What makes more difference - rubbers or blades

[SFF_lib]

【到底是底板影响更大还是胶皮影响更大？这个视频或许会告诉你答案】 LINK

I saw this on Bilibili. People prefered the combo with crappy blade + Z03.

I always invest more on the blade, maybe have to rethink the strategy? What do you think

 

[MORTtheORT]

100% the blade. The feel of the blade is the most important part of the game and particularly for people still developing. That feeling you get through the blade is essentially.. An example of this, my doubles partner at the moment is a Olympic medalist, he had to play with a different blade with similar rubbers...had a major impact on his game as the blade feeling was dead. The feeling your blade gives you allows you to make those small adjustments to what your opponent does. A good blade makes cheaper rubber good, expensive rubbers don't hide a rubbish blade.

 

[Scarfed Garchomp]

Lmao calling U2 a crappy blade is insane to me. Its cheap no doubt but I think it is one of the highest quality and best performing blades you can buy for the price. It can sit alongside any other 7 ply wood and not feel out of place, so I don't think it's fair to compare its position to something like a barebones 729 which is an absolute fossil of a rubber

 

[Dr Evil]

Rubber. That's what hits the ball.

 

[MORTtheORT]

100% the blade. The feel of the blade is the most important part of the game and particularly for people still developing. That feeling you get through the blade is essentially.. An example of this, my doubles partner at the moment is a Olympic medalist, he had to play with a different blade with similar rubbers...had a major impact on his game as the blade feeling was dead. The feeling your blade gives you allows you to make those small adjustments to what your opponent does. A good blade makes cheaper rubber good, expensive rubbers don't hide a rubbish blade.

For anyone looking for a good blade that you can use all the way through to professional levels that is not overpriced....Ma Lin Offensive blade. Great blade for adults and even good for kids as it has a relatively narrow handle and a good size sweet spot on it.

 

[ThePongCommenter]

The correct answer is the rubber and its not even close

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

firstly, the comparison is not even "fair".
the cheaper blade is higher rated than that cheaper rubber by a long mile - maybe if they paired with a more decent rubber, it could be a real question.

however, thinking of it, I think for amateurs, 9 out of 10 times, the rubbers will probably do the trick.

for professionals, the blade is so much more important (when comparing to similar level or same rubbers).
So this review or question is extremely flawed - but that is the purpose of these questions - to get people talking and watch that video

 

[joshmak10]

What would make more difference, someone switching from Viscaria to Korbel, or someone switching from Dignics to Sriver?

 

[zeio]

2019/12/31
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/topics/stroke-impacted-by.22562/post-300901

Rubber.

Try looping with long pips.

There have been many studies on this.

 

[MORTtheORT]

The correct answer is the rubber and its not even close

You get better performance out of a Glazyer 09C with a good blade then you will out of a Dig 09C on a dead blade.

 

[MORTtheORT]

firstly, the comparison is not even "fair".
the cheaper blade is higher rated than that cheaper rubber by a long mile - maybe if they paired with a more decent rubber, it could be a real question.

however, thinking of it, I think for amateurs, 9 out of 10 times, the rubbers will probably do the trick.

for professionals, the blade is so much more important (when comparing to similar level or same rubbers).
So this review or question is extremely flawed - but that is the purpose of these questions - to get people talking and watch that viy

firstly, the comparison is not even "fair".
the cheaper blade is higher rated than that cheaper rubber by a long mile - maybe if they paired with a more decent rubber, it could be a real question.

however, thinking of it, I think for amateurs, 9 out of 10 times, the rubbers will probably do the trick.

for professionals, the blade is so much more important (when comparing to similar level or same rubbers).
So this review or question is extremely flawed - but that is the purpose of these questions - to get people talking and watch that video

Yep, low level players do not hit through the rubber to get the blade effect are more influenced by the rubber. Rubbers influence style of game etc, but the blade is what makes the difference when you want all out performance.

 

[zeio]

Lmao calling U2 a crappy blade is insane to me. Its cheap no doubt but I think it is one of the highest quality and best performing blades you can buy for the price. It can sit alongside any other 7 ply wood and not feel out of place, so I don't think it's fair to compare its position to something like a barebones 729 which is an absolute fossil of a rubber

That reminds me of a post by the owner of Yinhe on the Chinese forum Table Tennis Homeland over 10 years ago. It was about his trip to Japan and a visit to one of the table tennis equipment manufacturers, how the factory was so run down and deprecated and it was all people's rose-colored glasses perception...

🚨 Chinese Factory Owner Exposes Luxury Bags Brands | The Truth Behind Luxury Brands | Made In China
https://youtube.com/shorts/HVEw3ItIVx4

 

[tzifos]

It is like asking what is more important thing in rallying; the car or the tires! A rally car with tarmac tires cannot even start in a muddy/snowed rally like in Sweden, the same rally car cannot compete with snow tires with nails in a tarmac race like Monte Carlo race.

In TT the differences are not so big like in the rally car example but both (blade & rubbers) are very important to get wins, and all depend on the hand that uses this blade, the hand is the most important and choosing the right combination.

 

[IB66]

You get better performance out of a Glazyer 09C with a good blade then you will out of a Dig 09C on a dead blade.

Then you should get better performance from D09C than G09C on the dead blade. Also ‘performance’ is ability biased. A blade or rubber does nothing until used by a person.
A strong player is still way more likely to play better with a poor blade/good rubber combo or good blade/poor rubber combo than a weaker player.

 

[IB66]

Yep, low level players do not hit through the rubber to get the blade effect are more influenced by the rubber. Rubbers influence style of game etc, but the blade is what makes the difference when you want all out performance.

Then all beginners should use the fastest blade possible? Because they can’t get any effect from the blade?

it’s Interesting which way to go when a total beginner starts playing regarding choice of blade / rubber.
Because they have no experience of what’s fast, what’s slow what’s spinny what isn’t etc, then choice of equipment sort of becomes redundant. ( it doesn’t but could ) They would just except the fastest and most spinny blade / rubber combo as the norm and learn to play.
Would it take them longer to reach the point where they can hit thru the rubber/sponge and engage the blade? Compared to a beginner that moves up gradually through the different grades of equipment?

 

[Tyce]

I think it's a matter of feeling here, not performance. And that's why people preferred the premium (and unique) rubber, it contributes a lot of positive happy feelings, with the blade not being all that bad. Crappy rubber will feel crappy until you get to understand it.

 

[itsmikechen]

I think it really just depends on skill level.

At beginner level, you’re almost nowhere hitting hard enough or accurate enough for the blade to matter too much. So it would be rubbers.

At intermediate level, I think this goes up, looping, and drives start having more solid contact with the blade but it’s still primarily rubbers.

At advanced, I think this is where it sort of equalizes. You’re hitting through your rubbers consistently in offensive settings. The difference in speed, hardness, feeling differs greatly. The difference between an allwood, alc and super zlc, etc. Varies your shots dramatically on those aggressive shots, and even your touch game. This is where it becomes 50/50.

At pro level, I think this is where it really comes down to the blade. A lot of pros choose their blade at advanced stage and stick with it and that variant for life. Primarily because it does exactly or close enough to what they want. I’d go as far to say, 70% to 30% importance.

I’ll even give an example,

Wang Chuqin actually started to dramatically see more success when he changed from the Viscaria to the W968. He had much more control. This is just a difference enough in outer vs inner and two different brands.

Obviously for other playing styles other than offensive, rubbers matter more. Long pips, anti spin, etc.

 

[Topspinslinger]

Subjective really, I know a lot of good blades at around €30/50. But I still go back to either Carbonado or Innerforce layer ALC.
I do not like any rubber that is under €25. (Besides H3)
At €30 you can buy DNA pro and €35 Rakza 7, I don't consider these "expensive" and these are great!
Tabletennis is a hobby, and I like to invest a bit into my hobby.

 

[Kopp]

IMO, it's the blade. It's the one that sends the feeling to your brain through your nerves and stores the memory. Changing the blade is like resetting everything.

 

[NetProphet]

Then all beginners should use the fastest blade possible? Because they can’t get any effect from the blade?

it’s Interesting which way to go when a total beginner starts playing regarding choice of blade / rubber.
Because they have no experience of what’s fast, what’s slow what’s spinny what isn’t etc, then choice of equipment sort of becomes redundant. ( it doesn’t but could ) They would just except the fastest and most spinny blade / rubber combo as the norm and learn to play.
Would it take them longer to reach the point where they can hit thru the rubber/sponge and engage the blade? Compared to a beginner that moves up gradually through the different grades of equipment?

It's a good question but it's gonna be subjectively influenced by the ability of a player to learn technique because let's face it, that's the only thing that gives anyone a chance to extract potential from a D09c.
Does beginning with a faster or slower blade assist the learning of technique more?
Again it depends on the player but I'm gonna say that 3 out of 4 (or maybe 2 out of 3?) will learn faster with a slower blade with the needed feedback 🤷‍♂️