Blade/Rubbers recommendation for a beginner looking to develop basic strokes

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Hi everyone, this is my first ever post here.

I'm a 20-y-o student in Germany who recently fell in love with the sport of table tennis after getting introduced by people in my dormitory. I have set my goals on getting better and have joined clubs/table tennis courses at the university.

My current paddle/racket is a very cheap pre-assembled one handed down to me by my relative, whose rubbers have been commented on as being thin with almost no resistance. The blade also makes weird vibrations and has a rather odd center of balance. People have been recommending me to get rid of it if I want to develop my strokes properly.

That's why I'm currently looking for a new one. After watching videos and reading guides on the internet the sheer amount of information and contradictory advices has made me even more confused than before I started (slow vs fast blades, hard vs soft rubbers for beginner, the thickness of sponge, the shape of the handle, etc).

I would really appreciate it if you could spend a minute or two and suggest to me some good blade/rubbers combo. I'm ready to spend a decent amount (somewhere in the range of 60 EUR) for a good blade that I can stick with for a long period.
 
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Here you go:

I have seen quite a few people advice against pre-assembled paddles, would it be a good idea to buy one like this instead of getting separate rubbers/blade that add up to the same price?

 
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There is a difference between 'premade' (which are to be avoided as they tend to be overpriced and low quality) and pre-assembled (which is proper equipment, just assembled by the shop so that you don't have to worry about buying glue and cutting your rubbers).

The bat I linked to is made up of a proper blade and two proper rubbers, all of which are designed for developing strokes. Once the rubbers lose their life (after about 18 months I would say if you are new to the game) you can replace them with something a little bit faster or even just the same if you liked them.

Like you said, there are far too many choices out there so my advice would be to just get this set up.

If you want to go even cheaper, then these are also great:

Palio Evolve from Amazon

(Again, it is pre-assembled but not to be confused with an overpriced premade)
 
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Hi Bach,

I have experienced with a few blades and rubbers as well. Maybe not quite the same budget as you mentioned, but I would recommend something like this:
Blade: Neottec Voodoo Classic - A good offensive minus rated, somewhat flexible blade to let you practice spinny shots
Rubber #1: Nittaku Factive - Affordable and light rubber, get in in max (2.0mm) thickness - the pimple structure of the rubber also lets you to feel the ball (if you are completely new to table tennis), and position your returns accurately.
Rubber #2: Nittaku Fastarc C-1 - This is more expensive, but it is a very good training rubber, if you have already a good feeling for the ball and want to play more offensively. (If you are more ambitious in playing table tennis long term, I would definitely recommend this choice.)

I have generally very good experience with Nittaku rubbers (they behave very much as you would expect, once you have their base characteristics in mind).
I have also experience with Victas 07 series rubbers - they are also interesting, but they have mixed pros and cons each.

I think you can order the mentioned racket setup from many retailer with custom racket assembly service, if Neottec Voodoo Classic is not found at your choice of retailer, these blades are also very closely similar in composition to the blade I originally mentioned: Xiom Offensive S, Tibhar Stratus Power Wood.
 
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I would recommend a affordable Yinhe blade with AK47 rubber. Several other beginners on this board have opted for the same combo.Â

You can get Yinhe Earth blade with AK47 for about $40 on Aliexpress. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002089613157.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.43711ee1k7pzzj&algo_pvid=e7c9e34c-6456-4840-8c45-67051804e8f5&algo_exp_id=e7c9e34c-6456-4840-8c45-67051804e8f5-4&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2212000018705611573%22%7D
Interesting combination as well. Yinhe Earth blades are generally not too fast, and they have nice quality. Can you tell me the difference between Palio AK47 blue and Palio Hadou 40+ rubber?

 
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They are similar, but AK47 is completely grippy, Hadou is a little tacky. Hadou makes sense for backhand who want a little more spin.
 
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Hi Bach,

I have experienced with a few blades and rubbers as well. Maybe not quite the same budget as you mentioned, but I would recommend something like this:
Blade: Neottec Voodoo Classic - A good offensive minus rated, somewhat flexible blade to let you practice spinny shots
Rubber #1: Nittaku Factive - Affordable and light rubber, get in in max (2.0mm) thickness - the pimple structure of the rubber also lets you to feel the ball (if you are completely new to table tennis), and position your returns accurately.
Rubber #2: Nittaku Fastarc C-1 - This is more expensive, but it is a very good training rubber, if you have already a good feeling for the ball and want to play more offensively. (If you are more ambitious in playing table tennis long term, I would definitely recommend this choice.)

I have generally very good experience with Nittaku rubbers (they behave very much as you would expect, once you have their base characteristics in mind).
I have also experience with Victas 07 series rubbers - they are also interesting, but they have mixed pros and cons each.

I think you can order the mentioned racket setup from many retailer with custom racket assembly service, if Neottec Voodoo Classic is not found at your choice of retailer, these blades are also very closely similar in composition to the blade I originally mentioned: Xiom Offensive S, Tibhar Stratus Power Wood.

Thanks for the reply :) . I looked the prices up for each of the components you suggested (on spinfactory.de) and found out that the total price for the rubbers (holy they are expensive) is almost three times as much as the price of the blade. Would this be a good idea? I remember reading somewhere that the cost of the blade should make up 70%-80% of the final price of the paddle.

 
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I would recommend a affordable Yinhe blade with AK47 rubber. Several other beginners on this board have opted for the same combo.Â

You can get Yinhe Earth blade with AK47 for about $40 on Aliexpress
Thanks for the suggestion. I have seen a lot of people recommending the Yinhe blade + Palio AK47 rubbers combo from Aliexpress with many variations (Yinhe N11, W-6, Earth, etc; Palio AK47 Red, Blue, Yellow). Do you know what is the main difference between the rubber variations and which color is best for developing basic techniques?

 
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Thanks for the reply :) . I looked the prices up for each of the components you suggested (on spinfactory.de) and found out that the total price for the rubbers (holy they are expensive) is almost three times as much as the price of the blade. Would this be a good idea? I remember reading somewhere that the cost of the blade should make up 70%-80% of the final price of the paddle.

I would say, price of the blade is less important - rather its structure and manufacturing quality. These blades are generally very controllable, but powerful enough.

Another word on rubber's price/performance ratio: some rubbers are not consistent through their life cycle (e.g. Xiom Vega Asia DF), some others maintain physical and playing characteristics much better. I don't have enough experience with the mentioned Palio rubbers to make an opinion, but I use Nittaku C-1 sheets since a very long time (100+ training hours already in them), and they have still a surface with good grip, so I can regard them as a very good long time investment.

 
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Hi everyone, this is my first ever post here.

I'm a 20-y-o student in Germany who recently fell in love with the sport of table tennis after getting introduced by people in my dormitory. I have set my goals on getting better and have joined clubs/table tennis courses at the university.

My current paddle/racket is a very cheap pre-assembled one handed down to me by my relative, whose rubbers have been commented on as being thin with almost no resistance. The blade also makes weird vibrations and has a rather odd center of balance. People have been recommending me to get rid of it if I want to develop my strokes properly.

That's why I'm currently looking for a new one. After watching videos and reading guides on the internet the sheer amount of information and contradictory advices has made me even more confused than before I started (slow vs fast blades, hard vs soft rubbers for beginner, the thickness of sponge, the shape of the handle, etc).

I would really appreciate it if you could spend a minute or two and suggest to me some good blade/rubbers combo. I'm ready to spend a decent amount (somewhere in the range of 60 EUR) for a good blade that I can stick with for a long period.

My personal go to noobie set up as follows:

1) Tibhar Stratus Power Wood - An OFF- five ply all wood with a large sweet spot. It has a large surface area.

2) BH & FH rubber are Donic Baracuda - an ALL+ / OFF- spin focused rubber that is just fast enough for offensive use but still retain massive amount of control.

3) You are German and all the above products are German Brand. Hey, support local, buy local right?

4) Have fun spinning!

 
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Another extra thought: while doing intense training as a beginner, it is more likely, that you will hurt your equipment to some extent, and as first decent custom setup, I think, that the Yinhe + Palio racket Michael Zhuang mentioned may also worth a try.

I think you will be really surprised by the quality of this racket and setup.

 
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PrinceTT (Hong Kong) has the Yinhe Earth blade in stock:
http://www.princett.com/EN/USD/category-7/page-Galaxy-Yinhe-Milky-Way.html
The Earth 1 has a Koto top wood, and the Earth 3 has Limba. Koto is hard and more controlled while Limba is a bit softer, better for top spin with imperfect technique.

I would go with Earth 3, 5 ply pure wood, limba + spruce + ayous + spruce + limba for US$18 + shipping.

For the rubbers, I like Yinhe Moon:
http://www.princett.com/EN/USD/product/Galaxy-Moon-Table-tennis-Pimples-in-Rubber-Max-Tense-117.html
and I would go with Moon Soft max. thickness for forehand and backhand. The Yinhe Moon rubbers come with glue and sheet protector. Or Moon Medium sponge for forehand, it has a little harder sponge. $11.50 per side.
Also if you prefer the Palio AK47 rubbers, the are about $12:
http://www.princett.com/EN/USD/category-17/page-Palio.html

Shipping to the USA was 11 days on my last order.

You need to decide whether you want the racket assembled, or assemble yourself. I varnish my blade before putting the rubbers on which has been recommended for Limba top wood to prevent splintering. I also varnish the handle so I can wash/disinfect it after playing. I assemble myself. See this for how to assemble, by the master from TT11:
https://youtu.be/A1_7OhgpeNg?t=196

I use MinWax polyurethane coating for varnishing:
https://www.amazon.com/Minwax-33060000-Fast-Drying-Polyurethane-Aerosol/dp/B002PNXU52/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=minwax%2Bpolyurethane%2Bsatin&qid=1636849822&sr=8-2&th=1
I have the Donic glue from tabletennis11:
https://www.tabletennis11.com/other_eng/donic-glue-vario-clean-90-ml
and I found that the only company which can make a decent sticking edge tape is Xiom, so I use this:
https://www.tabletennis11.com/other_eng/edge-tape-xiom-12mm-50m-black-mandarin
and I bought a lifetime supply.

But I glue the rubbers myself to the blade so you also would need to state in the PrinceTT order that you want the Assembly Service Request if you don't want to assemble yourself.
http://www.princett.com/EN/USD/category-42/page-Extra-Charge.html

Also I like the Yinhe racket case for US$3.40:
http://www.princett.com/EN/USD/product/Galaxy-8013-Table-Tennis-Racket-Case-149.html

PrinceTT usually throws in the sheet protectors.

So for ~US$50 you can get a very good racket which you can use for 1-2 years. After that you can decide whether you want an internal ALC carbon blade (Koto outer wood) like
http://www.princett.com/EN/USD/prod...Tennis-Blade-5-wood-2-ALCinner-force-371.html
or an external ALC carbon blade with Koto outer wood like
http://www.princett.com/EN/USD/prod...Blade-5-wood-2-ALCExternal-Structure-426.html
or stick with an all-wood 5-ply with Walnut outer wood like:
http://www.princett.com/EN/USD/prod...s-Blade-5-ply-pure-woodProvince-Team-246.html
or a all-wood 7-ply with Limba:
http://www.princett.com/EN/USD/prod...7-Table-Tennis-Blade-7-ply-pure-wood-338.html
or Walnut:
http://www.princett.com/EN/USD/prod...7-Table-Tennis-Blade-7-ply-pure-wood-310.html

Also you can use a Cypress top wood (similar to Hinoki, not as hard as Koto, nice feeling), Yinhe has many combinations of it. One of the more popular ones is:
http://www.princett.com/EN/USD/product/Galaxy-T-8S-Table-Tennis-Blade-5-wood2-Carbokev-28.html

and it has been reviewed at:
https://revspin.net/blade/galaxy-yinhe-t-8s.html

Then make sure you video yourself and look like YangYang at:

and you are good.
 
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Jebus... the kid says that the sheer amount of information is too much for him and what do you all do? Completely bombard him with more info than anyone trying to buy their first bat would ever need.😂
 
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Jebus... the kid says that the sheer amount of information is too much for him and what do you all do? Completely bombard him with more info than anyone trying to buy their first bat would ever need.😂

That is why I wrote to do not overthink it. A nice blade + 2* whatever nice rubber. When learning T05 vs AK47 does not matter.

 
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