Which poly ball should you choose?

[Ilia Minkin]

Those Butterfly practice balls at LYTTC were pretty good. You should think about those since you know they are decent.

Actually, this is a very good suggestion, those balls are available now: http://shop.butterflyonline.com/easy-ball-training-40-120. But I'm trying to find a way to utilize a tabletennis11 coupon

 

[Baal]

Yes, the Easy Ball is my favorite plastic non-ITTF approved ball.

 

[NextLevel]

Well, I have usually used the Kinson 1*, but I am sure the Easy balls are more durable and play better. I am buying a set so that I will label them and use them for my coaching - it was fun to use them at LYTTC.

 

[Josep Antón Velázquez]

My personal assessment remains that the world would be a better place if all Chinese seamed balls, including the newest DHS, were re-purposed to make other plastic objects, like buckets to hold balls, or objects unrelated to table tennis.

Hahaha Ok, I get which is your point of view :-D

It's really strange that our feelings on this perceptions are so differents. I'm agree with all of you that the quality of DHS is lower than the other brands in terms of consistency and roundness, but I give them a 6'5 (over 10) in quality. In other hand for me DHS poly balls are the ones with the closest feeling to cell balls.

It is possible that your serve is staying nice and low with this DHS ball. Assessing spin of balls is very difficult since different people are cued into different effects of the spin on ball behavior, and that varies with different brands of plastic ball.

I understand there are a lot of factors that can affect our perception in the game, but I truly think that my point of view on this is "objective", I mean that DHS balls are spinny and more grippy than any other ball. But it's difficult to prove it if we cant play each other and make the comprasion.

Anyway I would like to make some objective tutorial about diferent balls, but it's not easy to measure aspects like the adherence that are directly related to the posibility of generate spin.

 

[Josep Antón Velázquez]

Hi Josep Antón
Sorry, my mistake. Your English is fine, I just did't read your post properly. I'll do better in the future.

I've updated the first post to reflect the improvements in quality for the DHS ball, but so far your opinion about the feeling of DHS isn't supported by a lot of people, so I'll leave it as it was for now.

Thanks for your kindly words

Yes, I know DHS poly-balls don't have good critics. Here in spain I also had this kind of discussion. I had to say that, when I can play with my rival and make a "playing test" with him, they always agree in the point that DHS is the more spinny ball. Since they have improved.

I play in third national division and in my group the most used ball it's DHS (or a clon). There are 2 (of 12) teams that play with Xushaofa, one of them after playing with us was surprised about how DHS feels now and want to change for next year, the other have already changed the ball from XSF to DHS after 4 or 5 matches.

I have to say that I speacially dislike Xushaofa, the way it plays seem not real for me, I mean it's very different to cell balls. I don't like that Nittaku or BTF G40+ have less spin (at least from my own perception) but I like the behavior of that balls and I'm agree they have a clearly better quality.

Regards

 

[NextLevel]

Thanks for your kindly words

Yes, I know DHS poly-balls don't have good critics. Here in spain I also had this kind of discussion. I had to say that, when I can play with my rival and make a "playing test" with him, they always agree in the point that DHS is the more spinny ball. Since they have improved.

I play in third national division and in my group the most used ball it's DHS (or a clon). There are 2 (of 12) teams that play with Xushaofa, one of them after playing with us was surprised about how DHS feels now and want to change for next year, the other have already changed the ball from XSF to DHS after 4 or 5 matches.

I have to say that I speacially dislike Xushaofa, the way it plays seem not real for me, I mean it's very different to cell balls. I don't like that Nittaku or BTF G40+ have less spin (at least from my own perception) but I like the behavior of that balls and I'm agree they have a clearly better quality.

Regards

But the problem is that how do we separate bounce height from spin and ball adhesion?

The thing about the DHS ball is that the lower bounce height always makes the ball harder to block and return than other balls when you spin with it. Whenever I play someone who has been practicing with these balls and I have been practicing with other balls, I cannot make a shot because my flatter style puts every thing net. It takes time for me to adjust. This is fun for people with high arcing and spinny loops because they can loop high but the ball will flatten out but for someone like me who sometimes plays very flat, this is annoying.

 

[Vrael]

In my province, 2nd and 3rd leagues are using hanno balls. Didn't see anyone mentioning them before on this thread, so just wanted to add that

 

[SpinWins]

I have XSF, Nittaku Premium and newest Butterfly 40+. The Butterfly sound a little weird but it is my favorite of them. It stays whiter, easier to see, and the bounce seems the most true.

I can use any of the 3 ball and be fine but I prefer the Butterfly.

 

[Suga D]

In my province, 2nd and 3rd leagues are using hanno balls. Didn't see anyone mentioning them before on this thread, so just wanted to add that

The Hanno ball is seamless (as far as i've seen) and hence is a rebranded XSF...

I finally could get my hands on the NP40+.
Still not many stores in germany carry them.



I must say i couldn't make up my mind yet, which i like more.
The G40+ is also pretty good.
In terms of availability the G40+ is easier to get.



But the NP40+ is also a very good ball. So these two are at the moment also my favourites.

Please don't get me wrong. The XSF is also a pretty good and especially durable ball, but its bounce is just too odd and hence not really competitive with the other two.

 

[Josep Antón Velázquez]

But the problem is that how do we separate bounce height from spin and ball adhesion?

The thing about the DHS ball is that the lower bounce height always makes the ball harder to block and return than other balls when you spin with it. Whenever I play someone who has been practicing with these balls and I have been practicing with other balls, I cannot make a shot because my flatter style puts every thing net. It takes time for me to adjust. This is fun for people with high arcing and spinny loops because they can loop high but the ball will flatten out but for someone like me who sometimes plays very flat, this is annoying.

I'm agree with you in the fact that a ball has a set of propieties that can not be separate.

For example when we make a service a lower bounce make more dificult the devolution. Lower services always are better. And if you serve with the same amounth of backspin but lower bounce the service seems more underspin for the receiver.

But when you try to block with DHS it should be the oposite, lower bounce should induce a lower trajectory after the block. And my personal feeling it's that with DHS I have more problems to put the ball on the table and with a spinny topspin the block goes out, not at the net.

Also you can separate the bounce height from spin and adhesion when you serve. With all this poly balls I should change the angle of the racket when I do a service. For example if I want to make a backspin serve with xushaofa I have to close more the racket than with DHS. It's because the first have less adhesion therefore the ball gets less spin transfered when you make the service.

I will think about a way to measure the spin in a objective way...

Regards

 

[brabhamista]

First post updated with the new comparison table, now including the Weener/Butterfly ball.

 

[Suga D]

You could add www.butterfly.tt for the G40+
and http://www.magic-tischtennis.de/Baelle/BaelleKleinpackungen
for NP40+ NSha40+ Gewo40+ and a few others to Post No#2

 

[Baal]

Main feature of the Butterfly G40/Weener ball is its very smooth surface, which makes it different from any other 40+. This feature makes it fly much straighter and faster through the air. It has a tendency to give strange bounces once it gets a bit worn. The smooth surface means that spin does not affect trajectory through air as much, so flies straighter (less arc) and faster, tends to slide on the table more, and so more spin that was imparted on the ball persists until the ball strikes opponent's racket. Weight is same as XSF and CHinese seamed balls (~2.75 g), a bit higher than NP40+ (2.70g). Static bounce height of G40+ is good, about same as NP40+, much better than Chinese seamed balls. They seem durable. They sound funny, but who cares? The main response to everyone who tries it is, "wow, fast!".

They are my second favorite ball after NP40+. They are not cheap.

 

[brabhamista]

Thank you, NextLevel and Baal.
That's excellent info on the Butterfly G40+. Precisely what we need

 

[SpinWins]

I have G40+ ball and agree with Baal's post. Also the G40+ ball is a whiter color and a little easier to see than Nittaku, if that make a difference.

 

[AndySmith]

It's been a while since anything new popped up on the ball list, but we have movement today. A new ball from...

DHS - D40+ - Plastic with seam - Made in China

How is this different from the older DHS ball? Time will tell.

 

[brabhamista]

It's been a while since anything new popped up on the ball list, but we have movement today. A new ball from...

DHS - D40+ - Plastic with seam - Made in China

How is this different from the older DHS ball? Time will tell.

Good catch, Andy!

So this does look like a new ball. Hopefully it's a good quality one. Dunno what is different, but about 10 months or so ago there were rumours that DHS would licence and manufacture a ball using the Nittaku Japan production methods (the presence of a seam may point to this and the absence of one indicate that this is not an XSF clone). If it's indeed a Nittaku clone, I'd say it's good news.

We'll have to wait for that rumours to be confirmed or refuted when someone gets their hands on this ball.

 

[AndySmith]

I tend to wait for Baal to get his hands on them. He knows the shiz.

 

[brabhamista]

Yup, I agree. A good idea.
Hey! Time to get your hands dirty, Baal!

 

[Baal]

I will buy some (once I figure out where they are sold). I very much hope that it is a re-labeled Nittaku or a ball made using the same process.