Butterfly 401FL Racket

Best paddle ever! First let me open with the fact that I won a tournament with this paddle. Out of 500 people. This paddle goes great with a person who plays fast and relies on spin. It rewards in victory!! I got this for Christmas a year ago. It has barely worn. This version is better than all other butterfly version. The rubber is superb and the accuracy is absolutely AMAZING!! My friends get pretty frustrated when they play me. The speed is not too fast but still fast enough to get people to run. Every time I was this paddle it acts like brand new!! Spin is the best!! My dad got a custom made paddle and now wants my version. You can’t beat the price! Like ever!!

I love this paddle! It generates good spin, has amazing speed, and fairly decent control (once you get the hang of it)- especially for a pre-assembled racket. This paddle is perfect for beginner players with decently developed technique. Cons: it is kind of heavy compared to Killerspin Jet 200 and similar paddles. Also, if you don't have decent control before playing with this paddle, you will definitely need to work on that. It doesn't take a lot of effort for this paddle to launch the ball - which is great for speed, but rough on accuracy if you're not used to it. Pros: beautiful paddle, lots of speed and spin, very durable, comes with free carrying case, and amazingly low price for such a high quality product! Can't go wrong with this paddle.

So just for preface of the review I used this paddle every day for an hour a day during lunch. We have a Joola and Butterfly table at work. I have paddles much better than this but this is what I keep in the office. I’ve been using it for 6 months now and I have some kind words and only a few negative ones. So for starters the paddle is great on defense. The foam is minimal so blocking for intermediate players is extremely forgiving. The rubber was really solid for the first 3 months and progressively has worn down. But this is after almost 100 hours of use. Now with around 200 Hours on this paddle the rubber still has some bite to it as long as you clean it after every 15 hours or so. The paddle is light but not as light as a carbon (To be expected at this price point). As far as return energy that’s the only place this paddle lacks. With a 7/10 stickiness on the rubber, light paddle, and thin foam the spike and high speed returns require a bit more energy on them. Serves are a dream with lighter paddles so this paddle is great for that as well. If you’ve been trying to decide between this and any other paddle at the 30-40 price point don’t question yourself. This paddle is a solid option!

This is the first paddle costing more than about $10 that I've ever bought. Many of my coworkers who I play with like Butterfly paddles, so I figured I would go for one of these. The well-made soft carrying case that comes with it is a nice bonus for me. It's a very nice paddle. Significantly heavier than a cheap lightweight one, which I find helps me control it. The rubber is very sticky and soft, which gives me an amazing amount of spin and control. In particular, I am able to return smashes and execute loopy top-spin shots far better than I have ever been able to before. However, this paddle also deadens the ball in terms of speed. I really have to smash it hard to get much speed out of the ball. For me this is a good thing, since I have a lot of trouble with control with harder paddles, but some players might not like it. Overall, I'm very happy with this paddle, but as I said I don't have a lot of experience to make good comparisons with other products. I think just about any beginner or intermediate player would be very happy with it.

I have been playing ping pong for about a year, and have went through racket after racket. I play competitively at small tournaments at my school, and I have continuously sought for a racket adequate for my needs. I own several Stiga rackets, and all of them are either too heavy, or not sticky enough. I decided to purchase a Butterfly racket because my friend said they "are the best". I now understand that this was no hyperbole. The Butterfly 401 Shakehand Table Tennis Racket is not too heavy, and has a perfect level of stickiness. I beat a friend that I never did before after using this racket. The carrying case comes in handy as it protects the racket from collecting dust. I recommend it to anyone who wants to up their game from semi-competitive to a true competitor. It's an amazing racket for a person who wants to be an amazing player.

Great paddle for the price. I'm an old fashioned player (84 years old) and I really get some nice spin on my serves

This paddle is fantastic. About me: I'm a pretty serious player (ITTF ranked). I'm primarily a looper and blocker, but I have a pretty well-rounded game. I have a couple of pro-grade blades that I play with - a Timo Boll ALL+ with Yasaka Mark V rubber, and a Black Widow OFF+ with Bluefire M1 rubber. I got this paddle to play around with at work (Yeah, ping pong at work... Internet company... lucky me!). I also wanted to try to slow my game down a little and add some control, and see how that works for me. What I've found is that the speed of this is perfect for me. It's a little slower than the Timo Boll. I'd rate this an ALL- or DEF+. And despite the $30 price tag, it's a really well-built paddle. It's a 5-ply, has a large sweet-spot, and really consistent power throughout the blade. The rubber is sticky, and although the "gluey" feeling it has out of the package wears off, the rubber maintains a nice surface for months. The power is more than sufficient for a looping game, and will deliver a decently speedy block as well. But this paddle also allows a good amount of control and spin to allow consistent pushing with good control (can't do that with the Black Widow!) Cons.... I'm not crazy about the handle. It's a little too rounded out for me, and makes it slightly more difficult to know what angle you're holding your paddle at. I prefer blockier handles. The size and flare are fine... just the cross-section is a problem for me. It's also pinkish in color... not a big deal for me, but if that may bug you, consider it. The case has some hilarious poorly-translated text on it. Also no big deal, but may get you laughed at. =) No other real cons. Cheers!

I must say that im very happy with this paddle. I dont claim to know much about paddles and what not, but i feel that this paddle is defenetly a good buy for its price. I was looking at other paddles by Butterfly such as: Carlos Chui, Kenji, and Shenshou. They were all tempting, but this being my first personal paddle (other than wal-mart brand) I was not willing to spen 50-70 bucks. The Yuki provides good control, speed, and decent spin for anyone looking to step their game up. It took me about 3-4 weeks to get used to the weight and explosiveness of this paddle, after that I was a most improved player. I recommended this paddle if your looking to own your first personal paddle, if not this one then id go with the Carlos Chui. Hope this helps you first-time paddle searchers.