Raptor Table Tennis Bat by STIGA

Great bat with good grip and the spin the bat generates is incredible. I am an average Table Tennis Player but in the hands of a seasoned player, this bat can be devastating for the opponent.

Review first, then a bit about my experience with the paddle (day 1) and a bit about competitively priced paddles because I bought another paddle along with this one to compare.This paddle is an AMAZING improvement over the cheap paddle I picked up in the grocery store in the "sports - clearance" section lol go figure. I mean it's SO night and day it feels like cheating. This is a great paddle and at the end of this review I compared it to the JOOLA overdrive which is priced the same as this one and I think this is much better.I played for a couple years when I was 18 till about 21 and I'd say I was intermediate at the sport but I'm 35 now and just recently found out a friend of mine likes to play so I immediately got back into it but I've been using this terrible store non-name brand clearance paddle. I have played probably 50 games to 21 with him and I've never scored more than 11 points against him in 50 games, and he had to go easy on me... when he was trying I would struggle to get 3 points against him. When I got this paddle my FIRST game against him I beat him 21 to 19!It's night and day the difference a good paddle makes. I also want to mention I ended up ALSO buying a JOOLA infinity overdrive paddle at the same time and I tested both paddles. I don't think it's close - I think this raptor is better by a not insignificant amount. It's not as great as the difference between my clearance paddle of course, and I don't think anyone who has an overdrive should be disappointed - it's great but this raptor is so nice.I think I'm going to return the JOOLA and buy a 2nd raptor so I can invite more friends to play with me and we can each have a great paddle. That's how good this is :)EDIT couple days later: Yep. I was so satisfied with this raptor I did end up returning the JOOLA overdrive and bought a 2nd raptor so I can have a spare and can invite my friends to play against me and they can have an equally good paddle.

Build quality is great and fits great. The grip is amazing and I loved how you can generate more spin with this.Loved it!

Take your time to adjust to the weight of the paddle. Good for beginners and intermediate players.

I'm no ping-pong superstar but I needed something that was better than the community paddles... ahem excuse me.. "bats" that are offered at my computer for lunch-time tournaments. These guys are not beginners and using those paddles left me at a disadvantage when it came to ball control. My game has certainly improved over time and with the added ball control I can get so much more spin.

Amazon Package came intact. But the inside racket package was torn. I was very dishearten to see that at first. But inside, the racket was fully in good condition without any issues. Checked thoroughly and I was rest assured!The first thing I noticed is it’s light weight than my previous racketPlayed my first game and felt very happy with the return feedback, speed and spin it gave meBest part is I got this less than 50$ !Overall , very happy with the purchase

Great racket. Lives up to expectations.

Final Update (5star for a recreational player, 3 stars for an intermediate player):So here is what I think after a few months of heavy playing with this racket. If you're a recreational player then you're going to love this bat. The racket has a low throw angle similar to the cheap blades that recreational players usually use which will make it easy to transition. Since it's a very stiff blade, it has a large sweet spot, is fast when you hit the ball flat, and is quite good for pushing and playing close to the table. Passive blocking can work but only if the other player is hitting the ball hard since the rubbers don't have a great deal of catapult effect.If you're an intermediate player then it's not a great bat for you, especially at this price, you can easily get an amazing Chinese clone blade with for example AK47 rubbers. Overall, I paid almost $100 for this racket and it's just not worth it. It's too stiff with zero vibration, you get no feedback at all from the bat. Spin is just ok, the blade is too fast and you have to decide between slow and heavy spin with a nice arc or fast and linear with little safety arc (this makes it easier for your opponent to loop your balls as well since you can't generate a lot of topspin) so if you're not careful then be ready for a lot of unforced errors and shooting the ball off the table. There is also no dwell time at all which makes it difficult to open up heavy backspin pushes and even harder to develop your game in areas that you're lacking. Stay away if you're a serious intermediate player, and instead get something more flexible.***********************************************Update after a month:So I've been using this racket for a bit over a month, 5 days a week. What I've found is that it's at its best in short to mid-range game. It could be that the rubber has a low throw angle or the catapult effect is not that big, but for long-range, you really need to use a good technique and really brush up the ball to get it to the table.Looping and counter looping is great but I'm finding it difficult to improve the consistency of my counter topspin to a heavy backspin push. That's a quality shot and I don't have the best technique so since there's almost no dwell time, it makes it harder to consistently land the ball and I've been struggling with those more than ever.***********************************************I've been playing table tennis for a long time and finally decided to get my own paddle and opted for an advanced lvl premade one as it would be cheaper (or I thought).The bat is not great for beginners and works best for a low to mid intermediate player who knows what he/she's ​doing and is trying to improve her/his consistency. The weight of the blade is balanced on the front and it's a bit on the heavy side but once you get used to it then you won't notice it and it will help you hit hard as well.However, if you're an upper intermediate player or even mid, chances are that you've played with a custom-made bat either at a club or have borrowed one from a friend. Do not expect the same performance from this bat because S5 rubber actually provides a great deal of control but not that much speed compared to a custom-made racket. A custom-made bat with decent Chinese rubbers will be a lot faster (will have less control) but will be a bit more expensive as you have to buy a decent blade as well.The good news is that the blade is decent meaning you can, later on, get yourself some good rubbers, and then you have a proper beast on your hand.