Over the past three years I have tested out a lot of training balls. These are balls I will use for my coaching sessions and my training camps. The main reason I use training balls, rather than competition balls, is cost.
In coaching sessions and training camps I’ll usually lose a few balls each week – either cracked, stamped on or the ball has been hit so many times, it has gradually lost quality. If I used competition standard balls, this regular replacement would become quite expensive.
So I’m always on the look out for a really decent training ball. A ball which is durable, hard, has a good bounce and is evenly round (no wobbles). This can be hard to find at a lower price. Many training balls fail in one of these areas – either too soft, break too easily, bounce too low or they wobble too much, which indicates the ball is not evenly round.
Recently I have been testing a new training ball – TIBHAR T40 2*. These are designed to to be durable, hard, and, crucially, evenly round. What are these balls like to play with?
Hardness – These balls are hard. When I press into the ball with my fingers, they do not give way at all. Compared to softer training balls, these will bounce a tiny bit higher, but the bounce is more similar to what you would get with a harder competition standard balls.
Speed – The speed is proportional to the effort you put in, which is what you want from a decent ball. It plays slow in the slower rallies and plays fast in the faster rallies. I was actually impressed with the speed of the ball in the faster rallies. It kicks off quickly from the table and keeps it speed.
Spin – You do have to work a little harder to generate high amounts of spin with the ball. This might be the slight trade-off with having a ball which is hard and durable. For training purposes I don’t think this is a bad thing. If players want more spin, they have to work for it!
Roundness – This is where the ball is a big success. They do seem to be very evenly round. I’m not experiencing the wobbles or the unexpected high bounce you get with other training balls. This makes such a big difference to training quality. You can just focus on doing the drills without having to adapt to an unpredictable bounce.
Durability – It’s too early to say how durable these balls are as I have not used them for long enough. In a few months, I’ll update this section with my findings. I would expect the ball to be durable, as it has a hard construction, but we shall see.
In summary, the TIBHAR T40 2* is a really decent training ball. I particularly appreciate the roundness and consistent bounce of the ball. It feels a little more like playing with a competition standard ball, rather than a cheaper training ball. I think these balls are ideal for multi-ball training or club settings where you need lots of balls for drills and skill development.
You can but the TIBHAR T40 2* from Bribar Table Tennis.