right that when I was playing several years ago, when I first went to this club in NYC's Chinatown, there was a guy there who I knew since 1991 or 1992. We used to skate together before I was a pro ramp skater and we would EJ on skate equipment.
So when I started going there, he stared teaching me how to play because when I started at that club I pretty much sucked. This guy worked at the club and he would get everyone to let him try their rackets. And while we were hitting he would hand me a racket, tell me what he felt and I'd hit with it and see what I felt.
Now in what I do professionally, I teach people to feel what they are doing from an internal perspective. A lot of the time people think of yoga as some external thing where what you are doing is for someone else's visual pleasure. Like dance or gymnastics. But my understanding of the process is that, although a beginner might start off thinking of the external process, a good yoga teacher will get them to focus on things they might feel as a result. There are many levels to that internal process. But I start out coming from a different kind of practice where the actual focus is on slowing things down and seeing how what you are doing feels.
So here is this guy who doesn't speak English that well (he is from China) and he is trying to put words to what he feels from different blades and different rubbers and we get to try all sorts of combinations. There were lots of people who had T05 on lots of different blades. We got to try popular blades like TB ALC or Clipper with LOTS of different kinds of rubbers.
There was this one great guy who was an outrageous EJ and he was well off enough not to care about the financial issues. He would come into the club with 5-6 different setups one night. And another night he would have another 5-6 setups all completely different from the last time.
Now, at first what I was feeling had a lot to do with lower level technique and driving the ball rather than having the touch and control to spin it.
I noticed that as I became better and able to have the touch for loop contact, what I felt was very different.
At a certain point I started being able to put words to what I felt in a way that helped my friend who could feel the stuff but his broken English made it hard for him to explain some things.
Anyway, with a club with hundreds of members and a friend who worked at the club who had a crazy EJ bug but didn't have the finances to get whatever he wanted, he was pretty interested in trying everything he could and as a result, I got to try and feel so many setups that, at this point it makes my head spin. I've forgotten more than I remember.
The biggest thing I got from it is knowing the kinds of blades and rubbers that really make me happy.
Hinoki, if it is not too fast, like, thin, 5 ply all Hinoki blades feel amazing to me for looping. The thick one ply Hinoki blades like the Darker Speed-90 really feel better than anything else to me for mid-distance looping. But there are a few things that make them totally impractical for a shakehand player. 1) the thickness does not work so well for serving. 2) those blades, because they are 1 ply just split in half for no apparent reason. They split right down one of those grains. 3) the cost when they are so easy to break makes no sense from a practical standpoint.
And the other wood that makes me happy is Limba. I love the wood feel you get from Limba.
I play well with Koto or Rosewood or Walnut or Ebony. But they don't feel as nice on contact with the ball TO ME.
Rubbers, I like rubbers where the topsheet really grabs the ball well. I like rubbers like T05 or MX-P that have a high spin/speed ratio.
Now, in spite of saying I don't really care about that silly title, and despite saying that I don't want to go near any rubber from Stiga, I think if you read it, what I gave is a pretty decent description of Calibra.
And it is worth understanding that, the type of player who plays far from the table and who uses the sponge for spin more than the topsheet--for that kind of player--Calibra LT, LT Spin or LT Sound can be an excellent choice.
So, despite disliking Stiga rubbers, I know how they are best used and who they will work best for. And I did not get that information from my dislike of Stiga rubbers or from anyone else explaining it. I got that information from using the stuff in spite of disliking it.
All this being said, I still think kukamonga is right. I'm not really an expert on anything. Just someone who knows how to put what a few pieces of equipment feel like and who they are good for into words. And, since I am a teacher of something and spend a lot of time explaining things to fussy women, I am patient, well, sometimes. And I really think Dan just likes my sensibility and how I put things into words.
I think there are guys like kukamonga or Andy or NextLevel or Der_ who know more about a lot than me as far as equipment and the game but, it seems I have the goon squad on my side or something. [emoji2]
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ttmonster is right that when I was playing several years ago, when I first went to this club in NYC's Chinatown, there was a guy there who I knew since 1991 or 1992. We used to skate together before I was a pro ramp skater and we would EJ on skate equipment.
So when I started going there, he stared teaching me how to play because when I started at that club I pretty much sucked. This guy worked at the club and he would get everyone to let him try their rackets. And while we were hitting he would hand me a racket, tell me what he felt and I'd hit with it and see what I felt.
Now in what I do professionally, I teach people to feel what they are doing from an internal perspective. A lot of the time people think of yoga as some external thing where what you are doing is for someone else's visual pleasure. Like dance or gymnastics. But my understanding of the process is that, although a beginner might start off thinking of the external process, a good yoga teacher will get them to focus on things they might feel as a result. There are many levels to that internal process. But I start out coming from a different kind of practice where the actual focus is on slowing things down and seeing how what you are doing feels.
So here is this guy who doesn't speak English that well (he is from China) and he is trying to put words to what he feels from different blades and different rubbers and we get to try all sorts of combinations. There were lots of people who had T05 on lots of different blades. We got to try popular blades like TB ALC or Clipper with LOTS of different kinds of rubbers.
There was this one great guy who was an outrageous EJ and he was well off enough not to care about the financial issues. He would come into the club with 5-6 different setups one night. And another night he would have another 5-6 setups all completely different from the last time.
Now, at first what I was feeling had a lot to do with lower level technique and driving the ball rather than having the touch and control to spin it.
I noticed that as I became better and able to have the touch for loop contact, what I felt was very different.
At a certain point I started being able to put words to what I felt in a way that helped my friend who could feel the stuff but his broken English made it hard for him to explain some things.
Anyway, with a club with hundreds of members and a friend who worked at the club who had a crazy EJ bug but didn't have the finances to get whatever he wanted, he was pretty interested in trying everything he could and as a result, I got to try and feel so many setups that, at this point it makes my head spin. I've forgotten more than I remember.
The biggest thing I got from it is knowing the kinds of blades and rubbers that really make me happy.
Hinoki, if it is not too fast, like, thin, 5 ply all Hinoki blades feel amazing to me for looping. The thick one ply Hinoki blades like the Darker Speed-90 really feel better than anything else to me for mid-distance looping. But there are a few things that make them totally impractical for a shakehand player. 1) the thickness does not work so well for serving. 2) those blades, because they are 1 ply just split in half for no apparent reason. They split right down one of those grains. 3) the cost when they are so easy to break makes no sense from a practical standpoint.
And the other wood that makes me happy is Limba. I love the wood feel you get from Limba.
I play well with Koto or Rosewood or Walnut or Ebony. But they don't feel as nice on contact with the ball TO ME.
Rubbers, I like rubbers where the topsheet really grabs the ball well. I like rubbers like T05 or MX-P that have a high spin/speed ratio.
Now, in spite of saying I don't really care about that silly title, and despite saying that I don't want to go near any rubber from Stiga, I think if you read it, what I gave is a pretty decent description of Calibra.
And it is worth understanding that, the type of player who plays far from the table and who uses the sponge for spin more than the topsheet--for that kind of player--Calibra LT, LT Spin or LT Sound can be an excellent choice.
So, despite disliking Stiga rubbers, I know how they are best used and who they will work best for. And I did not get that information from my dislike of Stiga rubbers or from anyone else explaining it. I got that information from using the stuff in spite of disliking it.
All this being said, I still think kukamonga is right. I'm not really an expert on anything. Just someone who knows how to put what a few pieces of equipment feel like and who they are good for into words. And, since I am a teacher of something and spend a lot of time explaining things to fussy women, I am patient, well, sometimes. And I really think Dan just likes my sensibility and how I put things into words.
I think there are guys like kukamonga or Andy or NextLevel or Der_ who know more about a lot than me as far as equipment and the game but, it seems I have the goon squad on my side or something. [emoji2]
Sent from Deep Space by Abacus
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Carl, it is because the Goon Squad doesn't know it was you who entrapped them, only they know you are the one who heard their cries and finally found a way to let them out of the basement septic tank.
did you ever wonder that maybe, just maybe, the reason why everybody likes your posts is because they are too long to actually read them?
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Calibra LT Sound: can top spin any ball / serve but horrible touch on short play!
Calibra Tour M: it happened the ball did not even get to the net when brushing the ball because the topsheet did not grab it!! There are things I love about this rubber like flat counter-hitting a spinny top spin far away from the table. But you cannot rely on the topsheet for a subtile contact. It might just let you down.
Calibra Tour M: it happened the ball did not even get to the net when brushing the ball because the topsheet did not grab it!! There are things I love about this rubber like flat counter-hitting a spinny top spin far away from the table. But you cannot rely on the topsheet for a subtile contact. It might just let you down.
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One thing is for sure, maybe Stiga is 2-3 brand in blades production, but regarding rubbers it is definitely below top 10.
yes I think being calibra tour one of their top products it's rather poor.
andro, tibhar and donic have a slight advantage in terms of rubber quality (of course I'm leaving out butterfly).
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do not forget about xiom, joola, nittaku and dhs. I play TT for almost 30 years and in that time stiga has never been appreciated for good rubbers. Of course they try to change that rule by investing in advertisements in ittf, but that is not enough. First of all they need to find out how to create good rubber.
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