Alex Table Tennis - MyTableTennis.NET Homepage
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - Are PaddlePalace's charts reasonably accurate?
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login
tabletennis11.com

Are PaddlePalace's charts reasonably accurate?

 Post Reply Post Reply
Author
richrf View Drop Down
Gold Member
Gold Member


Joined: 06/02/2009
Location: Stamford
Status: Offline
Points: 1522
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote richrf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Are PaddlePalace's charts reasonably accurate?
    Posted: 11/09/2017 at 9:46am
Just wondering whether the Paddle Palace blade and rubber charts are reasonably accurate. They seem to be consistent with reviews and other tests, such as the blade frequency tests.

Here are the links. You have to go into chart view which is on their full site (doesn't show on mobile view).

Paddle Palace blade comparison chart

Paddle Palace rubber comparison chart

Thanks!
Back to Top
Sponsored Links


Back to Top
bard romance View Drop Down
Gold Member
Gold Member


Joined: 02/18/2016
Location: FL
Status: Offline
Points: 1181
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote bard romance Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/09/2017 at 9:54am
Control ratings are mythical. As for the speed, it seems roughly accurate for rubbers but not so much blades, based on the few that I have used. 
Back to Top
richrf View Drop Down
Gold Member
Gold Member


Joined: 06/02/2009
Location: Stamford
Status: Offline
Points: 1522
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote richrf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/09/2017 at 10:28am
Originally posted by bard romance bard romance wrote:

Control ratings are mythical. As for the speed, it seems roughly accurate for rubbers but not so much blades, based on the few that I have used. 


Thanks!
Back to Top
Baal View Drop Down
Forum Moderator
Forum Moderator


Joined: 01/21/2010
Location: unknown
Status: Offline
Points: 14335
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Baal Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/09/2017 at 10:44am
Not particularly.  But even if they were, the notion that they could capture much about what it is like to play with a blade or rubber is looking for unicorns. 

Here are some of the things I have learned that more generally apply to this.  I spent quite a bit of money over the years learning these lessons. 

(1)  There is no way short of playing with a blade to make the choice rational -- if then.  This needs to be repeated a million times, and a corollary is that comments on internet message boards are as likely to mislead you as help you (especially if the comment is based on just one of a particular blade as opposed to someone who has tried several examples of the same model).  Among the least useful things are databases on various vendor's websites or other compendiums.  It may well be the the single most rational thing out there is the sound frequency chart accumulated here but even that won't really help a lot of people with the choices they make. 
(2)  Even if you have tried one sample of a blade, the one you receive after ordering (from any vendor, not just PP) will  not be identical to the one that you tried and in worst cases may vary quite a lot.  Even if you specify a weight, it may not arrive like that.
(3)  Once one had decided on the general parameters of a blade -- say you have figured out that you prefer ST handles; and like the feel of ALC blades, or pure carbon blades, or stiff fast all-wood or slower flexier all-wood; and a general weight range; then it almost doesn't matter that much which one within the class you get, as long as you play with the thing long enough to get thoroughly accustomed to it.  Same is true of rubber.
(4)  Handle shape and size is often more important than some of the subtle details of blade composition within a class. This effects your grip and how you transition from one side to another.  If you like the ST handle on a TBS you probably won't like the one on an Maze.
(5)  Constant changing of blades (or rubbers) trying to find something perfect within a particular blade class slows your improvement. The longer you play with one blade the more automatic and reliable your responses become when you are under pressure and the point is about to be lost or won.  Samsonov used the same blade until it was so beat up it couldn't be used any more.  Almost certainly, Ma Long gets blades that are selected to be far more homogeneous than the ones mere mortals get.
(6)  A lot of rubbers are designed for the same basic kind of player.  It is amazing how many ESN rubbers are made for two wing loopers.  They feel different but once you have played with them for a sufficient time, it becomes just normal and your game and level doesn't really change.  You adjust for differences in throw angle and other factors, in time, without thinking about it.
(7) The differences in equipment that matter are not so much when you loop or attack from a steady position, it is how you handle them when you are under pressure.
(8) Nothing is more imprecise than peoples' statements that "X gives more spin" or "Y feels better".  Distrust all such blanket comments.  They are entirely subjective.  Distrust them even more when these are accompanied by crazy numbers -- "my blade X that was 5 gram lighter had 50% more spin!!" 
(9) Eventually rather than endless requests for more and more information, you eventually just have to try some blades and rubbers, and the cheapest way to do it is try your clubmate's blade, and sometimes you just have to take a chance and buy something if you are sufficiently curious, but know for a fact that a lot of the time you will be disappointed. 
Back to Top
richrf View Drop Down
Gold Member
Gold Member


Joined: 06/02/2009
Location: Stamford
Status: Offline
Points: 1522
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote richrf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/09/2017 at 10:56am
Quote (9) Eventually rather than endless requests for more and more information, you eventually just have to try some blades and rubbers, and the cheapest way to do it is try your clubmate's blade, and sometimes you just have to take a chance and buy something if you are sufficiently curious, but know for a fact that a lot of the time you will be disappointed.


Thanks Baal!

This is what I try to do, the problem is that everything I've tried so far at the club (mostly ESN), I really dislike. In my last iteration several years ago, I tried the potluck approach, and it turned out to be expensive without any positive results. I just lucked out that my coach, Lupi, (former Olympic silver medalist) guided me to a good setup. No such access now.

I'm not using the chart as an arbiter, more as some guidance to narrow down a hand full of choices. But if it had no value, then it has no value, and that's that. I'm standing pat for now.

Edited by richrf - 11/09/2017 at 10:57am
Back to Top
bard romance View Drop Down
Gold Member
Gold Member


Joined: 02/18/2016
Location: FL
Status: Offline
Points: 1181
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote bard romance Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/09/2017 at 12:34pm
It's okay for guidance, but very vague guidance at best. Much in the same way that if you are looking for a general class of inverted rubbers designed for offensive play, you already know which those are, and any other distinctions are near impossible to make without just trying it in person.
Back to Top
richrf View Drop Down
Gold Member
Gold Member


Joined: 06/02/2009
Location: Stamford
Status: Offline
Points: 1522
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote richrf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/09/2017 at 12:38pm
Thanks!
Back to Top
bes View Drop Down
Super Member
Super Member


Joined: 04/26/2014
Location: Oklahoma
Status: Offline
Points: 201
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote bes Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/09/2017 at 4:21pm
Easy answer... No!

Trying to use PP's (or anyone's) blade and rubber ratings as a decision tool is not significantly more accurate than a very roughly sorted crap-shoot.  I like PP, but don't put much stock in their charts.  

Problem #1: Remarkably predictable coincidence perhaps?  The newest, most expensive blade is always rated as "crazy fast" AND remarkably enough also rated as having (relatively) awesome control!!! (Everyone should probably get two!)
Problem #2: (Perhaps a touch tongue-in-cheek) Based on their ratings, any rubber that has been out for much more that a couple years is rated to at least imply that it is only suitable for absolute beginners, super-girly-men, or possibly for players too frail to play pickleball.  Heck, based on their ratings, there probably isn't a man (or woman) alive who could hit a 40+ ball all the way over the net with Mark V... (Unless, of course, they had the blade described above!)

I don't think PP is alone here - I put equal faith in most manufacture's ratings.

bes
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply
  Share Topic   

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Forum Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 12.01
Copyright ©2001-2018 Web Wiz Ltd.

This page was generated in 8.547 seconds.

Become a Fan on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Web Wiz News
Forum Home | Go to the Forums | Forum Help | Disclaimer

MyTableTennis.NET is the trading name of Alex Table Tennis Ltd.

Copyright ©2003-2024 Alex Table Tennis Ltd. All rights reserved.