Best Ball

[The Windmill]

Assuming some of you actually BUY balls at some point and don't just borrow (steal) them from tournaments, matches or practice partners, which do you prefer to actually spend your own hard earned on ? and why ? Is there a ball head and shoulders above the rest ? or am I just talking a load of Balls !!!

[JKC]

Personally I buy about 20 boxes of DHS balls every few months from China. They seem as good as any other to me and it works out at about £1.10 a box. They wouldn't use them at the Olympics if they were crap. DHS makes lots of balls for other companies anyway so why pay more.

[Dave Robson]

Im with Butterfly on this one as its way above the rest, being round which is quite an achievement for some manufacturers it seems !

By the way Mr Windmill who steals them........................never us old timers of the sport !

I have to say i thought there was distinct simalarities between Dave Godbold and a glass collector at the last tournament i was at given he had a box full by the end of it !

[MickM]

Butterly for myself also, same reasons as above - very round and true with great feel although Schildkrot is a healthy alternative.

[HarryBelafonte]

Did the glass collector look like harry harry hill,

Nittaku are the best and always have been,but are the most expensive,tsp were good but have lost a lot of quality lately.
if you play on the same team as thorpy,sangster,eddy (different team,) you have no option to buy balls, should include penman here also, bit of a theme running here their all taxi drivers and are inherently tight and greedy..just as well i am sponsored by that great clothing manufacturer stiga and hAVE A SENSIBLE TEAM MEMBER IN WINDMILL WHO CONTRIBUTES 25%TOWARDS THE BALLS,(Stiga) as there the cheapest.
sorry GARY IS NOT A taxi driver ,but should be.....

[Firepower]

Harry Hill is a glass collector!

[The Windmill]

Its funny how most players will quite happily spend vast amounts on Rubbers, Blades and clothing, but will not spend £1.50 on a decent quality ball......you can have all the gear in the world, but NO ball. NO game !!!


Did the glass collector look like harry harry hill,

Nittaku are the best and always have been,but are the most expensive,tsp were good but have lost a lot of quality lately.
if you play on the same team as thorpy,sangster,eddy (different team,) you have no option to buy balls, should include penman here also, bit of a theme running here their all taxi drivers and are inherently tight and greedy..just as well i am sponsored by that great clothing manufacturer stiga and hAVE A SENSIBLE TEAM MEMBER IN WINDMILL WHO CONTRIBUTES 25%TOWARDS THE BALLS,(Stiga) as there the cheapest.
sorry GARY IS NOT A taxi driver ,but should be.....

[Blocking Ace]

Best ball?

Schildkrot and Nittaku 38mm. Of course.

[Powerhouse]

38mm ? not another person who is living in the "breakaway" sector of Table Tennis, lets face it progress is progress even if we hate it but we have it nevertheless so forget little balls and think big my friend! (40mm i mean)

[Annie]

38mm ? not another person who is living in the "breakaway" sector of Table Tennis, lets face it progress is progress even if we hate it but we have it nevertheless so forget little balls and think big my friend! (40mm i mean)

Looks like you've got a pair of 40mm ones in your mouth! :snigger:

[JKC]

Its funny how most players will quite happily spend vast amounts on Rubbers, Blades and clothing, but will not spend £1.50 on a decent quality ball......you can have all the gear in the world, but NO ball. NO game !!!

I don't agree, if you can find cheaper balls which are just as good why pay more. Nittaku balls tend to crack very quickly, every box of schilkrot balls contains at least one egg and the butterfly ones I have used are very similar to the DHS balls. You do tend to get the odd out of shape DHS ball every couple of boxes but at less than 40p each you can't complain.

[Dave Robson]

Barna !

Lets get the 3 crowns back.................or was it 3 pies ?

certainly looked like 3 pies to me if i remember rightly

[JKC]

I vote for the Barna 3 Crown as the worst ball ever.

[Spongebob!]

Nectar Annie!

[TTPlayerWB]

I hit my robot a lot with friends. We go through a lot of balls, especially when it is cold in the garage. All things considered Nittaku is the clear winner for me.

[Dave Robson]

The Nittaku was always a "true" ball but i agree top of the list aswell for me also.

ps welcome to the site

[Powerhouse]

Back to the balls, i did mention big balls earlier but yes i'm also with ttplayerwb on this one love the Nittaku.

Agree with JKC the Barna was the worst it was like playing a pork pie, not that i have but it seemed like that at times.

[MK Chris]

Personally I buy about 20 boxes of DHS balls every few months from China. They seem as good as any other to me and it works out at about £1.10 a box. They wouldn't use them at the Olympics if they were crap. DHS makes lots of balls for other companies anyway so why pay more.
Out of interest, do you travel to China a lot and get them while you're there, or do you get them from an importer (and if so would you be at liberty to divulge who?)

[Moggy]

Today, Friday 14th March is PI day, and without PI your balls would not be round :shok:

[Dave Robson]

Very true ..........small mercies and all that !

[Moggy]

Thinking about it..... PIes are round as well, otherwise they would be pasties :dance3:

[Mr Wilko]

best ball must of been the hilton 3*

even when playing against normal rubbers was like playing hilton!!!!

oh that must of meant ball was s**t

[Spinmaster]

The issue is nowadays what was the worst ball, can you remember the days of the Halex and Barna, they were like Goldenlay Farm Fresh!

[Moggy]

Halex... now there was a ball, it could detect where the surface of the table was and float right on by. I swore it could levitate when no one was looking...

[Dave Robson]

looooooooooooooooooooool

Now your talking, deserves some rep points that answer !

Awarded for sheer comic value

[Assybish]

Any ball that spins like buggery when I loop it but always comes back no spin! Always hits the edge the other end and never falls back off the net cord.
Other than that DHS.
Guys your memories must be different to mine Barna were heavy and pants Halex inconsistent. The best then were Nittaku or schrildot.

[Dave Robson]

Ye i liked the Nittaku.................the Barna jesus rubbish and i like the spinning like buggery comment loooooooooooool

[Ruudolph]

Has anyone tried the Goma ball (3 star 40 mm)? Are they any good?

[Assybish]

I find them heavy and hard and only use them in a practice robot - for the same or lower price DHS found on EBAY are much better - I use them for all of our league matches.:happy:

[Ruudolph]

I find them heavy and hard and only use them in a practice robot - for the same or lower price DHS found on EBAY are much better - I use them for all of our league matches.:happy:

Thanks! The harder the better because one of the lads keep stepping on the balls! He has broken like 10 balls in 5 sessions now! :footstomp:

I supposed they are as hard, heavy and slow as the Dunlops! The good thing with these balls is that 80% of my shots will be in! Haha! :pleasantry:

If you say the DHS balls cost the same or cheaper I will check them out.

Thanks!

[Worldsno.1glueboy]

Youd think i was a taxi driver the amount i carry you about belafonte!!! haha

[Worldsno.1glueboy]

I used to like the Halex 1* Ultra......They were sooooo oval id seen rounder almonds! lol

[Cje]

When I first got back into playing (in December) I bought some
TSP balls. They seemed good as did the Butterfly and Stiga balls that
most people at my club use.

after doing some online research, I was intrigued that the balls they've used for the last two Olympics were so much cheaper.

Have found the DHS 3Star balls to be excellent-and the Double Fish
3star even better. both of them for less than half the price of the other
3star balls.

[Assybish]

DHS last for ages play well and are cheap, TSP last 2-3 games and crack - happens every time they are rubbish!:pingbat:

[Dave Robson]

When I first got back into playing (in December) I bought some
TSP balls. They seemed good as did the Butterfly and Stiga balls that
most people at my club use.

after doing some online research, I was intrigued that the balls they've used for the last two Olympics were so much cheaper.

Have found the DHS 3Star balls to be excellent-and the Double Fish
3star even better. both of them for less than half the price of the other
3star balls.

The Double Fish wernt a bad ball..... dont see them much to be honest unless you guys do ?

[Mr Wilko]

Stiga balls are terrible float round too much (bit like salter i suppose) nowadays Butterfly balls are the best ones available providing you can find one that is round (before Harry does) :bag::bag::bag:

FCB is always willing to get his balls out for a game of TT !!!!! he he he :covereyes::covereyes:

[Greenflash]

Butterfly is the best, with Joola playing pretty close. Stiga is heavier and floats as Wilko states. Stiga have also got a reputation for being out of shape to many times. Probably 5 out of 20 are irregular shaped.

[ChrisAngus]

nittaku have been going for years they were the best then and still are the best:rocker::rocker::rocker:

[Annie]

nittaku have been going for years they were the best then and still are the best:rocker::rocker::rocker:

Well how come you haven't voted for them? :resent:

[Rubberneck]

It's interesting to see that Butterfly is the top ball and Nittaku hardly makes the poll. My old club was sponsored by Butterfly and the president was a Butterfly distributor, so, naturally, Butterfly balls were cheap and that's what many of us used. However, the best players only use Nittaku Premium (the ones made in Japan that say "Premium" on the ball). I've moved to a different area, and play at the local YMCA, and even there, the better players only play with Nittaku Premium. When I play against them, even if my ball is new (and is usually, either, a Butterfly or Killerspin), they reject my ball and insist that we use the Nittaku. My old club had some 2200, 2300, and 2400 players, so if they say Nittaku is the best, I'm inclined to believe them. Personally, though, I'm not really good enough to even care or notice a difference. As long as it's a 3-star ball, they're all pretty much the same to me.

[Dave Robson]

It's interesting to see that Butterfly is the top ball and Nittaku hardly makes the poll. My old club was sponsored by Butterfly and the president was a Butterfly distributor, so, naturally, Butterfly balls were cheap and that's what many of us used. However, the best players only use Nittaku Premium (the ones made in Japan that say "Premium" on the ball). I've moved to a different area, and play at the local YMCA, and even there, the better players only play with Nittaku Premium. When I play against them, even if my ball is new (and is usually, either, a Butterfly or Killerspin), they reject my ball and insist that we use the Nittaku. My old club had some 2200, 2300, and 2400 players, so if they say Nittaku is the best, I'm inclined to believe them. Personally, though, I'm not really good enough to even care or notice a difference. As long as it's a 3-star ball, they're all pretty much the same to me.

Nittaku were a long standing top ball and renound for there strength, which sadly many of the new balls seem to lack. This could be for many reasons from cost ie saving on the quality or just generally trying to change its type of bounce or even movement through the air whilst playing. The Nittaku 38mm was a "cannonball" years ago and was near to indestructable! The Butterfly is one ive found to be the most user friendly to play with but the Joola comes close to it in similarities of type. The Nittaku always seemed heavy in my opinion but maybe this is different Countries having different stlyes / blades and rubbers etc.

Interesting how many have so many varied opinions on the white or yellow thing !

Round can sometimes be a bonus these days

Best training ball ? im curious ..............

[Rubberneck]

Interesting how many have so many varied opinions on the white or yellow thing !


I like the orange balls. Probably 98% of everybody around here play with the orange.

[Powerhouse]

Orange is ok providing the background is not to colorful. I still tend to like the Butterfly and agree the Nittaku was and still is slightly heavier but i dont see many in our local leagues - is it cost or marketing by Nittaku?

[Rubberneck]

Over here, the Nittaku's are way more expensive than any other ball. They're like $7 (USD) for 3, which, according to Google translates to 4.37 British pounds. At my old TT club, there's a guy that sells Butterfly balls for $4 (for 3), but they're not in a box.

[HarryBelafonte]

nittaku are the best and always have been ,but are the most expensive.
Tsp used to be good but have gone back.joola are poor,dhs are ok but both tend to go shiney pretty quickly. butterfly are ok.
halex 3 star ha ha only joking,barna 3 star,he he joking even more,used to use them for snooker.....:trumpet:

[Mr Wilko]

i find them best for making omlettes:joker:

[HarryBelafonte]

Or using as ammunition:coin:

[FantasyCheeseBasin]

the best ball i have found so far in my relentless and tireless search for the perfect spherical quality is........................a borrowed one.(havnt bought a ball in 20 years,now ive said that the lads at the club will make me buy them,...................damn .):joker:

[Annie]

the best ball i have found so far in my relentless and tireless search for the perfect spherical quality is........................a borrowed one.(havnt bought a ball in 20 years,now ive said that the lads at the club will make me buy them,...................damn .):joker:

:redcard: You are meaner than a Bank Manager!

[HarryBelafonte]

Well said annie, he should be shut down forwith and have to pay back all the cost of ball useage (ooh err) for the last 20 years,that works out at
1 ball per week= 52 x cost average of 1 ball = .45p x 52 x 20 = £468 pounds please.
Worse than a bank...make cheque payable to mr h bellafonte .:happy:

[FantasyCheeseBasin]

several unpaid taxis at 5 per annum = £10.00 per taxi plus airport jobs = £89.00 :bag:
x 10 years = £890.00

[HarryBelafonte]

How dare you. 1 free fare in 46 years....:rocker:

[Mr Wilko]

Only 1 ball per week ??? he stands on them when he gets beat !!!! he he he

(even in practice) :tomato::tomato::tomato:

[FantasyCheeseBasin]

damn damn and damn,ive been rumbled guvnor,:coin:

[Jurij Kos]

butterfly is good but it expensive i think jola 3 star are very good and cheap jola 3 star gold are the best balls for me but they are expensive i think that is jola the best