Equipment Junkie

Gozo Aruna · Mar 22, 2021

Dear all,

Since I come into the world of TT, I often hear the term EJ or equipment junkie for short.

Is this a peculiar matter with TT? What about other racquet sports such as Tennis, Badminton or Squash / Racketball?

Do they face similar issue or this EJ is more pronounced in TT?

Thoughts?

LilMunchkin · Mar 22, 2021

Gozo said:
Dear all,

Since I come into the world of TT, I often hear the term EJ or equipment junkie for short.

Is this a peculiar matter with TT? What about other racquet sports such as Tennis, Badminton or Squash / Racketball?

Do they face similar issue or this EJ is more pronounced in TT?

Thoughts?

In squash/racketball, I have no idea if they have ejs, but EJ is very pronounced in tt since there are so many choices of rackets. SO many combinations. SO many blades. SO many alternatives. SO many whatever. SO little money😭. An EJ is someone who keeps on buying equipment and focuses on it rather than the game.

If you play tennis (correct me if I am wrong, but I read some tennis forums and I follow tennis, but I play zero tennis {on a sidenote: RafaNadal ftw!!}), an EJ maybe somebody who keeps on trying different racket and string combinations. That can also apply for badminton.

The thing with table tennis is that even if you ej with this rubber, and remove it and try another one, you can still use it. So, you don't feel as bad, and you have the urge to try it.

MK73 · Mar 22, 2021

I played tennis in a club and in league games for a very long time. There is no Ej-ing in tennis. All my club mates played with their rackets for years and so did I. Its something very typical for tt it seems.

LilMunchkin · Mar 22, 2021

MK73 said:
I played tennis in a club and in league games for a very long time. There is no Ej-ing in tennis. All my club mates played with their rackets for years and so did I. Its something very typical for tt it seems.

Thank you for the correction.

The point is: It is much easier to ej in table tennis since you don't need to cut the strings permanently. The rubber can just be fixed back even if you remove it.

MK73 · Mar 22, 2021

Stringing a tennis racket is very complicated and time consuming. You have to learn how to do it and you need special equipment. I have actually never stringed any of my rackets. Changing rubbers on the other hand is very easy and can be done by everyone in minutes. You don't need an expert in a tt shop for it. Also there are three components in a tt racket (blade, fh + bh rubber), whereas there are only two in a tennis/squash/badminton racket (racket + strings). There are more options to individualize. So all in all its easy for everyone to experiment with tt equipment (because you can do it yourself) and you have more possibilities. Maybe those are two of the reasons why Ej-ing is so widespread.

Tinykin · Mar 22, 2021

The nearest equivalent to EJ that I can of is used in photography, GAS.

"GAS stands for Gear Acquisition Syndrome and it describes a “condition” that some people have which causes them to want to purchase new camera gear, even when their current camera setup is perfectly good. It usually occurs when a photographer’s chosen camera manufacturer releases a new upgrade to a camera or lens that the photographer already owns."

Sounds familiar?

Many people form an extreme interest in all sorts of activities which leads to them hoarding related stuff. As we are generally nice people, we call them collectors. The famous British museum was basically started from the collections left behind by deceased owners.

Quinten · Mar 22, 2021

I've been an avid golfer and recreational golf club builder for the past 25 years. Now back into TT this past year. The EJ syndrome I see hear, ( and have a little myself) is exactly the same thing in the golfing world. Due to the cost of a full sets of clubs being from $500-$1200 USD. How often sets change may be longer. But there is no doubt people change sets of clubs once a year for the same reasons people change blades and or rubber every quarter or so. Just looking for the Holy Grail. Shorter term changes might be a new putter, or a wedge, or a driver, or a fairway wood, or a hybrid etc. every few months. Also if you can build your own clubs you can satisfy two hobbies at once. You get the "fix" by building a new club, then the excitement to go play it and see if what you read about the product holds true for you. There's even situations like what ball is just as good as the Titleist ProV1 yet less expensive. This one sounds just like the Tenergy debate. I've known golfers with up to 20 sets of fairly new clubs in there garage.

IB66 · Mar 22, 2021

Quinten said:
I've been an avid golfer and recreational golf club builder for the past 25 years. Now back into TT this past year. The EJ syndrome I see hear, ( and have a little myself) is exactly the same thing in the golfing world. Due to the cost of a full sets of clubs being from $500-$1200 USD. How often sets change may be longer. But there is no doubt people change sets of clubs once a year for the same reasons people change blades and or rubber every quarter or so. Just looking for the Holy Grail. Shorter term changes might be a new putter, or a wedge, or a driver, or a fairway wood, or a hybrid etc. every few months. Also if you can build your own clubs you can satisfy two hobbies at once. You get the "fix" by building a new club, then the excitement to go play it and see if what you read about the product holds true for you. There's even situations like what ball is just as good as the Titleist ProV1 yet less expensive. This one sounds just like the Tenergy debate. I've known golfers with up to 20 sets of fairly new clubs in there garage.

Yeah!!! Golf’s up there for EJ ing, but as you say, sets of irons are pretty expensive!! Drivers and putters are pricy but more affordable in comparison.
There’s loads of reviewers out there and best of all, the high tech ball tracking and shot analysis systems that tell you how bad you actually are at golf!!!!😁

Quinten · Mar 22, 2021

Speaking of high tech gadgets. In golf they use launch monitors to see how hard you swing, how fast the ball comes off the club, and how fast it spins. Why doesn't TT use the same to put an actual number on blades and rubber? Have a robot swing a blade that has a specific number for "rebound" or COR (coefficient of restitution) at a constant speed. Then have the monitor check the speed? Maybe angle the paddle and check spin? Set up what sounds like good number for the" neutral" set up. Then base all else on that. Done and Done. ??

wheelbuilder · Mar 23, 2021

As a relative newcomer to TT, and a fairly obsessed, lifelong athlete, I must say the "quest for the perfect equipment" is very strong in TT.
I'm an adult league singles tennis player and there is a bit of a search for the perfect string once you know the racquet attributes that work best for your game. String-wise there is a pretty big variety to choose from, all with much different playing characteristics.... Power, spin, arm-health, longevity, etc. All dependent on stringing tension and string pattern of your racquet of course. Natural Gut, Coated Gut, Synthetic gut, Poly, Co-Poly, Multi-Flilament, Mono-Filiment etc. Hybrid stringing is very popular, (half and half) and because unless you have a stringing machine and the experience/knowledge to do it, is pricey to get done all the time. If you use Poly or Gut/Poly hybrid like I do, I can expect to restring every 8-10 hours so multiple frames are needed if you don't want down time. I have 5 with 3 always ready to go. This can be prohibitively expensive for some, and serious tennis is unfortunately best played if you have disposable income. Once you find the strings/racquet you like however, you don't stray from that set-up.
There is not NEARLY the array of blade/rubber choices that is evident in TT however. Not even close. You guys have it bad. It took me a long, frustrating time to learn about and decide what I needed that would suit my skill level.
TT is pretty unique in that you can pick equipment that is too good for you, and it can have negative effects on your game. I can't remember that being such a clear case with tennis.

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Tinykin · Mar 23, 2021

Your bike has a very steep seat to handlebar angle. You must have a very strong back and no belly to get in the way😊. Definitely a good combination for fast footwork around the table.

wheelbuilder · Mar 24, 2021

Tinykin said:
Your bike has a very steep seat to handlebar angle. You must have a very strong back and no belly to get in the way[emoji4]. Definitely a good combination for fast footwork around the table.

Thank you sir. I am lucky to have really good pelvic rotation and flexibility that enables me to ride with a large bar-drop. It really has nothing to do with great strength or anything but I am in decent shape for my age for sure.
Table tennis and tennis require much more anaerobic efforts and quick explosive movement than bike racing does for sure. TT also has that "mental addiction" and excitement to it that I don't find in the other two.

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UpSideDownCarl · Mar 24, 2021

wheelbuilder said:
Thank you sir. I am lucky to have really good pelvic rotation and flexibility that enables me to ride with a large bar-drop. It really has nothing to do with great strength or anything but I am in decent shape for my age for sure.Table tennis and tennis require much more anaerobic efforts and quick explosive movement than bike racing does for sure. TT also has that "mental addiction" and excitement to it that I don't find in the other two.

What groupset do you use on your bike? Wheel set?

Speaking of a sport that has EJ written all over it, but where gear is a wee bit more expensive than TT gear......biking seems to be a crazy EJ sport: electric or mechanical shifting. Rim brakes or disk, if disk, mechanical or hydraulic.....Oh yeah, mechanical disk breaks are not to be mentioned in respectable company. Road bike, Gravel bike, Cyclo-Cross, Mountain bike.....floating bars.....

My sister is an artist and taught art at Brooklyn College. You should see how she EJs on brushes....who knew there was such a variety of brushes for different effects in painting.

But, the combination of lots of different equipment and there being a large amount of really cheap equipment from China, makes it so in TT people really EJ and get a ton of things before they realize how much they spent.

Whereas, a Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7 with Dura Ace Di2 groupset (electronic shifting) runs 13,000 USD.

wheelbuilder · Mar 25, 2021

UpSideDownCarl said:
What groupset do you use on your bike? Wheel set?

Speaking of a sport that has EJ written all over it, but where gear is a wee bit more expensive than TT gear......biking seems to be a crazy EJ sport: electric or mechanical shifting. Rim brakes or disk, if disk, mechanical or hydraulic.....Oh yeah, mechanical disk breaks are not to be mentioned in respectable company. Road bike, Gravel bike, Cyclo-Cross, Mountain bike.....floating bars.....

My sister is an artist and taught art at Brooklyn College. You should see how she EJs on brushes....who knew there was such a variety of brushes for different effects in painting.

But, the combination of lots of different equipment and there being a large amount of really cheap equipment from China, makes it so in TT people really EJ and get a ton of things before they realize how much they spent.

Whereas, a Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7 with Dura Ace Di2 groupset (electronic shifting) runs 13,000 USD.

Oops....... First generation Sram Red etap. (Wireless electronic shifting). Wheels are Bontrager Aeolus 3 (now called xxx) Carbon rims, carbon shelled DT Swiss hubs. I'm a former pro-mechanic (uci tour Women's teamShoAire 2016, now called 2024) so I curated and built the bike up from the frame with components I like and luckily received an industry discount on most things. Retail value of that bike is probably around 15-16000 US. I have a Mountain Bike, and Cyclocross bike as well and have been serious about cycling since 82? Yes. There are serious EJ's in cycling as well but the cost can be really prohibitive if you want high end stuff.....especially if you are an amateur racer. The vast variety and quantity of TT gear is what is mind boggling to me, and really lends itself to the EJ lifestyle. Way more so than cycling or tennis imo. I don't play golf and imagine that to be similar. You TT guys have it bad insofar as trying every blade under the sun and even worse with rubbers. I love reading it all, but unlike other sports, have found that a super solid foundation and skillset is needed to use most of the TT stuff out there. Keep it up everybody! And remember.......fitness matters!

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