The right bat for my style?

Hey guys, I'm trying to buy my first bat and I'm really confused about what blade+rubber combo is best for my style. I'm hoping you guys can help me out. Here's all the critical information:

I've been playing for about 4 years
I use a shakehand grip
I like to play off the table (a step or two back)
I don't speed glue (still to new to this stuff)
I favor my forehand and love all sorts of forehand spin (topspin, backspin, side spins, everything) but I play mostly topspin loops and drives (love looping from a few feet back)
I'm less versatile with my backhand and tend to use it more defensively (lots of backspin type shots) but my goal is to develop a decent backhand topspin/loop stroke.
Overall, I think I'd describe myself as ALL+ or OFF- (though I may play a bit more defensively against better opponents or those who force me to use my backhand).

I guess that's it. I need to select a blade and rubber. I'm so confused though because if you go by the manufacturer's descriptions every rubber out there will make you the best in the world. It's hard to compare one to the other. As far as blades I have absolutely no clue what characteristics I should be looking for.

I need help! Anybody?

Thanks PMR! I just checked out the equipment you suggested on Cole's site. Very affordable. The blade definitely sounds right to me, and based on the rubber descriptions I'm assuming you're suggesting the LKT Pro XT for my forehand with the Cream on MRS for my backhand?

I'm wondering if that would be best, or if I should go with Cream MRS on both sides. Which do you guys think makes a better attacking forehand rubber (for a topspin/looping type player who likes to occasionally mix it up)? According to the site, LKT Pro XT is awesome if you glue, but it says it may not be very fast unglued.. whereas Cream MRS is good either way.

Ugh. Maybe I should just learn to glue.

Alright, so I've got it narrowed down. I'm gonna go with the instinct blade (still have to decide on 5-ply or 7ply) and Cream MRS on the backhand.

For the forehand I'm going to go with a different rubber because I figure it's good to experience a few different kinds.

Here's the choice I have to make: Dawei Sprungfeder G3 A2 or Dawei Inspirit.

How do these compare in terms of softness, speed, spin, tackiness, etc? Is there anything that one does better than the other? Keep in mind I'm not using speed glue.. so is one more dependent on glue than the other?

Thanks so much guys for all the help, I really appreciate it!

You can't go wrong with either of them. I believe the Inspirit is supposed to be faster. I tried both, but on different blades, and not directly comparing, so I didn't get an accurate comparison in my mind. But the Sprungfeder didn't seem to lack power at all.

I'd definitely recommend either of the two. It's good to experiment with one of these because they're not tacky, whereas Cream is pretty tacky. See which you like better.

Not necessarily. Spin can be created in several ways:
- tacky topsheet
- soft topsheet (increases dwell time)
- soft sponge (increases dwell time)
- thick sponge (increases dwell time)

So soft, non-tacky rubbers can also be very spinny. I'm not sure which is spinnier.

I would think they are comparable though, not a huge difference.

don't use chinese rubber if you play from the 2nd and 3rd position buy soft euro rubbers like sriver fx mendo energy stiga innova ultra light etc.

Blade: Stiga Energy Wood fh: Mendo Energy 2.0 bh: Innova Ultra Light 1.8

A good typical Chinese rubber will give you the ability to creat lots of spin on shots that you want spin on, and power that doesn't top out when you swing hard.

A Euro model rubber on the other hand will give more spin the more you hit into the rubber, in other words your counterloops will likely have more spin than your normal loops. The ability to vary the levels of spin on the ball is also greater, but that kind of game is rather old school .

I don't think you need to spend that much money on Sriver FX's ($30). Dawei Inspirit and Sprungfeder are euro-style rubbers, for half the price.

For a first racket, there's no point jumping up to all the expensive Butterfly rubbers and blades until you know that's really what you need. Just stick with the Instinct or Instinct+.

The equipment won't make or break you, as long as it's got the basic characteristics, it'll be fine. As you play more serious and refine your game, then you'll know whether there are other specific needs to address with equipment.

pimpmyracket wrote: I don't think you need to spend that much money on Sriver FX's ($30). Dawei Inspirit and Sprungfeder are euro-style rubbers, for half the price. For a first racket, there's no point jumping up to all the expensive Butterfly rubbers and blades until you know that's really what you need. Just stick with the Instinct or Instinct+. The equipment won't make or break you, as long as it's got the basic characteristics, it'll be fine. As you play more serious and refine your game, then you'll know whether there are other specific needs to address with equipment.

Good point. Most basic euro rubbers will be fine, doesn't have to be sriver.