Recommendations for a beginner + few questions

[razant]

I second Donic PowerPlay. It is like $35 or so. Very solid 7-ply. OFF in speed. That is accurate. A bit faster than Tibhar Stratus Powerwood. I have Donic PowerPlay, two of them, one is straight handle and one is anatomic handle. If you like bigger handle, then look into anatomic handle. I like Donice PowerPlay, at least enough to get two of them.

The bad shape/face of Donic PowerPlay is smaller than that of Tibhar Stratus Powerwood

Very hard to find that blade. I asked my friends and some people at the local tennis gym and no one has it.

 

[JJ Ng]

Very hard to find that blade. I asked my friends and some people at the local tennis gym and no one has it.

I got mine from TT11. Please see below for the link. Very very good price. It is an older blade but again, just because it is old, it does not mean it is not good.

Donic Persson Powerplay | Tabletennis11.com (TT11)

www.tabletennis11.com

 

[mightymouse]

I second Donic PowerPlay. It is like $35 or so. Very solid 7-ply. OFF in speed. That is accurate. A bit faster than Tibhar Stratus Powerwood. I have Donic PowerPlay, two of them, one is straight handle and one is anatomic handle. If you like bigger handle, then look into anatomic handle. I like Donice PowerPlay, at least enough to get two of them.

The bad shape/face of Donic PowerPlay is smaller than that of Tibhar Stratus Powerwood

I agree with you. Donic Persson Powerplay is a really good blade, given the price. It was used by Jorgen Persson himself to win European and World Championship (back then).

However, regarding the speed of the blade, I think it is only Off-. I believe that Tibhar Stratus Powerwood is noticeably faster.

I own 2 Powerplay ST, 1 Powerplay FL and 1 Powerplay V1 senso FL. That is the indication of how good it is, so I stock them whenever I find good offer.

The other good blade is Donic Waldner Senso Carbon (All+ / Off-), so good that I own 4 of them as well: 2 in FL and 2 in ST.

However, in the 40+ plastic ball era, Powerplay is better because it is a bit stiffer.

 

[JJ Ng]

I agree with you. Donic Persson Powerplay is a really good blade, given the price. It was used by Jorgen Persson himself to win European and World Championship (back then).

However, regarding the speed of the blade, I think it is only Off-. I believe that Tibhar Stratus Powerwood is noticeably faster.

I own 2 Powerplay ST, 1 Powerplay FL and 1 Powerplay V1 senso FL. That is the indication of how good it is, so I stock them whenever I find good offer.

The other good blade is Donic Waldner Senso Carbon (All+ / Off-), so good that I own 4 of them as well: 2 in FL and 2 in ST.

However, in the 40+ plastic ball era, Powerplay is better because it is a bit stiffer.

See. That's why the OP needs to play with equipment and see if he likes it or not.

I think Donic Persson Powerplay is faster than Tibhar Power Wood but you think it is the other way around.

I don't like Donic Waldner Senso Carbon. It has this hollow sound that I don't like.

I agree. out of the three, you cannot go wrong with Donic Persson Power Play. I would not get Donic Waldner Senso Carbon. I agree with you on this one; Donic Persson Power Play might be slightly faster than Donic Waldner Senso Carbon and it has the all wood control.

Everyone has different opinions. That's why it is good to test the equipment and see what you like the most.

I have four Gambler Blackout carbon, eight Tibhar Stratus Power Wood, two Donic Persson Power Play, one Donic Waldner Senso Carbo, one DHS Bo Carbon, one Viscaria, one Acoustic carbon, etc. etc. I try to put the same rubbers on them so I can compare.

 

[Gozo Aruna]

Hi! I'm Bogdan and i'm from Romania! Before asking some questions here, i'll post few words about me regarding table tennis.
After more than 20 years in which i played like 2-3 times/year (in some of them i didn't play at all), of course with a premade bat, i decided to change this. I had a surgery on my dominant wrist back in October 2022 and since January this year started to play once a week in my work break with the colleagues. In March i started to take some classes and made my first custom bat. The advice came from my coach and i'm playing with Neottec Voodoo Classic OFF (according to some statistics it's ALL+) + FH Andro Rasanter R47 max + BH Andro Rasanter V42 max. The motivation for putting V series on BH was that he likes my BH punch.
I'm training twice per week and play with friends/local hobby tournaments twice per week. As for the playstyle i like to finish with the BH and trying to be aggressive with some FH topspins. I sometimes struggle with ball that are short rather than long and very loaded with side spin. Also i struggle in short-short game because i fell my bat si too bouncy. I barely touch the ball, and it jumps very high. This helps me with the blocks which i like, i don't need to push them.
So now i'm thinking of changing both rubbers and the blade because of that bounciness. I don't know what should be better, a 5ply only wood or a 7ply wood (besides weight, the main difference is that the 7ply can hit harder?). Also if the blade is thicker, the rubbers should be thinner?
I played with an yasaka Sweden and i don't like the form of the blade, how it feels in my hand. I tried Andro CI OFF with used GTT rubbers and i can tell that i didn't feel the carbon. My short-short game was better.
I'm inclined towards: Butterfly Petr Korbel blade (saw that there is a Japan made version which is more expensive, does it worth?) with some soft-medium rubbers like Rozena, Dignics09c(maybe they are too much) or even Andro Hexer SFX/Powergrip SFX/R45.
Andro Treiber CI OFF
Andro TP Ligna CI
Butterfly Korbel SK7
Basically the options for the rubbers should be the same as mentioned for the Petr korbel blade.

So what do you think it would be a better choice? I'm playing with actual bat for the last 10 weeks and i plan to continue with it for 8-10 weeks (don't know if it's a good idea, but on the other hand i read that as a beginner you should play with a bat for few months)

Cheers!

Where is your sense of Nationalism? Team Romania is Tibhar sponsored. You must use Tibhar. So it is Tibhar Smasonov Pro with both side MXP for you, end of story. Next pls.

Gozo: Helping the EJ community since 2021

 

[razant]

Where is your sense of Nationalism? Team Romania is Tibhar sponsored. You must use Tibhar. So it is Tibhar Smasonov Pro with both side MXP for you, end of story. Next pls.

Gozo: Helping the EJ community since 2021

Haha, good one.I know but, you should think that we have a Tibhar local shop right? We don't ). There is a shop where i saw some rubbers from Tibhar but no blades.

 

[razant]

Few months later update:
I've received as a gift the Andro Treiber CI off and i bought Andro Hexer Powergrip SFX for both sides.
After ~70 hours (training sessions+playing tournaments/friends) with this setup, i can declare myself satisfied with the choice. I have more feeling when i hit and i like how the weight is distributed among the racket.
Now i'm struggling with being too strained while playing tournaments. I have some beautiful shots and some awful ones because of this. Playing like 70% from what i normally play.
Another thing is that i find opponents with unorthodox shots more difficult to face than players that hit correctly.

Question: anyone played with Andro hexer rubbers and BTY rubbers and can tell me what rubbers from BTY are similar with Powergrip SFX?(or a little bit harder) I know that Powergrip SFX have 42,5 degrees but i also know that 42 degree from Andro is not the same with BTY 40degree. I'm thinking of Glayzer 09C, what do you guys think?

Thanks!

 

[kingkimchi]

Few months later update:
I've received as a gift the Andro Treiber CI off and i bought Andro Hexer Powergrip SFX for both sides.
After ~70 hours (training sessions+playing tournaments/friends) with this setup, i can declare myself satisfied with the choice. I have more feeling when i hit and i like how the weight is distributed among the racket.
Now i'm struggling with being too strained while playing tournaments. I have some beautiful shots and some awful ones because of this. Playing like 70% from what i normally play.
Another thing is that i find opponents with unorthodox shots more difficult to face than players that hit correctly.

Question: anyone played with Andro hexer rubbers and BTY rubbers and can tell me what rubbers from BTY are similar with Powergrip SFX?(or a little bit harder) I know that Powergrip SFX have 42,5 degrees but i also know that 42 degree from Andro is not the same with BTY 40degree. I'm thinking of Glayzer 09C, what do you guys think?

Thanks!

d09c-44 degrees- 3-4 times the price

 

[kingkimchi]

d09c-44 degrees- 3-4 times the price

ig you could try out the glayzer 09c, but it is only good for close to the table and mid range at most. do not go backcourt

 

[razant]

d09c-44 degrees- 3-4 times the price

I tried Dignics09C and for me it's too hard. I mean i don't like the feeling and it's not forgiving at all. As i'm starting to learn Rasanter R42 and Hexer Powergrip SFX, despite the fact that they have identical degrees, the R42 is less forgiving and only helps you much more than the SFX one, if you're more experienced. That's maybe why i don't feel D09C and i don't like the trajectory(i know it's top end rubber from BTY,but i cannot enjoy its potential)

 

[JJ Ng]

Few months later update:
I've received as a gift the Andro Treiber CI off and i bought Andro Hexer Powergrip SFX for both sides.
After ~70 hours (training sessions+playing tournaments/friends) with this setup, i can declare myself satisfied with the choice. I have more feeling when i hit and i like how the weight is distributed among the racket.
Now i'm struggling with being too strained while playing tournaments. I have some beautiful shots and some awful ones because of this. Playing like 70% from what i normally play.
Another thing is that i find opponents with unorthodox shots more difficult to face than players that hit correctly.

Question: anyone played with Andro hexer rubbers and BTY rubbers and can tell me what rubbers from BTY are similar with Powergrip SFX?(or a little bit harder) I know that Powergrip SFX have 42,5 degrees but i also know that 42 degree from Andro is not the same with BTY 40degree. I'm thinking of Glayzer 09C, what do you guys think?

Thanks!

Rozena is easy to control and probably the same hardness. Glayzer regular is a bit harder.

I do not recommend Glayzer 09c. I have two sheets and they are not on any blades right now. They are a bit tack but not really. Glayzer 09c is also slower than Glayzer regular so what is the point of the rubber?

Either you pick up Rozena for about $35 a sheet or try Glayzer regular for $50 a sheet.

Personally I would recommend either Xiom Vega Asia or Xiom Vega Japan for you as a good, more budget friendly option.

 

[deepanmania]

From my experience,
I suggest you don't change your setup. It's not that too fast.
I bought my first custom racket with an outer carbon blade, Andro Ligna CO Off, since I got it for a good deal. Before that, I was using GKI Euro V, an absolute beginner one.
At first, it was too fast for me to handle but after regular practises I started to get used to it. If you don't wanna spend money, spend more time in developing your skills you'll get adapted to any rackets.
My friend who never used any custom rackets before apart from premade beginner ones but with better skills than me adapted to my outer carbon racket so easily. Just a few rallies and he showed a quality game with it. If you want to experiment with your setup you can try changing it otherwise it's not really needed.

 

[razant]

Rozena is easy to control and probably the same hardness. Glayzer regular is a bit harder.

I do not recommend Glayzer 09c. I have two sheets and they are not on any blades right now. They are a bit tack but not really. Glayzer 09c is also slower than Glayzer regular so what is the point of the rubber?

Either you pick up Rozena for about $35 a sheet or try Glayzer regular for $50 a sheet.

Personally I would recommend either Xiom Vega Asia or Xiom Vega Japan for you as a good, more budget friendly option.

From TTD review i understood that G 09C is more towards developing players and i find myself there. I would rather feel better with a slower rubber than with a faster one.

 

[JJ Ng]

From TTD review i understood that G 09C is more towards developing players and i find myself there. I would rather feel better with a slower rubber than with a faster one.

Then get Rozena. The hardness is about the same as 42 ESN degree. Don't get Glayzer 09c. It is not worth the money for a developing player. there are better rubbers out there such as Rakza 7, Fastarc C-1 or Fastarc G-1 or BlueFire which is all a lot cheaper than Glayzer 09c.

 

[razant]

From my experience,
I suggest you don't change your setup. It's not that too fast.
I bought my first custom racket with an outer carbon blade, Andro Ligna CO Off, since I got it for a good deal. Before that, I was using GKI Euro V, an absolute beginner one.
At first, it was too fast for me to handle but after regular practises I started to get used to it. If you don't wanna spend money, spend more time in developing your skills you'll get adapted to any rackets.
My friend who never used any custom rackets before apart from premade beginner ones but with better skills than me adapted to my outer carbon racket so easily. Just a few rallies and he showed a quality game with it. If you want to experiment with your setup you can try changing it otherwise it's not really needed.

This time i'm not saying that i want to change the setup because i don't like it. It's just that i want to experiment other brands, other degrees for the rubbers, other blades. 1-2 different rubbers/1 blade per year i don't think will harm my progression because i won't jump from Hexer powergrip SFX to let's say Rasanter R53 or to T05 Hard. Experimentation will be in the same range, just increasing slowly the speed and the hardness.

You're right it's about skill, but i don't think that someone who can adapt in a month to the racket that Ovtcharov is playing has necessarily better skill than a player who has equal TTrating. My coach barely trains right now, but he was top 20 Romania last year. He played as a pro for 18 years. He liked very much my new setup Andro Treiber CI off + hexer powergrip sfx mentioning the fact that he felt it a little bit too slower for his level.Bought himself the same blade (difference of 1gram) and put rasanter c53 and even Hexer grip. He didn't like it, he said he could not control it as he wanted and the blade is top with softer rubbers which made the racket too slow to hit point against opponents of his level. He returned to his Viscaria paired with C53 and Hexer grip. So i think it's a mix between skill, adaptation, feeling.

 

[razant]

Then get Rozena. The hardness is about the same as 42 ESN degree. Don't get Glayzer 09c. It is not worth the money for a developing player. there are better rubbers out there such as Rakza 7, Fastarc C-1 or Fastarc G-1 or BlueFire which is all a lot cheaper than Glayzer 09c.

How is the grip on Rozena? i only hit a few shots but they were very worn. In the table that TTD shows at the end of their videos, Rozena doesn't have that much of a score.

 

[JJ Ng]

How is the grip on Rozena? i only hit a few shots but they were very worn. In the table that TTD shows at the end of their videos, Rozena doesn't have that much of a score.

Rozena does not have a strong grip. However, it is a good all around rubber. It is one of the most popular rubbers in Japan.

Now if you really want to experiment with different brand and different hardness, then Yasaka Rakza 7, Rakza 7 soft, Rakza X and Rakza X soft could be interesting. Same as Fastarc C-1 or Fastarc G-1. All these rubbers last like forever.

 

[S-Pin]

Old thread but do I understand correctly that the guy was struggling with an All+ Neottec and to address the problem switched to a kevlar Treiber CI which is at least as fast as BTY Innerforce...

 

[impluse101]

Few months later update:
I've received as a gift the Andro Treiber CI off and i bought Andro Hexer Powergrip SFX for both sides.
After ~70 hours (training sessions+playing tournaments/friends) with this setup, i can declare myself satisfied with the choice. I have more feeling when i hit and i like how the weight is distributed among the racket.
Now i'm struggling with being too strained while playing tournaments. I have some beautiful shots and some awful ones because of this. Playing like 70% from what i normally play.
Another thing is that i find opponents with unorthodox shots more difficult to face than players that hit correctly.

Question: anyone played with Andro hexer rubbers and BTY rubbers and can tell me what rubbers from BTY are similar with Powergrip SFX?(or a little bit harder) I know that Powergrip SFX have 42,5 degrees but i also know that 42 degree from Andro is not the same with BTY 40degree. I'm thinking of Glayzer 09C, what do you guys think?

Thanks!

your Neottec Voodoo classic would still perform well with Andro hexer powergrip SFX (good choice of rubber - just my opinion)

 

[Zwill]

My absolute favorite setup for beginners, advanced or people struggling with injury or just prone to injury is Yinhe T11 blade with two sheets of 37deg Yinhe Big Dipper. The blade is very light, around 70g, it is very fast, but the rubbers are sticky chinese with a bit of a bounce. So this setup is very light, very spinny since tacky chinese rubbers, on weak touches it's slow due to the slow rubbers, but when you hit hard it is pretty fast since the blade is fast as hell.

This setup costs like 20USD for the blade and 15+15USD for the two rubbers on aliexpress and one can spend 2-300USD on any other and won't find a better combo.