Keeping the rubbers "warm" in winter

[Medax]

Hi All,

At certain venues in the winter league, I find that my rubbers get really cold and therefore play differently.

Whilst covered, i've tried:

• Keeping my blade between my jacket and playing shirt
• wrapping it in a towel
• both of the above together
• next to my body (so under my playing shirt)

and its STILL cold

I read once a few years back about a german manufacturer making some kind of device, but I could never find it (probably a good thing ?)

Does anyone know of a good way to stop the rubbers from getting this cold?
or how I can stop the muscle memory from playing the same shot when I know I need to adapt and close the racket angle

Thanks in advance.

 

[jk1980]

I had the same issue and especially rubbers >50° ESN become concrete in these situations.
I was searching for that racket warmer as well and I think it is not available anymore, so I searched for something makeshift. I ordered electric shoe Inlays with a USB Port(so I can use them with a power bank). I put the two wider parts of the Inlays on the rubber and it warmed the blade well enough, so that even the rubber on the other side was warm. I kept the blade in a hard case while warming up.

I am yet to test it in situations below 10° Celsius, but in a cold hall yesterday it worked fine.

 

[Der_Echte]

COLD rubber and sponge is a REAL thing.

Did anyone remember how pizza delivery keep pizza warm during delivery?

Microwaveable gel pads in a padded case.

In a pinch, one could use a rubber hot water container in a zipper padded pouch.

Der_Echte simply puts the damn thing under his armpit for a minute before combat and BOOM, instant competitor.

 

[mcfly]

just a question...
is the cold weather gonna make the ball harder?
if yes, how do we keep it warm...

 

[riemsesy]

Even if you had the balls somewhere cozy and warm. As soon as you start playing they cool down. So nothing you can do about that.

 

[Loop Lob Smash]

COLD rubber and sponge is a REAL thing.

Did anyone remember how pizza delivery keep pizza warm during delivery?

Microwaveable gel pads in a padded case.

In a pinch, one could use a rubber hot water container in a zipper padded pouch.

Der_Echte simply puts the damn thing under his armpit for a minute before combat and BOOM, instant competitor.

There's a business idea in there somewhere
Low cost outlay

 

[JHB]

You could argue that the real problem is that we in Britain blithely shrug off freezing cold venues and say "There's nothing we can do about it."

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

you get heat pouches (small enough to put into your bat cover)
its a one time thing, but convenience to get, at least in Asia and it lasts the whole day.

 

[maxposa]

Keep the racket near a warm radiator, or use a hair dryer to warm up both rubbers

 

[Lizh with skVII]

Heat it with a electric blanket,just like what they do to formula 1 tyres

 

[haggisv]

Der_Echte simply puts the damn thing under his armpit for a minute before combat and BOOM, instant competitor.

Yes it;'s definitely a real thing, rubbers are more rigid in cold weather. Some of our top competition players put their bats under their clothes or even in their pants, to warn them up before playing. I too notice the difference, the rubbers are just less responsive when it's cold.

 

[Tyce]

just a question...
is the cold weather gonna make the ball harder?
if yes, how do we keep it warm...

Hit it repeatedly 😝

 

[vvk1]

Donic rubber Warner and Hero rubber sleeve had been discussed here a while ago.

https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/topics/rubber-warmer-by-donic.14437/

Another option is to wait for a couple of days till the cold spell is over in England 🤣

 

[Lazer]

Yes it;'s definitely a real thing, rubbers are more rigid in cold weather. Some of our top competition players put their bats under their clothes or even in their pants, to warn them up before playing. I too notice the difference, the rubbers are just less responsive when it's cold.

Yes they are absolutely, I just can’t believe that venues can be that cold. I play through the entire winter and I can’t recall it being that cold a single time.

Cheers
L-zr

 

[Der_Echte]

Yes they are absolutely, I just can’t believe that venues can be that cold. I play through the entire winter and I can’t recall it being that cold a single time.

Cheers
L-zr

It will depend on where you are...

I remember the amateur association giving me the final warning to stop bringing my Seoul based Div 1 foreign team mates to amateur tourneys in Korea north of Seoul...

So of course for a final time I stuck my thumb and other finger at them and brought a full crew to a regional tourney...

it was December and temps outside were +1 degree Celsius with damp fog.

The venue was MAYBE 1.5 degree Celsius. I had to bring extra neck gator fleece caps and balaclavas with me in my gym pack to keep the team mates warm enough to avoid perishing so they could compete.

Some teams were wearing North Face Ski Jackets the entire morning while competing until the venue temps reached a manageable 9 degrees Celsius.

What was so funny was we had a player from Iceland on our squad and he was feeling the cold too... but I think he overcame it and won Div 1 Singles (I think it was this tourney he won).

 

[Loop Lob Smash]

It will depend on where you are...

I remember the amateur association giving me the final warning to stop bringing my Seoul based Div 1 foreign team mates to amateur tourneys in Korea north of Seoul...

So of course for a final time I stuck my thumb and other finger at them and brought a full crew to a regional tourney...

it was December and temps outside were +1 degree Celsius with damp fog.

The venue was MAYBE 1.5 degree Celsius. I had to bring extra neck gator fleece caps and balaclavas with me in my gym pack to keep the team mates warm enough to avoid perishing so they could compete.

Some teams were wearing North Face Ski Jackets the entire morning while competing until the venue temps reached a manageable 9 degrees Celsius.

What was so funny was we had a player from Iceland on our squad and he was feeling the cold too... but I think he overcame it and won Div 1 Singles (I think it was this tourney he won).

Perishing team mates sounds like a much more serious problem than cold rubbers