Having lurked for a while now and even asked a couple of questions, I figure it's time for me to contribute something of substance to this forum. So lo and behold, it's review time!
A couple of weeks ago, after scouring the EACheng website, MYTT, and OOAK forums, I came to a decision about the new rackets I'd like to trade up to. As a little background, I'm a basement player and I've owned a table for a couple of years but haven't taken the game seriously until recently. I've always played (and been satisfied) with a six dollar SportCraft (read: SportCrap) racket from Walmart. As far as skill level goes, some of my mates say I'd probably be rated between USATT 1300 and 1400 though I have yet to play an actual tournament so I take this with a grain of salt.
As for my choice of rackets, I opted to go for something I believed would be beginner friendly and affordable. I had read through quite a few reviews and came to the conclusion that the LKT Instinct and Galaxy 896 would be good blades to start off with as they offer a reasonable amount of control, something most beginners are in desperate need of. As for my rubbers, I decided to go for something cheap and versatile and at six dollars a pair, I couldn't really turn down the 729 General.
LKT Instinct
After using this blade for a short while with Friendship 729 General rubbers, I've been able to draw some firm conclusions. This is an EXCELLENT beginner blade! It has loads of control and is absolutely a dream when it comes to pushing and even flipping. Essentially, it's fantastic for the short game and adequate for looping from close to the table for a newer player.
Naturally, because this isn't a particularly fast blade, it lacks a certain oomph away from the table. This shouldn't be considered a deterrent as it encourages players to use a full swing when looping which is certainly nothing short of a good habit. The only other pitfall I encountered was blocking, while it wasn't horrible, I do like a bit of ping so to be able to block without much effort; the Galaxy 896 was much better in this regard.
In respect to design, this is a simple, traditional blade with a slightly thinner-than-usual flared handle (which some have complained about) though I had no issue using it with my average sized hands. In regards to weight, this is a particularly light blade and so affords you a shade of extra maneuverability, further adding to it's short game prowess.
Overall, this blade has a good amount of feel, touch and control and I'd feel extremely comfortable recommending it to a beginner or someone looking to trade up from a premade racket. Bear in mind, even though I've stated this isn't a particularly fast blade, it's still faster than most cheaper premades from Butterfly, Donic etc. so don't go thinking it's too slow for your USATT 1100 rating
Galaxy 896
There's surprisingly not as much information floating around about this blade as there should be. All I could deduce was that it was a great looping blade and not much else. Well, here's my take after spending a couple of days with it. I used this blade with the same Friendship 729 General on both sides for the sake of consistency.
This is without a doubt a step up from the Instinct, it's faster, seemingly more flexible and thus offers great dwell time. In addition to this, it offers decent control though tends to be a trifle unassured in the short game.
As for looping, it certainly lives up to expectations. With great spin resulting from good dwell time and a reasonable amount of speed from mid distance, it's not going to be the racket's fault if you keep hitting long . This said, it isn't a particularly light blade and while it may well be middle of the weight range, you do notice it after playing the Instinct.
What I can say for this blade is as follows, it's not the worst blade to start out with but it's much more potent when used by someone who understands looping and countering incoming spin well.
Friendship 729 General
I picked out these rubbers as they seemed to be well versed in everything without being overwhelming in any regard.
Is this the case? Yes. They're middle of the road in every respect, not too fast, spinny, tacky or heavy. I found them to be perfectly controllable whilst still producing a reasonable amount of spin on both short shots and loops. Though not hugely sensitive to incoming spin, there is still an element of understanding spin that is developed through using such a rubber.
As far as the sponge goes, the black topsheet is layered to a blue sponge while the red is applied to an orange sponge. I found there to be a negligible difference between the black and red topsheets and their sponges.
As I mentioned, these are uncomplicated rubbers that are wonderfully versatile and great for developing all aspects of your game before moving towards a more specific style that demands specific rubbers.
I really do hope this was an enjoyable and informative review and look forward to your comments, thoughts and questions.
-Riz
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