Thick vs Thin and Hard vs Soft - not sure which to get

[delerious]

Less than a year ago, I had bought a paddle with 2.1 rubber (43 hardness) on the forehand and 1.9 rubber (43 hardness) on the backhand. (These are cheap Air Tiger rubbers from colestt.com - I'm guessing most people here have never heard of that rubber.) After playing with it for a while, I felt like I had less control with it than I did with my 3 year old paddle, which had a 1.8 on the forehand and 1.5 on the backhand (not sure about the hardnesses).

I've gone back to the 3 year old paddle, but I should probably get a new one as some of the wood on the blade has broken off, although I can still play with it. Now I'm trying to decide what rubbers I should get on a new one.

First of all, everything I've read says that non-tacky rubbers are better for beginners (like me), because they are more forgiving, so I'll make sure to get a grippy rubber instead of a tacky one.

Now there are 2 other factors that I need to decide on.

Thick vs thin. From what I've read, thick rubbers have more power/speed but less control than thin rubbers. This seems to match my experience. So I guess I should go with thin rubbers? But wait...

Hard vs soft. From what I've read, soft rubbers have more control but less power/speed than hard rubbers.

So should I go with rubbers that are both thin and soft, so that I get the ultimate control and most forgiving rubbers?

What would happen if I were to get a thin hard rubber, or a thick soft rubber? Would I get the best of both worlds, where I get both control and speed? Or maybe the worst of both worlds where it's slow with no control?

As I mentioned earlier, my paddle with 2.1/1.9 and 43 hardness seemed to have a bit too much power for me. But I have the option of getting 2.1/1.9 rubbers with 35 hardness - wonder if that would be better. Or should I just get a 1.9 or 1.7 on the forehand and 1.5 on the backhand similar to what I'm using right now?

 

[JJ Ng]

Less than a year ago, I had bought a paddle with 2.1 rubber (43 hardness) on the forehand and 1.9 rubber (43 hardness) on the backhand. (These are cheap Air Tiger rubbers from colestt.com - I'm guessing most people here have never heard of that rubber.) After playing with it for a while, I felt like I had less control with it than I did with my 3 year old paddle, which had a 1.8 on the forehand and 1.5 on the backhand (not sure about the hardnesses).

I've gone back to the 3 year old paddle, but I should probably get a new one as some of the wood on the blade has broken off, although I can still play with it. Now I'm trying to decide what rubbers I should get on a new one.

First of all, everything I've read says that non-tacky rubbers are better for beginners (like me), because they are more forgiving, so I'll make sure to get a grippy rubber instead of a tacky one.

Now there are 2 other factors that I need to decide on.

Thick vs thin. From what I've read, thick rubbers have more power/speed but less control than thin rubbers. This seems to match my experience. So I guess I should go with thin rubbers? But wait...

Hard vs soft. From what I've read, soft rubbers have more control but less power/speed than hard rubbers.

So should I go with rubbers that are both thin and soft, so that I get the ultimate control and most forgiving rubbers?

What would happen if I were to get a thin hard rubber, or a thick soft rubber? Would I get the best of both worlds, where I get both control and speed? Or maybe the worst of both worlds where it's slow with no control?

As I mentioned earlier, my paddle with 2.1/1.9 and 43 hardness seemed to have a bit too much power for me. But I have the option of getting 2.1/1.9 rubbers with 35 hardness - wonder if that would be better. Or should I just get a 1.9 or 1.7 on the forehand and 1.5 on the backhand similar to what I'm using right now?

Are you also debating what blade to get?

The blade is absolutely important. The discussion of rubbers should not be independent of the discussion of the blade.

For blade I would recommend OFF- 5-ply all wood blade like Tibhar Stratus Power Wood. It has slight vibration but not too much (I hate vibration). It is fast but not too fast. It is good for imparting top spins.

Then I would start off with thinner, softer sponge rubber on that OFF- 5-ply all wood blade. And as you get better, you can get thicker sponge and harder sponge (if you like). Sometimes softer sponge also has more catapult effect on lower speed shots so softer does not always equal slower. Harder sponge does need you to hit harder to activate the sponge. Softer sponge can activate the catapult effect at lower speed so you might still feel the ball popping out of your rubber.

Thin harder sponge does not necessarily mean better for you. Too thin of a sponge, you will not learn how to activate the sponge to help you loop with more spin and speed.

Thicker softer might also feel mushy as though you lack some control.

My set-up is 2.2mm Hurricane 3 on the forehand and 2.0mm C-1 or Rakza 7 soft on the backhand. I am still trying to figure which softer tensor rubber is best for my backhand. I might even be buying a sheet of Xiom Vega Europe to put in that mix. Since I have always played with 2.2mm Hurricane on the backhand side, I have bought and used max sponge (i.e. 2.2mm sponge or thicker) of G-1, Rakza 7 soft, Rakza X soft and Xiom Vega Europe. Then when I pulled a 2.0mm sponge from an old supply and stuck it on a spare paddle, i found out all of the sudden I can do backhand loop off backspin pretty easily. So 2.0mm it is for now. And I don't know regular Rakza 7. Too hard for me on my backhand right now.

So for you, I think you should get 1.8mm C-1 and 1.8mm Rakza 7 soft. See which one you like better. You an twiddle the paddle and try either one on the forehand and the other one on the backhand. Then twiddle the paddle again to try the opposite one on your forehand and backhand respectively. I don't think you can go wrong with C-1 and Rakza 7 soft. Also both rubbers just would not die. They last forever.

Then later you can try 2.0mm spone for either one.

Then after that you can try G-1 and Rakza 7 regular.

Or maybe you want to try G-1 on the forehand and C-1 on the backhand (G-1 is harder than C-1)

Or maybe you will like Rakza 7 so much that you will use Rakza 7 regular on the forehand and Rakza 7 soft on the backhand.

Anyway, I am just planning out your equipment projectory assumig you have a coach and you do want to progress in table tennis.

 

[TackyForehand]

Your next step is to get Mark V 2.0mm on both sides of a Sweden Extra. This is a middle of the road setup with excellent control. It's too early to worry about the details of your equipment before you know your style of play.

 

[Lazer]

Listen to tackyforhand, he is absolutely right. Mark V are excellent rubbers don’t listen to anyone that tries to tell you different. Longest lasting in the business. The Sweden extra is a blade that may well be the only one you’ll ever need.

Cheers
L-zr

 

[JJ Ng]

I have a couple all around blades (ALL) but I don't like it. I am of the opinion that a mild OFF- blade is the best option (such as Tibhar Stratus Power Wood). You can grow with such blades, starting with slower rubber on both side, thinner and then progress to even say Tenergy later on, a few years down the road.

I do not have a Sweden extra blade. I just don't commend on any equipment that I have not personally tried.

I have Mark V currently. It is on my kids' blades as they are learning table tennis. I think I put 1.5mm or 1.8mm Mark V on both of their blades (and the other side was Yasaka Original and Donic Liga just so I can see what those rubbers feel like). However my kids are 10 and 11 and they are beginner beginner.

The OP has been playing for a while so I think 1.8mm of Rakza 7 soft and C-1 should be sufficient. Now if he wants to put 2.0mm Mark V on both side, that's a good idea too. I just feel that for the price, Mark V being a non-tensor rubber is not good for its value. If the OP has a coach and wants to progress in table tennis, why not start getting used to a tensor rubber (albeit 1.8mm of Rakza 7 soft and C-1 because they are slower). I have a sheet of max sponge Xiom Vega Europe. I think that one is even softer than Rakza 7 soft and C-1. So perhaps Xiom Vega Europe on both sides at 1.8mm sponge?

 

[delerious]

Thanks for the recommendations. I was more looking for general advice in terms of thick/thin and hard/soft, but I looked at the recommended blades and rubbers. The Tibhar Stratus Power Wood, C-1, and Razka 7 would cost about $140, and I definitely wasn't planning on spending that much.

The Yasaka Sweden Extra and Mark V on both sides would be around $100, Also I'd be more inclined to get 1.8mm instead of 2.0mm, since the 2.1mm and 1.9mm I currently have seems a bit too thick for me.

I'm not sure anyone can answer this, but would the Sweden Extra and Mark V be worth the extra money over a cheaper blade and rubber? I was thinking I'd just order from colestt.com again, and get the Touch01 blade, which I'm already using and their website says "Wanna keep the ball on the table? This is as good as it gets." That's exactly the kind of blade I'm interested in. Plus a couple cheap rubbers, and the cost would be about half as much as the Sweden Extra and Mark V.

 

[Lazer]

Thanks for the recommendations. I was more looking for general advice in terms of thick/thin and hard/soft, but I looked at the recommended blades and rubbers. The Tibhar Stratus Power Wood, C-1, and Razka 7 would cost about $140, and I definitely wasn't planning on spending that much.

The Yasaka Sweden Extra and Mark V on both sides would be around $100, Also I'd be more inclined to get 1.8mm instead of 2.0mm, since the 2.1mm and 1.9mm I currently have seems a bit too thick for me.

I'm not sure anyone can answer this, but would the Sweden Extra and Mark V be worth the extra money over a cheaper blade and rubber? I was thinking I'd just order from colestt.com again, and get the Touch01 blade, which I'm already using and their website says "Wanna keep the ball on the table? This is as good as it gets." That's exactly the kind of blade I'm interested in. Plus a couple cheap rubbers, and the cost would be about half as much as the Sweden Extra and Mark V.

At this point you don’t know what you are going to like so if you are going to stick with this sport get the cheaper one and upgrade in a year or so.

Cheers
L-zr

 

[JJ Ng]

Thanks for the recommendations. I was more looking for general advice in terms of thick/thin and hard/soft, but I looked at the recommended blades and rubbers. The Tibhar Stratus Power Wood, C-1, and Razka 7 would cost about $140, and I definitely wasn't planning on spending that much.

The Yasaka Sweden Extra and Mark V on both sides would be around $100, Also I'd be more inclined to get 1.8mm instead of 2.0mm, since the 2.1mm and 1.9mm I currently have seems a bit too thick for me.

I'm not sure anyone can answer this, but would the Sweden Extra and Mark V be worth the extra money over a cheaper blade and rubber? I was thinking I'd just order from colestt.com again, and get the Touch01 blade, which I'm already using and their website says "Wanna keep the ball on the table? This is as good as it gets." That's exactly the kind of blade I'm interested in. Plus a couple cheap rubbers, and the cost would be about half as much as the Sweden Extra and Mark V.

Now we know your budget. Get a preassembled paddle from Gamblertt.com

I like their blades. I don't like their rubbers because their rubbers have no catapult effects whatsoever. But if you get an preassembled paddle from them, in a year or so, you an rip the rubbers off and keep the blade, and put your own desired rubbers on them.