Best pips for chop-blocking and active blocking?

[greenbeanmachine]

I've recently become enamored with the short pips penhold style, but there's so much different equipment with so many different properties (even more than inverted rubber, I think) and I don't know where to start. To anyone who has played with pips, I would appreciate your advice. I am also open to trying long / medium pips.

I like to play a chop-blocking game, and give strange uncomfortable balls back to the opponent. I also like to be able to redirect power from incoming loops and block them very quickly so my opponent cannot reach the ball. I can loop with inverted rubber on RPB -- I use my backhand to introduce some (side)spin to the game, and then use the pips on my forehand to give a strange knuckleball or chop-block.

Is there a kind of pips that works best for my style of play? Which physical properties of pips would help with chop blocks and active blocks? Hard vs soft sponge? Conical vs cylindrical pips? Friction vs frictionless? Also, is there a recommended type of blade for this style of play? Currently I am using 5-ply hardwood.

I've been using a sheet of Friendship 802-40, because I heard it was a good way to transition from inverted rubber. The chop blocks and flat hits feel very good -- my only complaint is that the soft sponge makes it very hard to control a heavy incoming topspin.

 

[JJ Ng]

Der Materialspezialist spinfire is the best short pips if you know that is what you want.

In general, when you switch from inverted to short pips, you want something easy to use. Both Friendship 802-40 and Der Materialspezialist spinfire are very "inverted" like, meaning you can still brush/loop/push with these two rubbers and they do NOT have that much wobbly effects.

Der Materialspezialist spinfire is faster than 802-40 for sure. So that could be your next logical steps.

If you want something fast but with some wobbly effect, then Nittaku Moristo SP is something you can try later.

Please remember: the more wobbly effects you get, the "less controllable" the ball is, especially when you come from the inverted rubber background.

So 802-40 is definitely a good first choice. Then you can try Der Materialspezialist Spinfire. Then after that Moristo SP. When you are done testing those three short pips rubber you should figure which one you like the most.

At this point, don't touch medium pips and long pips. You should know if you like short pips first. And if you want some wobbly effect, you can get that from Moristo SP. It should take you a minimum a few months to get through those three rubbers. Only then if you feel like you want more disruptive/wobbly effects on the ball, then you can explore medium pips and long pips later.

By the way, I am surprised that Der Materialspezialist Spinfire color is not carried by TT11 anymore. I just checked. You can still get it from other sources.

Another side topic. For long pips, if you eventually go that rout, ox (without sponge) is very very popular because as a general rule of thumb, the lack of sponge underneath the long pips top sheet gives you even more wobbly effects. And when you eventually go the long pips route, that usually means you have made a conscious decision to confuse the opponents as your main goal ,not to outpower them. So ox (without sponge) long pips is the logical way to achieve that. Long pips with very very thin sponges can also do. But long pips with thicker sponge, the speed is higher but you do lose some of the wobbly effects as a result. In addition, why use long pips with thicker sponge? Might as well stick with short pips with 1.8mm or 2.0mm sponge if your goal is to outpower your opponent at the table.

 

[Ultravisitor]

The longer the pips the stranger the effects. 2 dirtcheap rubbers I can recommend to you:

Yinhe pluto - is a medium pip with very hard pips. Still good at flat hitting but much less grip than 802-40 so there's some reversal of spin or more deadening effect

Dawei 388d-1 OX - classic long pip for push-blocking style. A classic most used LP in the world. It's relatively easy to use compared to other LPs. Gives strong effect to confuse your opponent, but might be hard to control for you if you have no experience with LPs