OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hi all, I'm a casual player with no proper coaching looking for some guidance, I came out of hiatus after my workplace got a table in the office.

I have a 729 Bomb blade with RITC 2000 Tack-speed 2.0mm on both sides that I purchased here at the OOAK shop now almost 12 years ago. The bat is still in great condition and the rubbers are still tacky although they're showing shiny patches on them. How do I tell if the rubbers need replacing?

I understand the mechanics of spin and it's been a lot of fun creating spins and fancy shots, but at my level sometimes I feel that my equipment may have always been too much for me to handle. How would I scale this back if I weren't to persevere?

I'm thinking that I can keep my blade but switch to less tacky rubbers to reduce sensitivity to spin. I do worry of not being able to create as much spin as before. I'm a shakehand player with currently a stronger backhand aspiring to be an all around player.

Rubbers I have short listed but open to suggestions:
- Yasaka Mark V - may be the top limit of what I'd spend
- Butterfly Sriver - a bit dear for me
- 729 Focus III Snipe

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Blade 729 Bomb | FH & BH Kokutaku Blutenkirsche 868

Photos of rubbers below:

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Blade 729 Bomb | FH & BH Kokutaku Blutenkirsche 868

ooh ... you have a 729 Bomb - It's a blade, I've been looking for, but can't find, since it's been discontinued ..

+1 For the Focus III Snipe ... I've been playing with it, on one of my setups ..

Another recommendation would be the Palio AK-47 Yellow.. I'm using this one too, on another setup ..

In terms of speed, I feel, both a around the same .. The AK-47 Yellow may be a hair faster, and a slightly higher lift.. On the other hand, the Focus III Snipe, I feel has better control, and durability ..

If you want something faster, than both the above, then you could opt for the AK-47 Blue variant.

Thank you for the suggestions I will look them up!

I thought OOAK shop still sells the Bomb blade?

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Blade 729 Bomb | FH & BH Kokutaku Blutenkirsche 868

oh, .. didn't know that .. I'll check, for sure.. thanks !!

Yes Bomb blade is still made.

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Not idea if it's still being made - my guess is they make blades in huge batches, which get sold off over time to distributors. Even if they don't make it anymore, there's probably a few cartons left in the 729 warehouse. Whenever a distributor asks for a dozen or two of them, they'll send them. One thing I do know is that this was a very commonly available (and commonly talked about) blade 10 years ago, but when I started playing again maybe 5 years ago you had to hunt high and low for one. There was a retailer in the Philippines that had it for sale. None of the Chinese vendors I was ordering from had it, instead they had another 729 blade with cork in the middle (which I bought). Turned out to be too heavy for me in any case.

Iskandar

So no more real suggestion for the original post, I take it that I can't really go wrong with any of my options and work on my technique.

I will probably try the Yasaka Mark V 2.0mm on both sides to start with and go from there. A lot of clones and attempts to copy the rubber but I'd figure can't beat the classics and possibly the best place to start. Now if only I can find the skills to go along with it at some online store, haha.

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Blade 729 Bomb | FH & BH Kokutaku Blutenkirsche 868

Oh, keep the blade, for sure (though there are other, fairly inexpensive blades worth exploring - have a look around the forum to see which ones people recommend these days). I don't know if switching rubbers is going to help you when it comes to handing incoming spin, though - trying to find a standard inverted rubber that does this, is, in my opinion, a fool's errand. Different inverted sheets do have slight differences in friction (and thus, reactivity to spin as well as the ability to create spin) but these differences don't really amount to much in practical terms. Better to formally practice, say, serve returns and learn how to better handle spin. Most people who look for rubbers with "less friction to handle spin" end up gravitating towards pips-out (usually long) or anti-spin rubbers, but those introduce their own learning curves and necessitate changes in style of play.

In any case, your old rubbers will need changing... unless you want to be THAT guy at the club with old, dead rubbers (there's another active thread about this, too.. I think it's a viable style.. ). As for what rubber to buy - there are a lot of excellent Chinese sheets that can be had for under USD10 - there are, in fact, a lot of USD5 sheets. Focus III Snipe is one, you could also try Yinhe 9000, Yinhe Mercury II, Reactor Corbor (this is a little too tacky out of the packet but becomes OK with a little use), Kokutaku 868, 729 Super FX, Palio AK47 (blue has the softest sponge) - any of these would work fine.

Iskandar

Thanks for the suggestions Iskandar, I'll have a look at them. Where are you getting them at these prices?

Are you suggesting that I put the same type rubber on both sides or do you have any recommendations on rubber combos?

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Blade 729 Bomb | FH & BH Kokutaku Blutenkirsche 868

I order my rubbers directly from China using AliExpress.com. Lots of info on this forum about this. Problem is it's like a candy store - there's so much choice it's highly confusing.

I usually use different rubbers on each side but I don't think it makes much difference. It's mainly psychological, but the more expensive sheet usually goes on the forehand side.. When I flip the bat around I usually can't tell the difference. If there is one it doesn't take long to adapt. The last few times I've changed rubbers I've used fairly expensive sheets on the forehand side (Rasant, MXP, Rakza 7, all the way up to Tenergy 05) but that was because I wanted to see what I was missing (wasn't much, nor did I ever find a sheet that was "difficult to play with". I've never bought the same expensive sheet twice.

By the way - don't get expensive sheets via AliExpress. They're even more expensive that way. I get mine locally (or I buy them when I visit Thailand on vacation).

By the way.. if you're looking for another blade, try a Sanwei M8 (there, I've said it.. )...

Iskandar

there we go again - I hadn't read you mention it, in a long long time...

That being said - it is indeed a decent blade.. considering the price ..

Is there a bit of a reputation with Iskandar and the Sanwei blade? Haha.

Thanks for the comment Iskandar, I've been playing a bit at work and while the tack is rapidly disappearing from my rubbers, the bat is still functioning well. I can still create spin but naturally not as much as before. This is possibly what I was after when I originally posted the question, a less tacky bat, ha.

I also did have a browse around Ali and ended up finding eacheng. Taking a more utilitarian approach and not obsessing on stats and details of the rubber, I could just grab a pair deal of the many brands of rubbers and be done with it.

So far I found rubbers like:
- Reactor Corbor
- Kokutaku 868
- Kokutaku Tuple 007
- Galaxy 9000
- Sanwei T88-III
- 729 General

I'm sure any of those will do fine since I don't yet have the discernment for the subtleties of different rubbers in how they perform anyway.

Any thoughts?

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Blade 729 Bomb | FH & BH Kokutaku Blutenkirsche 868

I’ve come to a conclusion that any of these rubbers are very spinny, because my head is spinning right now from reading through the reviews hahaha.

I should just get a few and try them for myself.

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Blade 729 Bomb | FH & BH Kokutaku Blutenkirsche 868

Alright, ordered a pair of Kokutaku 868 and some glue. Will give that a try first.

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Blade 729 Bomb | FH & BH Kokutaku Blutenkirsche 868