Equipment upgrade for intermediate player

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Hello.
I've been playing table tennis for a while now, recently I acquired my current set of rubbers and racket.
FH is Loki Rxton V, BH is Sanwei Ultra Spin and my blade is a DHS PG7.
I underestimated my skills and went with this set after some research because I didn't want to buy rubbers that would stop me from getting better. Now I'm feeling that I need to put too much effort to generate spin on the FH, effort I can't put in serves, which result in very lacking serves with the FH, the sanwei ultraspin in the other hand is very good for the price, but I wanted to experiment something quicker.
After some research I'm thinking of going with a Sanwei Target National 3 (medium hard) for the FH, but I can't decide on the BH
I live in Brazil, and european/japanese table tennis rubbers are very expensive here (except the ones that can be bought on AliExpress, please don't tell me to get a Butterfly). I would appreciate some help choosing a new set
 
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Hello.
I've been playing table tennis for a while now, recently I acquired my current set of rubbers and racket.
FH is Loki Rxton V, BH is Sanwei Ultra Spin and my blade is a DHS PG7.
I underestimated my skills and went with this set after some research because I didn't want to buy rubbers that would stop me from getting better. Now I'm feeling that I need to put too much effort to generate spin on the FH, effort I can't put in serves, which result in very lacking serves with the FH, the sanwei ultraspin in the other hand is very good for the price, but I wanted to experiment something quicker.
After some research I'm thinking of going with a Sanwei Target National 3 (medium hard) for the FH, but I can't decide on the BH
I live in Brazil, and european/japanese table tennis rubbers are very expensive here (except the ones that can be bought on AliExpress, please don't tell me to get a Butterfly). I would appreciate some help choosing a new set
What do you like and dislike about T88 for BH?

Yinhe Moon 12 is not sticky rubber with a good price/performance ratio. Sticky options: DHS H3N OS, 729 Brocken Boundaries (low throw 50-52 degrees).
 
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It's impossible honestly to judge your actual playing level and rubber requirements on a forum.

You say you've been playing a while - what is a while? Have you been playing at a club, with coached training?

How old is your setup, how many hours have you been playing on it and what were you playing before that (and how did you like that?)


Here's some simple things you can do:
- try flipping your racket around and using the Rxton V on BH, see if you like that kind of thing
- try other people's bats, do take note if they're not using an all-wood blade that the feeling you get on your own blade will be different.

I could give some generic options, but I don't think that helps much at this stage.
 
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What do you like and dislike about T88 for BH?

Yinhe Moon 12 is not sticky rubber with a good price/performance ratio. Sticky options: DHS H3N OS, 729 Brocken Boundaries (low throw 50-52 degrees).
In my opinion T88 Ultra Spin is a decent rubber, it delivers what you want when you use it with correct technique. It's a good rubber for developing the BH, it's has a tacky topsheet and it's on the softer side, but I'm feeling I reached a wall, no matter how much force I apply I can't get the ball to spin more, so I wanted to try new rubbers. But my main problem is the FH rubber. I will look into these recommendations. Thank you
 
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It's impossible honestly to judge your actual playing level and rubber requirements on a forum.

You say you've been playing a while - what is a while? Have you been playing at a club, with coached training?

How old is your setup, how many hours have you been playing on it and what were you playing before that (and how did you like that?)


Here's some simple things you can do:
- try flipping your racket around and using the Rxton V on BH, see if you like that kind of thing
- try other people's bats, do take note if they're not using an all-wood blade that the feeling you get on your own blade will be different.

I could give some generic options, but I don't think that helps much at this stage.
You are right, it's very difficult to explain exactly the level I'm at. But basically I've been playing table tennis casually since 2018, I had a generic setup from decathlon. But recently (6m ago) I started training in a club and that's when I bought this setup. And recently my coach told me my rubber might be holding my game back and told me I should looking into changing it if possible (FH rubber, mainly) the BH one is pretty solid. (I explained why I want to switch the BH in other reply )
About your recommendations, I tried swapping it and it feels a lot better to play FH with the Ultra Spin, but at the same time I feel like the Rxton V only strength is smashing the ball (I don't know if that is how this move is called in english). And I'm not able to do it with the BH.
My coach and colleagues play with Joola setups (my coach uses dynariz ACC on FH and Tronix CMD on the BH) they feel great to play with, but it's very expensive, that's why im reaching into forums to search for cheaper options. I was wondering if the Joola Micron is a good option for the BH. Anyways, thank you for you help sir.
 
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In my opinion T88 Ultra Spin is a decent rubber, it delivers what you want when you use it with correct technique. It's a good rubber for developing the BH, it's has a tacky topsheet and it's on the softer side, but I'm feeling I reached a wall, no matter how much force I apply I can't get the ball to spin more, so I wanted to try new rubbers. But my main problem is the FH rubber. I will look into these recommendations. Thank you


You are right, it's very difficult to explain exactly the level I'm at. But basically I've been playing table tennis casually since 2018, I had a generic setup from decathlon. But recently (6m ago) I started training in a club and that's when I bought this setup. And recently my coach told me my rubber might be holding my game back and told me I should looking into changing it if possible (FH rubber, mainly) the BH one is pretty solid. (I explained why I want to switch the BH in other reply )
About your recommendations, I tried swapping it and it feels a lot better to play FH with the Ultra Spin, but at the same time I feel like the Rxton V only strength is smashing the ball (I don't know if that is how this move is called in english). And I'm not able to do it with the BH.
My coach and colleagues play with Joola setups (my coach uses dynariz ACC on FH and Tronix CMD on the BH) they feel great to play with, but it's very expensive, that's why im reaching into forums to search for cheaper options. I was wondering if the Joola Micron is a good option for the BH. Anyways, thank you for you help sir.

Good info.

For your BH:

From what I could find, Ultra Spin is graded at "39 degrees (medium)". I would say that's probably the same scale DHS uses. Very roughly converted to European/ESN rubber scale that's 48-50 degrees.
I don't know anything about this rubber in particular, but it's likely that this hardness only says something about the sponge. If you were to, for instance, get DHS PF4 with the same 39 degrees, the topsheet is pretty tough and the combination will feel harder.
Both PF4 and Ultra Spin are marketed as "training rubbers". You noticed that you can't make more and more spin, and that's a good sign. It means you are ready to work on consistency, placement, choosing how much power/spin you give. "Training rubbers" are perfect for this as they don't encourage you to go harder, faster, stronger.
I've looked at "Tenis de mesa store Brazil" and what they offer. I know the financial situation in South America is a bit insane (especially in Argentina, but I guess Brazil has similar issues). So for that reason, I would advise you to stick to your current rubber as long as possible. You can develop a LOT of things without creating even more spin that will make you a much better player.

If you can afford it, and you like using sticky on BH, I would consider PF4-50 (a bit more bouncy sponge) or PF4 (the classic, dense, yellow hard sponge). Personally, I think Mercury 2 is a great rubber, but the store I mentioned doesn't even clearly display whether you get the old or new version, and if you get soft or medium. Medium will work on this blade (on weaker blades it can be too hard to get the ball going). Boosting is optional.

Forget Joola Micron. It is a cheap, classic rubber for beginners. Same goes for Vizon. In my opinion, as long as you're on a budget, forget Joola completely. I know it's nice to play with Hugo's brand, but the rubbers that matter (you named them) are too expensive in your region.

For your FH:

I'm not a fan of Loki, at all, for one reason: I can't count on any form of quality in their rubbers. Some will last very long, some will drop within weeks. I will only consider Loki blades once I've actually tried more than one because their rubber department is disappointing.
If you like sticky, I think I would point you to PF4. It feels very similar to Hurricane 3 but the performance is a little bit less. If you want to play Hurricane later on, this is 100% the rubber I would use to work towards that.
If you don't like sticky, just going by that store I don't know what to advise you that would still be within what I think is a reasonable budget at this stage.

When you're ready to change your rubbers, please take great care pulling them off! Try to do it diagonally, so you're not pulling in the same direction as the wood grain. Your blade is notorious for splintering very easily, and I would highly advise you to get the surface sealed (lacquered) if you haven't already done that.

Lastly, I would ask your coach about the ceiling you are hitting with BH spin. You say "no matter how much force I use" which makes me think that you might not be relaxed and fluid in your motions. The optimal contact doesn't rely much on force, but on acceleration and brushing the ball. I think you will find there's more room to grow.
(does your coach create more spin with your bat than you do?)

TL;DR:
BH: Cheapest option: stick with this until it dies completely. When it's dead, PF4-50/PF4 (depends on what you like) or Mercury 2 as affordable options.
FH: PF4
I would advise these rubbers even if you have R$300 budget per rubber.
Be careful with splintering.
Ask your coach
 
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Good info.

For your BH:

From what I could find, Ultra Spin is graded at "39 degrees (medium)". I would say that's probably the same scale DHS uses. Very roughly converted to European/ESN rubber scale that's 48-50 degrees.
I don't know anything about this rubber in particular, but it's likely that this hardness only says something about the sponge. If you were to, for instance, get DHS PF4 with the same 39 degrees, the topsheet is pretty tough and the combination will feel harder.
Both PF4 and Ultra Spin are marketed as "training rubbers". You noticed that you can't make more and more spin, and that's a good sign. It means you are ready to work on consistency, placement, choosing how much power/spin you give. "Training rubbers" are perfect for this as they don't encourage you to go harder, faster, stronger.
I've looked at "Tenis de mesa store Brazil" and what they offer. I know the financial situation in South America is a bit insane (especially in Argentina, but I guess Brazil has similar issues). So for that reason, I would advise you to stick to your current rubber as long as possible. You can develop a LOT of things without creating even more spin that will make you a much better player.

If you can afford it, and you like using sticky on BH, I would consider PF4-50 (a bit more bouncy sponge) or PF4 (the classic, dense, yellow hard sponge). Personally, I think Mercury 2 is a great rubber, but the store I mentioned doesn't even clearly display whether you get the old or new version, and if you get soft or medium. Medium will work on this blade (on weaker blades it can be too hard to get the ball going). Boosting is optional.

Forget Joola Micron. It is a cheap, classic rubber for beginners. Same goes for Vizon. In my opinion, as long as you're on a budget, forget Joola completely. I know it's nice to play with Hugo's brand, but the rubbers that matter (you named them) are too expensive in your region.

For your FH:

I'm not a fan of Loki, at all, for one reason: I can't count on any form of quality in their rubbers. Some will last very long, some will drop within weeks. I will only consider Loki blades once I've actually tried more than one because their rubber department is disappointing.
If you like sticky, I think I would point you to PF4. It feels very similar to Hurricane 3 but the performance is a little bit less. If you want to play Hurricane later on, this is 100% the rubber I would use to work towards that.
If you don't like sticky, just going by that store I don't know what to advise you that would still be within what I think is a reasonable budget at this stage.

When you're ready to change your rubbers, please take great care pulling them off! Try to do it diagonally, so you're not pulling in the same direction as the wood grain. Your blade is notorious for splintering very easily, and I would highly advise you to get the surface sealed (lacquered) if you haven't already done that.

Lastly, I would ask your coach about the ceiling you are hitting with BH spin. You say "no matter how much force I use" which makes me think that you might not be relaxed and fluid in your motions. The optimal contact doesn't rely much on force, but on acceleration and brushing the ball. I think you will find there's more room to grow.
(does your coach create more spin with your bat than you do?)

TL;DR:
BH: Cheapest option: stick with this until it dies completely. When it's dead, PF4-50/PF4 (depends on what you like) or Mercury 2 as affordable options.
FH: PF4
I would advise these rubbers even if you have R$300 budget per rubber.
Be careful with splintering.
Ask your coach
Great answer, thank you so much!! I will look into this PF4, it looks good and I like DHS because they are in the cheaper side...
Will absolutely look into sealing the blade. Thanks a lot
 
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I found RXTON V easier to spin with than Target National, and that was with a 41A hardness sheet, or "very hard" probably in EU terms.

I'm not saying not to switch or that there isn't a better rubber for you, but don't be surprised if you do and run into the same experience. You need to know how to hit the ball with all of these Chinese rubbers.
 
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