Upgrading my equipment

[IndianTT]

I am currently using a Stag Ninja Fire racquet and would like to upgrade to something better. I have been playing table tennis for more than 12 years, although I have not received any formal training.

I used to prefer playing from slightly behind the table, though I have started playing closer to the table recently. I am strong on my forehand (forehand topspin and chop) and play with a shakehand grip. I am looking to upgrade to a fast blade and rubber that would be suitable for fast forehand smashes on one side and have a lot of spin on the other side. My budget for this upgrade is around 150-200 USD. Please provide your suggestions.

I have not used carbon blades till now. Would this be the right time to move to a carbon blade?

 

[Saiph]

For the blade, if you want something a bit fast but still keeps the 'feel', maybe try inner carbon first? There's ton of good inner carbon blades out there, like Sanwei Inner 75, Yinhe 970xx alc, or the new Xiom hayabusa series to name a few that you could get for around 100 USD depending on where you live.

As for the rubbers, you could do a combo of european (ESN) rubbers for FH+BH or chinese FH with european BH. You could try good and steady european rubbers like Xiom Vega Pro or Nittaku Fastarc G1. As for the chinese one, you might want to look at Yinhe Big Dipper that some say is a good fit for someone trying out chinese rubbers...