Philip Jarvis asked 3 years ago
Tom, I have spent far too much (dependant on opinion of course) of the last few days looking at your website and reading reviews watching videos etc. I am starting up a social table tennis group which I expect to be mainly “for fun”.
Although there are some of us who already play and have our own Bats we are not expecting everyone to “come equipped” as it were. I was wondering if you could recommend something reasonable for this purpose that isn’t going to dent my wallet (too much) as there is no real budget to get this going but a lot of desire.
I need to keep costs down to an absolute minimum as I have already purchased a 2nd table and new Bat for myself which I am itching to assemble when it arrives. Kind Regards Phil
Tom Lodziak Staff answered 3 years ago
I was in a similar position to you when I set up a club in London back in 2010. I was investing some of my own money, so I didn’t want to spend that much. I purchased 10 very cheap bats (around £5), from a leading table tennis retailer. This was the cheapest I could find. I was pretty pleased with the price.
But the price was too good to be true. The bats were not good quality, in particular the rubbers. They were more like anti-spin rubbers. When we gave them to beginners to use, it didn’t help them at all. And we couldn’t show them how to play proper shots, because the rubbers were poor at generating any spin. We had to stop using them. They sat in a box, never to be used again.
In general, I would avoid the very cheap ready made bats – those which cost under £10. The cheapest ‘good’ quality bat I have tested is the Bribar Solar bat. I actually tested this out recently and you can read the review here: https://www.tabletenniscoach.me.uk/review-bribar-solar-table-tennis-bat
There may be some other ready made bats in the £10-£20 price range which are also decent, but I wouldn’t be comfortable recommending anything without trying them first. You could check Amazon and look for those with high review ratings and have lots of reviews.
Ultimately you may need to spend a little more than you ideally want. But the extra investment will hopefully create a more enjoyable and fulfilling playing experience for those who attend your club.