need-advice-on-choosing-the-right-equipment
SunnyIsmail asked 3 years ago
Hi Dan/Tom,
A little bit of background: I started playing properly first with a DHS hurricane ready made bat some 15 years ago and remember switching to a sardius carbon ( with Mark V on the backhand and Tibhar Nimbus on the forehand). I found it unusually fast and hard to control and most shots ended outside the edge of the table. Took a long break from table tennis and started playing in the local league premier division a few years ago. I switched back to a stiga all round classic with a DHS hurricane 3 on the forehand (feels hard) and xiom vega europe on the backhand (feels a bit too soft). I felt the same level of control and enjoyed the feel from the brushing etc.
I think I am ready for a bit more speed/power but don’t want to compromise on the control much. More like if I could go one notch faster. just like to add that I am quite terrible with my backhand, still working on the technique. So any advantage from the blade/rubber that makes it easier to loop a backspin ball on the backhand is desirable.
I was thinking :
a) stick with the same rubbers and go for an OFF-/ OFF non-carbon blade
b) May be use that Butterfly Sardius with some slow rubbers
c) Need something entirely different that can be a right balance
I am open to experimenting with a couple of options if thats a good idea
Your suggestions/recommendations will be much appreciated
Also want to request (or point me to) videos on choosing the right equipment for different types of gameplay and levels 🙂
Thanks in advance
Ismail
SunnyIsmail answered 3 years ago
Btw, really enjoying the videos, very beneficial for me already. Thanks
Tom Academy Coach answered 3 years ago
Hey Ismail, glad you are enjoying the videos and finding them useful already 🙂
I would say your best option here is sticking with the same blade because it has great feeling and control and then add some faster rubbers to give you the extra lace you need. The control and feeling comes from the balde and this is important to have a solid base, I’d go for something like Tenergy 05 or Stiga DNA Pro hard for the rubbers. Both are not too soft or hard, have a good balance of plenty of speed but good grip and spin too. Go for Tenergy of you want more of a springy feeling and DNA if you want controllable speed.
There aren’t really any specific videos on this as equipment is such an individual area and each player likes something different. Most important is consistency and not changing equipment set up too much, again anoth reason I’d stick with the same blade as it’s a much bigger difference changing the blade compared to rubbers and you will adjust faster.
Hope this is helpful and of course if you have any questions on what I mentioned just let me know 🙂
SunnyIsmailThanks so much. That is really helpful. It feels right not to change too much in one go.
I will probably go for the stiga DNA pro.
Would you suggest I have the same rubbers on both sides, given my backhand still needs to be developed quite a bit compared to my forehand techniques ?
No worries at all! Yeah I think that’s a good choice, it’s actually what I use right now too. I would say go for DNA Pro hard on forehand and medium on backhand as it will be a bit more forgiving while you are still developing the backhand side 🙂
