If you are in the market for an excellent table tennis paddle that can elevate your game and make you the envy of your opponents, then you should be very interested in the Stiga Pro Carbon Paddle.
This paddle is one of the best pre-made paddles on the market and is one of the best paddles, period. In this post, we will be reviewing the Stiga Pro Carbon Paddle. We will consider some of its features, why we think these features are great, pros, cons, and more.
So, read on to find out more in this Stiga Pro Carbon review.
Contents
Stiga Pro Carbon Paddle Overview
Table tennis is an exciting sport that serves to unite families and friends. Many folks love playing this sport; however, one problem many people have with it is hand cramps after playing for hours.
If this problem keeps reoccurring, it may be the way you grip your ping pong paddle or it could be time to switch your table tennis racket. Some of the essential things you must consider when choosing a table tennis racket include its ergonomic design.
The design ensures that the paddle fits your hand and allows you to play nonstop without discomfort in your hand. Many of the paddles that come with your table tennis table are not well designed and usually end up feeling uncomfortable after a time.
Not so with the Stiga Pro Carbon Paddle. The Stiga Pro Carbon table tennis racket comes with an ergonomic design that affords you a comfortable and robust grip during play.
Stiga Pro Carbon Paddle Specifications
- Carbon Offensive
- ITTF approved s5 rubber
- Speed rating: 99
- Spin rating: 100
- Control rating: 80
- Weight: 158.75 gm
Build & Construction
The blade of the Stiga Pro Carbon Paddle is built from five plies of balsa wood, with an extra two plies made of carbon. In total, you will get seven plies from the racket. This feature is essential. Why? Well, the number of plies ensures that your hits are powerful, and yet offer you a greater degree of control than others on the market.
For folks that play an attacking game, the Stiga Pro Carbon Paddle is undoubtedly one of the best on the market. If you love to play a fast game and typically strike the ping pong ball hard, then you will enjoy the Stiga Pro Carbon Paddle.
One other reason why players love this paddle is the ACS technology used in designing them. Due to this patented technology, the rubber is super elastic while light.
Its sponge is 2.00mm thick, which is excellent.
All of these factors, ACS technology, seven plies, and 2mm thick sponge, contribute to a paddle that is fast and powerful.
Performance
In this section, we will consider the playing performance of the Stiga Pro Carbon Paddle.
Speed
During our testing, we observed that the paddle is fast. However, the pace doesn’t mean it will sacrifice control. Admittedly, you will need work to get the hang of the paddle, but with enough practice, you should be able to get it. Once you achieve mastery of it or enough expertise, you will likely love using the paddle.
The need to practice cannot be overemphasized, because if you fail to do so, most of your shots will be hard, but will fly well away from the table.
Drive
The drive is, if we may say so, sweet. It is sharp, reliable, and offers you a decent ball throw angle.
Touch play
To be fair, we weren’t expecting a perfect paddle, and we believe this is where the paddle falls short. During testing, we noticed that feedback was rather low. As a result, it was somewhat challenging for playing short and close to the tennis table.
Serves & Returns
As pointed out above, performing short serves is rather tedious. However, we thoroughly enjoyed the fast-spinny serves we were able to hit. Returns are easy to pick, and opponent’s spins are highly negated on the paddle.
Loop
Looping is one of the most comfortable things to do on this paddle. Simple, straightforward, and convenient.
Chop
Another area where we believe the Stiga Pro Carbon Paddle lacks is the chop. We earlier said that the Stiga Pro Carbon Paddle is a powerful paddle. Thus as it is an offensive blade, chopping isn’t exactly its forte.
Nevertheless, we found it sufficient for short and shallow chops.
Other Features
ITTF Approved
The Stiga Pro Carbon Paddle is an ITTF approved racket. In fact, it is one of the few such paddles on the market. The International Table Tennis Federation is the governing body of all this table tennis.
As the Stiga Pro Carbon Paddle is ITTF approved, it can, therefore, be used for professional matches and competitions. Just imagine, you’ll be playing against your friends and family using a ‘real’ tennis racket. You might not know it yet, but it surely gives you an edge over them.
Impressive performance rating
The Stiga Pro Carbon Paddle is built to satisfy all the performance requirements you might have, and as far as our testing goes, it performs above expectations. It comes with a perfect rating of 100 for spin, 99 for speed, and 80 for control.
All these ratings contribute to an excellent racket that gives you the power and control you’ve always wanted in your play.
Pros
Speed
The most significant advantage of the Stiga Pro Carbon Paddle is the speed. If you are a fast player who wants to always be on the offensive, you have found the perfect partner. Despite the impressive speed, it is still precise.
Hefty Handle
The Stiga Pro Carbon Paddle comes with a handle that is heavier than most of its contemporaries. The handle is nicely shaped to offer you a secure and comfortable grip.
Lightweight blade
It might seem ironic to have such a lightweight blade on a heavy handle, but that is what we have here. The contrasting hefts make for an impressive paddle.
High-performance rating
With a high-performance rating, you can be assured of power and control.
Cons
Poor control
If you seek a paddle with high control, then look elsewhere.
Final Verdict
Due to the lightweight nature and overall performance, very few paddles on the market are as good as the Stiga Pro Carbon Paddle. Even if it doesn’t offer plenty of control, the other features more than makeup for this. We highly recommend this. Click here to see the best price for the Stiga Pro.
Check out my article on ping pong accessories if your looking to upgrade your game.