Answer: Hi Brian,

Tackifire Special Soft is actually the fastest of our "Super Spin" type of rubbers. As you are using soft type of sponges on both your forehand and backhand, I am assuming that you like the softer feel. With all this in mind, I would suggest that you try Bryce FX or Cermet on your backhand. If you do not reglue, you might also want to consider our new Bryce FX with Powersponge.

Best wishes,

Richard McAfee, USATT National Coach and Hall of Fame Member

Answer: They are both good mid distance blades; I played with both of them. Korbel is a bit more flexible and Maze is a little faster. If you do not speed glue, I would suggest the Maze or even faster blades like Viscaria or Timo Boll.

Masaaki Tajima, U.S. Certified National Coach

Answer: Hello Sukraat,
If you like the Cermet but want more speed, then my suggestion would be to go with Bryce. You mentioned that you are getting ready to complete in your national championships, just make sure that you have adequate time before the event to get used to the new rubber.

Best wishes,

Richard McAfee, USATT National Coach and Hall of Fame Member

Answer: Hi Austin,
I am glad that you are enjoying playing Table Tennis so much. You are quite right in assuming that there is a great deal of difference between store-line and pro-line equipment. After playing for a year, it does sound like you are ready for better quality equipment. You describe yourself as a heavy top-spin player so I would indeed recommend the Joyner Pro-Line racket. The Joyner is made of Hinoki wood, which offers excellent control with a soft feel that many top-spin players love. It comes with Tackifire Drive Rubber on one side and Sriver on the other. Sriver is the classic topspin rubber and can produce the largest variety of topspins of any rubber on the market. It has all the "Gears". Tackifire Drive is a heavy spin rubber that is a little slower than Sriver but offers even more control. Many players will use this on their backhand side.

Best of luck,

Richard McAfee, USATT National Coach and Hall of Fame Member

Answer: Hi Neil,
Over the years, I have known a number of people who have “cut-down” a blade. Most were not happy with the results. Not only will you change the balance of the blade but also it’s playing characteristics by reducing its head size.

As a coach, I would also advise that you find a combination that you like and try to stay with it for a period of time. Switching equipment on a regular basis might be fun, but it will hold back your technical development.

Best wishes,
Richard McAfee, USATT National Coach and Hall of Fame Member

Answer: Hi Gary,
You might think about using Tackifire Drive on your forehand and Tackifire Chop on the backhand. Firehand is a fast blade and Tackifire is slower control rubber. You may want little more speed and power on your forehand and more spin on the backhand, especially if you push or chop on the backhand.

Masaaki Tajima, U.S. Certified National Coach

Answer: Hi Blair,
From your email, it sounds like you are looking for a blade and rubber combination that produces good spin with a lot of control. The Timo Boll blade would be ideal to meet your needs. If you want a little more speed than look at the Primorac Blade as well. As for rubber, I would suggest Tackiness Drive for heavy spin and good control.

Best wishes,

Richard McAfee, USATT National Coach and Hall of Fame Member

Answer: Hi Tommy
I need more info to better answer your question: give me more details on the racket you are using; fast, slow, how much you paid, what rubber you are using.

What is your level of play? Do you have a rating?

Masaaki Tajima

I am using the Stiga Ultimate preassembled racket at the moment. It cost $24.99 It has a 42 out of 60 rating and is a relatively fast racket. It doesn't quite move fast enough for me though, and I would like more top/back spin on my slams. I am a cut/slam player and I play at about a mid distance from the table. I'm not entirely sure what rubber is on the racket, but it is the original rubber from the stock racket. Also, a flare handle is a must. Let me know if anything else is needed.

Tommy

Hi Tommy
This gives me enough information. The pre-assembled racket you bought is designed, priced and marketed for recreational, not for competition, purpose, although it can legally be used in tournaments. The quality and technology that is required for high-level play isn’t there in the racket you are using. A typical competition racket costs an average of $80-$150 and more, regardless of who you buy it from. This is why you are not getting more “stuff” on the ball as you improve your skills.

I suggest, medium to medium-high speed racket like Butterfly’s Bastian Steger and Sriver FX on the forehand and Tackifire C Soft on the backhand. Sriver FX because for your level, it gives you controlable speed and spin for your forehand, and Tackifire C Soft for your backhand for more spin and less speed, because you probably use your backhand more to chop.

You can select the handle of your choice and Butterfly will custom assemble it for you.

Masaaki Tajima, U.S. Certified National Coach

Answer: Dear Clang,
I am glad that you are enjoying the Bryce FX with Powersponge and sorry that you are having a problem keeping the rubber attached. As we have not heard of any moisture problem associated with the use of the CO2 bags, I suspect that the problem may lie with some foreign substance on the blade itself. This could be a number of things such as an applied blade sealer, a build-up of glue, or even just dirt. I would suggest that you try a light sanding to the blade's surface, with fine sand paper. That should remove any foreign substance and rough up the surface a little. This should take care of the problem.

Best wishes,
Coach McAfee, USATT National Coach and Hall of Fame Member

Answer: I think you made a good choice; faster and spinier on the forehand and slower Tackifire rubber on the backhand. My question and concerns are; what is your level of play because, this combination (forehand) maybe too fast for you to handle. If you are above 1700 with basic fundamentals in place, you can learn to make the most of if, increasing your level of play. But if you are below 1700, I suggest sticking with slower blade and rubber on both sides until your skill levels are higher.

If you make the switch, train and get used to it and find your comfort zone before playing in a tournament.

Masaaki Tajima

Answer: Hi Greg,

I am assuming that you wish to continue using an inverted (smooth) rubber but would like something slower and easier to control on one side. I would suggest you try Tackiness Drive. It combines strong spin and moderate speed, with great control. You should be able to control the ball better with either offensive or defense. Also, you will need to buy some glue to install the rubber. I would suggest that you get a small tube of clean chack, which is enough to install several sheets of rubber.

Best wishes,
Richard McAfee, USATT National Coach

Answer: Hi Derek,

In general the thicker the sponge the more speed and less control. The 1.7mm sponge is more popular with aggressive choppers. The 1.9 sponge is more popular with all-round attackers. The 2.1 sponge is mostly used by aggressive topspin attackers and requires a lot of practice to achieve control. In addition, the 2.1mm sponge has a slightly higher ball throw than does the 1.9mm, which makes it more popular for players who play from mid-distance.

Good luck,
Richard McAfee, USATT National Coach.

Answer: Hello Charn,

Powersponge was designed to be attached with regular glue (Basic Chack) and not speed glue (Fair Chack). Simply apply a medium coat of glue to both the rubber and the blade and let it dry completely (about 15 minutes). If you use this procedure, you should not have any problems with the rubber shrinking. Remember that the glue effect is built into the Powersponge and does not come from the glue itself.

Best wishes,
Richard McAfee, USATT National Coach.

Answer: Thanks you for your question. I think you need to go another route to get what you need. If you have Sriver FX, which is our softest rubber then it is not in your best interest to use Sriver EL because the sponge is harder. If you want good speed and spin, with a low trajectory then I suggest you use Cermet. It has a very soft sponge for great feel and a heavy topsheet for controlled power shots whether it is spin or speed.

That is my suggestion for you.

Forehand Rubber suggestion: Cermet, 2.1mm
Backhand Rubber suggestion: Cermet, 2.1mm

Good luck,

Brian Pace

Answer: Thank you for your question. I would suggest the rubber Tackifire C Soft. It is the next generation in our rubbers with soft sponge and heavy spin topsheet. It will give you good spin over the table, low trajectory on your serves, and soft feel for block hard attack shots.

For the backhand, I would suggest Catapult on your backhand. It has a "built in” glue effect and it spins just as well as it hits. This combo would most benefit enhancing your game without any pitfalls.

Forehand rubber suggestion: Tackfire C - Soft, 2.1mm
Backhand rubber suggestion: Catapult 2.1mm

Good luck,

Brian Pace

Answer: Thank you for your question, and I agree that it's time for an upgrade. Based on your previous racket, I think your blade choice should be the Firehand Blade. It is a very solid blade with a very big sweetspot. It will feel like you are hitting a homerun every time you make contact with the sweetspot.

The rubber choice that I suggest for the forehand is Sriver-EL, as it will give you great spin control and feel from close to mid-distance off the table. The backhand rubber I suggest is Catapult. It has a soft sponge, and has a great glue effect. It is an upgrade from the Tibhar Rapid.

Racket suggestion: Firehand
Forehand rubber suggestion: Sriver-EL
Backhand rubber suggestion: Catapult

Good luck with your decision making,

Brian Pace

Answer: Thank you for your question Kinzeo. Both of the blades you are looking at are good, and they are close to each other in class and speed.

I would suggest the Michael Maze, though. It is 2gms lighter and has a bigger sweet spot than the Spirit.

With the suggestion of rubber, I think that the Sriver G2 is the upgrade you need. It has the "High Tension" technology, which gives you a faster rebound off the racket without any lost of control on the shot. Using the Sriver G2 would allow you to keep your current distance from the table and execute more power shots.

Using the Sriver-EL would put you off the table to a mid-distance position. That would have you changing the way you play your shots. So I would not recommend Sriver-EL.

Racket suggestion: Michael Maze
Forehand rubber suggestion: Sriver G2
Backhand rubber suggestion: Sriver G2

I hope this information makes your decision making process easier.

Good Luck,

Brian Pace

Answer: I think you have a good combination, Igor. If you have to do an upgrade because you feel like you need more power, I would suggest you upgrade to the rubber Sriver G2. It gives you 18% more power without sacrificing any loss of control because of the high tension technology.

If you have to go with a blade, I would suggest the Michael Maze. It's not such a big jump up in power. If you want more power, then I would choose the Firehand.

Answer: It's a very bold & gutsy move you are taking in changing your style. But in changing rackets, you change the characteristics of how you play. Some thing will disappear, some things will evolve.

I would suggest you keep the same rubber, but use the Primorac racket. It has been our most popular selling racket every year. The speed and control puts you right down the middle. It's a good starter racket, and once you have developed this new style you can later choose a racket that fits it.

Answer: Thank you for your question. You do have a very good combination of racket and rubber. I think you can stay with the rubber that you have. If your rubbers are 3 yrs old, then just getting new rubbers is what you need right now.

Rubber sheets will usually last around 5 months for a person that is playing 2-3 times per week. So if your rubbers are 3 years old, they have totally different characteristics at this point.

So just get new rubbers sheets. If you do play heavy spin shot, with hard drives I would suggest that you get 2.1mm sponge thickness if you don't have it.