OOAK Table Tennis Forum

My son (12 y.o.) started playing 6 months ago, he's been playing all this time with a basic DHS 3002/PF4.

To me this bat is a torture, but he's chosen it out of several cheap ones and he seemed to be happy with.

Now, as he is progressing quickly I'm thinking of giving him a new one for Christmas.

I'd like to give him something similar interns of hardness and control, but of a better quality and with a much better feel.

Something that could be a steady natural progression from 3002/PF4

Nothing too fancy, please, the budget is about 50 USD.

Any ideas?

Nothing wrong with PF4 - your son could never change either FH or BH and reach a very decent level.

Might be worth getting a decent 5 ply blade, though - any of the usual suspects from Stiga, Yasaka, Donic etc. You could probably get 2 x pf4 and a YSE for about $50.

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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 have a spare YSE/R37 that I used for just several hours.
My son tried it and was not impressed, nothing wrong with the blade, but he didn't like the softy feel of the rubber at all (here I concur).
So I was indeed thinking of slapping a pair of hard Chinese rubbers on YSE, something like PF4 but better (?). I don't know Chinese rubbers at all. Maybe some Palio or Hurricane?
I also have a brand new Sanwei Fextra blade, unwrapped. It's only about 83g, but might be a bit too fast?

I don't know anything about the Sanwei Fextra, so can't comment. R37 is going to feel radically different compared to PF4. For this reason I would stick with PF4 and change one variable. I think PF4 is a great rubber - I don't think there is anything "better" - there's nothing wrong with PF4 at all. It does everything an allround developing player needs. Sure, if your son starts to get really keen and develops some preferences / needs, you could start to think about adding a softer / jap/euro style rubber on one side, or a Hurricane, or maybe he'll take to SP, or LP or something. But given the budget and the fact you already have a YSE, 2 x PF4 on that would be spot on, in my opinion.

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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!

Thanks LordCope, YSE/PF4 looks like a safe bet then

For a transition in feel to a tensor rubber later, I don't think you can go past LKT XP Pro or XT Pro, they are nice to use and a bit softer than PF4 and most Chinese rubbers. Put it on a 5 ply nice Euro blade and its really nice to use. Similar feel to a medium tensor setup, just slower.

One of my personal favourite combos is that rubber combined with an Andro Temper Tech.

I do the ordering of equipment at our club and once people have started on a premade, the next step I get them onto is a nice Euro 5 ply blade in the ALL to OFF- range then put the LKT Pro XT on it. Cost is about $80 AUD which is about $50 USD. Get them to use that for 12 months then if want to spend more on tensor rubbers later, they can easily upgrade.

Suggestions for bats are
Appelgren Allplay inc senso series
Waldner Senso V1 (my bat and several others in the club use this. Really nice)
Andro Temper Tech
Xiom Allround S
Stiga Allround Classic
Yasaka Sweden Extra
Donic Persson PowerAllround
Donic Waldner Allplay
Tibhar Lebesson
Tibhar Samsonov Alpha ( a little more expensive)

A couple that personally I didn't like were
Andro Inizio ALL (makes a woody sound which is a little off putting)
Yasaka Sweden Extra (others love it but I found the same as above)

Having a nice blade is the key. With the rubbers you can always swap them out and get something else after a while when they are used but a blade you want to be able to keep longer term.

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

Cheap Chinese rubbers (PF4, 729, Yinhe 9000, Yinhe Mercury 2, Corbor, 868) are almost completely interchangeable. They last a long time and work perfectly well for most people. A step up would be something like AK47 Blue - slightly different but not so much that it's unfamiliar. The LKT rubbers are OK, I do find them a little slower than the cheap rubbers mentioned above. At least for now, stay away from the likes of Hurricane 3 (way too slow, especially unboosted). Yes, Chinese pros love the stuff but they're adults and have had a LOT of training to develop the necessary power.

Blades? I guess everyone knows my recommendation - the Sanwei M8. They're cheap enough that you can afford to get three or four. And they're excellent. They're DESIGNED for youth training so they're light and have thinnish handles.

Iskandar

Late to the conversation perhaps, but I wanted to ask:

• What is it with his current bat that makes it torture for you?
• Is there any specific part of his playing which you think is limited or otherwise hurt by equipment?

Not sure that the answers make it easier for us to answer, but asking yourself the questions may make it easier for you. Then again, don't overthink it.

If your son finds the Rasanter too soft, chances are he will think the same about the KTL XT/XP Pro. Personally I think the KTL rubbers are very good, but as mentioned, they are significantly softer than what he has.
The Andro and KTL rubbers are also both quite light. Weight may be what puts you off, but may also provide him with some stability and "feel" which is beneficial at his stage.
Again, these are not answers, just possible reasons, things to consider. You know your son better than we helpers on a forum do.

I will not provide additional suggestions. Iskandar and LordCope give good advice, and Cobalt provides solid background info. I cannot add much to that.

Happy shopping and have fun!

It just feels dead compared to the blades I'm playing, with no feel at all, that's it.

Thanks everyone, I have a Sanwei M8 blade on the way, as well a Palio 2star/AK47.
If it won't work, then he'll get my spare Yasaka Sweden Extra with some hard Chinese rubber.