OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I was a tennis player in highschool and eventually got into TT through my hitting partner, played at the basement and informal club level. Went back to school and started playing with the university club a few months ago. For all purposes I am a beginner.

Over the holidays I found the Donic Dicon JO blade and Mendo rubber that is still on there, purchased around 2003. I must have bought it based on my friend's recommendation because I really didn't know anything back then. The blade is classed as OFF- and seems to be a decent allround one from research.

I have settled on Mark V rubber after many (many) hours of research. I realize there is newer faster stuff out there and cheaper Chinese stuff that is similar, but this seems to be a tried and tested beginner setup. And it's easy to find and the quality control should be decent.

Seems there's much controversy over how fast this rubber actually is. I understand it was popularized during the speed glue and 38mm ball era. Our playing conditions today are different.
Would 2.0mm FH and 1.8mm BH be too much starting out? Or would 1.8/1.8 or even 1.8/1.5 be a better idea? No speed glue. I tend to be a topspin attacking player, but would like to improve my skillset and be better allround.

Thanks in advance.

If you're an attacking player, I wouldn't go lower than 1.8mm. It's not actually that fast. I use 1.8mm on my backhand and the control is very good, very linear. This linearity does mean you usually have to put some spin and/or speed into your strokes, or a passive hit becomes a sitting duck for your opponent to practise their attack on.

Occasionally contact feels a little woody, which I guess might be a sign of bottoming out. If this is a concern, 2.0mm would still be a safe BH choice.

_________________
"Once you get past a certain threshold, everyone's problems are the same: fortifying your island and hiding the heat signature from your fusion reactor." –Doctor Impossible

BTW one of my teammates is also a new (old) player. He came back after ~20 years, with his old Stiga Offensive Classic and old Mark V – replaced with fresh Mark V after a season – on both sides (not sure of thickness, I think 2.0mm). He's a chopper but occasionally switches to a topspin game, and gets plenty of service and looping spin with the Mark V.

_________________
"Once you get past a certain threshold, everyone's problems are the same: fortifying your island and hiding the heat signature from your fusion reactor." –Doctor Impossible

I'd actually suggest 2.2 (or max) sponge, both sides. In the old days most people would stop at 2mm because the ball was smaller (38mm instead of 40mm). The recent move to the plastic ball has made the ball even slower, so I think even beginners can easily handle max sponge, especially since you're not talking about Tenergy or Tensors. Many, many Chinese rubbers (especially the cheaper, "training" ones) ONLY come in 2.2mm sponge. Thinner sponge, these days, in my opinion, is for specialized purposes - choppers, blockers, users of Re-Impact blades and the like.

Iskandar

I reckon 2.0mm as well, just to give you a little more control, and this should be plenty (thick enough) for an attacking game. The rubber is not fast compared to many modern rubbers, but still it's considered an offensive class rubber, and it's still considerably faster than most Chinese rubbers, and the blade has good speed as well.

_________________
OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

Early last year i bought mark v in order to relish old days speed glues experience..but i found it doesn't sync very much with polyballs..the topsheet seems doesn't grip much the polyballs(tho it was so grippy when new)..it still can spin and got decent speed but not at the level that i want it to be, even it was glued..from my experience sriver and mendo mp react better to polyballs than mark v but not as good as modern rubbers.

_________________
Still Missing the Speed Glue

Hi thepiratebays.so You will be a good tennis player.