OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hello, i've been playing tt for about 6 months now and i want to change rubbers. I play on a wheelchair at the lowest class. I dont have any wrist control so i prefer an abnormally light setup. Also all the athletes (including me) play only close to the table. My question is: Is it ok to pair flexible blade (donic defplay clasic) with soft rubber (yasaka rakza 7 soft)? If not, can you propose me any other light rubbers? Currently i play with two DHS pf4, which make my racket head heavy (which is bad if you dont have wrist control and need to have quick reactions). Thanks in advance.

p.s. I dont want to change my blade because it is really light (70gr i think). But suggesting other light ones that are easier to pair with rubbers, would be nice.

p.s.2 I have tried another defplay classic with bh long pips (hellfire ox) and fh donic baracuda, but i didnt like the lp because i couldnt attack with it and the players in my class dont spin the ball that much (except some serves), so the lp wasnt an issue for my opponents. Plus, we strap the racket in our hands (no grip), so we cant use the lp side for serves. I would say the main issue is the lack of attacking.

I watched a lot of Paralympics table tennis the last time around, it's fascinating how the tactics for Class 1 and Class 2 work. Which Paralympics Class would you put yourself in? The equipment would be very different for Class 1 and 2 vs. 3 and above, I think. In Class 3 and above the equipment would be very similar to non-Para table tennis, class 4 and 5 players play close to the table but seem capable of pretty much everything non-impaired players are capable of - I remember the top wheelchair player in the US in the 1990s had a 2000+ rating (in the US wheelchair players actually play against non-impaired players in their ratings divisions and beat them).

Rakza 7 and 7 soft are actually quite fast as rubbers go, strangely enough. They're faster than the cheap $5 Chinese sheets such as 729. If you're looking for something a little slower than normal KTL Pro XT and XP (and variants) are a little slower than most Chinese rubbers. Some of them are also available with thinner sponge (not easy to find) - this would be less bouncy, plus it would really cut down on weight.

Iskandar

Hey, thanks for the reply. I am in Class 1

And as for blades... The one I always recommend (because I use it) is the Sanwei M8. It's really inexpensive, and it's quite light (I have examples ranging from about 72g to 80g). And it's got a lot of touch, in my opinion. Don't know if it'd be suited for you but considering what it costs it wouldn't hurt to try it.

Iskandar

The only lightweight rubber i have experience with is Palio AK47 blue. It play very well for it's price.

Also you could leave a 1cm gap between the rubber and handle. You can remove a little bit of weight without compromising your play.

Tom of zeropong now Gamblertt.com said many Wheelchair players prefer lighter set up's so his company sells one of their most popular rubber's Mech Teck Predator 1.0mm sponge, semi-tacky top sheet with a Japanese tension sponge. Pretty good stuff and only $15 a sheet, might be worth a try.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1408848540.html



I looked it up.. It turns out Green Dragon is the only variation of KTL Pro XP or XT available with 1.5mm sponge. I had a sheet of Max Sponge once, it turned out to be really light - 47.8g uncut. The typical Chinese sheet of the same size would be around 55-65g. The 1.5mm sheet would be a LOT lighter.

The Gambler sheet sounds nice, too - and the price is REALLY good. And you don't have to wait 3-4 weeks or more for it to arrive from China.

Iskandar

A very light inverted rubber: Victas VJ 07 Regular

And to lighten your blade you could put short pips on the other side or like class 1 Korean players use: OX Grass DTECS on forehand.

Those KTL pro rubbers which Iskandar mentions are also my favorite for light rubbers.

I observe that tacky rubber is often useful when movement is restricted, but this varies from player to player (both "XT" and "XP" versions are tacky, but not as much as the PF4, I think). If you dislike very tacky rubbers, Stiga Neos sound may be for you. Note that "regular" Neos is significantly heavier than "sound". Speed (bounce) is quite similar to the KTL pro rubbers and significantly less than the Rakza 7. If this requires too much effort when you play, you may want to compensate with Iskandar's suggested blade instead of the defplay. Just a little faster.

Enough overthinking! Above all, have fun!