On Equipment Durability: What Lasts Longer?
1
Different angles give different answers. For example, is the Hurricane 3 durable, and how long does it last? Generally, plenty of people use it for a year or more — that tacky surface really is fairly durable. That saves us money.
But once you choose to boost the Hurricane 3, after a few boosts the sponge collapses. If you choose glue-boosting, irrigating glue, it is more durable, just that each glue-boost’s effect is not lasting enough and you have to boost frequently. The upside: the sponge does not collapse easily.
(The Super Heima — spinnier, with firmer ball-bite and fuller bottom power.)
But whether oil-boosting or glue-boosting, you face the Hurricane 3’s possible blistering problem, which tests your luck. Sometimes after only a few plays, it blisters and is scrapped. So from the angle of convenience and durability, for average-level players, you can consider the more durable Tibhar K2, the Beidou 5 (similar to a tougher, springier Jupiter 3), or Guobiao 3.
2
I rarely wear Li-Ning shoes. From the other-brand table tennis shoes I have worn, Asics and Mizuno soles really are more wear-resistant, especially for someone who moves as much as I do. And besides the rubber-floor halls in the city, a few of us players also set up a court in the countryside, on concrete. Here you can clearly verify whether a table tennis shoe sole is wear-resistant enough. With Asics or Mizuno, a year or more is no problem, and they do not crack easily, even their budget models. Other brands are hard to say; on concrete, some start slipping or the sole micro-cracks after a dozen wears.
3
When I first promoted the Yinhe Heima-tuned, some players worried Yinhe blades were not durable enough. But I have been playing the Heima-tuned KLC sample since March, and to now I have not felt much decay. Sometimes I think the Blue-Gold Workshop’s custom blades are all pressed fairly tight, hence generally a bit heavier. That may be one reason they are more durable than retail.
Generally, whether a blade is durable enough can be judged somewhat by feel. If it is a thin blade with large overall deformation, very soft and springy, and very transparent, you can hardly expect a long life — for example the W968, Carbon Dynasty type. In the hands of players who generate power better, the less durable it is.
Beyond that, custom-version Butterfly blades are very likely less durable than retail, with elasticity decaying faster. This is the feel from dozens of customs and limiteds I have played. At least two reasons. One, as I said, the stronger a thin blade’s overall deformation tension, the less durable; customs and limiteds do have higher deformation tension than retail. The other reason: the fiber’s curing degree can affect the blade’s feel hardness. Retail fiber curing is clearly higher than customs, with a firmer feel. Conversely, the softer, springier customs are less durable.
You can of course keep playing it. But you will feel the blade’s elasticity drop noticeably — the ball comes off less springy, the arc not as long, not as effortless. In that case, you can raise the rubber’s hardness a bit to compensate.
4
Thin blades are generally less durable than thick ones. Also, kiri-core outer carbon blades are more durable than ayous-core inner carbon blades. Because the ayous-core carbon blade highlights absolute bottom power more. Once the blade goes a bit soft and elasticity drops sharply, we can clearly feel it, and feel it is not as good to play. The kiri-core ones never excelled at energy storage and bottom power anyway, playing more for release speed and forehand-backhand balance. Sometimes an outer kiri-core Viscaria, played a long time, has dropped rebound, and you even feel it grips the ball more. So perceptually, you do not feel it is not durable.
On top of that, the Vis with a kiri 9-ply, or even 12-ply, core really is more durable than the ayous-core 968. The former highlights local deformation; the latter highlights overall deformation. On top of that, different brands use different adhesives — some firmer, emphasizing hard support, some emphasizing the power-transmission of the bond.