Killer Spin upgrade

[yoass]

I would go for 2.0 or 1.8. U did good by following Carls advice by the way. With an all wood blade with 2 vega pro rubbers of 1.8 or 2.0 thickness, you have a great setup to work on your technique

Justjazba, your goal being a spin-oriented game from second position, I would say: go for 2.0.

This is an advice based upon caution. The step up from your current setup is significant already, and in my experience playing max thickness can be rewarding, but only when the basic techniques have worn in solidly.

Different age, but once upon a time long, long ago I got handed down a set of lightly used max thickness Mark V when my initial 2.0 had gone beyond usability. Mark V at the time was considered a very fast rubber, and my first trainer had frowned upon the used Stiga Offensive blade with Mark V 2.0 rubbers on it I turned up with — because it was the only available setup that I could afford. I think I paid ƒ40 for it, which would be about €20 currently; two years of savings for me back then.

Anyway, my counters and blocks were pretty solid, and so was my FH loop. Serves, pushes, flicks, the BH loop turned out to be instable. Whenever hitting one of these strokes I just felt the ball getting launched uncontrollably and inexplicably. Not a matter of small adjustments, I could just not connect what I did to its effect on the ball. That really didn't help me learn these strokes, and I'm not even mentioning getting confidence in my basic gameplay. I could brush loop a backspin ball like a god with it, though, and kill it too upon occasion. Not all bad, but in the end: way out of balance.

So that's why I say, first let the basic stuff settle down. Vega Pro 2.0 will give you ample potential to grab and chew up the ball pretty good with a full swing; I've played it, and could generate tons of spin and immense speed with it. It works very well on the Sweden Extra; in fact, that's my backup blade right there.

 

[brodolio]

This is a good, basic, first racket where you step up from preassembled rackets:

Blade: Choose 1:

1) Yasaka Sweden Extra
2) Stiga Allround Evolution
3) Stiga Offensive Classic
4) Butterfly Primorac Off-
5) Tibhar Stratus Power Wood

There are another bunch of blades I could add but, there is no reason to add too much confusion to this. Any of those will be very good and not too expensive. These are all blades that are good to start with. But could also be used till you are at the pro level.

Rubbers:

1) Xiom Vega Pro
2) Nexy Karis M
3) Tibhar Aurus.

Any of those will be good rubbers. Get the same rubber for FH and BH. Unless you really know how and why your FH and BH should be using different rubbers, get the same thing for both sides.

This setup will help you start learning to spin the ball more and improve your technique. Higher level play is really about learning the technique to get exponential amounts more spin. What I have listed will help you learn how to do that.

Things that are faster, like Butterfly ALC composite blades will not help you learn how to spin. They will encourage you to hit flatter if you don't already have the technique for spinning the ball.

Chinese rubbers would be fine as well if you want less expensive rubbers that are still pretty good. There are an ocean of quite decent Chinese rubbers that are inexpensive but play well and will help you learn to spin the ball.

I totally agree.
I'm also an intermediate player, I switched from a Timo Boll ALC to a all wood blade, with soft rubbers.
UpSideDownCarl already explained why it has been a good choice
So I would say a good approach would be to have an ALL+ blade, with soft / medium-soft rubber.
My current setup is : Donic Persson Powerallround (blade) + Donic Coppa X2 both side (quite soft rubbers).

 

[chuckjordan2]

What I'd recommend before buying any new equipment, is to ask to try the rackets at your club. Take notes on what you are trying. Ask at your club (they see you playing, we don't). Then come back here and read Carl's suggestions. You'll be better off having more information.

 

[ajtatosmano2]

What I'd recommend before buying any new equipment, is to ask to try the rackets at your club. Take notes on what you are trying. Ask at your club (they see you playing, we don't). Then come back here and read Carl's suggestions. You'll be better off having more information.

Usually this is a good advice, but what you like and what helps you improve isn't always the same.

 

[OhWell]

Sorry to revive this post again, but should I go 1.8, 2.0, or MAX Rubbers with the Vega pro?

IMO, unless short term results are a high priority, (for an offensive, modern topspin game) go with max sponge. It will be a little harder to control at first, so your consistency will be a bit lower. But that will force you to work harder on developing consistent, precise strokes. Max sponge will have the highest ceiling for how much spin you can apply to the ball, so it’s likely what you’ll end up on anyway, and improving your technique will potentially yield higher payoff. See this article for details: https://thoughtsontabletennis.wordpress.com/2015/04/25/introduction-to-table-tennis-blade-design/

(Ofc down the road some outstanding players end up preferring something thinner than max sponge. But nothing will prevent you from going thinner later on if you have good reason to think it will benefit your game.)

 

[Justjazba]

That's a really nice article!! Thanks, having a bit of physics background I do question some of this. But overall it makes sense!

I think I will go 2.0, with your logic (OhWell) I could easily switch to thinner or thicker later. But in that same logic 2.0 will be the safest bet.

Once again, thanks all!
Hope you all get some good karma out of this lol.

Cheers,
Jaz

 

[NextLevel]

That's a really nice article!! Thanks, having a bit of physics background I do question some of this. But overall it makes sense!

I think I will go 2.0, with your logic (OhWell) I could easily switch to thinner or thicker later. But in that same logic 2.0 will be the safest bet.

Once again, thanks all!
Hope you all get some good karma out of this lol.

Cheers,
Jaz

I found MAX too heavy but 2.0 didn't feel much lighter. I would still start with 2.0 though. Cheers.

 

[SirBug]

Thank you for this fantastic thread.
I was in a similar situation to the OP and found it most informative.
Using UpsideDownCarl's suggestions, I have purchased a Stiga Off Classic with Vega Pro 2.0 and am now trying to adapt to it.
Veeery different than my old KillerSpin Jet800N1. Definitely a bump up in control (which doesn't mean I'm not suffering from change-induced inconsistency) and... I can't describe it... "warmth". There is an almost physically pleasant level of feedback that I haven't felt with any of my previous rackets.
However, I don't know if I haven't shot myself in the foot - offensive play is what I *want* to develop; naturally I'm more of a defensive spin-heavy player. For now I see a decrease in speed/distance with a slightly improved amount of spin vs my old Jet800, but of course offensive topspin feels more natural/controllable now.
In any case, thank you!