Help me understand the difference in blades and rubbers?

[Elmerinho]

Right, I totally agree. I would say my point was that the principle of what equipment beginners should use is actually the same in both tennis and table tennis. But it's not about slow vs. fast, it's about fault-tolerance and being easy to use. I would wager that the vast majority of players learn better (and just have more fun) when they can consistently get the ball in and then learn to play around with spin and power, rather than trying to learn spin and power while it's challenging to even get the ball in.

Applying that principle to tennis and table tennis explains why beginners start with different styles of equipment. In tennis, it can be hard to even hit the ball over the net for beginners, so more powerful rackets are more forgiving. In the 38 and 40 mm ball eras in table tennis, it was too easy to hit the ball out with fast equipment, so slow rackets were more forgiving. But it's been the 40+ era for about 10 years, and it's not obvious that the slow stuff from before is actually easier to use. And OP is clearly telling us they have an easier time using somewhat faster equipment. But so many people are still just reflexively telling them and other beginners to use slow stuff without thinking about the reason why.

I agree with your point about the ball. I remember as a kid stealing my big brothers blade that was really fast. You had to almost compress the ball downwards because por technique would send the ball flying to the other side of the room.

Could a part of the problem be how we describe our levels in different countries? I was looking at the US ranking system yesterday and there was clips showing players of different levels. I used to play as a child and I am Swedish, here we play everyday in school as kids. I see myself as a beginner+ in Sweden but i could give a 1600 player a match even with my poor technique.

 

[Elmerinho]

i tried to look for that particular ad but to no avail. It is a pic of Simon Gauzy and a tag line that says: Rasenter C53 for me, C48 for the rest of you or something similar to that effect. Although it is purely a marketing tag-line, it aptly convey the message, that is, leave the hard ones to the pro and us amateur just be happy with the regular version. TT is hard as it is; don't make it hellish!

The number refers to hardness of it? In my eyes this makes sense in someways but at the same time a player like myself win points in matches with my backhand when I am blocking shots. I like it a bit faster because then I just need to guide the block and focus on placement. This is were I feel that I don't understand equipment anymore because I like it fast on backhand when I am returning it on my backhand but at the same time I have the best touch and backspin shots with my backhand and need feel. I used to be dangerous with my backhand because I could put so much speed on it with the old balls but now I need more movement to apply the same speed and at the same time it is so hard to choose equipment because it is either speed or touch and control.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

I agree with your point about the ball. I remember as a kid stealing my big brothers blade that was really fast. You had to almost compress the ball downwards because por technique would send the ball flying to the other side of the room.

Could a part of the problem be how we describe our levels in different countries? I was looking at the US ranking system yesterday and there was clips showing players of different levels. I used to play as a child and I am Swedish, here we play everyday in school as kids. I see myself as a beginner+ in Sweden but i could give a 1600 player a match even with my poor technique.

Yep. I caught this in your description of spinning the ball. What you consider beginner+ sounds fine to me. That is why I said you don't need the slower racket and why I provided the information about when a slower racket would be useful.

Your technique is good enough already to use any kind of racket you like with the slower 40+ ball these days.

So, whether you get the same setup as your friend with the Butterfly Magic Maze with Coppa Silver Platin Turbo on the FH or something else, just get a setup that you would not think of as for a beginner.

In the old days of the 38mm and 40mm celluloid ball, equipment that was not too fast was more important. These days, it is not as important and equipment that is too slow can be problematic.

Equipment that is a little slow for a few months, to improve timing all your power on impact can be useful as an experiment for a few months. But there is not the same need for slower equipment today as there was before they switched to using the 40+ Poly ball.

 

[Elmerinho]

Yep. I caught this in your description of spinning the ball. What you consider beginner+ sounds fine to me. That is why I said you don't need the slower racket and why I provided the information about when a slower racket would be useful.

Your technique is good enough already to use any kind of racket you like with the slower 40+ ball these days.

So, whether you get the same setup as your friend with the Butterfly Magic Maze with Coppa Silver Platin Turbo on the FH or something else, just get a setup that you would not think of as for a beginner.

In the old days of the 38mm and 40mm celluloid ball, equipment that was not too fast was more important. These days, it is not as important and equipment that is too slow can be problematic.

Equipment that is a little slow for a few months, to improve timing all your power on impact can be useful as an experiment for a few months. But there is not the same need for slower equipment today as there was before they switched to using the 40+ Poly ball.

I had the chance to play a bit today and exaggerated my movements and it did help but still, the gewo blade and rubbers ar a bit on the slow side for my taste.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

I had the chance to play a bit today and exaggerated my movements and it did help but still, the gewo blade and rubbers ar a bit on the slow side for my taste.

No need to think further. Get something that is a better speed for today's game with the 40+ Poly Ball. I would just get exactly what your friend has if you liked it enough.

 

[Elmerinho]

No need to think further. Get something that is a better speed for today's game with the 40+ Poly Ball. I would just get exactly what your friend has if you liked it enough.

I am well on my way but I am eying a xiom blade. The hayabusa off pro has me intrigued.

 

[yamagata]

As a beginner, let me just say this. The rubbers you have already on your Stiga and Gewo blade are tacky and spinny and will feel heavy to use if you have not well developed technique and speed to master them. You are not an elite players - why would you want to try one elite player setup after another? You can go through hundreds of setups without finding the one that you like. The Stiga blade must already be great for you, light, just pair it with a beginner friendly speedy rubber. Better yet - visit Stiga center in Stockholm and try out which rubbers are to your liking. Better yet, just buy one of Stigas premade 4 or 5 star rackets, they will suit you and every other beginner and intermediate player perfectly well.

 

[yamagata]

As a beginner, let me just say this. The rubbers you have already on your Stiga and Gewo blade are tacky and spinny and will feel heavy to use if you have not well developed technique and speed to master them. You are not an elite players - why would you want to try one elite player setup after another? You can go through hundreds of setups without finding the one that you like. The Stiga blade must already be great for you, light, just pair it with a beginner friendly speedy rubber. Better yet - visit Stiga center in Stockholm and try out which rubbers are to your liking. Better yet, just buy one of Stigas premade 4 or 5 star rackets, they will suit you and every other beginner and intermediate player perfectly well.

Have to note something I discovered only today. My stiga premade - the black rubber has completly died! No grip left. The red rubber is still okay. Racket is barely a month old! How long since it was made though is another story. So I would consider my own advice of buying a premade - maybe not so good after all if they don't last longer than that.

 

[riemsesy]

please adjust the title to:
"Help me understand the difference in blades and rubbers? - Megathread"
This can go a long way

 

[Tyce]

Have to note something I discovered only today. My stiga premade - the black rubber has completly died! No grip left. The red rubber is still okay. Racket is barely a month old! How long since it was made though is another story. So I would consider my own advice of buying a premade - maybe not so good after all if they don't last longer than that.

Premades are absolutely crap. For the money you need to shell out to get a half decent pre-made, you can get something much better and durable put together even in a shop. Plus premades are glued for single use, something I learned the hard way as a kid

 

[Elmerinho]

I found a setup I really liked during black friday. I got the stiga pure blade with xiom vega elite 2.0 on both sides. Got the more dense feeling I was after, added speed and nice control.