so it must be hard to loop again and opponents make mistakes?

so it must be hard to loop again and opponents make mistakes?

Today I built up identical paddles; one with TSP Spinpips RED max and one with Nittaku Beautry max. Not a whole lot of difference between the two, the most prominent difference being that Beautry is quiet and Spinpips RED is loud. Beautry might be a tad faster and throw a tad lower. Both make blocking effortless and dangerously fast.

Today I built up identical paddles; one with TSP Spinpips RED max and one with Nittaku Beautry max. Not a whole lot of difference between the two, the most prominent difference being that Beautry is quiet and Spinpips RED is loud. Beautry might be a tad faster and throw a tad lower. Both make blocking effortless and dangerously fast.

Hi Nathanso,

I'be been playing Spinpips Red for the past 3 months, and unfortunately don't think it is the right one for me. The red sponge is a significant speed upgrade, however topsheet is too soft and pips bend on harder stroke introducing a fair bit of inconsistency. Despite the apparent speed, overall feel is very "mushy" and indirect. I think you mentioned "dreaded pip grip" in your older posts and I think Spinpips Red is showing that in full force.

I'm thinking of retracing your footsteps on Beautry, how do you compare the overall feel? Especially topsheet and sponge hardness, catapult feeling, overall directness etc. Coming from 802-40, Spinpips Red is already a step down in spin, but I'm willing to give up more for something faster and crisp hitting (although still in the spinny pips category).

Apart from Beautry, can you also compare the topsheet/sponge properties against other pips? I'm considering Rakza PO, Waran, and Hexer Force. But ofcourse, open to suggestions.

Thanks,

Is the Xiom Stradivarius a stiff, hard blade without Balsa? If not then I'd first try a more SP-oriented blade because I experience none of the mushy, indirect feel that you described. I guess I should also ask what your playing level is because if you're US2000+ and hitting a lot harder than I do then that could explain it, and maybe indicate that Spinpips BLUE is better suited for your power level.

Hi, the Stradivarius is a hard medium high stiffness blade. Koto, ALC, Ayous, Kiri I believe. Much harder and crisper feeling than clipper, although very slightly less stiff, definitely not a flexy/trampoline type blade. I hate to admit it, but I'm an unranked player. Only attended local (Shanghai) hosted tournaments over the past 1.5 years and they don't keep score like the US. Definitely not US2000+, but good conststent forehand and I try to impart speed whenever possible. With regards to Blue, I'm aware they have the same topsheet, which is what I found too soft. How does the Beautry topsheet compare? Also Waran which I believe you also tried.

Beautry's topsheet feels similar in play to Spinpips RED from what I recall. But it doesn't throw as high or spin as much, as I noted earlier. I didn't like Waran at all.. plasticky feel that I couldn't get to lift or spin the ball. I also recently bought/tried DMS Firestorm as well as the new Gambler SP and I still prefer the TSP pip.

Interesting. That wasn't my experience. I used the Beautry for months before switching to the Spinpips RED on the same blade, and I found the Beautry and Spinpips RED to have similar speed and both to be similarly excellent for blocking, but I found spin-generation on serves, chops and loops to be significantly better with Spinpips RED.

i think becuase Spinpips tips have more friction than others

The secret to the highish spin capability of TSP spin pips is thought to be due to the widely spaced conical pips. Square on shots have less grip so act more like a classic pip but when contact is at an angle the edges of the pips create the spin helped by the soft sponge. See this old thread.
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