OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hello all,

I've been using short pips on my FH for a little while now. The 802-40 in 2.0 is nice, but it just feels so "average" to me. Decent spin, decent speed, good control, no deception. But I want something that will cause more trouble for the opponents. I understand that you have to give up spin for deception/disruption, and that more disruption means less control. I've been looking at pips like the Spectol 21, dhs 652, stiga radical, tornado ultra, diamant, spinlord waran, 802, >101, but I want a second opinion. What are the best pips that retain (some) of the qualities of the 802-40 (good spin, easy handling and control) but also grant deception levels above none? Any suggestions?

P.S. How well it chops is not a quality I really care about in my pips.

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TSP Swat FL
BTY grip tape
F/H: Friendship 802-40 with 2.0mm 35° white sponge
B/H: Xiom Vega Intro 2.0mm

Maybe Globe 888? Similar speed with good control and a little bit of LP-like reversal and disruption. Less spin though.

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2. S&T Black & White / Armstrong SH-I 1.8 / TSP Curl P3 Alpha R OX

Looks promising, and I like the price. Where can I buy it in the US?

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TSP Swat FL
BTY grip tape
F/H: Friendship 802-40 with 2.0mm 35° white sponge
B/H: Xiom Vega Intro 2.0mm

Check Cole's.

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2. S&T Black & White / Armstrong SH-I 1.8 / TSP Curl P3 Alpha R OX

I have tried a lot of short pimples, mainly on my backhand but some on my forehand. First off, let me say even though I've tried a lot, I usually end up coming back to 802-40 supersoft, at least for my backhand.

Spectol 21 I have and plays quite a bit different to 802-40. It has more affect in terms of giving a skiddy faltter ball, felt harder and was less forgiving but gave opponents more trouble as the ball hurried on to them flatter and deader than expected. In my experience it's not as spinny as 802-40.

I rubber you could try is Joola Tango Ultra, it's softish has decent spin capability for a short pimple and allows good control. It doesn't have the same affect that the TSP Spectol 21 has. They also do a Tango Ultra Express but I've not tried that. I've used Tornado Ultra too, but only on my backhand. For me it was nothing special, decent control, some spin but not really a "weapon" as such, more to keep me in the point and work an opening for my forehand.

Lastly, quite a few of the short pimple players in our league use either Andro Blowfish or Spinlord Warran. These may be the compromise SP you are looking for.

I stress again though, I've used a lot of short pimples and I've never found a short pimple that gives everything you are asking for. The question is how far are you willing to compromise and in what areas.

"I understand that you have to give up spin for deception/disruption, and that more disruption means less control"

Don't forget, one of the qualities of a short pimple is the speed factor too, which when combined with a flat trajectory can be very difficult to return. Try a sheet of Dr Evil OX on a fast blade and hit hard with it. It goes like a rocket as it uses the qualities of the blade, is very hard to return - very flat, very skiddy, little comparative spin generation and very difficult to keep on the table if you don't pick the right balls and have the correct technique to hit with it.

To piggyback on what Debater said about speed, perhaps instead of looking for another pip, which comes with many challenges in the amount of grip and how it behaves in general, perhaps you stay with 802-40 and upgrade the sponge.

You could do a harder and/or faster sponge. Changing just the one variable of the sponge might make your acclimation to it far less steep while making it more dangerous. Colestt sells 802-40 topsheets by themselves and he can glue it to any sponge you want. He's real good about chatting with you via email to meet your needs.

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Blog: "Holy Chtchet!" ⇝

Projects: Player Equipment Grid ⇝ Comprehensive Thin Inverted Chopping Rubbers Grid ⇝ Please send me corrections or new submissions

What about the Spinpips red? I've heard good things about it.

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TSP Swat FL
BTY grip tape
F/H: Friendship 802-40 with 2.0mm 35° white sponge
B/H: Xiom Vega Intro 2.0mm

You can upgrade to 802-40 with the Germany sponge. The price is higher than the normal sponge version, but worth a try. The official introduction says the top sheet and sponge are better, thus more spin, control and speed.

$20 on eacheng.net:
http://www.eacheng.net/RITC729-Mystery- ... 11460.html

Haifu Dolphin is the best. They should give me money. Not available in US company, but Japsko said they got some good ones now.

Fast and spinny, deception low but smashes are killers plus dip effect whole nine yards

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Custom Defense::: Friendship 802 : Dr. Neubauer Super Block

You wont get much deception if the pip is spinny the best you can get is baxter f1a booster sa and waran more deception less spin less control

First of all, try Sanwei Ghost or mega difficult Sauer Troger Hass - this is something that will start to make another game.

JOOLA Express Ultra
Victas VO > 102
TSP Spinpips RED
Butterfly Impartial XS

All are of similar design to 802-40 and easily exceed it, performance-wise. You generally get what you pay for, even in short pips.

You know, all this desire for "deception" .. The way I look at it, the reason to use short pips is because they're relatively spinny and fast (compared to long and medium pips). If you want to cause your opponent problems, you have to do it by hitting harder, and by exploiting angles. If you want more deception, then you'd want something with somewhat longer, thinner pips, but you give up some spin and speed.

It's too bad there isn't a rubber that comes with a "deception" button - you'd mount it on your blade handle and press it when you need it...

Iskandar

Honestly, I don't know what "deception" is good for. Any variance in performance is just as bad for you as your opponent.

Spinpips RED was a total disapointment