Whatever dude gets, I hope he likes it and it allows him to play and grow in the style he prefers. There is NO one exact perfect setup, just MANY suitable setups that will vary by individual.
I am always keen to advise a balance of control, performance, and price in whatever I recommend.
Myself, I think TBS, T05 on FH on FH and H3 or any control OFF rubber on BH is a great setup, but that setup obviously costs well over USD $200 and is not suitable for someone new ot the sport who wants to grow and NOT spend a wheelbarrow of cash on their first setup.
That is why I recommend the Galaxy 896. NOT because it is the best thing out there, but because at $10 before shipping, there is nothing close to its performance. ALL+ is not really that fast so don't expect to hit through your opponent every shot even if you are gorilla apeshit strong like me.
That setup is a balance of control and limited power that will allow anyone to learn most strokes well enough while they grow with an emphasis on topspin, control, placement, and rally skills. As much as I am always in conflict with the pundit coaches on certain issues like these... WE ALL AGREE that an initial setup should be allround enough to learn every shot and grow from there, it is by no means a final setup and there are hundreds of possible setups around. I simply show one or two options to get the job done with minimal money. If money was not an issue, I would be pimping the daylights out of my sponsor Nexy and its products to everyone. That is not my role as a sponsored player. it is to simply test equipment, play with it when given, and make reports about it on the internet to help the marketing. My sponsor knows I love TBS and always go back to it after long term testing. My other role is to help foreigners here in Korea get their TT action and connect them with other players and visits to Nexy for gear whenever they want to visit a physical shop. It doesn't hurt that Nexy is nice and hooks us up with some gear when I ask like a jersey that Wanda got or a blade that David just got. Once I get my hands on the Arirang, it will be review city. But heck, that is nearly a $200 blade and is it right to recommend something like that to a developing player with limited cash?
If I waz pimping only my sponsors gear I would be pulling a hood over everyone not letting them see other options. I will pimp my sponsor's gear at the right time and place, not in these threads. if someone wants some gear that works for minimal money, and I know of some, I won't stay quiet.
I hear a lot of people give Dan a hard time over his love for Stiga gear. heck, I like Stiga gear as well, why not pimp it? I just don't like their blades as much as I like others.
Even if I have been playing for a few years and made it a couple levels above average club level, big deal, I can pick up that setup and play a match with zero drop-off at my level and that says a lot. I will never tell someone to use such and such if I never used it myself, or was willing to use it or knew about it from a trusted top player.
btw with the use of a standard wood blade
