Table Tennis Racket Guide (cchan) & Table Tennis sites (Andy Mai)

If anyone is interested in buying table tennis rackets. I have reliable websites that you can use to order.
www.americantabletennis.com
www.zeropong.com

This is a guide to help anybody that is having trouble choosing what rubbers to buy. A paddle consist of 3 things, the topsheet (red and black rubber), the sponge (which goes directly under the topsheet) and the blade (the racket's base).

Sponge
There are several things to consider when choosing your sponge. These include the sponge thickness and it's density or hardness.

The thickness of the sponge will affect how fast the overall rubber will be, and also how much control it has. Thicker sponge is faster but has less control than thinner sponge. ( So if you're just a beginner, thinner sponge will benefit you more)

The hardness of a sponge is also important. Harder sponges will produce less spin than softer sponges. (Attackers who are always smashing or driving the ball should use hard sponges as to choppers, (who will be defending most of the time) who should use softer sponges.

Topsheet
The tackiness of the topsheet is a measure of how much it grips the ball when the ball is struck. Tacky rubbers are able to place more spin on the ball, but suffer from the problem of being more affected by the opponent's spin as well.

The hardness of the rubber will determine how much spin can be given to the ball. (harder= less spin but more speed, softer= more spin, less speed)

Blade

The weight of the blade itself can be a factor. Lighter table tennis blades can usually be swung more quickly, but heavier blades have more mass to use when hitting the ball.(physics time!! mass x velocity= momentum) You should try to go for the heaviest racket that you can still swing quickly for best possible speed.

Faster blades tend to be used by the more aggressive players, and slower blades by the more defensive. Players who use more spin also tend to prefer slower blades, because they believe that a slower blade increases the amount of time the ball is in contact with the rubber, giving them more time to put spin on the ball.

The handle type is very important. The type of handle should match your playing grip. Two main grips that people play with is shakehand and penhold. You should choose a blade that was made for your specific grip.

IMPORTANT NOTICE- MORE EXPENSIVE PARTS DOES NOT MEAN IT IS BETTER

source:
http://tabletennis.about.com/od/upgradeyourequipment/a/chooserubbers.htm

Andy Mai wrote:If anyone is interested in buying table tennis rackets. I have reliable websites that you can use to order.
www.americantabletennis.com
www.zeropong.com

i've bought from
www.zeropong.com
www.paddlepalace.com
www.colestt.com

and for those who're interested in learning more about ping pong check out the "must reads" on http://tabletennis.about.com/
(unlike cchan i won't steal his work by posting it on the forum. although he did give the source. .. .. just saying =])

this is a pretty good site too
http://ttpioneers.ping-pong.com/Home.php

I'm going to use these sites to replace my broken paddle. Thanks for the help =D

zzz for replacement, forcing me to go to two diff website to order front and back
oh yea...
www.megaspin.net

I have a question, what is the difference between carbon composite and wooden paddles?

justin90876 wrote:I have a question, what is the difference between carbon composite and wooden paddles?

Carbon is said to add more speed but it really depends on what your feel is.

I have a carbon blade. It adds weight and speed but the downside is you don't feel the vibration as much when you hit.

usually carbon blade are pretty heavy so i would suggest with pure wood paddles first and choose a light one.