OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hi folks. This is my first review on my first table tennis bat, so bear with me. I hope I'm posting this in the right section!

The Bat
Blade - Butterfly Timo Boll 1500
Both rubbers - Butterfly Pan Asia

Ratings
The bat is given
7 for power;
7 for spin;
10 for control.
I think it was slightly over-rated on the control, perhaps a 9, but it is really quite good for a pre-made bat. Here's why.

Power
I find it quite hard to generate the power I want when I see that perfect smashing oppurtunity, but I can't complain. I have played with worse, but power is really not what this bat is all about. However, since I am just starting in the world of bats, it is decent enough for now.

Spin
It will give you a little bit of sidespin if you want, although this is not as good at generating topspin or backspin. It is possible but only if you exaggerate your bat movement a lot and even then you won't get a great amount of spin. However, this and its lack on great power is made up for well enough with the bat's control capabilities.

Control
I find the control on this bat to be its best aspect. A lot of people slag off pre-made bats, but I think this is an exception. It will hit the ball exactly where you want, providing you point it roughly in the right direction. This bat's control compensates for its not-so-good power and spin and can mean that you end up landing a lot of shots that your opponent does not expect you to land, let alone yourself.

Serving
This bat is great for short, pushing serves or slowly spinning serves but it is not great at long, speedy serves across the table. If you even try to hit it low the ball will often go into the net or the serve will be a let.

Conclusion
I was really surprised when I played my first game with this bat. I thought it would be just 'one of those pre-made bats', if you get my drift, but this bat certainly surprised me and many of my opponents. If you're a beginner and you're looking for a decent bat that will do what you want whilst still providing a bit of power and spin but not enough to overwhelm you, look no further.

~ fishy

_________________
Blade: Butterfly Timo Boll 1500
Rubbers: Butterfly Pan Asia 1.5mm
Grip: Shakehand
Visit my table tennis blog now!

Excellent first review Fishy! Well done!

Have you got a pic of it to post? What's the handle like? Thick, thin? I assume its flared? How did you come to assess the control as a 9? Did you compare it to something else?

Are the Pan Asia rubbers soft feeling or hard? It sounds like they don't have too much grip in the topsheet for spin, and I assume they are softish if they can't generate much power, but give good control. Well you have to start somewhere and if you feel happy with the bat then that's all that matters. And premades are not always bad, its just that a custom made bat will always be comparatively better.

This is mainly because you get to choose the components that suit you, you get to prime them etc if you want, and the products (blades and rubbers) in this category tend to be of higher quality as the manufacturers know its a tough discerning market. With pre-mades they can afford to focus less on the quality because people who buy a pre-made are usually beginners or less discerning. But none of that matters for you right now, as you have the bat that suits you. Perfect result!

_________________
I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
Aussie Table Tennis Shop / Aussie Table Tennis Facebook Page / Equipment Review Index / Read my Reb Report Blog: click here.

Hi Fishy,
Nice review.
The control factor is Very important when you are starting. Some people get a bat that is way over their head and then nothing goes on the table.
I always beleive, any ball that goes on is one more they have to return.
Eventually, you will be looking for more power and spin but it sounds like you will reccognize when the time is right.

_________________
Shakehand, left handed.
Blade, Yinhe, W-1
Forhand, H-3 National
Backhand, Sriver FX Max

Thanks Reb and hookshot for the comments! I hope this goes in the Archives.




Yes, that is an image I found on Google... But I can't be bothered to take a picture with my dad's digital camera and put it on my computer right now. As for your question, the bat thickness is fairly thick but not too thick. Sort of 'average', I suppose. And yes, it is a flared handle, although I'm still trying to work out what that means. I assessed the control as a 9 probably because of the fact that the power and speed weren't 10s or 9s. I was being a bit unfair, the control should really be a 10. I'm not really comparing it with anything else other than itself.


I can feel the sponge underneath the rubber, so I guess they're relatively soft and no, they are not that grippy on the topsheet.

Thanks again!
~ fishy


Sounds like a good philosophy..!

_________________
Blade: Butterfly Timo Boll 1500
Rubbers: Butterfly Pan Asia 1.5mm
Grip: Shakehand
Visit my table tennis blog now!

Thats a handsome looking racket!

I don't think Haggisv has had the time to be putting anything into the archives lately, but I haven't checked so I could be wrong. Just recall him saying it was proving to be a lot of work.

A flared handle means that it splays out somewhat at the base of the handle (ie. at the bottom). This means when you wrap your hand around it SH style it gives a more positive grip with less chance of it flying out of your hand. Looks like yours has a moderate flare.

_________________
I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
Aussie Table Tennis Shop / Aussie Table Tennis Facebook Page / Equipment Review Index / Read my Reb Report Blog: click here.

Right. I have found that this bat is slightly more comfortable with the shakehand grip, but I'm still using penhold so it doesn't matter anyways.

_________________
Blade: Butterfly Timo Boll 1500
Rubbers: Butterfly Pan Asia 1.5mm
Grip: Shakehand
Visit my table tennis blog now!

This is a poor premade . Better buy a chinese one , I found them better in any aspect than big brand's . Anyway playing with 1.5 mm sponge is a waste of time , IMHO ...

_________________
Xiom Strato , St
FH: DHS H3 prov, max
BH: Butterfly Tenergy 05FX, max

that's a great review... thanks fishy.

I usually play with premades at work, but the one I use is made from a brand called Dunlop and it has short pimples both sides with what look like 1.2mm sponge, And I really love it!!!

I have owned some other premades from the butterfly range, I have tried the Yuki, Wakaba, stayer, addoy, champ and primorac master. Definately the Primo master would be the closet to that from using a non-premade racket.

_________________
the re-evolution of war
Bty Gergely Palio Macro Era 42.5 Max DHS H2 Max

Hey Vali, Fishy is 13 years old and just starting out in TT, please don't deflate his sails with comments like this. I'm sure the bat he has is fine for his needs right now. I know you tell it like it is mate, but encouraging youth in TT is the way to go.

_________________
I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
Aussie Table Tennis Shop / Aussie Table Tennis Facebook Page / Equipment Review Index / Read my Reb Report Blog: click here.

Hey MM, I bought a Brian Pace model BTY pre-made a while back and it has stayer rubbers on it. I found the rubbers were ok, but the whole bat had way too much vibration to play well with. It rattled around when the ball hit it like it was an old train crossing a junction. I was most disappointed. How did you find the stayer, which I assume had stayer rubbers?

_________________
I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
Aussie Table Tennis Shop / Aussie Table Tennis Facebook Page / Equipment Review Index / Read my Reb Report Blog: click here.

My daughter (7 years ) plays with LKT 2.0 , so I said it to give him advices , not to discourage him.

_________________
Xiom Strato , St
FH: DHS H3 prov, max
BH: Butterfly Tenergy 05FX, max

Thanks for the comments, vali, but this is my first bat. I will know now that next time I should perhaps get a blade and rubbers separately rather than getting a pre-made bat, but I won't need a new bat for quite some time to come.

_________________
Blade: Butterfly Timo Boll 1500
Rubbers: Butterfly Pan Asia 1.5mm
Grip: Shakehand
Visit my table tennis blog now!

No probs Vali, I guess I got a bit paternal over young Fishy, but good to see your intentions were good. Perhaps its an English translation thing (not that your English is bad, its very good... much better than my Romanian )

_________________
I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
Aussie Table Tennis Shop / Aussie Table Tennis Facebook Page / Equipment Review Index / Read my Reb Report Blog: click here.

I'm sure that's the case, Reb.

_________________
Blade: Butterfly Timo Boll 1500
Rubbers: Butterfly Pan Asia 1.5mm
Grip: Shakehand
Visit my table tennis blog now!

I really can't remember on what the blade was like... sorry. I think it was 2003 when my father in law went back to Vietnam and bought me all these. At the time i was so looking forward and dreaming about a Sardius or a P.C, but I can't blame him. He just thinks that all rackets are the same, cause they all look the same

_________________
the re-evolution of war
Bty Gergely Palio Macro Era 42.5 Max DHS H2 Max