What should you buy?? Guide for getting your own gear!

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Hey everyone,
Check out my equipment buying guide! http://bit.ly/Equipment_recommendations_DX

Hopefully it helps some developing players who are drowning in the hundreds of recommendations on the forums.

Note that this was written as an FAQ-style reference for players in my local club, so some of the information may not apply to everyone. My emphasis was to get newer players in my club to use an inexpensive and controlled setup and start focusing on learn their strokes properly instead of attributing their playing level to their equipment.

Please leave suggestions if you get the time to skim through it!
I spent a great deal of time trying to organize it in an easy-to-read way, and I would love to make it even better.
 
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Also note that the blades section is the one I spent the most effort on, and I tried to narrow down the options to about three per speed rating.

Of course, I was not able to try all of these blades. However, my hours and hours spent on review sites and forums (while procrastinating on my work :p) came in handy.

Penhold links are also included for popular penhold blades.

I also included some expensive options just for fun. Don't worry, I didn't rant about Butterfly's prices too much :)
 
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So much text so can not read everything. So i am not sure about how the content is. But it seems like you really took your time to do this and it looks very impressive.

Maybe other equipment crazy people can look through it and add some things then make it a sticky if that is possible. Maybe people can look before they ask questions.
 
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I think it is important to note, there is no ways a buying guide for "general" will ever work.

Table Tennis players have so many different styles, levels, requirements
You can not have 5 combo as a guideline
what works fine for the one players can become a total disaster for another.
My suggestion is to get them to start from an entry level and then explorer their own way into the world of equipment advancement.
 
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I personally dislike seeing table tennis rackets called "paddles". It makes it sound like you don't know the sport. I would change that.

I appreciate you did the work. And that you obviously are interested. I would format the recommendations very differently. I believe a lot of what you did boxes people in and makes it seem like there is only one or two options. I know you are trying to make choosing more simple for people who are overwhelmed by all the choices. But it is almost like you have said, "if you want to buy a car and you are newer to driving, the option for drivers who have been driving for under 1 year is to get the Ford Fiesta."

I believe you would be much better off noting that there are blades from every TT company that are in the All to All+ category for players who are newer to the sport and looking to develop their fundamental skills and techniques and then list 5-10. Same with rubbers. Listing several rubbers that could go with each category of development rather than just listing one, two or three setups that a player could buy, in my opinion would be more beneficial to your intended reader.

I also find it odd that, by the time you get to "Combo 3" you are recommending completely different kinds of rubbers for FH and BH without knowing anything about the FH and BH of the person you are recommending for. Again, a range of rubbers would help. But then, also, reasonings for why different BHs or FHs might do better with different rubbers would be much more useful and comprehensive. And even though you say that a more comprehensive list of options is in the appendixes, I don't find it remotely close to comprehensive.

Also this: "Most of the equipment in this guide is found on tabletennis11.com. They quite often have the best prices out of all the vendors."

I would edit the first sentence to: "Most of the equipment in this guide CAN BE FOUND on tabletennis11.com."

I think the second sentence needs to be reworked as well. I can think of too many ways I would do it for it to be useful to you. But perhaps something like: "Their prices are usually competitive and often some of the best prices you can find for a given product."

I think TT11 is an excellent place to buy. But the way this is worded and the way TT11 is referred to throughout your "Guide" makes it seem like it may be an add for TT11. If it is, that should be stated at the top. If it isn't, perhaps you should do more research so you can add multiple links for products.

Then there is this: "There’s expensive, and then there’s “Butterfly expensive.” Butterfly blades are generally overpriced due to marketing and the player’s names attached to the blades, but they are certainly very popular:"

Sorry for this. But I have to be honest. While I don't like Butterfly as a company and don't use their products, I think there is something fundamentally inappropriate and offensive about how this is worded. And I don't think Butterfly is the only company that has their way of doing this. I mean, you list that a DHS HL 5 costs $141.00 but there is a version of that blade that is something like $450.00. Isn't there? "There is expensive and there is DHS National Expensive" would rub me the wrong way as well. And then to decide you actually know why Butterfly has the pricing schedule they have....And I am really not sure what you say is the actual reason Butterfly prices their products the way they do. Butterfly might say it is because of the quality of their products. And I might say that their prices are that high because people are willing to pay that price. They still sell more products than other companies. So, perhaps it is their reputation. But their blades are really better quality than so many other companies. And people are still trying to figure out how to make rubbers that are as good as Tenergy. So it is hard to make statements like the one above and have much credibility.

Please note: the Butterfly Viscaria does not have a player's name attached to it. And yet the price is competitive with other Butterfly blades that do have a player's name on it. Anyway, I do get what you are saying and why and I just think how you are saying it exposes that you have a bias and there are better ways of explaining this than simply letting your bias pass as information.

“Butterfly products are a little too expensive for me. But they are still very popular. And many people feel the quality is worth it. But I feel you can get something close to as good and pay considerably less.”

Anyway, I am sorry if this seems overly critical. I honestly feel it is great you are trying to do this. And in the end, you get to decide how you want your project to be. Hopefully you can hear some of this critique as constructive. I don't mean to tear you down. But I am not sure there is a faster way to explain how many things I feel could be done better in your project. So, sorry if there is a lack of diplomacy in my critique. And I do think it would be useful to have something like what you are trying to do out there. So I really don't mean to discourage you.
 
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Haha, that video is hilarious. Btw UpSideDownCarl, when is your guide to decent setups for newer players coming up? I think it would be a good addition.
 
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Haha, that video is hilarious. Btw UpSideDownCarl, when is your guide to decent setups for newer players coming up? I think it would be a good addition.

What I could do is a guide on how to be a single parent working 7 days a week and taking care of a teenage kid after wife passes. But....Oh, not enough time. :)

Besides, I think I may have written that guide back when I was able to post consistently. :)
 
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What I could do is a guide on how to be a single parent working 7 days a week and taking care of a teenage kid after wife passes. But....Oh, not enough time. :)

Besides, I think I may have written that guide back when I was able to post consistently. :)

late to the show, but the script is outrageous. Someone did a good job and put some hours into writing it :)
 
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