OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hi there! I'm looking to buy an actual good table tennis bat. I've always been using weird ones that are either 20 years old or the wooden ones you find at the typical gym places. I was looking at the OOAK online store but I don't know which one to choose. I don't know much about the technical things like rubber thickness, material, blades etc. Can anyone point me towards something that would fit my style?

I generally stick towards defensive play and I love to spin. I also love it when people smash the ball and I return it back to them. I love playing around with shots like changing my spin, chopping it, etc. I do like smashing too, but I stick to defending a lot. I wouldn't say I'm a beginner but rather intermediate. Does anyone have any advice for me as to which bat to buy?

Thank you very much!

With the "little bit of everything" background you outline, you will not go wrong with the "entry level" Donic Waldner Allplay combo. It is a great do-it-all choice at a reasonable price, and will allow you to develop as a player.

Do not overthink equipment specifications. Spin capability and sensitivity to incoming spin are largely proportional magnitudes. The same goes for speed. You don't need any specialised/extreme equipment at your stage/type of play, so in my opinion there is really no point in looking at more expensive options until you know specifically what you are looking for.

If you are not locked on to the Ooak shop, you can also look at the recommendations from Iskandar Taib. There will be a small selection, mostly from chinese outlets. Lower price. Similar playing characteristics. Shipping time unpredictable (expect a month or so).

Thank you! Also I like to note that my current bat I use doesn't offer much power. For example I have to hit harder than usual which puts some strain on my shoulder. I used my friends bat which costs $200 and it bounces off like crazy, making smashes less harder on the joints. Will the bat you mentioned about have the same bounciness?

Probably not. The one I mentioned is fairly fast compared to your off-the-shelf "toy bat" (which is normally equipped with very light and slow "bath sponge" rubbers), but it does not "bounce off like crazy". My guess was that you don't need that crazy fast for now.

You did not mention any shoulder issue at the outset, and also the description of playing style indicated that you can move around and play from different positions with relative ease. What are we missing here? Is there anything you did not mention, which may be useful to know before we provide advice?

• Do you have a condition which limits your ability to excert power (arthritis, CP, tennis elbow, etc.)?
• Do you have mobility issues (impaired leg movement or balance)?
• Sensory ailments (reduced spatial vision, deafness)?
• What is the name of your current bat?

Usually it is wise to pick a "basic custom racket" like the one I first suggested, but sometimes it can be advantageous to go for some exaggerated properties to compensate for significant weaknesses.

If you want a crazy fast setup and your budget is around AUD200, the suggested Samsonov combo may be fine. Haggisv knows more about the equipment available in the shop, so he can probably pick something even faster for you. Just remember that those properties are "double edged swords":

• Fast also means more difficult to return high speed incoming balls.
• More spinny bat makes you more vulnerable to incoming spin.

Oh sorry yea I should have specified earlier; I seem to have some trouble with my shoulders, I don't know whether it's a rotator cuff thing, but if I "throw" my arm out hard like when smashing the ball, I feel some strain on my shoulder joint. Sometimes if I do bench press or pushups too, I can feel the soreness coming. I don't think it's too much of an issue, but only that when I used my friend's bat, I can smash with lot less pain if none at all.

Otherwise I have no mobility issues or sensory ailments. The name of my current bat is one I bought at my local Rebel sports store: https://www.rebelsport.com.au/p/terrasp ... 97944.html

Yea I totally agree and understand what you mean by double edged sword; when I asked to use my friend's bat I could tell that that while I didn't need to exert much strength to propel the ball because of the bounciness, it took some getting use to control the power, as I was used to my own bat. I'm curious about your second point, could a very spinny bat negate their spin because the bat is grippier than theirs? Or is that not the case? I'm not that knowledgable xD Thanks

Edit: also the bat you mentioned I looked on the website and they have two options for rubber choices, 2.1 and 1.9mm, which one do I choose?

If your current bat corresponds to the pictures from the shop, you have Giant Dragon "Superspin G3" rubbers which are fairly fast and spinny, so you may not notice any great difference between that and my original Donic suggestion. The blade (wood) does have a significant impact on bounce, so you may still gain something, but I really don't know the "Terrasphere" material so I cannot say for certain, either way.

Rotator cuff syndrome and similar inflammatory conditions require rest and possibly medication (steroid injections, typically cortison variety) to heal. They are typically a form of repeated stress injury (RSI). To reduce the risk of returning RSI if you train a lot, you need to have proper technique. Get some coaching if possible. That advice also holds when you notice beginning discomfort from certain moves. You really want to avoid any case of RSI.

Sometimes it also helps to use lighter equipment. I suspect that the Donic racket I suggested is no lighter than what you currently have (possibly even heavier).

Not at all. The spin is an energy carrier. If your rubber is very grippy, all of that energy translates to sideways bounce off your racket, which you need to compensate for.
Spin "negation" by equipment is achieved when the ball slips on the rubber (antispin/antiloop rubber, or just "anti" ; old deteriorated rubbers) or the rubber surface has significant "give" (long pimples out).
Compensation is more common and allows more direct attack opportunities than using those "negating" rubbers. It takes a lot of practice to play well with anti/LP. I would not suggest that you go there as your first choice. It is not an easy way out.
Thicker rubber gives more "headroom" for extra bounce and spin. It is also heavier. To some degree a softer (more elastic) "euro/jap style" sponge is typically also lighter than a hard sponge, but with softness you lose some of said headroom.

For what it is worth: There are significant differences in weight for both rubbers and blades. The lightest normal size double-inverted setup I had my hands on was 119g, and the heaviest I have in my bag right now is 280g. Both are "crazy fast".

Reach out to Haggisv (link to business "about" statement), either await his response here or send a PM (or meet them at the club if you are in Adelaide, see the bottom of that "about" page). He will know what is available in their shop. Knowing your budget (roughly) and priorities (speed, spin, weight) he should have a sensible suggestion. Also, the "useful info" section on the business pages is exactly that (useful).

Wow thanks so much for the information! Yes I think my bat has contributed to the stress on my shoulder. Out of all the friend's and bats I've used at gyms, mine was always the heaviest. I have no idea why.. maybe the weight of the blade? All my friends who used my bat say it's too heavy for them.

Anyway thank you again for your help. Your samsonov combo suggestion looks great for me. I will also reach out to Haggisv

That super light (119g) racket I mentioned is a Re-Impact T4 blade custom built for my son, weighing in at 49g (!). It was originally equipped with Stiga Calibra LT rubbers. Currently KTL pro XT on it, which has added a few grams. A fantastic combo. Note that the main wood used in this blade is balsa, which makes for a somewhat "peculiar response" (takes some getting used to) and balsa wood itself is soft and not very durable. Still, with sensible care the racket is still good to go, now ten years later. (It does not self destruct, like other "quality" stuff out there may do.) Excellent control even far away from the table, and good power when you need it. I suspect that this is the lightest combo you can get from tabletennisshop.com.au, and too fast for me .

Good luck!