OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I have played off and on for the last 20 years. Probably 5 of those years were serious. My play style is ALL+ and typically end up 3-4 feet from the table, sometimes more.

I have 5 or so people I play with who are all pretty good. My brother practiced at a club a few years ago and back then I could easily beat him 4 out 5 games. All of the people I play against have custom paddles now and I am finding it more difficult to compete with my $60 premade from 10 years ago. I plan on watching videos and practicing technique. The local club charges way too much for lessons. I do plan on going to play there on open nights after I shake the rust off my game. I have done my research and I am looking for some advice.

Budget ~ $100 give or take

What I am looking for:

Blade
An ALL+ or OFF- blade that will allow me to progress. Preferably one that I can keep as I progress to fast/spinnier rubber.

List: (in order of what I am considering)
Donic Blue Feeling (seems like a good blade that I could use through a few different rubbers as I progress)
Appelgren allplay (I hear great things but will I outgrow it?)
Stiga allround classic or evolution

Rubber
Looking for quality rubber that will last and will help transition me into new rubbers later on

List: (again) listed in order)
Donic Desto F4 (looks like a good mix of spin and control, newer style rubber, possibly make it easier to progress to barracuda, m3, or jp03?)
Mark V (classic but hear mixed things about use on current set ups/ball size)
Shriver L (little slower than mark and same concerns)
Donic Cappa
729 focus snipe 3 (cheap, will it hold up as long?)
dawei inpirit ultralite (also cheap)

Sponge:
1.8 or 2.0mm?

Combo's I am considering the most:

Donic Blue Feeling with Donic Desto f4 with 2.0mm sponge
Appelgren allplay with Mark V 2.0 sponge.


I am open to other suggestions for blade/rubber as well.

Avalox bt555 with Inspirit Quattro ultralight 2.0mm (medium or medium-soft sponge) It will feel a bit faster than your premade at first, but you will get used to it quickly and it's more future proof (especially the blade.) It's still a very all-round setup for the modern game. Make sure you get the blade sealed by the vendor to avoid splintering later on when you replace the rubbers.

The desto will probably be too bouncy and not last very long. Although there are reports that the desto rubbers have better durability than they used to, it will won't be anywhere near the durability of the inspirit.

The donic blade doesn't look particularly good. Ayous may be too bouncy for an outer layer, grains don't look straight and it doesn't seem very popular.

I'm not a huge fan of real traditional allround+ blades, even for beginners, as the technique that you develop is more difficult to transfer to a faster blade.

Lessons may be expensive, but it's the best, fastest way to improve. I'd consider it, even if it's expensive, even if you only get 1 or 2 lessons. You need to know the proper techniques and what habits you need to break.

I'm not seen or played with the Blue feeling and don't expect its that popular. The Appelgren and Stiga Allround Evolution are very popular and very reliable allround blades. Pair with Mark V it would be a great combination for a developing player. The only thing I'm not sure of is when you say you play off the table a little. Slow blades generally aren't at their best off the table but having said that I expect that you would be fine if not playing a high level.

Appelgren Allplay Senso V1 is another option of a similar line and what I use. Same feel as the Original Appelgren but just a little faster....apparently.

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Donic Waldner Senso V1,FH Baracuda Big Slam 2.0mm ,BH Victas Triple Regular 2.0mm

Who comes up with these names? This one's a classic. Probably mirrors YOUR feelings when you lose to someone rated lower.

This sort of question comes up VERY often. Here's a reply I posted a few days ago to one.

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=30649#p328245

$100?? No need. This one's under $17. Unless you're, say, 1800 level you probably can't tell the difference between the $5 Chinese rubbers and the $40 Tensors anyway, and it won't make much difference to your game if you did. The $8 blade I mention here is every bit as good as the Stiga Allround Classic I have. Even if you get something more expensive get one of these, too. It's only $17.

Iskandar

Most developing players buy too much paddle, meaning it is at top of speed and spin ratings, but they can't control it, so it hinders their development.

Prerequisite reading before getting your next paddle: North Little Rock Table Tennis Group timeline page on Facebook.

Then, come back here and read suggestions.

You need to determine what style you want to eventually play and your realistically projected skill level to achieve based on your projected hobby time available.

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Panda Drive / 4H Xiom Sigma Pro 2 2.0 / BH Xiom Omega IV Elite Max / Play right-handed
XVT balsa carbon 10mm / 4H Xiom Sigma Pro 2 2.0 / BH Globe 979 Long Pips OX / Play Left-handed shakehand
Stiga Def Wood / 4H Xiom Sigma Pro 2 2.0 / BH GD CC LP OX .. Play Left-handed
Cpen SOS Wood / 4H 729 802-40 2.0 / BH GD Talon use righthanded shakehand grip
HARDBAT / Shakehand Hock 3 ply / Friendship Dr Evil OX .. Play Right-handed

I agree that it seems a lot of people go for too fast of equipment, The ones I mentinoed here were based on reading through the forums. I don't believe any of the ones I selected were overly fast or spinny. I was looking for advice on a blade that I could use for a long time and grow into. The idea being I could use slow rubber now and move up to faster rubber in a year or two and not have to get a new blade. This seems to be the usual advice given on the various forums.

I found Little rock table tennis group but no "north" little rock..... I didn't find much on the Little rock one. I'll search around a bit more.

As long as I have played I have been all around to offensive. I value control and spin over all out speed but I can still hit it pretty fast. I would eventually like to learn to loop and I have been watching videos.

Hobby time is the difficult one. Probably only 2-5 hours a week.

Thanks for your response.

I see that you play with the Allplay Senso with barracuda rubber, do you like that combo? I would eventually want to move up to that rubber in the future based off all the information I have read about it. I just know I need to wait, possibly years.

Any thoughts on the Waldner Senso Carbon? It is described as very controllable carbon blade, feels like an all wood blade. It is based on the Appelgren Allplay but a bit faster and has a bigger sweet spot. This seems like it would be a good blade to get so that I can upgrade the rubber as I go but still have a solid blade for years to come.

This was the first blade I bought, when I lost my Primorac. I found it way too fast, on reflection.

I think you'd be fine with any ALL+ or OFF- blade. Get one that's good quality now, and it'll last for years. You probably won't need to change it.

I have no idea whether the ones Iskandar recommends are good, but it's highly likely they are.... but psychologically you might feel more comfortable with an "established" brand in your hands. Depends how you think.

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Yasaka Sweden Classic | 802 OX | C8 OX
Check out my blog - LordCope's Latest Learning Log - 10+ years of accumulate mistakes!

I'd like to throw the Clipper wood in the ring (again), proven, well known and darn cheap if the Huaruite-wood is bought.

If conservative on rubbers then Rakza 7 and Xiom Vega-series are the way to go. But since you're recreational - even if excellent - I'd suggest to look for Gambler or KTL/LKT rubbers first, let's suggest Sevens Pro or/and LKT ProXP.

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Red is blogging here >> http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=30522

The waldner is rated OFF- I believe. If paired with slow, control rubber do you still think it would be too fast? The reviews all say it's a good control blade that lacks a bit in speed.

North Little Rock Table Tennis Group at Senior Center is the page

https://m.facebook.com/NorthLittleRockT ... =bookmarks

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Panda Drive / 4H Xiom Sigma Pro 2 2.0 / BH Xiom Omega IV Elite Max / Play right-handed
XVT balsa carbon 10mm / 4H Xiom Sigma Pro 2 2.0 / BH Globe 979 Long Pips OX / Play Left-handed shakehand
Stiga Def Wood / 4H Xiom Sigma Pro 2 2.0 / BH GD CC LP OX .. Play Left-handed
Cpen SOS Wood / 4H 729 802-40 2.0 / BH GD Talon use righthanded shakehand grip
HARDBAT / Shakehand Hock 3 ply / Friendship Dr Evil OX .. Play Right-handed

Try this blade. Excellent blade, despite the price. Lots of control, enough speed when you want it. And you can't beat the price.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/SANWEI- ... 84830.html

It's very much along the lines of the Stiga Allround. Oh heck, get one anyway, doesn't matter if you get another blade, get one of these as well, at that price. If you look around you'll find the exact same blade at twice the price, so this is an excellent deal.

There's a combo at a really good price here, too:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Sh ... 20589.html

Iskandar`

Iskandar, you seemed to have gone off the N11 as your go to blade, now the M8. Why is this?

You might need to change your custom title. Pity you weren't Australian otherwise it could be 'Gday M8'

Sent from my SM-T210 using Tapatalk

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Donic Waldner Senso V1,FH Baracuda Big Slam 2.0mm ,BH Victas Triple Regular 2.0mm

In the past, whatever blade I tried, I ended up going back the N11. This included some pretty expensive 7 ply hinoki blades (Nittaku Septear, Darker 7p2a, Yinhe Kiso 7), the HRT Clipper, the KTL Instinct, and sundry 729 blades. However for the past two months or so I've been playing with the M8, and haven't gone back to the N11 as I have previously. The M8 is a little slower, quite a bit lighter (which allows me to use some of those heavy sheets I've accumulated over the past year) and has slightly more vibration, I find it's better for blocks and over-the-table play. I might eventually go back to the N11 if I decide I want a little more speed, but for now I'm playing with the M8. I actually bought three more (can't beat the price, and the price won't be there forever, in fact it's gone up already) that I plan to try with different rubbers. One difference I've found is when I buy N11s from Eacheng they're all within a gram of 80 grams, while the four M8s I got from XVT vary from 72 grams to 78 grams.

Iskandar

Nuts. Can't get in if you don't do Facebook. And I refuse to. Had a Facebook once but I've forgotten how to log in.

Isn't this the "All Hail Yow" page??

Iskandar