Equipment
Hello PingSkills Team,
As I am very interested in equipment and also because I am more and more frequently asked by younger players about equipment,I would like to ask,what abilities and knowledge do I need to become and equipment expert and how to gain them?
Thanks
DK
Alois Rosario Answered 10 years ago
Hi DK,
I think playing with a lot of different rubbers and seeing what their properties are...
However, this can become an expensive exercise.
Maybe an equipment expert is one that realises this... To really become better you need to get more interested in training and spend less time worrying if you have the 'right' equipment.
Question actions
I have often different experiance than what I read on the forums.,
Of course I read them a lot.
But I often read for example two opposite opinions on one rubber.
Then I need to try it personally
Of course you wouldn't take a person's word for granted, every review should be taken with more than one grain of salt, some reviews being more trustworthy than others. It's equally wrong to think that your personal experience is a flawless indication of the equipment's strengths and weaknesses. Everyone is biased somehow, manufacturers, distributors, ourselves, we all love to exaggerate the difference that equipment makes. On top of that it's all largely subjective anyway.
Different gear mostly comes with relative advantages/strengths and relative disadvantages/weaknesses. Those trade-offs have to suit the player, and that's what makes it so hard to get an objective view on the quality.
There is not a single person in the world who is qualified to give an unbiased opinion on all the blades and rubbers out there. That includes ourselves!
All that I recommend is to look for trends and recurring opinions, and then see if they check out in reality if possible. Two opinions, conflicting or not, isn't nearly enough to make a conclusion!
OK
Speaking of this:any ide what is the difference between normal rubbers and those that are said to be "suitable for plastic balls"?
to spend money
So you say they are said so in order to force players buy new rubbers?
I think of course, I don't buy new rubbers, training is better
I know.
I just asked because i am going to buy a spare bat,because I need a double-inverted bat to play with kids and also to test out my abilities as an double-invert player (normally I am longpips chopper).
And I decided for the Kokutaku Blutenkirsche rubber.
It is said to be suitable for plastic balls.
Jeff Plumb from PingSkills
Posted 10 years ago
Latest
You certainly need to update your rubbers when they start to wear out but as long as you have decent rubbers it's the training that will make the difference.
Ehm....I am not sure what wearing rubbers out has to do with this? :O
Being an equipment master is one quite tough job if you do not have the budget. You must read people's opinion on the product you are looking for and actually trying it out yourself. You need to have a lot of experience to really understand yourself the build-in characteristic for each brand and really understand the rating number given by people in terms of speed, spin, control, throw angle, sponge hardness, etc. This applies to rubber, blade, table, robot, and other notable table tennis equipment. Hope this helps :)
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