Recommended
Table Tennis Equipment

I recommend...

1. 
   
   
   For beginners or intermediate players, and for players with an all-round / counter-attacking style of play...
   
   
   • Any brand of blade classified as being "Allround" - These blades will consist of hard inner plys of wood, with softer outer plys. They'll be a medium speed racket and will help you to control the ball.
     
     For example the
     Butterfly "Timo Boll All" blade
     

    

2. 
   
   
   For an advanced player with an attacking / offensive style of play...
   
   
   • Any brand of blade classified as being "Offensive" - These blades will be semi rigid with harder outer plys of wood which will enable you to generate more power in your shots.
     
     For example the
     Butterfly "Maze Passion" blade
     

    

3. 
   
   
   For beginners or intermediate players with a defensive style of play...
   
   
   • Any brand of blade classified as being "Defensive" - These blades will have soft flexible plys of wood which will give you better ball control.
     
     For example the
     Butterfly "Defensive X" blade

    

Unless you are an advanced player, you should always choose Options 1 or 3.

I recommend...

1. 
   
   
   
   For beginners or intermediate players, and for players with an all-round / counter-attacking style of play...
   
   
   • Butterfly Sriver 1.5mm
     or
   • Butterfly Sriver 1.7mm
     
     on both sides of your blade.
     These rubbers are medium speed rubbers which will give you great control. Sriver is one of the most popular rubbers of all-time and is used by a high percentage of top players.

    

2. 
   
   
   
   For an advanced player with an attacking / offensive style of play...
   
   
   • Butterfly Bryce 2.1mm
     or
   • Butterfly Bryce FX 2.1mm
     
     on both sides of your blade.
     These rubbers, which have a thicker sponge, are fast rubbers which are great for an offensive style of play. However, you'll lose some of the control offered by slower rubbers.
     
     Bryce is one of the latest types of rubber which incorporates "High Tension". This causes the ball to rebound off the rubber with extra speed.

    

3. 
   
   
   
   For beginners or intermediate players with a defensive style of play...
   
   
   • Butterfly Tackiness Chop-II 1.5mm
     or
   • Butterfly Tackiness Chop 1.5mm
     
     on both sides of your blade.
     These rubbers, which have a thinner sponge, are slow rubbers which give great control for a defensive playing style. However, a slower rubber means that it's difficult to generate the speed of shot offered by faster rubbers.
     
     Butterfly Tackiness Chop-II is the "second generation" of their highly acclaimed Tackiness Chop rubber which first appeared about 30 years ago. The new sponge now has more rebound and therefore makes counter-attacking easier and more effective.

    

Unless you are an advanced player, you should always choose Options 1 or 3.

I recommend...

• Any brand of glue classified as "Water-based and VOC free" -
  
  For example
  Butterfly Free Chack

I recommend...

Any brand of racket case which has an oblong shape.
An oblong shaped case is better than a case shaped like a table tennis racket because it will offer more protection to the edges of your racket.
You can buy either a single racket case or one which holds two rackets.

DO NOT use any type of
cleaner on your rubbers.
It is against the rules!

Clean your rubbers with
a soft cloth using plain water only.

I recommend...

Indoor table tennis tables

1. 
   
   
   Basic
   
   For infrequent use or for beginners.
   
   
   • Any brand of table with a ¾ inch (19mm) table top and playback facility.
     
     For example the
     Butterfly Personal Rollaway table
     
     

    

2. 
   
   
   Better
   
   
   • Any brand of table with a ⅞ inch (22mm) table top.
     
     For example the
     Butterfly Match Nippon Rollaway 22 table
     

    

3. 
   
   
   Best
   
   
   • Any brand of table with a 1 inch (25mm) table top.
     
     For example the
     Butterfly Europa 25 Anti Skid table
     

    

Outdoor table tennis tables

1. 
   
   
   Basic
   
   
   • Any brand of table with a waterproof table top.
     
     For example the
     Butterfly Outdoor Playback Rollaway table
     

    

2. 
   Better
   
   
   • Any brand of table with a high resilience weatherproof table top and galvanised steel undercarriage, net and post set.
     
     For example the
     Butterfly Ultimate table
     

    

3. 
   
   
   Best
   
   
   • A concrete table.
     
     For example
     see these precision cast concrete tables made in the USA.
     

    

I recommend...

Any brand of net which has a sturdy screw clamp and adjustable net height mechanism.

For example the
Joola WM

I recommend...

1. 
   For beginners, schools and youth clubs etc
   
   
   • Any brand of ball classified as being "one star" or not classified.
     

    

2. 
   For improvers, for use with a robot or for multi-ball practice
   
   
   • Any brand of ball classified as being "two star".
     
     For example the
     Butterfly 2* Training Balls
     

    

3. 
   For matches and competitions (or if you just want the best)
   
   
   • Any brand of ball classified as being "three star".
     
     For example the
     Butterfly 3* balls
     

    

I recommend...

• Butterfly Radial
  or
• Butterfly Energy Force
  

I recommend...

1. 
   Basic
   
   
   • Any brand of robot which has the ability to impart several different spins onto the ball and vary the placement of the ball -
     
     for example the
     iPong Pro
     

    

2. 
   
   
   Better
   
   
   • Any brand of robot which has the ability to impart several different spins onto the ball and vary the placement of the ball and includes pre set drills -
     
     for example the
     Newgy Robo-Pong 2050
     

    

3. 
   
   
   Best
   
   
   • Any brand of robot which has the ability to impart several different spins onto the ball and vary the placement of the ball and includes collecting nets to fix around the table edges -
     
     for example the
     Oukei S9