OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hello All,

This is my first post in this forum.

I started to play Table tennis with some cheap pre-made bats [GKI bats which are quite popular India] and i really loved table tennis from there on and played regularly and felt that am no more a beginner after playing quite long. I Wanted to take my game to the next level. So i have decided to go for my first assembled bat.

I have few blades and rubbers in my mind for my first customized bat. Below are those[have done some extensive search in the net keeping my budget in my mind] total cost within Rs 5000

Blades
Donic Waldner Exclusive AR+
Donic Waldner Allplay

Rubber
Yasaka Mark V
Friendship 729 Table Tennis Rubber (Pimples In)
Donic Twingo plus[ i know this is quite slow]
{i dont want to go for Butterfly sriver as its a bit expensive }



Have seen the below post but still wanted to go for the above mentioned blades{not only the below links but many}

http://tabletennis.about.com/od/blades/ ... blades.htm
http://www.allabouttabletennis.com/tabl ... blade.html


Also please suggest your best options for first customized bat and some glues which would be easy to remove when the rubbers worn out.

-Prav

Welcome, Prav!

The blades you suggest are eminently sensible, and nicely made. Good choice. You'll get mixed opinions on Mark V. It's not something I've ever owned, but I've hit with it on friends' bats, and I think it's a very nice all round rubber, and pretty good for learners. However, some would suggest that it's a rather old-fashioned rubber, and would recommend you to go for something using more modern design ideas.

Personally, I like and use Chinese rubbers, so one of the 729 family would be excellent in my view. 729 Super FX in 2.0mm is a common place to start, but there are dozens and dozens of variations.

I don't know anything about the Twingo, so I can't comment there.

You're absolutely on the right track.

_________________
Yasaka Sweden Classic | 802 OX | C8 OX
Check out my blog - LordCope's Latest Learning Log - 10+ years of accumulate mistakes!

With a budget of around €65 either a Stiga All round classic or a Donic Appelgren Allplay with possibly 2 Tibhar Rapid rubbers. In Europe one can get the blades for around €22-€25 and the rubbers for €18 each - unsure what they would cost you in India. Better rubbers something like a Donic S2 and S3 preferably in a slightly thinner version would cost €30 each would give the setup more potential. Stiga easier of the 2 to loop with but the Donic will have more potential.
You could save a little more with a Chinese setup but it may not last as long.
Mark V I didn't like in max preferring the 2.0 Sriver is deemed to be a more viable classic rubber - it did impress me but is a little harder to use than the Mark V. Rubbers are old generation with no speed glue effect i.e. no tension and last a long time.

What about Stag? That's an Indian company. They were exhibiting during the WTTC. There's a photo of their booth here:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=29407&start=45

There's even a Manika Batra fan posting there...

Iskandar

Good choice of set ups prav. Being a beginner to intermediate, you will find any of those combinations great. In regards to the blades, the Waldner Exclusive is usually a bit cheaper but is made in china, still a good bat. The flared handle feels really nice in the hand. The Waldner Allplay is made in Sweden and again is really nice. Note that the straight handle is quite thin but flared is ok. Personally I like the Appelgren feel a little better as it feels a bit softer.

With the rubbers, I've never played with the twingo but I'd say the Mark V is much better. The 729 rubbers would be ok but there are heaps of them. Something a little softer might be better such as 729 FX Supersoft or Cream Transcend.

Whatever you decide there will be little difference in your play and will be miles better than your current bat.

All the best.

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

I don't agree that a Chinese setup "won't last as long". Chinese rubbers do last a LONG time, and Chinese blades last as long as European ones do. Blades last practically forever unless you hit the table with them or use too much water-based cement.

In fact - I'd strongly suggest a Chinese setup. For 65 Euro you could easily get 3-4 Chinese bats.

Here's my recommendation.

1) Blade - Yinhe N11

Best price right now is on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Galaxy-N-11-Gal ... 1572842303

This seller is utterly reliable - I've bought tons of stuff off them. They also operate on AliExpress (the price here is about a dollar more):

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shi ... 30858.html

This blade is utterly reliable. It's not too fast, not too slow, has great touch, and best of all, has the excellent Yinhe quality. When you remove the shrink wrap you won't believe how smooth the blade is. Never mind the ugly handle and the fact that it's about the cheapest blade you can buy. I have a Stiga Allround Classic, and many other blades, this is the one I actually play with.

2) Rubber

Any one of these, doesn't make a difference.

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product ... 20558.html



(Choose the 2.2mm or 2.0mm sponge)

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product ... 54641.html



http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product ... 79950.html



http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product ... 74853.html



http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product ... 83281.html



http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product ... 43805.html



(Wow.. the last one is new - and VERY cheap at the moment. AND is a "pro" version! I'll have to give it a try. )

(Most of these come two sheets to a pack.)

OK, now this is very important. If you have never attached a pair of sheets to a blade before, or don't have a friend who can do it for you AND has all the necessary glues - ask the vendor to glue the rubbers on the blade for you. It'll save a lot of hassle - you won't have to buy glue, you won't have to pull your hair out getting the stupid things aligned (and having to pull them off when you DON'T get them aligned...), etc.

Iskandar

I agree with Iskander and have an N11 myself however they tend to be a bit faster than the allplays and feel a bit harder. Thats not to say they aren't suitable as they definitely are and great value for money. It also won't do any harm to use those rubbers sheets for 12 months then decide what you want to do from there.

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

Thank you.. for the reply.. In those two blades. which one do you suggest. I have seen the specs.. between them and donic waldner allplay seems to be bit faster than donic waldner exlusive AR+.

-Prav

Thanks for the suggestion on those rubbers

Hello Iskandar..

Thank you very much.. for giving such detailed explanation and choices on rubbers and blades. I ll definitely go through those links. Coming to the glue.. What if i buy Donic Vario glue 37 ml. Would there be any glue left after i paste rubber sheets on both sides on a new paddle? How long it will last.? Do you suggest anyother glue ? Am definitely not goin for ITTF tournaments so that my paddle fails for volatile solvent test[well atleast for now:)]. Any other cheap alternatives.. do you suggest?

http://www.flipkart.com/donic-vario-cle ... rom-search

_prav

That's one of the easiest glues to use, I use it all the time.
The 37ml bottle will do about 5+ bats.

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There should be enough in that bottle to glue 5 or 6 sheets, I think, possibly even more. But as I said, probably best to ask the vendor to glue the rubber on for you. Many vendors would be glad to do so.

Iskandar

I own a Donic Waldner exclusive AR+ and I think it is a great blade for the price good weight mine is 87g has great control but allows you to step away from the table and play safe controlled topspin.

As for rubbers there are loads out there not just the one's you have mentioned above here are a few I can think of:

Friendship 729 higher
Friendship 729 faster
Joola Zack
DHS hurricane/skyline Neo 2 or 3
Tibhar 1Q sound (thinner sponge would be better for control)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I looked up what 770 rupees was in dollars - a little less than USD12, so that's a fairly good price.

Yeah, if you don't need to worry about racket testing you can use "rubber cement". The one I use is "Elmer's", the problem is "rubber cement" isn't universally available. Don't use regular rubber contact cements (e.g. bicycle tube glue or Dunlop formica glue). Most will give a far stronger bond than is needed, and will almost certainly result in rubber or blade damage when it comes time to remove the rubber for replacement. Even the common yellow tube UHU's probably too strong (haven't tried it myself).

Incidentally, I just noticed this:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Table-te ... 50272.html

Looks like old-fashioned table tennis glue. Not a speed glue but something like the original Chack. Not particularly cheap, though - "enough for 2-3 blades". Come to think of it.. the old Chack was expensive, and you only got enough for 2-3 blades, too. No one I know used it, we all used Elmer's. Even the vendors at tournaments used Elmer's (cheap, and available at K-Mart).

Iskandar

Thank you.. for clearing my doubt on glue.[i was about to ask.. "what if i use bicycle tube glue".. { thats a speed glue i believe}/

on rubbers again... Is the below rubber worth trying on the waldner's blade i have mentioned earlier? [coz we almost only get this friendship rubber in India.]

http://www.snapdeal.com/product/friends ... e%20tennis