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EastPoint 2.0 Table Tennis Paddle
The lowest entry level Table Tennis paddle is the EastPoint EPS 2.0.
The EPS 2.0 features hard rubber raised-dots on the surface of the paddle instead of a single rubber pad, mildly rough plywood that smooths out the more you use it, and rated to have “Spin-4, Speed-7, Control-5”. And the rating does tell you something.
Compared to a rubber pad, the raised rubber does of the EPS 2.0 paddle causes the ball to:
- The ball goes faster because less kinetic energy is absorbed
- You require less range of motion for the paddle because there is less spin
- You receive more feedback from each strike because there is less rubber to dampen the blow
- Less spin is generated on the ball
Now whether you want this kind of paddle or not depends on your skill level and your play style. Since I’ve recently just gotten into Table Tennis, I must say that its not a mistake to start out with this paddle. Because the paddle rebounds the ball with more kinetic energy, you are forced to learn how to be gentle with each parry.
In a way, this paddle teaches you the play style and technique required to play Table Tennis competitively. That’s because with this paddle striking a little too hard meant that the ball usually hit anything but the table. So being discouraged from hitting each ball as hard as possible, I was able to see that there are controllable nuances with every strike.
Like the angle of the paddle, where a few degrees can make the difference between landing the ball on the table or on the floor. Deeper still is the way you hold the paddle. Different holding techniques offer different play styles and different ways to effectively deliver the ball back to your opponent.
After play quite a few rounds with the EPS 2.0 paddle, I seem to have favored using a defensive blocking play style that focus on being able to return the opponent’s strikes.
Also since this paddle offers less spin, i would say that is good for beginners who use the Shakehand grip. Once you get used to the simpler mechanics of Table Tennis, learning how to effectively deliver and receive balls with high amounts of spin is much easier. But once you are ready for adding a significant amount of spin to your balls, or if you are practicing using the Penhold grip, I would recommend investing into a EPS 3.0 paddle that is a level up in terms of quality and skill application.
All considering, I would definitely recommend the EastPoint EPS 2.0 Table Tennis Paddle for beginners.
EastPoint EPS 3.0 Table Tennis Paddle
The EastPoint EPS 3.0 Table Tennis Paddle is a step up from the 2.0 variant. This paddle has an actual pad of rubber that actually grabs the ball for increased spinning, as well as a better quality handle. This paddle has a few more ounces of weight to it, meaning that each swing has a bit more inertia and requires a bit more muscle to be agile in moving the bat around. This paddle is rated by the EastPoint Sports company to have, “Spin-6; Speed-6; Control-7”.
The ratings for the 3.0 EPS Paddle, when compared to the 2.0 EPS Paddle, shows you the pros and cons between the two paddles.
Namely, the 3.0 Paddle is better able to spin the ball. That is because the rubber grabs onto the ball more so that shifting or slanting the paddle during a strike causes more horizontal force to be applied to the ball, thus the increase in the spin. That means when the ball lands on the opponent’s side, the ball is going to go bounce back up in an angle, not straight. This means that this paddle is better suited to the penhold play style than the 2.0 EPS paddle.
Additionally, the 3.0 Paddle strikes the ball at lower speeds. That is because the rubber pad cushions the ball during the strike and absorbs more kinetic energy than the hard plastic-like rubber pips of the 2.0 Paddle. So this is a trade off for spin over the speed of the ball.
But if you are a heavy-handed or hard-hitting individual, you’ll find that the the 3.0 Paddle has significantly better control because the rubber pad allows the ball to sink slightly more into the bat before rebounding. Your trading off speed for not just increased spin, but better control over the ball. Speed isn’t everything; being able to curve the ball trajectory through spinning can easily confuse an opponent, and controlling where the ball goes on the opponents side can decide the match.
Repairing Paddle Rubber
The last thing I would like to add is that with many paddles, including this one, you’ll notice that the rubber padding of the Ping Pong racket may start to peel after long periods of use.
But the paddle rubber is designed to be taken off from the wood and replaced, so peeling really shouldn’t be something unexpected.
This is easily amendable with a small dab of super glue if you don’t plan on replacing the rubber in the future. But I would suggest the appropriate VOC-free water based glue if you do want to replace the rubbers in the future. So with a little maintenance, a paddle will last you a very long time.
Another consideration for these bats is that you can gently sand the handle and apply a wood coating to prevent even the possibility of splinters.
Other Paddles & Equipment
- EastPoint EPS 4.0 Table Tennis Paddle
- Orange 3-star 40mm Table Tennis Ball Advanced Training Ping Pong Balls
- JOOLA Indoor Table Tennis Table with Net Set
What Does EPS mean for Table Tennis Paddles?
So I’ve been researching the different paddles types that I could use to excel in my Table Tennis games. One of the most common paddles that you can acquire are the East Point Table Tennis Paddles. They range from different EPS ratings, from 2.0 to 5.0, and so I was wondering what they meant. With a little digging, I found out that EPS actually stands for East Point Sports, the name of the company. And the rating intuitively labels the quality of the paddle- with 2.0 being of the least quality and 5.0 being of the best quality.
What are the various kinds of of Play Styles in Table Tennis?
There are many different kinds of play styles that you’ll observe in the world of Table Tennis. The main two categorizations are the penholding style and the ShakeHand grip style.
Penhold
To form the Penholding grip, you must wrap your thumb and index finger on one side of the paddle. The other 3 fingers rest flat or curved on the opposite side.
Characteristics:
- Weak backhand
- Wider range of wrist movement = better spins
Because the Penholding style has weak backhands, this style tends to also be weak against Shakehand players. But this weakness can be made up for with footwork and using the Reverse Penholding backhand.
Shakehand
The Shakehand grip, as its name indicates, is similar to shaking someone’s hand. So to form the Shakehand grip, the thumb curls from one side, the rest of the fingers on the other side, and you extend the index finger over the racket’s head pointing either from the pommel down or to the side.
Characteristics:
- Strong backhand
- Even distribution of power between forehand and backhand strikes
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This is really a great information and great review. EastPoint 2.0 Table Tennis Paddle is one of the best paddle in the world. I bought this paddle before two month, It’s really awesome.
What do you like most about the EastPoint 2.0 Table Tennis Paddle? Do you like any other types of paddles?
Personally, the thickness and the quality of a table tennis paddle’s rubber really makes a difference during a game; with how much spin you can put on the call and how accurate you can be.
When I received my EPS 3.0, there was a shiny clear plastic coating on each side of the paddle. Is this plastic coating to be removed?
If it is a piece of clear plastic, like the saran wrap that new phones have on their display, then you should be able to remove it without a problem.
the eps 3.0 paddle is a very good paddle by east point i recomend it to beginers.