Struggling to find the right racket (offensive player)

[Yurifi]

three questions:

- how old are you
- how long are you playing
- are you being coached or self trained

 

[Tyce]

I just came across the title again and something is bugging me that I have to share.

There is a common misconception that there is such a thing as "the right racket". You can play defense with a Viscaria and offense with a large headsize defense blade.
Having a racket that's fit for your playstyle is, in all honesty, not really all that important. Just pick something that makes you feel good and learn how to play with it.

Sure, that's quite a lot coming from someone who is regularly deep in a rabbit hole. But that doesn't make it untrue. Despite 99% of online posts in table tennis being about equipment, it's really not that important.

 

[NetProphet]

I just came across the title again and something is bugging me that I have to share.

There is a common misconception that there is such a thing as "the right racket". You can play defense with a Viscaria and offense with a large headsize defense blade.
Having a racket that's fit for your playstyle is, in all honesty, not really all that important. Just pick something that makes you feel good and learn how to play with it.

Sure, that's quite a lot coming from someone who is regularly deep in a rabbit hole. But that doesn't make it untrue. Despite 99% of online posts in table tennis being about equipment, it's really not that important.

Crazy post from you, really.
Equipment is important, and you actually know it's important.
What it is important for is certainly up for discussion and absolutely, technique is king.
But if someone says an Inner Carbon Blade with D05 is difficult to play with there is definitely some advice/experience that can be shared to help them.
That there is a 'right' racket is not a misconception, and the wrong racket also certainly exists.

 

[AMOURA98]

three questions:

- how old are you
- how long are you playing
- are you being coached or self trained

I'm 27 years old. I played from age 16 to 20, then stopped, and started playing again two years ago.
I play for a league-affiliated team, but in a lower division.

 

[AMOURA98]

I just came across the title again and something is bugging me that I have to share.

There is a common misconception that there is such a thing as "the right racket". You can play defense with a Viscaria and offense with a large headsize defense blade.
Having a racket that's fit for your playstyle is, in all honesty, not really all that important. Just pick something that makes you feel good and learn how to play with it.

Sure, that's quite a lot coming from someone who is regularly deep in a rabbit hole. But that doesn't make it untrue. Despite 99% of online posts in table tennis being about equipment, it's really not that important.

I completely understand that point of view, and I agree that people often want the perfect racket—but there’s no such thing. But here’s my situation: I played with a beginner’s racket for several years, but there came a point when I started playing against stronger players and felt that my racket wasn’t helping me gain an advantage over my opponents—for example, because the spin it generated wasn’t enough to trouble them. So I decided to invest in slightly better equipment, but I’ve been playing with it for quite a while now and I feel like I make a lot of mistakes; even though I can create more challenges, I can’t be consistent. I don’t rule out the possibility that it’s just a lack of technique or skill. But I’m asking this question here to see if I could adapt my equipment to my specific challenges to make improvements, since I don’t know anything about rubbers.

 

[AMOURA98]

Crazy post from you, really.
Equipment is important, and you actually know it's important.
What it is important for is certainly up for discussion and absolutely, technique is king.
But if someone says an Inner Carbon Blade with D05 is difficult to play with there is definitely some advice/experience that can be shared to help them.
That there is a 'right' racket is not a misconception, and the wrong racket also certainly exists.

Thanks! That’s exactly why I posted this request for help here. I know I won’t find the perfect racket, but I’m struggling and I can’t keep buying equipment and trying everything out. So I thought people with more experience might be able to give me some tips to get me started.

 

[WingTT]

183 grams is not considered heavy although I would tend to go with blades less than 90 grams, maybe 85 or so. If you cannot handle 183 grams maybe look for an even lighter blade. Another thing to consider is if you are using the Harimoto Innerforce ALC, the head size the slightly larger at 158mm. This may cause things to be head heavier especially with rubbers.

D05 for me is not a forehand rubber. I would go with a slightly harder hybrid rubber with a higher spin to speed ratio instead on the forehand for better control over the harder shots although it may increase weight.

Another trick is not to use multiple layers of glue to attach your rubbers. If you use a stronger non ammonia stabilized glue like Donic Formula First, you can simply apply a single very thin layer on each side of the wood and rubber and that should reduce the weight by a few grams depending how much glue you normally use.

 

[Yurifi]

I'm 27 years old. I played from age 16 to 20, then stopped, and started playing again two years ago.
I play for a league-affiliated team, but in a lower division.

ok, so you have some table tennis in your hands and not so old, ok. so, for starters - try to go in steps. first try to change one component - either blade or rubbers. not everything. people here already told you that.

so, rubbers, I would suggest andro Rasanter C53. it is a very nice rubber. spinny. right amount of speed, very linear, just the right amount of catapult so that it helps you out when a little bit in trouble. good control, nice feeling. 53 hardness, but plays somewhat softer. if you are afraid 53 is too hard, try 48. 2.0 thickness, not max.

another good rubber I can suggest is Nittaku Hammond Z2. 50 hardness. not too bouncy, good speed, good spin, good control and feel.

you can never miss with Rakza Z, it's a fantastic rubber.

if you wanna stay with Buttefly - Glayzer. or maybe D05, but 1.9 thick. completely different rubber.

if you want to change the blade, you could try Donic Waldner Gold Edition, it is an amazing blade. quite fast for inner carbon blade, probably one of the fastest with ALC structure, but very nice feel and good control.

 

[Archosaurus]

I just came across the title again and something is bugging me that I have to share.

There is a common misconception that there is such a thing as "the right racket". You can play defense with a Viscaria and offense with a large headsize defense blade.
Having a racket that's fit for your playstyle is, in all honesty, not really all that important. Just pick something that makes you feel good and learn how to play with it.

Sure, that's quite a lot coming from someone who is regularly deep in a rabbit hole. But that doesn't make it untrue. Despite 99% of online posts in table tennis being about equipment, it's really not that important.

Can't really agree with this. It's often not worth trying to "make it work" with something that you just can't use well. Especially if you're not familiar to changing equipment often and will need to re-learn every stroke from zero for it.

 

[NewGuyHere]

Good evening. I’d like to ask for some advice on what equipment I should buy.

To give you some context: I’ve been having some trouble finding a racket that I feel truly comfortable with. I’m an offensive-minded player, and my dominant hand is definitely my right.

Initially, I played with a Donic Carbotec + JP01 (FH) + JP03 (BH), but I felt it lacked power. So, I switched to a Yinhe Pro 01 + T05 (FH) + Fastarc G1 (BH). However, I didn’t adapt well—I was missing a lot of shots, especially on my forehand.

I’m currently using an Innerforce ALC + D05 (FH) + D80 (BH), but I’m still not satisfied. I find the racket heavy, and I feel like the D05 makes me miss a lot when I don’t apply the right spin to the ball.

Does anyone have any suggestions or have you gone through something similar?

You don't need bouncy rubber.
Try tacky/hybrid rubber which has more control.
Dignics 09C is a good one if you don't mind spending.
Otherwise Rakza Z could be an option.

 

[merlin el mago]

@AMOURA98
My advice is to train more and if possible with coach & downgrade the blade & rubbers. When you have more consistency & skills you always come back to current combo.

 

[andymagata]

I just came across the title again and something is bugging me that I have to share.

There is a common misconception that there is such a thing as "the right racket". You can play defense with a Viscaria and offense with a large headsize defense blade.
Having a racket that's fit for your playstyle is, in all honesty, not really all that important. Just pick something that makes you feel good and learn how to play with it.

Sure, that's quite a lot coming from someone who is regularly deep in a rabbit hole. But that doesn't make it untrue. Despite 99% of online posts in table tennis being about equipment, it's really not that important.

I could not agree more with this. Especially if you are on a journey of general improvement. We usually improve quite quickly in the beginning, are we supposed to changed equipment all the time to keep up? What feels great playing one guy might become a disaster playing the next guy. Yes - better to use the gear we already have and improve with that for an extended period of time.

Better yet - get gear fitting for a beginner, and play with that until you don’t miss any shots.

 

[Tyce]

Crazy post from you, really.

It is crazy coming from me, that's why I put that disclaimer in. On the other hand, maybe I'm a very good example.

I have tested and played pretty much the entire spectrum over the past two years, ranging from thin 5ply, basically defensive blades, to 6.5mm 3+2 rocketships, and have put a very wide variety of rubbers on them, too.
It is absolutely fair to say that I can play 90-95% of my game with any of these setups. And some of them feel great right away, others feel horrible starting out, yet in the end they're all playable setups.

Is someone was to put a gun to my head, make me give away all my rackets and give me a random one. Threaten my life if I ever switch to something else. I guarantee you I would simply get used to it and play a game I can enjoy with it, regardless what it is I had to end up with.
And for the overwhelming majority of amateur players, being able to play a game they can enjoy for the rest of their lives is pretty much the primary goal of playing table tennis.
Basically the same as I did in my teens/twenties: I didn't have any money to spare for equipment, so I played with what I had. I can promise you, my equipment was never really the problem even back then.

Sometimes it takes a crazy post to make a sensible point.

Equipment is important, and you actually know it's important.
What it is important for is certainly up for discussion and absolutely, technique is king.
But if someone says an Inner Carbon Blade with D05 is difficult to play with there is definitely some advice/experience that can be shared to help them.
That there is a 'right' racket is not a misconception, and the wrong racket also certainly exists.

I don't think Dignics, or even Glayzer, is *easy* to play on an Innerforce ALC. Coaching, especially from someone who understands what they are dealing with, is certainly going to make it a lot easier to deal with.

My point is, if the fact that they are struggling with this combination makes them look for "the right racket" and subsequently causes them to change setups multiple times expecting improvement, then that is an expectation that should probably be tempered.
And you know that point. You've made that before if I'm not mistaken. Changing a complete setup takes a long time to get used to, if not only to realize that the old setup might have actually been a better fit.

 

[steve888]

Back then, I actually tried hitting some balls with the d80 on my forehand, but I remember the ball went too straight and often hit the net, so I decided to stick with my backhand.

Just tried Rozena 2.1 on forehand today - works well with pro 1. Also tried a friends pro 1 and he has Nitakku c1 (2mm) and razka xx (2 mm) very controllable on this blade too. Certainly better than D05 2.1.