Dear Manufacturers, Please Improve!

Zwill · Sep 1, 2022

I hope you are reading tabletennisdaily! You should! I would like to give some advice to all of you potentially even help you have more profit while we will save the Earth a little bit too while at it. I have collected some ideas over the years that have come across my mind that every manufacturer could implement for basically no cost and yet sometimes they do it (probably by sheer accident) and mostly they don't do it. Please start doing it, it would help everyone!

Blades:

It would be really fantastic if all of you could always indicate a center mark on the handle. Why? Well it helps us to align our rubbers in center perfectly. Some manufacturers add a mark recently. Yes, I am looking at you Joola. Good job, someone understands this in your company. It is a good standard and you should keep it.

Some manufacturers have a center line in the handle that also helps. It's also a good solution.

Please also put on a line vertically so we can align the rubber with it. This is a great visual aid since I think everyone made a mistake where they installed a rubber crooked.

Rubbers:

More and more manufacturers are having a center mark on their rubbers. Thank you! It really helps! Not for the first installment, I can align the rubber a bit to the side on the first installment but when it's already cut it helps if there is a center mark so I can align with the blade. You don't help me personally with it a lot, nor Timo nor any other pro who glues rubbers like there is no tomorrow, but some beginners you would help.

Please make the rubbers sheets in 2 sizes. What do I mean? Most of the blades size is not over 165x155mm in fact most are not larger than 162x153mm. We really don't need 170x170mm sheet, nor 180x168 or whatever Butterfly has. Yes, I know some J-pen blades are larger and some defender blades are larger too. I didn't say you cannot cut your rubbers in 170x170 and larger. Just give an option for smaller sheet size. I don't even care if you charge the same money for them, though it would be nice if you were fair and charge less for the smaller sheet. But less waste is good for the planet and you save some cost on material plus shipping weight.

Shoes:

This is not a TT manufacturer thing, it is a shoe manufacturer thing. Would it be really so hard to provide 3 sizing for a shoe? Length, width and height preferably in metric? I'm not even saying that you have to make different sizes because of the increased combination possibilities, just provide the measurements for your shoes so people can select better.

I guess clothes sizing is a general mess, I wish there was a standard that everyone would follow.

If you guys have some other simple ideas feel free. Let's hope someone is listening.

Zwill · Sep 1, 2022

Title fixed. THX

UpSideDownCarl · Sep 1, 2022

Zwill said:
Epic fail in the thread title, please delete this...

Your thread’s title is edited. But people knew what you meant before it was edited.

Zwill · Sep 1, 2022

UpSideDownCarl said:
Your thread’s title is edited. But people knew what you meant before it was edited.

I know, but search is not so smart 🙃

DukeGaGa · Sep 2, 2022

I’m not too worried about blades having a center indication, it’s pretty easy to measure and mark with a pencil, same deal with the level line, if you really want to align your rubbers, get a pencil and mark it yourself, penholders have been doing this forever. I do want rubbers to have a mark to indicate center however, because it’s hard to make marks on rubbers.

Tony's Table Tennis · Sep 2, 2022

OH - becareful with that

These are prints you talking about.
Prints can go wrong I have seen blades center line is not center.

And I have seen rubbers that is not even (meaning the square block, is shifted to the one side), so if I aim for the centre logo line, the one side won't be covered over the blade. ESN rubber too.

Rubber size - good suggestion. oversize blades are just so difficult to glue, especially if the rubber is not aligned in the centre.

Shoe sizing, I have ignored UK/US/EUR sizes, I only use the JPN/CM size as cm size is standard with the same ruler we use.
however, width/height is not documented in supplier spec sheets.

Same with clothing, I use the cm measurements of width, length etc to measure. the S/M/L is a disaster.
Euro Size I am a L, Asian I am 2XL, some times 3XL. American Size I am a M
Its all the same CM size lol

lodro · Sep 2, 2022

some nice ideas, good on ye.
Just one little detail: The planet does not need saving !!!
It has been turning around itself and the sun for quite some time and will do so for much much longer. Human beings are the only animal that knowingly and idiotically destroys its own habitat.

An experiment gone wrong ?
Everything will correct itself.

Sorry for getting philosophical

yoass · Sep 2, 2022

Tony's Table Tennis said:
Shoe sizing, I have ignored UK/US/EUR sizes, I only use the JPN/CM size as cm size is standard with the same ruler we use.however, width/height is not documented in supplier spec sheets.

I've wondered on more than one occasion, seeing the sometimes strange discrepancies in size comparison charts, why stuff like shoe size isn't just simply expressed as a plain length unit.

It's pretty easy to to determine your feet's dimensions. All you need is a simple ruler or tapeline; yet I keep running into sites that have a size table in which my feet.My feet are 282mm long (well, there's probably a 1-2mm L-R difference - ignorable).

Somehow that boils down to size 45 in our local shoe measuring eccentricity.Across the ditch, that's a size 11, which to me makes a lot more sense - at least that's about my feet's length in inches. Or 11.5, across the pond, which suddenly makes much less sense (perhaps that's a Freudian mechanism at work there). Or 13, should I fancy a female shoe design and shop across the Atlantic because somehow in the US shoes are gendered up into incomparability: different sizes for geometrically identical objects.

On Ali Express, I've stumbled across conversion charts that would have me order size 49 shoes. Which is size 14. Or size 15. Or size 18. I'm not going there.

Funny how simple things (such as a length measure) can be overcomplicated into utter confusion so easily. Strange, too, because it doesn't seem to fit the usual motives - I don't see that much commercial gain in confusing people in ordering wrongly sized shoes.

Tony's Table Tennis · Sep 2, 2022

yoass said:
I've wondered on more than one occasion, seeing the sometimes strange discrepancies in size comparison charts, why stuff like shoe size isn't just simply expressed as a plain length unit.

It's pretty easy to to determine your feet's dimensions. All you need is a simple ruler or tapeline; yet I keep running into sites that have a size table in which my feet.My feet are 282mm long (well, there's probably a 1-2mm L-R difference - ignorable).

Somehow that boils down to size 45 in our local shoe measuring eccentricity.Across the ditch, that's a size 11, which to me makes a lot more sense - at least that's about my feet's length in inches. Or 11.5, across the pond, which suddenly makes much less sense (perhaps that's a Freudian mechanism at work there). Or 13, should I fancy a female shoe design and shop across the Atlantic because somehow in the US shoes are gendered up into incomparability: different sizes for geometrically identical objects.

On Ali Express, I've stumbled across conversion charts that would have me order size 49 shoes. Which is size 14. Or size 15. Or size 18. I'm not going there.

Funny how simple things (such as a length measure) can be overcomplicated into utter confusion so easily. Strange, too, because it doesn't seem to fit the usual motives - I don't see that much commercial gain in confusing people in ordering wrongly sized shoes.

The CM/length unit is so far the most accurate method to measure and I do hope more suppliers use this.

I think these are still table tennis companies at the end of the day. They not clothing/shoe companies, and do really need to improve a bit to make things easier for consumers.
It is normally the reseller who helps out the consumer and can't really say aliexpress is a reseller whom may help you out there.
overall, for most table tennis resellers, selling shoes and clothing is a loss making business.

ttarc · Sep 2, 2022

Some additional improvements:
Blades: Don't print anything on the playing surface. At least not in the main hitting area and use some sort of paint/dye/ink that sinks into the wood and does not sit on the wood. I've seen some prints where the glue did not stick very well and a good deal of sanding was necessary...
Rubbers: Agree on one hardness scale and provide three measurements: sponge, top sheet and combined hardness.

Gtsnake · Sep 2, 2022

I have a suggestion expanding on the horizontal line. The line is a good reference guide. I usually just draw one myself with a straight edge before gluing the rubber. So instead of printing a line why not make the handle piece wider so that there's a lip that the rubber sits on? The rubber already sits on the top lip of the handle so if it was wider it would make it that much easier.

superbackhand · Sep 2, 2022

if it is possible and not a huge deal… i will precisely make a center mark on every rubber and every blade of yours.. free of charge. I will use organic marker and ruler - i will also wash my hands prior touching your equipments, using overpriced organic soap from Wholefoods…

If you think that’s ok, ship your equipments all to me!

DukeGaGa · Sep 2, 2022

Gtsnake said:
I have a suggestion expanding on the horizontal line. The line is a good reference guide. I usually just draw one myself with a straight edge before gluing the rubber. So instead of printing a line why not make the handle piece wider so that there's a lip that the rubber sits on? The rubber already sits on the top lip of the handle so if it was wider it would make it that much easier.

Heavy. But if you want that, soulspin makes some handles like this.

Zwill · Sep 2, 2022

I really like how Yinhe and DHS on some sheets apply glue on the sponge in the factory. Surely with specifically designed equipment and dry area with optimum heat profile they could do a better job applying the glue evenly and with an optimum thickness than me at home.
This would be a cost for sure, but DHS H3N and Big Dipper are cheap so it can't be a lot.

I probably don't only speak for myself when the soles of my shoes are worn in 2-3 specific spots. Under the ball of my forefoot, under my big toe, and the very tip of the sole. If they would put more material to these areas the sole would last a bit longer. By more material I mean don't put butterfly wing shapes in these areas just leave it solid.
At the same time they should remove more material from the locations that don't get worn much so that way the shoe can be lighter.

I have a suggestion expanding on the horizontal line. The line is a good reference guide. I usually just draw one myself with a straight edge before gluing the rubber. So instead of printing a line why not make the handle piece wider so that there's a lip that the rubber sits on? The rubber already sits on the top lip of the handle so if it was wider it would make it that much easier.

One of my first blades was a Joola K4, it had something similar. It's not a bad feature.

some nice ideas, good on ye.
Just one little detail: The planet does not need saving !!!
It has been turning around itself and the sun for quite some time and will do so for much much longer. Human beings are the only animal that knowingly and idiotically destroys its own habitat.

An experiment gone wrong ?
Everything will correct itself.

Sorry for getting philosophical

Gtsnake · Sep 4, 2022

They could use alternative materials instead of wood to add the wings. It can't possibly add that much weight.

DukeGaGa · Sep 4, 2022

Gtsnake said:
They could use alternative materials instead of wood to add the wings. It can't possibly add that much weight.

A few grams can make all the difference

Gtsnake · Sep 4, 2022

DukeGaGa said:
A few grams can make all the difference

But it would be near the base and not the head so it wouldn't change the characteristics.

Tony's Table Tennis · Sep 4, 2022

Gtsnake said:
They could use alternative materials instead of wood to add the wings. It can't possibly add that much weight.

They need to be careful not to go over the limit of how much non wood is allowed.

lodro · Sep 4, 2022

Zwill said:

I wish I could have said it with so much humor, 😂

Zwill · Sep 4, 2022

Tony's Table Tennis said:
They need to be careful not to go over the limit of how much non wood is allowed.

If you're still referring to the handle it can be made from any material. It could be even from metal or fully carbon fiber.

Dear Manufacturers, Please Improve!

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