ABS Plastic Balls

Are the Nittaku J-Top "practice" 40+ made in Japan seamed balls ABS or polystyrene?

Everyone needs to bear in mind that (1) we don't have ABS balls in the original 40, as opposed to 40+ size, and (2) we don't have any 40+ celluloid balls.  The fact is that no 40+ ball is going to be like what we remember with celluloid because the increased diameter and weight are dominant effects.  No change in material will overcome that, it effects how the ball spins, and how the spin effects bounce and trajectory of the ball.  Current balls are 0.7-1 mm larger in diameter than celluloid and average around 0.07 grams heavier.  Those are big differences.  It is highly likely that a 40+ celluloid ball would feel like any of the other good polyballs we use now.

ABS balls are without question better than cellulose acetate (the material used in earlier generation seamed 40+ balls) because the balls arrive and stay rounder and bounce the right height.  Cellulose acetate yielded balls that were not round, were fragile, and that bounced very low and erratically.  They are also not cheap.  The DHS D40+ balls, which are ABS, are round and very durable.  They weigh more than Nittaku Premium which pretty much entirely explains the differences in how they play.

It is true that there are many versions of ABS polymers and maybe by tweaking the formula manufacturers can get something they like better but we will probably not notice a whole lot.

But the sad fact is, 40+ balls will never be like the celluloid balls of 2013.  Anybody hoping for this will be disappointed.

And, it must be emphasized, this was almost certainly what  ITTF wanted all along.  It is a feature not a bug.  It is true that celluloid was a dangerous material and IMHO it is good for factory workers in China to not have to deal with it anymore, but there was no "impending worldwide ban on celluloid production" as Sharara claimed; and even if there was, there was no reason they needed to suddenly tighten up the way they regulated ball size after decades of not doing it.  This was a way to sneak in another increase in ball size and the resulting effects on the game are as predicted.  A cynical person would say that all the conversation about material has distracted people from the real change, which has been another increase in ball size.  I have gotten used to it by now but I have been playing exclusively with plastic balls now for the last 3.5 years.

There's one pretty current

http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=81245&title=another-new-ball-synthetic-plastic