Stiga ITTF Approved Plastic/Poly Ball Review

[JHB]

Someone on another forum identified that there are only 4 manufacturers.
Most of the European makes (seamed) are re-branded DHS balls. They they may differ slightly because they submitted their own specifications to the manufacturer.

Edited to add:
According to forum wisdom, none of the European brands manufacture balls. In Japan only Nittaku and Butterfly have the capability.
If anyone knows more or differently, I'd love to hear from you.

I once read somewhere that everything apart from Nittaku came from the same Chinese factory. That can't be right if Butterfly manufacture as well of course ! I suspect a deliberate over-simplification on someone's part, but that doesn't invalidate the point that DHS make balls for virtually everyone. Badge engineering, ya gotta love it......

 

[harveyaquino]

Hey Dan and Matt, you reviewed before the infinity VPS V blade right? I wonder how it plays with the new ball? Supposedly if paired with Tenergy rubbers? Thank you!
This is because I think I'm going for allwood blades rather than spending much money on composites that I can't control. But I want a long term investment so I want the best wood in quality and performance.


Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Hey Dan and Matt, you reviewed before the infinity VPS V blade right? I wonder how it plays with the new ball? Supposedly if paired with Tenergy rubbers? Thank you!
This is because I think I'm going for allwood blades rather than spending much money on composites that I can't control. But I want a long term investment so I want the best wood in quality and performance.

When I hit with the Infinity VPS I did not like it. The core felt mushy and the outer plies felt hard. And that did not do much for the spin or the control. I would way rather play with a Clipper or an Avalox P700, or an Avalox P500. Those are all less expensive and I like the way they play better.

 

[harveyaquino]

When I hit with the Infinity VPS I did not like it. The core felt mushy and the outer plies felt hard. And that did not do much for the spin or the control. I would way rather play with a Clipper or an Avalox P700, or an Avalox P500. Those are all less expensive and I like the way they play better.

Thanks! The more I search for reviews on that blade, the more I find out about its construction weaknesses. Someone from another forum posted a pic of it (brand new) splitting in half! I guess it is very fragile.

Which of the Clipper blades (CR,CC, Classic) do you prefer? I am having a hard time choosing blades from Stiga because of unstable QC. But their wood blades are definitely good, not so much for durability. I haven't tried Clipper though.

 

[Blai35]

This might have already been said but I believe dhs came out with tin arc 5 as a rubber for the new ball? Also sorry if this has already been asked but has anyone gotten the chance to try any of these new rubbers designed for the new ball?

 

[Rajah*]

Hey harvey i blieve observation of carl regarding infinity vps is correct, just way to soft for me and i felt it loosing power when you go mid distance attacking. Ebenholz nct V felt much better much stable.

Sent from my HTC One M8 using Tapatalk

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Thanks! The more I search for reviews on that blade, the more I find out about its construction weaknesses. Someone from another forum posted a pic of it (brand new) splitting in half! I guess it is very fragile.

Which of the Clipper blades (CR,CC, Classic) do you prefer? I am having a hard time choosing blades from Stiga because of unstable QC. But their wood blades are definitely good, not so much for durability. I haven't tried Clipper though.

The simplest Clipper is the one I like best: Classic. It is really an amazing blade. The CR is fine too, but I like the Classic better. Yeah, Stiga's quality control is a little bit dodgy. The Clipper is pretty solid though. As Rajah says, the Ebenholz V is pretty good. So is the Rosewood V and the Rosewood XO. However, I still like the Classic Clipper better and it is less than half the price.

I also had a friend who had an Infinity where the plies split on their own and nothing had happened to cause it. I am not sure what is going on that I have heard of several Infinity blades breaking in different ways. The Clippers that I have have been slammed (accidentally) into the sides of tables and they got a little denting but were easy to fix and stayed solid and continued to play well.

By the way, more of the pros in NYC use a Stiga Clipper than any other racket. The closest 2nd is a Timo Boll ALC.

 

[harveyaquino]

Thank you for your inputs sir Carl and Rajah. I will PM you if I have more queries so to avoid deviating from the main topic of this thread.


Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Spitfire]

Tibhar Table Tennis Poly Ball

​

Hello Table Tennis Daily!,

Last night I was lucky enough to experience my first practice with the much awaited and much talked about the new Poly/Plastic ball on how it would affect the game in general , or would it affect players Long term ?

I first noticed the ball was bigger than the old Celluloid ball that we are all used to , this was confirmed by a friend who has a Caliper.

I also noticed the ball "felt" heavier on ball/blade contact than the Celluloid ball however on weighing both a Celluloid and a Poly ball they both weighted 3 Grams (My Scales don't do decimal Points)

Due to the overall reduction and Spin and speed I feel this ball will be easier to block and will be suited more for the players who like to play at the table , people who like to step away from the table will have to be in the correct position to be able to make a good shot, due to the ball being much slower.

The Poly Ball has a higher bounce and is easier to control

We invited a Divsion 1 League player down who is a chopper - we didn't tell him he is playing with a poly ball - We asked him at the end of the session(3Hrs) if he noticed that he was playing with a poly ball , he said no , he couldn't tell any difference

Any Questions?

 

[lefty]

I picked my Tibhar poly balls up today. I haven't played with them yet but had a quick look, I couldn't see the size difference if I'm honest. I'm a joiner as well so if it was noticeable I think I'd have seen it! What I did notice was how white they are, this makes them really stand out against the old balls, so I'd guess that's why many think they can see the size difference. I mean do you all really think we can tell 0.2 of a millimetre?

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk

 

[JHB]

I also picked up three of these Tibhar SYNTTs on Wednesday. Shame it might be next Wednesday before I next manage to get to MK TTC and actually get to play with one, but ho hum ! Anyway I agree with what Spitfire said, they are very white indeed, which can't ve a bad thing really. I also noticed that they have a fair bit of powder on them when new, rather like DHS celluloid balls. The ball I knocked around at home left lots of lovely white marks on my rubbers.

I did a very unscientific bounce test on my dining table; it seemed to me that the poly ball initially bounced to the same height as the celluloid, but when I left both balls to their own devices the poly stopped bouncing before the celluloid did. Not sure what if anything that would mean in actual play - we'll see, hopefully !

 

[Dan]

It seems the new poly balls are starting to become a lot more readily available.

Tibhar Table Tennis Poly Ball

​

Hello Table Tennis Daily!,

Last night I was lucky enough to experience my first practice with the much awaited and much talked about the new Poly/Plastic ball on how it would affect the game in general , or would it affect players Long term ?

I first noticed the ball was bigger than the old Celluloid ball that we are all used to , this was confirmed by a friend who has a Caliper.

I also noticed the ball "felt" heavier on ball/blade contact than the Celluloid ball however on weighing both a Celluloid and a Poly ball they both weighted 3 Grams (My Scales don't do decimal Points)

Due to the overall reduction and Spin and speed I feel this ball will be easier to block and will be suited more for the players who like to play at the table , people who like to step away from the table will have to be in the correct position to be able to make a good shot, due to the ball being much slower.

The Poly Ball has a higher bounce and is easier to control

We invited a Divsion 1 League player down who is a chopper - we didn't tell him he is playing with a poly ball - We asked him at the end of the session(3Hrs) if he noticed that he was playing with a poly ball , he said no , he couldn't tell any difference

Any Questions?

Great review Spitfire! I love how you got a defender to use it for 3 hours and he didn't even notice the change! Me and @Tom was thinking to do something similar to this but we didnt have the time in the end.

How did you find the ball to effect against the defender? Did you find it easier to attack backspin balls?

Your thoughts on the ball are similar to mine in the sense that it feels heavier on the contact when hitting the ball to the celluloid. It is a feeling you have to sense to fully understand right

I picked my Tibhar poly balls up today. I haven't played with them yet but had a quick look, I couldn't see the size difference if I'm honest. I'm a joiner as well so if it was noticeable I think I'd have seen it! What I did notice was how white they are, this makes them really stand out against the old balls, so I'd guess that's why many think they can see the size difference. I mean do you all really think we can tell 0.2 of a millimetre?

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk

Looking forward to your review @lefty I understand what you mean, it is not easy to see the size difference, some seem to notice it and others dont. @Tom thought they looked slightly visually larger. Yes I thought that, they are certainly more white.

I also picked up three of these Tibhar SYNTTs on Wednesday. Shame it might be next Wednesday before I next manage to get to MK TTC and actually get to play with one, but ho hum ! Anyway I agree with what Spitfire said, they are very white indeed, which can't ve a bad thing really. I also noticed that they have a fair bit of powder on them when new, rather like DHS celluloid balls. The ball I knocked around at home left lots of lovely white marks on my rubbers.

I did a very unscientific bounce test on my dining table; it seemed to me that the poly ball initially bounced to the same height as the celluloid, but when I left both balls to their own devices the poly stopped bouncing before the celluloid did. Not sure what if anything that would mean in actual play - we'll see, hopefully !

Nice unscientific bounce test @JHB I did this when I first got mine on the kitchen table

Looking forward to your review of the new balls.

 

[TTHopeful]

Tibhar Table Tennis Poly Ball

​

Hello Table Tennis Daily!,

Last night I was lucky enough to experience my first practice with the much awaited and much talked about the new Poly/Plastic ball on how it would affect the game in general , or would it affect players Long term ?

I first noticed the ball was bigger than the old Celluloid ball that we are all used to , this was confirmed by a friend who has a Caliper.

I also noticed the ball "felt" heavier on ball/blade contact than the Celluloid ball however on weighing both a Celluloid and a Poly ball they both weighted 3 Grams (My Scales don't do decimal Points)

Due to the overall reduction and Spin and speed I feel this ball will be easier to block and will be suited more for the players who like to play at the table , people who like to step away from the table will have to be in the correct position to be able to make a good shot, due to the ball being much slower.

The Poly Ball has a higher bounce and is easier to control

We invited a Divsion 1 League player down who is a chopper - we didn't tell him he is playing with a poly ball - We asked him at the end of the session(3Hrs) if he noticed that he was playing with a poly ball , he said no , he couldn't tell any difference

Any Questions?

Nice review, I hope we can all adapt quite quickly.

 

[TTHopeful]

I have found another ball review on the Tibhar poly ball Spitfire tried.

The reviewer said these comments:

I had a hit with the new Tibhar 40+ plastic ball at my club with two friends for about 30min, doing both drills and a best of 5 game. Here are my opnions,

- the ball has a visible seam
- the new ball is harder, feels a touch heavier
- when hitting the new ball, the sound is different
- the new ball bounces higher than the regular ball
- the new ball travels slower than the regular ball
- there is less spin on the new ball after playing a topspin shot

The reviewer said overall that it was surprisingly easy to play with the new plastic ball. Higher bounce and less spin means that keeping the ball on the table is much easier. A spin-based attacker will need to work harder to spin the ball to the same degree as the regular 40mm ball. At the same time, blocking is almost effortless.

 

[vvk1]

I have found another ball review on the Tibhar poly ball Spitfire tried.

The reviewer said these comments:

I had a hit with the new Tibhar 40+ plastic ball at my club with two friends for about 30min, doing both drills and a best of 5 game. Here are my opnions,

- the ball has a visible seam
- the new ball is harder, feels a touch heavier
- when hitting the new ball, the sound is different
- the new ball bounces higher than the regular ball
- the new ball travels slower than the regular ball
- there is less spin on the new ball after playing a topspin shot

The reviewer said overall that it was surprisingly easy to play with the new plastic ball. Higher bounce and less spin means that keeping the ball on the table is much easier. A spin-based attacker will need to work harder to spin the ball to the same degree as the regular 40mm ball. At the same time, blocking is almost effortless.

View attachment 6101

Yup, I wrote the above on mytt.net. IMHO, all these prophesies of doom that accompany some of the other reviews are largely unfounded.

 

[Rory]

Great review. I'm looking forward to getting to try the poly balls.

 

[LGriffiths]

Are these available in the UK to try yet?

 

[vvk1]

Yup, from bribar.

 

[JHB]

Are these available in the UK to try yet?

Yes, I bought mine from Bribar. Several of the UK TT suppliers ( Bribar, Jarvis, Topspin, Global) are now advertising poly balls for sale, although not Tees Sport or Thorntons yet.

 

[TEGGMinh]

Thanks for that review. I think there are not many difference. i have heard by some other tests and my coaches think so too