I am thinking of buying something, but probably won't. Would some of you mugs mind doing the research into it and letting me know the result?

[Brandane]

Today it's this table tennis bat by Stiga.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07TB9Y1BD?tag=tptracking-1588528-21&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1

 

[Fastpedaller]

A frying pan is cheaper and will probably endow you with more skill.

 

[oxoman]

Do more damage with the frying pan when you clobber someone with it. 🤫

 

[biggs682]

Looks good to the blind man on the corner

 

[Ming the Merciless]

The nipples are too short for your purposes

 

[Sharky]

I've been playing with stiga blades for over 50 years and are good. But ready made bats are usually for beginners. Once you have been playing for a while, you develop a style, attack, defensive or all round. Rubbers vary so much and usually you don't have the same on both sides.
Sponge thicknesses vary from none through to about 2.2 mm. The greater the thickness, the greater the speed, but control is less.

I buy the rubber sheets separately and usually Yasaka or Tibar.

Are you a casual or a league player .

Good websites are bribar or table tennis direct.

 

[Sharky]

A frying pan is cheaper and will probably endow you with more skill.

Got through to a holiday camp final once, and the pro TT player, did indeed play a few rallies with a frying pan. I of course lost

 

[Profpointy]

Got through to a holiday camp final once, and the pro TT player, did indeed play a few rallies with a frying pan. I of course lost

A top poker player (maybe Doyle Brunson), also famous for "proposition bets" wagered he could beat a champion ping pong player ... providing he could choose the bats to be used. They both played with coke bottle for bats. Brunson won having practiced with a coke bottle for months. He was quite sporty and was already pretty good.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

That's like taking a knife to a gunfight, I'd say.

Here's the Stiga model you should be buying:

https://www.stiga.com/uk/271432101-st1-pr-100e-kit.html

 

[Webbo2]

I've been playing with stiga blades for over 50 years and are good. But ready made bats are usually for beginners. Once you have been playing for a while, you develop a style, attack, defensive or all round. Rubbers vary so much and usually you don't have the same on both sides.
Sponge thicknesses vary from none through to about 2.2 mm. The greater the thickness, the greater the speed, but control is less.

I buy the rubber sheets separately and usually Yasaka or Tibar.

Are you a casual or a league player .

Good websites are bribar or table tennis direct.

I’m sure that one of cycling mates Barbara who is a serious player told me you have declare what rubber and foam thickness you are using to the opposing player before the match?

 

[Brandane]

I've been playing with stiga blades for over 50 years and are good. But ready made bats are usually for beginners. Once you have been playing for a while, you develop a style, attack, defensive or all round. Rubbers vary so much and usually you don't have the same on both sides.
Sponge thicknesses vary from none through to about 2.2 mm. The greater the thickness, the greater the speed, but control is less.

I buy the rubber sheets separately and usually Yasaka or Tibar.

Are you a casual or a league player .

Good websites are bribar or table tennis direct.

Thanks for taking the time to compile a serious reply to what was meant to be a humourous thread, and a bit of a dig at our Accy and his car buying habits!
I picked a fairly random item in the table tennis bat, but having said that I used to play quite a lot when younger (i.e. nearly half a century ago) and now semi retired I am thinking of taking it up again with a local group of other retirees. Being slightly put off by having a dodgy left hip as a result of a cycling accident a few years back, which restricts side to side movement a bit.
If I do start playing again it will be beginner level, and I will be using some of my existing collection of 4 bats which are not very old and are hardly used, sadly. One of them has no sponge or rubber at all, just wood with a fine sandpaper playing surface. Good for playing against an opponent who puts strong spin on the ball, but I'm not even sure if such a bat is allowed in competitive play?

 

[Sharky]

I’m sure that one of cycling mates Barbara who is a serious player told me you have declare what rubber and foam thickness you are using to the opposing player before the match?

Doesn't much happen at local League level, but occasionally players ask to see my bat. Probably more at national or tournament level.

Btw, did you know that you need bigger balls to play table tennis nowadays?

 

[Sharky]

One of them has no sponge or rubber at all,

I don't think these are legal now. You can get rubbers with no sponge, with pips out. Very hard to master, but also in the hands of an experienced player, very hard to beat.

 

[Drago]

Could you not find one cheaper with trade sale terms?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I’m sure that one of cycling mates Barbara who is a serious player told me you have declare what rubber and foam thickness you are using to the opposing player before the match?

Different colours each side, so opponent can see which side used in a shot. Least used to be when I played it seriously.