Racket suggestion

[Pong Learner]

Hi,

I am looking for tt racket suggestion. I am looking at Ma lin Extra Offensive with Nittaku fasttack G1 max for FH and Nittaku Fastrack G1 2.0 for BH.

For context, I am a returning to play intermediate player and I prefer to play forehand than backhand. And looking for a fast controllable racket suggestion.

 

[PenHoldSandro]

Hi,

I am looking for tt racket suggestion. I am looking at Ma lin Extra Offensive with Nittaku fasttack G1 max for FH and Nittaku Fastrack G1 2.0 for BH.

For context, I am a returning to play intermediate player and I prefer to play forehand than backhand. And looking for a fast controllable racket suggestion.

Well Ma Lin Extra Offensive is a great option, I suggest buy it!

For Fastarc, maybe you can put it on the backhand and use another rubber on the forehand? It depends on the play styles of the players but I always prefer FH Chinese and BH Euro/Jap.

Maybe something like:

BL: MLEO
FH: Hurricane 3 NEO 2.0mm 39deg
BH: Nittaku Fastarc 2.0mm

However, if you want both sides to be Euro/Jap rubbers:

BL: MLEO
FH: Nittaku Fastarc max
BH: Mark V 1.8mm or 2.0mm

If you want both sides Chinese:

BL: MLEO
FH: Hurrcane 3 NEO 2.0mm 39deg
BH: Battle II (any version would do)

 

[Pong Learner]

Well Ma Lin Extra Offensive is a great option, I suggest buy it!

For Fastarc, maybe you can put it on the backhand and use another rubber on the forehand? It depends on the play styles of the players but I always prefer FH Chinese and BH Euro/Jap.

Maybe something like:

BL: MLEO
FH: Hurricane 3 NEO 2.0mm 39deg
BH: Nittaku Fastarc 2.0mm

However, if you want both sides to be Euro/Jap rubbers:

BL: MLEO
FH: Nittaku Fastarc max
BH: Mark V 1.8mm or 2.0mm

If you want both sides Chinese:

BL: MLEO
FH: Hurrcane 3 NEO 2.0mm 39deg
BH: Battle II (any version would do)

Thanks for these suggestions. I read that Chinese rubbers are unforgiving for players with not so great technique. I don't rate myself high on technique but ofcourse want to improve.

 

[PenHoldSandro]

Thanks for these suggestions. I read that Chinese rubbers are unforgiving for players with not so great technique. I don't rate myself high on technique but ofcourse want to improve.

Try telling @greenbeanmachine that

Chinese rubbers are actually pretty nice and quite a few are forgiving. It also teaches you to have a more spin playstyle compared to a Euro/Jap which is more oriented to slapping the ball very hard (I love it, don't get me wrong)

 

[Pong Learner]

Try telling @greenbeanmachine that

Chinese rubbers are actually pretty nice and quite a few are forgiving. It also teaches you to have a more spin playstyle compared to a Euro/Jap which is more oriented to slapping the ball very hard (I love it, don't get me wrong)

Well you suggestion sent me into a rabbit hole . Not that I am complaining. Ppl say to boost those Hurricane 3 Neo. I don't want to and what would I miss if I don't?

 

[PenHoldSandro]

Well you suggestion sent me into a rabbit hole . Not that I am complaining.

Theyre fun if you can control it 😂

Ppl say to boost those Hurricane 3 Neo. I don't want to and what would I miss if I don't?

When boosting, you soften the sponge, leading to a more sping effect. It's a decision to boost or not, I suggest playing unboosted. If you think the rubber is too slow, play more. If it's still too slow, boost.

The quirk of playing unboosted is that you don't have to peel it off and reapply the booster every few weeks

 

[Pong Learner]

Theyre fun if you can control it 😂

When boosting, you soften the sponge, leading to a more sping effect. It's a decision to boost or not, I suggest playing unboosted. If you think the rubber is too slow, play more. If it's still too slow, boost.

The quirk of playing unboosted is that you don't have to peel it off and reapply the booster every few weeks

Yeah. I am too lazy to keep boosting it every few weeks. I am gonna do it unboosted to start with.

 

[PenHoldSandro]

Yeah. I am too lazy to keep boosting it every few weeks. I am gonna do it unboosted to start with.

Yep! Also, think about what you really want.

Speed: Euro/Jap has more easily accessible speed, while Chinese is naturally extremely slow but can reach a higher max speed.

Spin: Euro/Jap is naturally less spinny than Chinese rubbers.

Control: Chinese is more controllable.

This is why Euro/Jap is commonly used for backhand, as the smaller stroke reduces max speed, so you need a naturally faster rubber.

 

[Pong Learner]

Yep! Also, think about what you really want.

Speed: Euro/Jap has more easily accessible speed, while Chinese is naturally extremely slow but can reach a higher max speed.

Spin: Euro/Jap is naturally less spinny than Chinese rubbers.

Control: Chinese is more controllable.

This is why Euro/Jap is commonly used for backhand, as the smaller stroke reduces max speed, so you need a naturally faster rubber.

Wow!! I appreciate your effort to explain it. Thank you
Did you mean it reaches max speed due to boosting?

 

[NetProphet]

Hi,

I am looking for tt racket suggestion. I am looking at Ma lin Extra Offensive with Nittaku fasttack G1 max for FH and Nittaku Fastrack G1 2.0 for BH.

For context, I am a returning to play intermediate player and I prefer to play forehand than backhand. And looking for a fast controllable racket suggestion.

I think that blade with a G1 FH is a very good choice! I have a MLEO and like it a lot so I would certainly recommend it to a returning intermediate.
I know that more people use G1 for FH than BH but there is no reason it can't be a good BH rubber too.

It is possible to get 20 different suggestions in the next few days and most of them would likely be similar anyway (Rozena, Rakza 7, Andro R45 etc etc) so you just gotta make a sensible choice and go with it, which I think you have.

 

[PenHoldSandro]

Wow!! I appreciate your effort to explain it. Thank you
Did you mean it reaches max speed due to boosting?

Nope! The reason it reaches max speed is when you hit the ball super hard and it compresses the insanely hard sponge, and the ball goes flying. Euro/Jap rubbers don't get much faster when bottoming out because they're like somewhat always bottoming out, so they don't get much faster.

I think that blade with a G1 FH is a very good choice! I have a MLEO and like it a lot so I would certainly recommend it to a returning intermediate.
I know that more people use G1 for FH than BH but there is no reason it can't be a good BH rubber too.

It is possible to get 20 different suggestions in the next few days and most of them would likely be similar anyway (Rozena, Rakza 7, Andro R45 etc etc) so you just gotta make a sensible choice and go with it, which I think you have.

I have to agree, his first option is already very very good, just that I like giving my input in things

I also agree with the second statement, where you just gotta pick a sensible choice, and you have picked one.

 

[greenbeanmachine]

Hi,

I am looking for tt racket suggestion. I am looking at Ma lin Extra Offensive with Nittaku fasttack G1 max for FH and Nittaku Fastrack G1 2.0 for BH.

For context, I am a returning to play intermediate player and I prefer to play forehand than backhand. And looking for a fast controllable racket suggestion.

Ma Lin Extra Offensive is a great blade and it'll work well with Fastarc G1 on both sides. It'll be on the fast side, though -- if this is your first custom racket I'd suggest something a little slower like Mark V or Rakza 7. Ma Lin Extra Offensive is a pretty fast blade, so combining it with fast rubbers might be out of control.

I think the Ma Lin EO blade combines best with Skyline 2 on forehand. Hurricane 3 also works very well. I'd suggest Hurricane 3 NEO on forehand and Mark V or Rakza 7 on backhand.

FYI Ma Lin Extra Offensive was my first blade, and I still use it all the time (I have short pips on one side and Skyline 2 on the other side). I just played at a national tournament with it. You can use it up until you're at a very high level.

Well you suggestion sent me into a rabbit hole . Not that I am complaining. Ppl say to boost those Hurricane 3 Neo. I don't want to and what would I miss if I don't?

If you're an intermediate player you probably don't need to boost. Also, there are two different versions of each of the DHS rubbers: the normal version and the NEO version. The NEO version of the rubber is lightly boosted at the factory so you don't need to boost it yourself. A lot of people in this forum will add additional booster oils to H3 NEO for speed, but this only becomes necessary when you play at a much higher competitive level. For now (and the next few years) you won't need to worry about boosting, just buy the NEO version.

Did you mean it reaches max speed due to boosting?

No, actually you can reach higher speeds even with unboosted H3. The thing about Chinese rubbers like Hurricane 3 and Skyline 2 is that they're pretty slow when you touch the ball lightly. But if you make a powerful stroke using your legs and core, you can hit the ball much faster with H3 than you can with a European rubber. European rubbers are much bouncier when you touch the ball softly, so you can get medium-speed strokes without having to use lots of effort.

Since you're a forehand-oriented player with a strong forehand stroke, Chinese rubbers on forehand will probably suit you well.

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

Hi,

I am looking for tt racket suggestion. I am looking at Ma lin Extra Offensive with Nittaku fasttack G1 max for FH and Nittaku Fastrack G1 2.0 for BH.

For context, I am a returning to play intermediate player and I prefer to play forehand than backhand. And looking for a fast controllable racket suggestion.

Good choice! Now don't over think and just play. Show us some of your great shot sometimes but no pressure.

 

[Pong Learner]

Good choice! Now don't over think and just play. Show us some of your great shot sometimes but no pressure.

Sure. When my game becomes share worthy.

 

[NetProphet]

Sure. When my game becomes share worthy.

Cool 😎
Let us know what you decide on and how you like it (or not?) after you use it 👍

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

This is only about the blade. Everyone has different preferences. But I have to say, I would not put good control and Ma Lin Extra Offensive in the same sentence.

To me, that blade is hard as a rock and pretty unforgiving. It may work better for penhold players than for shakehand players. But, to me, the different Ma Lin Extra Offensive blades that I tried, they all were very hard. The top ply is hard. The sweet spot was small. And the dwell time was really as short as I have felt. Now, I have not tried a Ma Lin Extra Offensive in over a decade. But I can think of lots of blades I would consider to have good control with the same speed.

I would even use a Viscaria over it. I feel like, a Viscaria, the top ply is hard but the ALC lets you hold the ball on the blade longer and gives it a good feeling. It might be fine for an intermediate player. But it is also not what I would recommend for someone wanting a blade with a lot of control. Still, I feel it affords more control, in my opinion, that the Ma Lin Extra Offensive.

However, blades I would actually consider to have good control:

1) Stiga All Around Evolution (easy to break but plays well)
2) Stiga Offensive Classic (a lot of vibration though; easy to break but plays well))
3) Xiom Offensive S
4) Primorac Off-
5) Petr Korbel
6) Nitakku Acousitc
7) OSP Virtuoso +
8) OSP Virtuoso -
9) Tibhar Stratus Power Wood (easy to break but plays well)
10) Yasaka Sweden Extra (this one has a harder top ply than any of the others, but it still holds the ball well and has great flex so, great for generating a lot of spin despite the harder top ply)
11) Any inner carbon blade with Limba as the top two plies. Inner carbon plays a lot like all wood on softer touch and the extra kicks in on bigger shots where you add more power.

I did not put those in any kind of order. Just listed them as they came to mind.

 

[NetProphet]

This is only about the blade. Everyone has different preferences. But I have to say, I would not put good control and Ma Lin Extra Offensive in the same sentence.

To me, that blade is hard as a rock and pretty unforgiving. It may work better for penhold players than for shakehand players. But, to me, the different Ma Lin Extra Offensive blades that I tried, they all were very hard. The top ply is hard. The sweet spot was small. And the dwell time was really as short as I have felt. Now, I have not tried a Ma Lin Extra Offensive in over a decade. But I can think of lots of blades I would consider to have good control with the same speed.

I would even use a Viscaria over it. I feel like, a Viscaria, the top ply is hard but the ALC lets you hold the ball on the blade longer and gives it a good feeling. It might be fine for an intermediate player. But it is also not what I would recommend for someone wanting a blade with a lot of control. Still, I feel it affords more control, in my opinion, that the Ma Lin Extra Offensive.

However, blades I would actually consider to have good control:

1) Stiga All Around Evolution (easy to break but plays well)
2) Stiga Offensive Classic (a lot of vibration though; easy to break but plays well))
3) Xiom Offensive S
4) Primorac Off-
5) Petr Korbel
6) Nitakku Acousitc
7) OSP Virtuoso +
8) OSP Virtuoso -
9) Tibhar Stratus Power Wood (easy to break but plays well)
10) Yasaka Sweden Extra (this one has a harder top ply than any of the others, but it still holds the ball well and has great flex so, great for generating a lot of spin despite the harder top ply)
11) Any inner carbon blade with Limba as the top two plies. Inner carbon plays a lot like all wood on softer touch and the extra kicks in on bigger shots where you add more power.

I did not put those in any kind of order. Just listed them as they came to mind.

It's plenty controllable for an intermediate player though, at least in my experience.

Have you actually played with all of those blades? That's an impressive list.

The Acoustic and YSE I had different experience though. Found the Acoustic too fast and difficult to control, much preferred the MLEO.
And I just didn't like the YSE, too much vibration and tiny sweet spot. This was the first ball I found to be useless for the plastic ball.
I agree on no 11, that's been my experience too over the past 3 mths.

 

[BlotOnPaper]

However, blades I would actually consider to have good control:

6) Nitakku Acousitc
11) Any inner carbon blade with Limba as the top two plies. Inner carbon plays a lot like all wood on softer touch and the extra kicks in on bigger shots where you add more power.

I did not put those in any kind of order. Just listed them as they came to mind.

I think there are two main type of players

1) Limba top ply fans
2) Koto top ply fans

I played with Nittaku Acoustic and for me it was absolutely uncontrolable. It just shot the ball on it's own, both in short game and topspins, especially backhand.

My first blade was viscaria and i still consider it one of the best shakehand blades. But i read comments about "viscaria beeing too fast for beginer", so i bought Acoustic. It was a mistake. Big mistake.

One of my the worst experiences with on it's own really good blade. It is really well made but i could not understand how anyone could play with this. And the other limba blades i tried was all just worse than koto.

So i returned to my viscaria and it was so much better. Then i started playing with even harder blades like Butterfly Lin Yun Ju and YuanJian GanJiang Sword and found them much more controllable in my own hands than limba blades.

Now i'm cpen player and in penhold i love koto even more. My new N301 is waiting for the next training session.

Also, i think that beginers can buy "faster" blades, but only if they are young or in good physical shape. I was 17 at the moment, so for me playing viscaria was not hard in terms of speed. I tried slower blades like Korbel when i was a beginer, but i just hated them. I just do not understand limba. And there are not that many good all wood koto top ply blades for reasonable price for all wood. And even lighter viscarias are not that fast, compared to blades like Lin Yun Ju.

So i recomend DHS H301. It is not expensive, koto top ply and has inner composite. It has speed, but it is not easy to activate, so it teaches you a proper technique. Only thing bad about this blade is poor wood quality of top layer so sealing is a must. But it is also true for every other blade in 301 series. If you want even more controll - try 301Z, it is slower and have quite unique composite material.

 

[Yurifi]

Try telling @greenbeanmachine that

Chinese rubbers are actually pretty nice and quite a few are forgiving. It also teaches you to have a more spin playstyle compared to a Euro/Jap which is more oriented to slapping the ball very hard (I love it, don't get me wrong)

why is everyone so obsessed with Hurricane? is it a good rubber? yes! is it good for everyone? hell no.

it has great control, it does. you can produce heaps of spin with it, yes. is it forgiving? yes ... but only when you are on the ball! and what happens when you are not on the ball? when you are not 100% correct with timing? 100% with positioning on the ball? when you are tired and your feet do not cope with your head anymore? balls start falling into the net. in this regard, the rubber does nothing for you. NOTHING. "sorry mate, can't do everything on my own" that's what you get. it does not help you, not even an inch. but yes, when you hit the ball with utmost precision, it is the best rubber in the world. now, tell me, how many times do you hit the ball perfectly in a semi-final match, after a couple of tough matches in previous rounds, possibly after a couple double matches, in 5th set at 9:9? and in this moment you will wish for a rubber, that maybe isn't that spinny, that doesn't have that much control, but has a little bit of catapult and that forgiveness and says "come on mate, we're in this together" and that can help you get those two more points ...

#rantover

 

[Jslick89]

why is everyone so obsessed with Hurricane? is it a good rubber? yes! is it good for everyone? hell no.

it has great control, it does. you can produce heaps of spin with it, yes. is it forgiving? yes ... but only when you are on the ball! and what happens when you are not on the ball? when you are not 100% correct with timing? 100% with positioning on the ball? when you are tired and your feet do not cope with your head anymore? balls start falling into the net. in this regard, the rubber does nothing for you. NOTHING. "sorry mate, can't do everything on my own" that's what you get. it does not help you, not even an inch. but yes, when you hit the ball with utmost precision, it is the best rubber in the world. now, tell me, how many times do you hit the ball perfectly in a semi-final match, after a couple of tough matches in previous rounds, possibly after a couple double matches, in 5th set at 9:9? and in this moment you will wish for a rubber, that maybe isn't that spinny, that doesn't have that much control, but has a little bit of catapult and that forgiveness and says "come on mate, we're in this together" and that can help you get those two more points ...

#rantover

hmmm i diagree that you have to have 100% correct timing and positioning to do well with hurricane. in fact, timing and positioning is important with any rubber. if you are off, your shot will be off, doesn't matter the rubber. More catapult doesnt always mean more forgivenes either. what if you misread your opponents serve and your springy rubber pops the ball up high for your opponent to kill on the 3rd ball?

I do agree that hurricane is not for everyone though. only the people that want to have the most fun

OP- if you want a controlled racket for cheap, try the Sanwei CC. You can find it cheap on aliexpress for like $10!