I am a recreational player and want to play with a better paddle. You recommend gluing one's own in your column. I am willing to learn how but I don't want to glue every time I play!
What I would like is the versatility of a glued paddle with the convenience of a pre-made one. Is it worth buying a bat and rubbers and just glue it once?
What bat and rubbers do you recommend - I would like near maximum spin with relatively good control. i would like to keep the cost below $60-$70 or so if possible.
Thx
Bruce
Players who use speed glue generally do so every time they play, but the rest of us only glue on the rubbers when it's time to replace them with new ones - around every 3-6 months depending on how often you play.
I tend to recommend any decent allround blade and some good allround/aggressive rubbers that aren't too thick - something like Butterfly Sriver or Yasaka Mark V in 1.5mm sponge thickness is just about ideal for a beginner. I have lists of recommended beginner table tennis blades and beginner table tennis rubbers that you can check out here.
To get a good blade and rubbers for under $60-70, I suggest contacting Cole Ely at www.colestt.com. Cole deals in good quality Chinese equipment, which is generally a lot cheaper than European or Japanese equipment, and is good value if you know what to choose - which Cole does! Chinese rubbers also tend to be stickier than other rubbers, which you might like as well if you aren't going to speed glue to increase the spin.
Regards,
Greg Letts
