Hi everyone,

I'm a recreational player, and until this year I never played more than a few times each year, so I'm not that good.  For the past several months though, a lot of people at the office have been playing ping pong, and it's really competitive.

Most of us use a set of JP Winlook paddles the company bought off Amazon.  Using that paddle and 38mm balls, I had a really good backspin serve that everyone had trouble with.  But then we switched to 40+ balls and the serve is no longer effective.  So I guess I need a paddle with more tackiness.

One guy recently decided to get his own paddle - a Joola SpinForce 300.  I used to be competitive with him, but the new paddle improved his game significantly.  He destroys me every time we play now.  He seems to generate a ton of spin effortlessly.  I might consider that paddle, but the reviews say it falls apart quickly.

What is my playing style?  I've developed a reputation as being a really good defensive player, as I stand back and run around and am able to return a lot of my opponents' attacks.  Most of my shots are pushes, and I want to work on my chop too.  Recently though I've been trying to be more aggressive and attack more.  I've also been having some elbow pain, so perhaps a lighter paddle would be better?

What blade/rubber would you recommend for me?  Also it'd probably be best if I can find a shop that can do the assembling for me.

I also saw this Pongfinity video showing a guy hitting a ball with so much backspin that it comes back to his side of the table - is there any special rubber required to do that?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjqJnnnUPnc&feature=youtu.be&t=82" rel="nofollow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjqJnnnUPnc&feature=youtu.be&t=82

http://www.colestt.com" rel="nofollow - http://www.colestt.com

I would suggest Touch1 blade with 1.8 mm rubbers out of the options in the combo.

Mark

Thats correct. I just wanted to put it out there for people to know what's going on.  I'll change it back pretty soon.

I'm trying to figure out what all these ratings mean now.  Would the Touch01 blade with an All+ rating be better for my defensive style than an All blade like the Globe 583?

Also, what is the difference between the 1.8 and Scirrocco1.8 rubbers?

At your level I do not think you would notice that much difference between an All and All+ blade.  The rating refers to the speed of the blade.  Since they are from different manufacturers that rating relationship might not even be true.  I have hit with the Touch 1, but not the other so I recommended it.  If you play defensively, but farther back from table you could even benefit from a little faster blade.  All+  will not be that fast and gives you option to play offensive and defensive shots.

The 1.8 rubber is Dawei 2008 which is a non-tacky rubber while Scirroco 1.8 is tacky.  Tacky rubbers can produce more spin on some shots, but they react to opponents spin more.  I usually recommend playing with non-tacky until you get pretty good at dealing with spin and especially at recognizing low spin vs high spin shots.  Not a must since millions in China have and will start with tacky rubbe.  1.8 is the sponge thickness in mm.  That thickness will not be as fast or have as much spin as 2.1 mm,  but it is easier to keep the ball on the table.  .

Note: Unlike the "Premade" paddles, the ones from Coles are glued so that the rubber can be easily replaced when worn out or if you want to try something more advanced.  You could even put the 1.8 back on if you did not like the more advanced rubber.  With Premades taking off the rubber almost always destroys it and leaves a mess on the blade which is difficult to remove.

Two of the beginners I coach just got the Premade Buster with Touch 1 and are doing well with it.  

Hope this helps.  

Mark

The 896 is only available for the 999t Combo, and it doesn't have the scirrocco 1.8 as an option.

Mark