Choosing the Best Paddle that Suits your Needs?

Choosing the best and appropriate ping pong paddle that suit your needs or playing style can lead into a huge improvement and a more enjoyable game. Although, ordinary players may not be choosy when it comes to their paddles but for serious players, it is important for them to use the most fitting paddle for their style.

Regardless of which type of players you belong (casual or regular), you actually have the edge of winning a match with the right paddle on your hand.

Before we proceed with the tips, what are the components of a ping pong paddle?

a. Blade - This is the wooden-slightly rounded part of the paddle.

b. Rubber - This is the piece of rubber surface that covers the wooden-blade either on one side or both opposite sides.

c. Handle - It's the grip.

Here are the following tips on how you should choose the best paddle that suits your need:

1. Do Not Buy Ready-made (Premade) Paddles

You should avoid purchasing a ready-made paddle it's because such products won't last long enough. In return, you will end up discarding it to buy another new replacement which is just a complete waste of money.

The best suggestion is to buy a "blade" and "rubber" separately because you can make the necessary adjustments into your paddle to suit the requirements of your playing style.

2. Hold the Blade for a Test

Searching the web for the best ping pong paddle to buy will provide you an endless list of Online Stores offering you various products to choose from. Some of them have good positive reviews but they aren't still convincing enough to be the right paddle for you. In short, there is really no possible way to confirm the suitability of the paddle that you wanted to buy if you intend of buying it online.

Thus, it is highly recommended that you should only buy your paddle from a real store which allow you to test it with your own hand. According to some professionals, not all handles are exactly the same even if the paddle have the same type of grips.

3. Type of Blade that Suits your Style

Aside from the handle, paddles also differ in terms of their blades which is due to their number of "plies". Some professional players claims that, a blade with few plies will have a slower speed but offers more control with the ball.

There are actually two different types of blades which is the "single-sided blade" and "double-sided blade". A single-sided blade is a type of paddle with only one of the blade's surface equipped with rubber. Double-sided paddle has both opposite sides of the blade equipped with rubber surfaces. Professional players prefers to use double-sided blades because it gives them the advantage of being able to shift their styles on different situations.

4. Choose the Right Rubber Sponges

The surface of a paddle's blade which is used by players to hit the ball is made out of spongy rubber material. One of its purpose is to protect the wooden-blade from any possible damages. But, the main purpose of the rubber is actually to offer the player the capability to control the speed of the ball.

A thick spongy rubber actually offer more speed but harder to control. As for the thin spongy rubbers, it offers ease of control but less speed. Offensive-style of players prefer to use thick sponges while defensive-styles chose to use thin sponges.

Advantages of Custom-made and Premade Paddles


Custom and premade paddles actually have their own differences in terms of their advantages. Let's find out about them:

Advantages of a Premade Paddle

1. Offer a much cheaper price.

2. You don't have to trouble yourself trying to assemble the paddle. Upon purchase, you can immediately use it right away.

3. There is no need for you to buy those additional accessories (such as glue and edge tape) for assembling the blade.

4. Save your time with less choices or options about choosing your preferred bat.

Advantages of a Custom-made Paddle

1. Since you have the option to choose the type of rubbers and blades that suits your style, it gives you the benefit of performing at your best strikes.

2. The blades are well characterized with descriptions which allows you to choose the perfect fit for your playing style.

3. You can easily change the rubber of your paddle if it happens that you want to make changes to your style.

4. You can use "Speed Glue". (Although, ITTF had already banned the use of speed glue in January 1, 2009.)

5. The blades, handles and rubbers offer much better qualities.

(Any ping pong paddle can naturally break even if you haven't used it for a long time. This can be avoided by properly storing it on a proper holder.)

6. It's easy to replace the rubber of the blade when worn out.

Ping Pong Paddle


Moreover, beginners are advised to use premade paddles until they are able to define their own preferred style. Once defined, they can now upgrade their bats into a more suitable custom-made ping pong paddles.

No comments:

Post a Comment