Product Description

Derek May Butterfly Table Tennis Racket

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5373 in Sports & Outdoors
• Color: Red/Black
• Brand: Martin Kilpatrick
• Model: 8252
• Released on: 2005-06-01
• Dimensions: .50" h x 6.50" w x 11.50" l, .40 pounds

Features

• ITTF and USATTF approved Butterfly 8252 Derek May Table Tennis Racket
• Ideal for control players who use backspin and topspin shots
• Lightweight, well-balanced design with anatomic pro-style handle
• Five-ply basswood construction with an inverted surface, high-end Pan-Asia rubber, 1.5-millimeter sponge
• Speed: 50 (out of 100); Spin: 35 (out of 100); Control: 100 (out of 100)

Amazon.com Product Description
With a rubber and sponge combo that offers spin, speed, and control, the Butterfly 8252 Derek May Table Tennis Racket is designed for control players who have a solid command of backspin and topspin. Constructed of a high-end Pan-Asia rubber and 1.5-millimeter sponge, the racket offers a great combination of spin, speed, and control. Boasting a lightweight and well-balanced design, the Derek May racket has an anatomic pro-style handle, five-ply Basswood construction, and an inverted surface. This champion endorsed racket is approved by the USATT and ITTF, and it complies with USATT Rule 4.6 that states the surface of the covering material on a side of a blade shall be matte, bright red on one side and black on the other. This is a racket for champions, sure to deliver a powerful, focused, and exciting game.

Specifications:

• Anatomic pro-style handle
• Five-ply basswood
• Pan-Asia rubber
• 1.5-millimeter sponge
• Inverted surface
• Speed: 50 (out of 100)
• Spin: 35 (out of 100)
• Control: 100 (out of 100)
• ITTF and USATTF approved
• USATT Rule 4.6 compliant
• Endorsed by Derek May, Pan-Am Games Silver Medalist

About Butterfly

Hikosuke Tamasu founded Tamasu Co., Ltd. in the small town of Yanai City, Japan, in 1950. This was the beginning of a company career, which is almost unique in table tennis. A renowned international for Japan, Tamasu fulfilled his dream of a lifetime when he made his hobby his profession. At that time, he could hardly imagine that he would make Butterfly the leading brand worldwide. Creativity, durability, and a profound technical knowledge meant success. 0ver and over again he looked for new possibilities in order to optimize techniques by innovative playing material. Tamasu realized that each player is different and has strengths and weaknesses. By offering individual playing material, Tamasu wanted to help players right from the beginning to emphasize their individuality. Since 1983, Butterfly has its own training and research center in Tokyo. Highly qualified scientists co-operate with world-class players and coaches for the development of rubber and blade technology. Butterfly's rubbers and blades are used by more than half of the participants at World and European Championships.

Customer Reviews

Worth - May be
This is a very light racket. It has a spin - 50, speed - 50, control - 100. I would prefer a little thicker sponge than 1.8 millimeters.

If you are a beginner, you can buy the cheaper Butterfly 8270 Naifu or Butterfly 8251 Hazinski Rackets for some practice as I am sure you will bang your racket several times on the table and surrounding walls. Once you get a feel of spin, speed and control then you can decide which racket is suitable for you.

Weak Paddle, only for beginners.
This blade should only be used by those very new to the game who have no intention of playing competitively. I am a strong amateur who read the reviews here and purchased the paddle. When I played against people who used stickier high-spin rubber, the rubber on this paddle was so weak that the rubber could not grip the ball. When this happens, it causes the rotation on the ball to reverse and the ball goes down into the net. At first I thought I was doing something wrong, however I let an 1800+ player use it and he could not get the ball over the net when I was using his own sticky paddle against him due to the spin reversal.

One thing worth knowing on this paddle is that the black side is stickier than the red side. This means if you do use it, you'll definitely want to use black as your forehand.

The weight of the paddle and the handle are both excellent.

Derek Rules
The Derek May racket is ideal for defensive players who like putting the ball back in play and not making any mistakes. With the acquisition of this racket, you'll notice a great improvement in control play, as Derek guides your shots precisely all around the table. Derek leads to clean and high - quality play, and is one of the best defensive rackets out there. Points will be extended and offensive players will have to hit some brilliant shots before winning a point. The spin is also not bad at all, despite it saying that it's only 45. The speed is good, superior to Derek's bretheren racket Kassam, which is only a piece of plywood.
If you're an offensive player who likes heavy topsin and attacking play, then, unfortunately, Derek is not for you. And remember: Defense Wins Championships!

Control: 100
Spin: 45
Speed: 50