OOAK Table Tennis Forum

The most common sponge thickness I see for short pips is 1.5mm. I'm wondering why?

For hitting I can see this might bottom out, but since it tends to be hit quite flat and at the top of the bounch, perhaps this does not matter?

For blocking it might give a bit more control, although at the expense of speed.

For chopping with short pips, which is probably less common, a 1.5mm or even thinner would no doubt offer better control...

Any other theories?

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1.5mm is the dead basic default thickness that should be used by all who try short pips. Generally you should play with 1.5mm until you have a good feel for it. Once your comfortable you can adjust the thickness according to your style.

For hitting it does bottom out abit. But this to me is the "controlled" feeling you get. When it tops out you can feel when the ball is at the limit, this allows you to get a good feel as to what you can and cant do.

1.7mm works wonders as you can do pretty much anything with it and its slightly faster then a 1.5mm

anything over 2.0mm you might as well use inverted. this along with the Massive loss off control due the thick sponge makes playing a hitting game impossibly hard.

for chopping....i could never find a right thickness for it. Im still searching. If there are any away from the table SP choppers. Please post

I disagree with ^. I'm using 2.2mm and don't find playing a hitting game impossible. Likewise, my dad who has been a SP hitter for 20 years went from 1.8 to 2.2mm, and still hits just as well.

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First things first, but not neccessarily in that order.

I used to always use 2.0 and 2.2 sponges. Then I tried 1.8 sponge with my short pips and noticed an immediate increase in my control when blocking and better touch over the table without any real loss of speed on my shots.

While 2.0-2.2 give a little more power, I think the trade off in control is worth it. I find it gets difficult to feel the ball with the thicker sponges, especially if they are medium or harder.

So if you're used to 2.0 inverted, it might be good to go with 1.5-1.8 sponge. If you're used to 2.2-max inverted, then maybe 1.8-2.0 would be good.

Keep in mind that Jiang Jialiang played with 1.3 sponge, Chen Longcan played with 1.5, as does Gao Jun. He Zhi Wen plays with 2.0. All of them generate more than enough power with the thinner sponge as blade speed plays a bigger role than sponge in generating speed on a smash.

-- Andrew

Hey great to have you aboard Andrew!

If you have any question on short pips, Andrew is the one to ask!

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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

Nice to see you here, Andrew.

Did you use SP's on your backhand? I can never remember...

Anyway, if you did i've got a thread I want to start.

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First things first, but not neccessarily in that order.

Nice to be here. Actually I use short pips on my penhold forehand, but I can try and answer a question anyway if you've got one.

-- Andrew

I have played penhold grip with a Friendship 802 (very nice rubber) 1.5 mm on a Donic Testra, which is rated about 6 out of 10 in speed. I have also played with a 2.2 mm version of the same rubber on a Tibhar CO-S-3 which is rated about 3 out of 10. The latter combination does have a bit less control, but lots more spin and therefore more control over the play as such. The speed is about equal. But blocking (to get the speed out of an incoming ball) is much easier with the Tibhar/2.2 combination. Attacking is also more easy.
I have a theory about this, derived from Haggisv. With blocking it is the blade that absorbs the impact, because the angle is about 90 degrees, so the ball touches the wood (at least with a not too hard, not too thick rubber). But with attacking (topspin, even underspin) it is the rubber that makes the speed and spin, because the angle is about 45 degrees and the ball never touches the wood, but stays into the foam.
Can anyone confirm to this?

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Without opponent, no match.

Yes that makes perfect sense.

The sponge thickness makes quite a difference here as well, since with a thin rubber, you'll hit the wood (commonly referred to as 'bottoming out') much more easily.

The more you brush the ball, the less the blade comes into the equation...

_________________
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

I have seen some short pimples in 1.0mm or 1.2mm. I wonder how it works and I'll maybe try one if I can buy one.

I have also seen a medium long pimples: the Palio WP13 available with or without sponge. It is said to react as a long pimples while choping and as a short while attacking. Does anyone try it?

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I just recently had a hit with some 802-40 which was on a 1.0mm soft sponge. I don't really have a lot of experience with short pips, but it seemed to be easier to chop with then the 802 I used previously which was on 0.6mm sponge. I think the extra sponge helped cushion the ball more. The trick is finding a sponge that is slow enough that you can use it in a higher thickness without losing too much control. For hitting and blocking I liked it a lot. The short game wasn't too bad either...

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Back in the day I liked 1.8, too much over that and you couldn't vary the blocks.

I know nothing about short pips, but this I do know 1.0mm Hallmark pips has more 'sink' - Carl Prene said so on the Hallmark vid in comparison to their regular short pip.