I really need help in selecting my new Racket

[NeatRiver]

Hi Everyone!

I really need help in choosing the right blade and rubbers and will really appreciate some help.

I been playing table tennis on and off for few years with friends and for a while in a club and have a decent game. I am in no way a club level player but I beat most of the friends I play with . I am more of an offensive player. I like to play top spin and smash shots. I play around 2 to 4 feet away from the table and for the last six months I been playing about 5 hours / week.


I had a stiga ultra WRB pre made racket that later a friend changed the rubbers to Friendship super 729 fx and thought I really liked that racket until I bought premade Stiga carbon pro and that changed everything. i fell in love with that racket my game suddenly improved and my Top spin loops, side spin, chops everything just got much better but i know there is a better racket for me than this. I been playing with this racket for almost 6 months.

My friend just bought Butterfly Timo boll ALC with tenergy 05 rubbers and i played with that racket but liked my stiga better ( I am sure few of you just wanna abandon me right here ) . I also tried Butterfly primo Vitesse FL with Sriver rubbers and didn't like that either. I also tried Butterfly TB Alc with MarkV rubbers and didnt like that either.

I love my stiga racket for the way it plays, feels in hand, the weight, the sound. I dont think I like too heavy rackets.

I think I like stiga rackets and rubbers but then again I havent tried anything else except the ones I mentioned.

Will really appreciate all of your help.

Thank you.

 

[Gekko]

Are you referring to this racket?
http://www.stigaus.com/products/rackets/tournament/pro-carbon

It would explain what you're looking for

 

[NeatRiver]

Yes this is the racket I have and it has improved my game a lot and now I am looking for a custom racket, So I was wondering if you had any suggestion.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

If you like your racket better than the ones you mentioned, stick with it. No need to change.

 

[NeatRiver]

When I started playing with Stiga pro carbon, my game really improved My top spin loops and lift against back spin became much better and i think if I have a better racket I can do better overall and I think once I have a good enough racket I should stick with it for a while and improve my game. I am seriously considering Stiga Arctic wood blade with Stiga Evo rubbers.

 

[Der_Echte]

Buying a Super Stiga Carbando 199 pro player version will set you back 400 Euros and have the Goon Squad stuck to your tail like flies on Scheize for a few months. It might be worth it though, if you can manage to engage the trapdoor to the cesspool before they grab you.

 

[phillypong]

Follow der echte and Carl's advice. I would firstly not change the blade , maybe start off with working on technique. Maybe try a good rubber like a Tibhar Evolution MX-P . Would be very good for almost every good amateur player (could be even too fast for you) !

If u can, try to play with as much other players equipment as u can. This will give you a better idea of the difference in equipment and save you lots of money !

 

[Airoc]

a better racket

Well, what is a better racket ... You didn´t like ALC with t05, which is what most people would call a f***ing excellent racket. So obviously, it´s all about personal taste - a lesson to be learned on any level.

If you like your racket, stick with it, at least partially. Carbon gives a different characteristic than all wood - so while an Arctic Wood might look like an upgrade it may actually set you back. Also, you are by now used to the balance and thickness of your blade and the way the handle feels in your hand, which - at least to me - means much more than certain differences in characteristics.

If possible and if you feel like stepping up, remove the S5 rubbers, get those EVOs and see where that takes you. Step by step, you may at some point get rid of your Stiga blade, but there´s no need to do that right now.

 

[NeatRiver]

Thank you

 

[fais]

I can't stop laughing at this. This was the racket that made me realize premades are duds when it comes to playing actual TT. This paddle is a decent all round paddle but it has no high gear. Also, it comes factory tuned (it smells absolutely toxic when you take it out of the package) which wears of pretty quickly.

But I would agree with Airoc. Stick with it for now, I don't think you are developed/experienced enough to realize it's shortcomings.

Interestsingly, I played a friend of mine who was unbeatable against his friends who played with this paddle. Playing me was enough for him to realize this paddle doesn't cut it and he went for a butterfly blade and bought some hurricane 3

 

[NeatRiver]

Well, what is a better racket ... You didn´t like ALC with t05, which is what most people would call a f***ing excellent racket. So obviously, it´s all about personal taste - a lesson to be learned on any level.

If you like your racket, stick with it, at least partially. Carbon gives a different characteristic than all wood - so while an Arctic Wood might look like an upgrade it may actually set you back. Also, you are by now used to the balance and thickness of your blade and the way the handle feels in your hand, which - at least to me - means much more than certain differences in characteristics.

If possible and if you feel like stepping up, remove the S5 rubbers, get those EVOs and see where that takes you. Step by step, you may at some point get rid of your Stiga blade, but there´s no need to do that right now.

Really like that idea.

Ok so I guess what I am trying to achieve here is - Since you guys know I am playing with a stiga carbon blade which is light in weight So I guess I need a carbon blade with rubbers that have good control spin and speed

 

[NeatRiver]

I can't stop laughing at this. This was the racket that made me realize premades are duds when it comes to playing actual TT. This paddle is a decent all round paddle but it has no high gear. Also, it comes factory tuned (it smells absolutely toxic when you take it out of the package) which wears of pretty quickly.

But I would agree with Airoc. Stick with it for now, I don't think you are developed/experienced enough to realize it's shortcomings.

Interestsingly, I played a friend of mine who was unbeatable against his friends who played with this paddle. Playing me was enough for him to realize this paddle doesn't cut it and he went for a butterfly blade and bought some hurricane 3

THANK YOU THANK YOU Thats exactly what I was trying to say but politely. I know I can do better if I have better blade than this. This blade and rubbers are good but don't have enough gears, surprisingly I can do banana flips backhand forehand top spin loops and i am pretty consistent but I feel the racket is still limiting. To put it in simple words I would like my racket to just get advanced same feeling with more gears.

 

[fais]

THANK YOU THANK YOU Thats exactly what I was trying to say but politely. I know I can do better if I have better blade than this. This blade and rubbers are good but don't have enough gears, surprisingly I can do banana flips backhand forehand top spin loops and i am pretty consistent but I feel the racket is still limiting. To put it in simple words I would like my racket to just get advanced same feeling with more gears.

So I like you have been down this road, and if you avoid some of the pitfalls I didn't I think you will improve much faster than I did. Even your strengths (looping and flicking) came very naturally to me.

My mistake was switching to a carbon blade very early, which, while it helped my play to my strengths, it almost worked against me when it came to overcoming my weaknesses. When I played against decent entry level players who had been coached, I'd have a few good attacks but never clenched games. I was inconsistent! Worse yet, I never truly understood nor developed the "touch" which is critical to expanding on your game and arriving to good technique.

Lurking on here for a while I heard UCD constantly drill about the importance of al round equipment, which then I finally relented and purchased and within a short span I started improving drastically and "getting it" vs before when I had plateaued.

I actually recommend keeping two sets of paddles which suits you, an all round paddle that will penalize you if you don't execute correctly (it allow you to "understand" the game), and an offensive- paddle that will allow you to play harder/faster as long as you hold on to the feeling you find with the all round one (it is almost impossible to find this feeling on a carbon blade if you don't know what to look for).

Yinhe blades are good cheep blades. I have played with the w6, e3vb, v14 and v15. I like all of them, but then I prefer slightly stiffer blades (which I didn't think I did). The E3VB is probably my favorite as it has amaaaazing feedback (fiberglass layer instead of carbon), and the v14 is a loop machine that supposedly played like the Timo Bill Spirit (it has a carbon Kevlar layer, or carbokev) where as the v15 supposedly plays like the viscaria. While the v15 is solid at blocking and flat hitting and decent at looping, the v14 is the other way around, and if you like to loop and flick I would recommend the v14.

 

[NeatRiver]

So I like you have been down this road, and if you avoid some of the pitfalls I didn't I think you will improve much faster than I did. Even your strengths (looping and flicking) came very naturally to me.

My mistake was switching to a carbon blade very early, which, while it helped my play to my strengths, it almost worked against me when it came to overcoming my weaknesses. When I played against decent entry level players who had been coached, I'd have a few good attacks but never clenched games. I was inconsistent! Worse yet, I never truly understood nor developed the "touch" which is critical to expanding on your game and arriving to good technique.

Lurking on here for a while I heard UCD constantly drill about the importance of al round equipment, which then I finally relented and purchased and within a short span I started improving drastically and "getting it" vs before when I had plateaued.

I actually recommend keeping two sets of paddles which suits you, an all round paddle that will penalize you if you don't execute correctly (it allow you to "understand" the game), and an offensive- paddle that will allow you to play harder/faster as long as you hold on to the feeling you find with the all round one (it is almost impossible to find this feeling on a carbon blade if you don't know what to look for).

Yinhe blades are good cheep blades. I have played with the w6, e3vb, v14 and v15. I like all of them, but then I prefer slightly stiffer blades (which I didn't think I did). The E3VB is probably my favorite as it has amaaaazing feedback (fiberglass layer instead of carbon), and the v14 is a loop machine that supposedly played like the Timo Bill Spirit (it has a carbon Kevlar layer, or carbokev) where as the v15 supposedly plays like the viscaria. While the v15 is solid at blocking and flat hitting and decent at looping, the v14 is the other way around, and if you like to loop and flick I would recommend the v14.

Thank you so much Fais!
Which rubbers will work well with V14.

 

[fais]

Thank you so much Fais!
Which rubbers will work well with V14.

Well I prefer to play with Chinese style medium-hard/hard rubbers with mid to high throws. My forehand is the H3 neo (either 39 or 40 degrees), which I wouldn't recommend unless you have some proper coaching/assistance on how to properly play with it.

My backhand is eithefvthe yinhe mercury 2 or the yinhe Jupiter, both tacky, linear with mild catapult. Honestly even after the tack wears out these rubbers don't let me down!



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Lurking on here for a while I heard UCD constantly drill about the importance of al round equipment, which then I finally relented and purchased and within a short span I started improving drastically and "getting it" vs before when I had plateaued.

This really makes me smile. Good to hear. It is a hard point to get until you really give it an honest try.


Sent from The Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy

 

[Zaid323918]

THANK YOU THANK YOU Thats exactly what I was trying to say but politely. I know I can do better if I have better blade than this. This blade and rubbers are good but don't have enough gears, surprisingly I can do banana flips backhand forehand top spin loops and i am pretty consistent but I feel the racket is still limiting. To put it in simple words I would like my racket to just get advanced same feeling with more gears.

I also have the stiga pro carbon racket and I also used it for around 6-8 months to develop my game. I still love it and don't mind using it. The rubbers are not very good which is probably why you feel just like I did. I put olive oil on my rubbers in hope that it would make the racket slightly faster and spinnier. It did, not that much but still something. Still I would recommend that you just put better rubbers on it. I tried Xiom Vega Pro and yeah it was pretty good. There is also a guy at the club who I visited who is around USATT 2500 who put MX-P on his Pro carbon and loves it. It's his primary racket as far as I know so I don't think you need to change the blade.
Still, before you decide to change anything with your setup see if you can hit the ball as hard as you can and have it land on the table. If you are landing more than like 85% of your most powerful shots then change. Otherwise don't. And again by most powerful shot I mean like hitting the ball as hard as you possibly can

 

[Raylazyfo]

Hi Everyone!

I really need help in choosing the right blade and rubbers and will really appreciate some help.


I been playing table tennis on and off for few years with friends and for a while in a club and have a decent game. I am in no way a club level player but I beat most of the friends I play with . I am more of an offensive player. I like to play top spin and smash shots. I play around 2 to 4 feet away from the table and for the last six months I been playing about 5 hours / week.


I had a stiga ultra WRB pre made racket that later a friend changed the rubbers to Friendship super 729 fx and thought I really liked that racket until I bought premade Stiga carbon pro and that changed everything. i fell in love with that racket my game suddenly improved and my Top spin loops, side spin, chops everything just got much better but i know there is a better racket for me than this. I been playing with this racket for almost 6 months.

My friend just bought Butterfly Timo boll ALC with tenergy 05 rubbers and i played with that racket but liked my stiga better ( I am sure few of you just wanna abandon me right here ) . I also tried Butterfly primo Vitesse FL with Sriver rubbers and didn't like that either. I also tried Butterfly TB Alc with MarkV rubbers and didnt like that either.

I love my stiga racket for the way it plays, feels in hand, the weight, the sound. I dont think I like too heavy rackets.

I think I like stiga rackets and rubbers but then again I havent tried anything else except the ones I mentioned.

Will really appreciate all of your help.

Thank you.

If you like Stiga why not try something like,Blade:Stiga Offensive Classic
FH: Stiga Boost TC
BH: Stiga Boost TS