Table tennis equipment can get quite expensive. When I was buying my first premade blade with my dad, he made me promise not to tell my mom how much it cost. It was only a 30-dollar Butterfly premade.
Since then, I have spent years finding table tennis equipment for my budget, which wasn’t a whole lot. I am here to share with you everything I discovered during my attempts to find budget table tennis equipment and in this case, we will be talking about blades.
Cheap doesn’t mean the blade is inferior to the expensive ones but it also doesn’t mean you should go buy whatever cheap blade you find. Lots of people go buy the cheapest “carbon”, “off+” blade they can find. Because off+ and carbon is nice, right?
Well, not really. Let’s talk about the different parameters you should be aware of when shopping for the best budget table tennis blade.
Official Ratings Don’t Mean Much
Table tennis brands usually put some specs to describe the performance of a blade. In reality, these numbers have little to no meaning behind them. A blade that has 10/10 speed from one brand can be way slower than another brand’s 7/10 speed blade.
It gets unbelievably complicated when some brands go over the usual out of 10 rating and say the blade has 13/10 speed…What? Brands will always try to show their product in the best way possible so reading user reviews, reviews from trusty resources, and going on forums is crucial to get a clear idea on what to expect.
The only notable description you should keep in mind, other than the technical specs, is the all+/off- kind of ratings. This is still a very vague way to talk about a blade’s properties but it can be a meaningful starting point.
Beginners to intermediate players should go for blades that are in between all+ and off- as these blades will provide enough speed to develop your strokes but not so much that it will make you shorten your stroke and damage your improvement potential.
Table Tennis Blade Compositions
Table tennis blades are constructed using multiple layers of wood, usually a combination of different woods. They are built this way because we want the blade to do more than just one thing. To have good speed we would need a harder, stiffer wood.
On the contrary, we would want a more flexible, softer wood to increase the contact time of the ball and thus give the ball more spin. The combination of a softer inner layer with a harder outer layer would give us great feedback and speed on the ball thanks to the harder outer layer, and the flexible, softer inner layer will give us spin.
5 Layer Wood Blades
The most common variant we can find in budget blades is the 5-layer wood blade. They are simple to produce and effective. With the introduction of the new, heavier 40+ ball, people have been searching for faster blades. And thanks to the advancements in the market, we can now buy good quality carbon blades that won’t break the bank!
7 Layer Wood Blades
7-layer wood blades are similar to 5-layer wood ones but stiffer and faster thanks to having more layers. And the addition of composite materials between the layers adds further stiffness, making carbon composite blades even faster, while reducing some control.
Table Tennis Blade Parameters
- Headsize: The dimensions of the part of the blade that will be in contact with the ball.
- Handles: St is straight handle, fl is flared, and is anatomic and pn is penhold.
- Weight: An average blade weighs about 85 grams. Any lower can be considered a “light blade”, and heavier than 90 grams can be considered a “heavy blade”
- Speed: How fast the ball will bounce from the racket. As you advance your skills, look for faster blades. Don’t forget a faster blade usually means a compromise on control.
- Control: How easy it is to place the ball where you want.
- Stiffness and Hardness: Stiffness is how flexible and bendable the blade is. It affects the amount of spin and vibration. Hardness is how dense the blade is. Think of hardness like a sponge. The softer it is, the more contact time the ball will have, and more spin. Harder blades will have a crisper feeling and are more accurate than softer blades.
- Sweet Spot: How consistently the blade reacts no matter where the ball lands on the table. A smaller sweet spot would mean the blade will start behaving differently as you start hitting the ball further away from the center of the blade.
- Thickness: The total thickness of the blade. Thicker usually means stiffer. The avg thickness of a blade is around 6mm
How to Choose The Right Table Tennis Blade For You
Determine Your Level
- The importance of using a blade suited to your skill set can not be undermined. Butterfly Fan Zhendong ALC is the blade behind Fan Zhendong’s iconic rallies, but it can immediately turn into a disaster in the hands of a player who doesn’t have proper technique.
- We all learn at different rates but I would say on average anyone who hasn’t trained table tennis regularly for at least 2 years should consider themselves a beginner. A beginner knows the basics and is someone who’s working on learning proper techniques.
- Beginners would move slowly into being intermediate players when they learn all the different stroke techniques and have good footwork. If you can serve and receive well, read incoming spins decently, and execute loops or chops consistently, then consider yourself an intermediate table tennis player.
- Advanced players have proper technique nailed down. They would be focusing on improving their shot power and consistency. Training on specific combinations to help with their gameplay. They usually train at least 3-4 times a week.
Determine Your Playstyle
- Offensive: If you like attacking the ball with spins, flat shots, and such then you are an offensive player.
- Allround: If a controlled, balanced gameplay is what you like, then you are an all-round player.
- Defensive: Heavy chops, making it hard for your opponent to attack with a lot of underspin…If that sounds like you consider yourself a defensive player
Optimal Blade and Rubber Combination
One last thing you should keep in mind is the combination of rubbers and blades and how they affect your game. To summarize, a softer blade would perform best with a stiffer sponge rubber, and a harder blade would perform better with a softer sponge rubber.
To learn more about why and how check out our in depth racket buying guide here.
You Dont Have To Spend 300$ on a Blade- Here is Why
Table tennis is an ever-changing sport. With new regulations and trends in gameplay, the technology required to produce the blades improves more on more. Resulting in some brands charging upwards of $300 for a blade.
Lucky for us, that also means many brands try to lower the price to compete with other brands. Not to mention there are budget blades from reputable manufacturers that have been in the market for years, proving their worth. Let’s take a look.
7 Best Budget Table Tennis Blades
Palio Energy 03 – Under $15!
Recommended for: Intermediate Players
Playstyle: Controlled Offensive
Plies: 5 ply wood + 4 ply soft-carbon
Thickness: 6.7mm
Weight: 86 grams
An underrated oddball. Not many people know about this gem, probably because it is not from a big-name manufacturer. It is another blade that I used personally for a long period.
The 4 carbon layers might make you think it’s a really fast blade but it is not. What the carbon layers give you though is a blade with a really direct feel and a huge sweet spot. It doesn’t blow you away with its speed or control but it is an amazing overall choice for budget-minded players.
How budget you ask? Under $15… If you don’t believe me, take a look at it yourself here PalioEnergy03. And the shipping is worldwide!
The only downside of this one is the lack of quality control. The fit and finish of the handles are not on the same level as the bigger name brands. But when it’s this cheap, does it really matter?
Sanwei F3 Pro – Butterfly ALC, for a Fraction of the Price!
Recommended for: Intermediate Players
Playstyle: Allround, Controlled Offensive
Ply: Ayous- Spurce- Alc- Ayous- Alc- Spurce- Ayous
Thickness: 6.4mm
Weight: 90 grams
Although it uses different plies, the F3 Pro is considered a budget alternative to the Butterfly Timo Boll Spirit. It uses ALC carbon layers similar to the ones found on Butterfly’s signature ALC lineup.
Overall the blade is quite flexible, providing lots of control and spin to your shots. If you are looking for a blade that is a bit faster than beginner blades but don’t wanna compromise the spin and control this blade is a perfect choice.
p.s. This blade is discontinued and is being replaced by the Sanwei Paramid. It is on sale almost everywhere and can be found here as low as $43!
Sanwei V5 Pro – The Best 7-layer Wood for the Price
Recommended for: Advanced Players
Playstyle: Controlled Offensive
Plies: White Ash- Ayous – Ayous – Ayous- Ayous- Ayous- White Ash
Thickness: 6.3mm
Weight: 90 grams
A combination of Nittaku Violin and Stiga Clipper Wood… Sanwei V5 Pro has characteristics of these two legendary blades and it is faster than both of them. Table tennis players have been praising it highly, and many of us agree that this is the best all-wood blade for the price. Buy from megaspin here.
DHS Hurricane 301- My Personal Choice, The Budget Hurricane Long 5
Recommended for: Intermediate, Controlled Advanced
Playstyle: Offensive
Plies: Koto- Ayous -ALC- Ayous-ALC-Ayous- Koto
Thickness: 5.8mm
Weight: 89 grams
Hurricane Long 5… The blade designed specifically for the legend, Ma Long. DHS Hurricane 301 is the little brother of the Long 5, thinner and more flexible with a harder top layer. It has been my personal blade for 3 years now.
The shots are really direct, with a crisp feeling. The ALC layer being next to the core gives great power when you need it while providing great control on touch plays.
Highly recommended for intermediate players who are looking for an offensive blade that will perform really well in counterattacks close to the table. Blocking is super easy too.
The head shape is smaller than average and the handle is quite slim, which might make it uncomfortable for us with bigger hands.
p.s.The DHS Hurricane 301 is now 23% off its regular price over at Megaspin.net here, don’t miss it!
Butterfly Petr Korbel- My Personal Favourite for Beginners
Recommended for: Beginners, Intermediate
Playstyle: Allround, Controlled Offensive
Plies: Limba- Limba – Ayous-Limba- Limba
Thickness: 6mm
Weight: 89 grams
This is the blade I started with, and I still use it during my coaching sessions. I can’t recommend it enough for beginners. It provides an excellent feel and an amazing balance of speed and spin that a beginner should need.
Advanced players might find it a bit slow, but if you are an all-round player you can place the ball anywhere you want on the table with ease and take control of the rallies.
The head size is a bit bigger than the average blade so it might get too head-heavy if you put heavy Chinese rubbers on both sides. Buy from megaspin here.
Also available on Amazon here.
Yasaka Sweden Extra- A Best Selling Classic
Recommended for: Beginner, Defensive Intermediate
Playstyle: Allround, Defensive
Plies: 5 Ply- Anigre Outer – Ayous Center
Thickness: 5.8mm
Weight: 85 grams
One of the best-selling blades of all time, the Yasaka Sweeden Extra is a classic. If I had to choose a blade to be the default allrounder to benchmark every other blade, this would be it. A fantastic choice for beginners, or intermediate players who enjoy playing more defensively. Buy from megaspin here.
Andro Treiber FO OFF/S – Quality+ Speed = Treiber FO
Recommended for: Intermediate, Advanced
Playstyle: Offensive
Plies: Hinoki- TXL Fiber-Kiri* – Ayous-Kiri*- TXL Fiber- Hinoki
Thickness: 6.8mm
Weight: 90 grams
The Andro Treiber FO Off/s is fast, direct, and crisp. It is also the blade of choice of Andro product developer and former No. 11 in the world, Damien Eloi. So did my fellow coach friend so I played with and against this blade quite a lot.
It is FAST. Do not get this one if you haven’t nailed your technique because you will be missing shots.
It also plays unlike any other blade I have tried. It almost feels like the ball just touches the racket for a millisecond to say hi, while giving amazing feedback, and leaves the blade like it’s never gonna come back.
The blade is constructed extremely well. The handle is comfortable, and the top layer looked brand new even after we changed the rubbers every 2 weeks. It is an amazing, budget alternative to Butterfly’s ALC and ZLC line.
p.s. You get 3 Andro 3-Star Balls for Free with your purchase over here at Megaspin.net!
Quick Recommendations
If you are a beginner, can’t go wrong with Butterfly Petr Korbel or Yasaka Sweeden Extra.
If you are an intermediate player with an all-around play style, Sanwei F3 Pro is an excellent choice.
If you are an intermediate player with an offensive play style, Sanwei V5 Pro or the DHS Hurricane 301 would suit you well.
If you are an advanced player, DHS Hurrican 301 with max thickness rubbers and the Andro FO Off would be great choices.
