New Rubbers For Blade

[helloagain16]

i have used the stiga prestige 5 star bat for about 2 years and i am pretty used to it (and like the playing style) . what would be your recommendation of rubbers if i was to use the same blade and apply other sponges to it (while being on a budget of around £25)

 

[ck1407]

I will suggest that you invest in a custom paddle instead.(you will feel the difference) Since you played with stiga paddle, you should stick to stiga blades so you get similar play experience.

Noting that prestige 5 star is a 5-ply wooden blade, I think you can consider "stiga infinity vps" or "stiga offensive classic". This 2 blades are 5-ply and are on the more affordable side.

As for rubber selection, you can try "729 friendship focus 3 snipe". It is a soft springy rubber so it will be easy to handle and play with. It is fairly cheap and cost-efficient for what you are paying

Rubbers tend to worn out fast while the blade will last so I think spending abit more on a blade will benefit you in the long run

 

[helloagain16]

hi sorry for the late reply,

I read over your response and I somewhat think that the stiga offensive classic would suite me. although i need to know whether the blade is the same shape as the one i already use (concave shape handle? not 2 sure). I attached some pics so if you can, lmk if they’re the same shape.

The way i sort of play tt is that I mostly backhand chop it close to the net and wait for openings to either backhand or forehand smash the ball or I apply sidespin and wait for the opponent to mess up. I mainly do pendulums serves, tomahawk serves and backhand sidespin serves.

I would prefer one of the sponges to be spinny to get alot of spin on my serves as the racket i’m currently using has basically both rubbers dead and barely any spin being generated, although I do get alot of power shots as the blade itself isn’t in that bad of a condition.

I thought about the sponge you recommended and don’t really think it would suite with my playing style. I would generally like one offence rubber and one for defence as then I would have one main attacking rubber and one rubber for nice spiny serves and defence as well.

I also would like to know if i switch to using chinese rubbers, would I need to change my playing style as apparently to produce spin with European and Chinese rubbers, they require different techniques.

I also increased my budget to somewhat around £50-£60 for everything (paddle and the 2 sponges).

If you could, please lmk what you think would be best for me.

 

[Louisgenius]

Stiga all round classic as the blade. Use Gewo CS Powerspeed as your offensive rubber. Use Butterfly Flextra rubber as your defending/chopping/blocking rubber. Great combination for what you’re looking for. Should sum up to around $90

 

[helloagain16]

currently i’m in pakistan and i’m trying 2 buy all the stuff from here bcs its abit cheaper than the uk.

i saw gewo cs powerspeed but i can’t get it to ship to pakistan. could you recommend chinese rubbers that are cheap and any other paddles that still align with my playstyle?

 

[helloagain16]

i searched around abit and found i can get the donic appelgren allplay paddle.

i beleive it’s an ok blind buy bcs the reviews somewhat go towards it being good for control and learning how to spin. Although I haven’t got a clue on what rubbers to use on it.

could you give me any recommendations??

 

[Zwill]

i searched around abit and found i can get the donic appelgren allplay paddle.

i beleive it’s an ok blind buy bcs the reviews somewhat go towards it being good for control and learning how to spin. Although I haven’t got a clue on what rubbers to use on it.

could you give me any recommendations??

If you rely on close to the table pushing on backhand maybe some pushing type long pips would be good?
I'm no expert on that but Tibhar Grass Dtecs seems to be a popular choice.

For attacking rubber maybe something like Andro Good would be a good first choice. Or Xiom Vega Europe, Vega Intro not sure what brands are available for you. I guess every major brand has a so-called "beginner rubber".
They are pretty good already, they can do much more than your old pre-made paddle.

 

[Haraold]

I would go with A Yasaka Rigan and A Factive drom Nittaku or even A Xiom Intro if it isnßt to much of an upgrade.
They are very Solid Rubbers with tendencys you demand.
Factive either BH or FH depends on what you choose,you cant really do much harm with those entry Level Tensors and they are very good Rubbers,maybe lacking a bit compared to the the new 50+ Sponge Rubbers.
I would try to learn how to play with Tensors of the newer Generation,cause in 3 Years there will be only High Level Tensors,or Hybryds with Pro potential on the market.
If Budget is a concern,maybe somebody else can help you out cause i only play H3 Neo.
GL and may the Learning Curve be with you.
I can Also recommend the Acuda S2 from Donic if you want everything a bit softer.I started again after 25 years Hiatus with those rubbers,and miss the Factive honestly sometimes.
The Rozena is Mentioned also often,sry i only played the Glayzer normal,i have it on the Bh on Max but i guess that would be a bit too much.
If you are Eager to try the H3 you can do it,but i would not recommend gooing above 47.5°.
Sponge Hardness maybe 2mm on Fh and 1.8 or so on BH,

Good Luck.

 

[helloagain16]

i searched for both of the 2 rubbers you recommended and i like them both alot but i can’t find them anywhere.

Mainly the only brands that are available near me are sanwei, donic, and the stiga mantra series.

Are there any rubbers you could recommend me from these brands??

(sorry i keep on bothering you guys)

 

[Haraold]

The Donic Acuda S2 and S1,only played S2 but was one of the most stable Rubber for BH and one of the most played.Highly Recommend.
The Stiga Mantra is the old or the new one?didnt play both so i can´t help you out there.
now if you want to go Chinese Style Tacky Fh i would probably go with the Sanwei Target National,didn´t play it either but should be a H3 type rubber.
It also depends on your budget with the rubbers,Donic has new and pricy rubbers.
I will try out the Bluestar A1 on FH soon,all can wish me luck with that hardness of the Sponge
The new Mantra is 47.5 lowest Version,maybe that is also good for your FH.
Sanwei i dunno if they have an Entry Level Tensor or something,maybe the Gear Hyper Soft or Regular.
it also depends where you play,near the Table i would go Acuda S1 and S2,mid Distance maybe a harder Fh Rubber will suit you better.
Its always not that great to recommend if we have no clue how you play.
If you can get the Waldner Offensive 2016 instead of the Appelgreen,i also would consider it,i love that Blade!
controll Setup Donic Acuda S2 and 1 (or even 2xS2) with the Allplay.
If you want to attack from near to mid. I would Go Waldner Offensive 2016 or a PPP and maybe the Target or the new Mantra soft,which will be hard to play at first but you have the a setup where you can at least play a year or more if the rubbers hold up..
GL Man hopefully some others can give you more insight in the Sanwei and Mantra series.

 

[CPH_Tiny]

My two cents here.

Given what you were using, basically any "custom made" paddle will be more than enough for you. As someone mentioned above, the blade can last you a lifetime if you don't break it. So if you want to spend a little more there it's probably better.

Considering what you said regarding the brands you have access to, I would buy a good 5-ply Sanwei and the Stiga Mantra. Mostly because I think Stiga rubbers tend to last more than the Donic ones. And I think you won't be really changing it that often, so that's probably better. Only exception is if the price difference is more than, say... 30%. Then if you could get something in the ballpark of Baracuda for cheap you would be ok.

PD: What I think it's more important to note here. There's not really that much of a difference in rubbers for you to go out of your way to get a particular brand/model when you are starting with the sport. It's probably better to start with what everyone else is using around you for easy access and better understanding of the equipment of those that will help you improve.

 

[Zwill]

The Stiga Mantra Control is a new one and that probably would suit you or from Donic the Acuda S2 sounds like a good pick too.
If you're interested in long pips for your backhand the Donic Piranha Tec is probably what you want from Donic. I'd buy it with sponge, 1.2mm

I guess Sanwei Taiji plus and their DZ long pips would be a good alternative for half the price. Chinese long pips are usually very good.

 

[Louisgenius]

Stiga mantra sound

 

[Haraold]

he can only order from Here https://www.thesportstore.pk/Shop-By-Sports/Table-Tennis/Table-Tennis-Rubbers/Sanwei-Target and here https://sportsden.pk/product-category/buy-table-tennis-rubbers/
I would consider 2x the Joola Rhyzen Cmd for bh and Target National for Fh (But this is the first version of The Sanwei Target National or the new one?).
He has 11000.- for each rubber he said,The other rubbers are al old generation and will discontinued maybe soon.
Maybe he can get a better Blade with the spared Money.
@helloagain16 ask away if you have questions,it all depends alo on your playing style.
If you want to go Chinese FH Style get the Sanwei Target National.
But i would givve another Blade and maybe both Rhyzen a Chance.
Good Luck my Friend.

 

[Haraold]

The Stiga Mantra Control is a new one and that probably would suit you or from Donic the Acuda S2 sounds like a good pick too.
If you're interested in long pips for your backhand the Donic Piranha Tec is probably what you want from Donic. I'd buy it with sponge, 1.2mm

I guess Sanwei Taiji plus and their DZ long pips would be a good alternative for half the price. Chinese long pips are usually very good.

He wanted to play pips out?sry totally not got that,and no he can only shop in those 2 Shops i guess.

 

[Haraold]

I believe the old Mantra Series,but he has a shitload of awesome choices for a Blade in both shops!!!

 

[Zwill]

He wanted to play pips out?sry totally not got that,and no he can only shop in those 2 Shops i guess.

No, he didn't mention it. I just read his way of playing and it sounded like the perfect attacking/pushing long pip game.

The way i sort of play tt is that I mostly backhand chop it close to the net and wait for openings to either backhand or forehand smash the ball or I apply sidespin and wait for the opponent to mess up. I mainly do pendulums serves, tomahawk serves and backhand sidespin serves.

I would prefer one of the sponges to be spinny to get alot of spin on my serves as the racket i’m currently using has basically both rubbers dead and barely any spin being generated, although I do get alot of power shots as the blade itself isn’t in that bad of a condition.

I thought about the sponge you recommended and don’t really think it would suite with my playing style. I would generally like one offence rubber and one for defence as then I would have one main attacking rubber and one rubber for nice spiny serves and defence as well.

I have a weird feeling these long pips I'm saying have more grip than his pre-made rubbers 😏

 

[Haraold]

Stiga mantra sound

I believe the old Mantra Series,but Jesus he has an awesome Amount of Blades which he can choose from,some really good options compared to the rubbers.

 

[CPH_Tiny]

Personally I would avoid recomending pips to new players. And regarding the chinese rubbers, I would go only for the easy ones (kind of like, yinhe mercury) for players like him. Not really the most common scenario for someone that's been playing for 2 years with what's probably a hardbat at this point to adapt easily to tacky rubbers.

 

[Haraold]

No, he didn't mention it. I just read his way of playing and it sounded like the perfect attacking/pushing long pip game.


I have a weird feeling these long pips I'm saying have more grip than his pre-made rubbers 😏

i would really go for the Rhyzen Cmd on both Sides maybe 1.8 and 2.0 or the Target National on FH and an awesome Blade.Maybe he wants pips out but i doubt it when he played a normal Bat before,and have even less to choose.
But he has to say which way he wants to play first otherwise its difficult to say what to buy.