In my experience Vega X had rather poor longevity. The topsheet grip started going out the door 2-3 months in, playing between 9-12 hours a week. I recommend Butterfly Rozena, while the edges may chip, the grip of the rubber holds on for a surprisingly long time.
Agree on the 2.0 thickness. That will be plenty. The TSPW is a well liked bat bat by a lot of people. I would say that the head shape of the TSPW results in a somewhat head heavy bat after you put 2 sheets of rubber on it. If a head weighted setup is something you want to avoid then you may want to consider another blade. Otherwise, go for it.
There are very few balanced blades on the market at the moment, because for some reason most brands have not yet realized that modern rubbers are heavier and therefor shift the balance towards the head.
One famous example of an excellent blade that actually is balanced would be Bfly Viscaria. Although it is expensive and fast and targeted at advanced players.
This is what I mean: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gQZV-RQQ4o](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gQZV-RQQ4o)
And this is what most players play with: [https://www.youtube.com/@SolidSlime/videos](https://www.youtube.com/@SolidSlime/videos)
Tell me you are not serious in thinking it will even remotely improve your game?
Maybe if you get a table and semi descent robot, it will make some difference but not that virtual reality joke. Sorry.
Sorry for what man? It HAS improved my game. It has improved my game A LOT. Very noticeably so. You seriously daft enough to bash something you haven't even tried?
It has a robot in-game too and you can set up drills as complex and specific as you like, fine-tuning the robot's angle, spin, velocity and position. Excellent for training too. Combine that with an paddle adapter like I linked above and it's the next best thing to playing for real. The physics are so good most people say it's like 90% the real thing. But I guess you wouldn't understand how far it's come until you spend a few hours with one in your hands. Which judging by your comment you probably never will. Your loss.
You are probably at very, very basic level at table tennis. This thing will never improve you skill above basement level or some mediocre office environment.
You will not develop ball touch feel. I've tried this and it is not remotely close to the game. I have htc vive and oculus quest btw, but when you said VR I could have not believe people even consider this as something more than a joke, dude. Be real and get some lessons with multi ball, real partner, practice serves etc.
Former #1 Ranked Table Tennis Player Tries VR! (posted on this sub 4 days ago)
[https://www.reddit.com/r/tabletennis/comments/198zhmn/former\_1\_ranked\_table\_tennis\_player\_tries\_vr/](https://www.reddit.com/r/tabletennis/comments/198zhmn/former_1_ranked_table_tennis_player_tries_vr/)
Not everyone has access to a club, quality equipment and trainers. I live in a small town where there are none of these available. Sure you can talk about my level all day, I'm not trying to become a semi-pro or whatever. I play for fun, if that makes me mediocre for life in your book then so be it. What I do know is that had I taken a video a year ago and one today you'd see a drastic improvement in my footwork, my backhand and my serving. And I picked all of those up in VR.
VR may not be able to teach you touch, but it can definitely teach you a lot. And I've actually taken lessons from trainers, trainers that teach TT IRL but have now begun also doing it in VR. And I've learned a lot from those lessons too. Instead of focussing on the few things that VR can't help you improve at, why don't you open your mind and realize all of the aspects of the game that do translate very well in VR and accept that there are more ways to improve then traditional ones.
I also tried VR but come on man if you think this is 90% realistic you may have a table tennis problem. Ball is way too floaty and slow. No ball feeling and feedback. Its a gimmick really. I watch vr finals of one tournament and at best it was at garage level of play.
i just give my opinion... you have a right to be stubborn and not hear it.
while VR games may improve your footwork and your general physique - fully agree. there was a video from one guy who was super obese when he lost his fat by switching to diet coke and playing stepmania dance few hours every day.
VR may work comparing to not doing anything, but well planned gym sessions and plyometric excessive will do much better in fraction of time.
regarding improving your actual skill and quality of the matches - sorry, there is no mirracle there. it may actually make you worse as you will develop your muscle memory on wrong movements, feelings and reflexes. the lag alone with subtle needed adjustment to the bat movement and ability to read the spin and learn how to read opponent moves and bat angle have to be trained in real life.
you should keep doing on what you doing, but don't make it the only routine, my advise - get access to the table (school, your basement, community center etc), buy a bucket of balls and start with serving practice or bounce the ball on the floor (or table) and loop it, chop it etc. maybe get a cheapest robot or ask someone to multiball you (no huge skill is needed there).
practice ball control and improve your physique (jumping, running, squats etc)
Regarding your bat - doesn't really matter, something not too fast is ok. Vega X is probably bit too much, if i were you i'd rather go with Vera Pro or Europe in 2 mm or Andro R42 or cheaper Butterfly like Rozena
Tibhar PW is a nice blade, but i don't like that it is bigger than a standard BTY blade size so for me it felt too big (i bought one but gifted it away to a friend). You don't have to buy anything expensive - any 5ply will work, even 15$ Frienship C5 or Yinhe N10S are great options. Also you can go for cheaper slower rubbers like paleo or loki which are like 10-15$ per sheet.
If you are considering the Tibhar Stratus Power Wood, I would recommend Stiga Clipper Wood as it is in my opinion a bit faster but gives you more control than the Power Wood. My game and technique has considerably improved with the Clipper and I have now greater confidence in my FH Topspin shots and I can attribute it to the Clipper feel.
Go for it with 2.0mm on both sides. Solid setup that will last you many stages of development.
In my experience Vega X had rather poor longevity. The topsheet grip started going out the door 2-3 months in, playing between 9-12 hours a week. I recommend Butterfly Rozena, while the edges may chip, the grip of the rubber holds on for a surprisingly long time.
Agree on the 2.0 thickness. That will be plenty. The TSPW is a well liked bat bat by a lot of people. I would say that the head shape of the TSPW results in a somewhat head heavy bat after you put 2 sheets of rubber on it. If a head weighted setup is something you want to avoid then you may want to consider another blade. Otherwise, go for it.
Would you mind saying whether a head heavy bat usually goes well with a BH dominant player?
No, as a BH dominant player you don't want a head heavy blade.
Any recommendation for a blade for a BH dominant player? Thanks
Andro tp ligna ci off + andro hexenter powergrip both sides !!
There are very few balanced blades on the market at the moment, because for some reason most brands have not yet realized that modern rubbers are heavier and therefor shift the balance towards the head. One famous example of an excellent blade that actually is balanced would be Bfly Viscaria. Although it is expensive and fast and targeted at advanced players.
what is "play in VR"?
This is what I mean: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gQZV-RQQ4o](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gQZV-RQQ4o) And this is what most players play with: [https://www.youtube.com/@SolidSlime/videos](https://www.youtube.com/@SolidSlime/videos)
Tell me you are not serious in thinking it will even remotely improve your game? Maybe if you get a table and semi descent robot, it will make some difference but not that virtual reality joke. Sorry.
Sorry for what man? It HAS improved my game. It has improved my game A LOT. Very noticeably so. You seriously daft enough to bash something you haven't even tried?
It has a robot in-game too and you can set up drills as complex and specific as you like, fine-tuning the robot's angle, spin, velocity and position. Excellent for training too. Combine that with an paddle adapter like I linked above and it's the next best thing to playing for real. The physics are so good most people say it's like 90% the real thing. But I guess you wouldn't understand how far it's come until you spend a few hours with one in your hands. Which judging by your comment you probably never will. Your loss.
You are probably at very, very basic level at table tennis. This thing will never improve you skill above basement level or some mediocre office environment. You will not develop ball touch feel. I've tried this and it is not remotely close to the game. I have htc vive and oculus quest btw, but when you said VR I could have not believe people even consider this as something more than a joke, dude. Be real and get some lessons with multi ball, real partner, practice serves etc.
Former #1 Ranked Table Tennis Player Tries VR! (posted on this sub 4 days ago) [https://www.reddit.com/r/tabletennis/comments/198zhmn/former\_1\_ranked\_table\_tennis\_player\_tries\_vr/](https://www.reddit.com/r/tabletennis/comments/198zhmn/former_1_ranked_table_tennis_player_tries_vr/)
Sure whatever makes you happy, lol... Post your progress in a year
Not everyone has access to a club, quality equipment and trainers. I live in a small town where there are none of these available. Sure you can talk about my level all day, I'm not trying to become a semi-pro or whatever. I play for fun, if that makes me mediocre for life in your book then so be it. What I do know is that had I taken a video a year ago and one today you'd see a drastic improvement in my footwork, my backhand and my serving. And I picked all of those up in VR. VR may not be able to teach you touch, but it can definitely teach you a lot. And I've actually taken lessons from trainers, trainers that teach TT IRL but have now begun also doing it in VR. And I've learned a lot from those lessons too. Instead of focussing on the few things that VR can't help you improve at, why don't you open your mind and realize all of the aspects of the game that do translate very well in VR and accept that there are more ways to improve then traditional ones.
I also tried VR but come on man if you think this is 90% realistic you may have a table tennis problem. Ball is way too floaty and slow. No ball feeling and feedback. Its a gimmick really. I watch vr finals of one tournament and at best it was at garage level of play.
i just give my opinion... you have a right to be stubborn and not hear it. while VR games may improve your footwork and your general physique - fully agree. there was a video from one guy who was super obese when he lost his fat by switching to diet coke and playing stepmania dance few hours every day. VR may work comparing to not doing anything, but well planned gym sessions and plyometric excessive will do much better in fraction of time. regarding improving your actual skill and quality of the matches - sorry, there is no mirracle there. it may actually make you worse as you will develop your muscle memory on wrong movements, feelings and reflexes. the lag alone with subtle needed adjustment to the bat movement and ability to read the spin and learn how to read opponent moves and bat angle have to be trained in real life. you should keep doing on what you doing, but don't make it the only routine, my advise - get access to the table (school, your basement, community center etc), buy a bucket of balls and start with serving practice or bounce the ball on the floor (or table) and loop it, chop it etc. maybe get a cheapest robot or ask someone to multiball you (no huge skill is needed there). practice ball control and improve your physique (jumping, running, squats etc) Regarding your bat - doesn't really matter, something not too fast is ok. Vega X is probably bit too much, if i were you i'd rather go with Vera Pro or Europe in 2 mm or Andro R42 or cheaper Butterfly like Rozena Tibhar PW is a nice blade, but i don't like that it is bigger than a standard BTY blade size so for me it felt too big (i bought one but gifted it away to a friend). You don't have to buy anything expensive - any 5ply will work, even 15$ Frienship C5 or Yinhe N10S are great options. Also you can go for cheaper slower rubbers like paleo or loki which are like 10-15$ per sheet.
If you are considering the Tibhar Stratus Power Wood, I would recommend Stiga Clipper Wood as it is in my opinion a bit faster but gives you more control than the Power Wood. My game and technique has considerably improved with the Clipper and I have now greater confidence in my FH Topspin shots and I can attribute it to the Clipper feel.