The Blutenkirsche Elite table tennis bat is very popular in the UK and is sold by Custom Table Tennis (based in Leeds). It is a premade table tennis bat aimed at the beginner market.
At £19.99, this is a very well-priced table tennis bat that should be within the price range of all new table tennis players. It is great that this racket also comes with a free bat case and rubber protectors – to keep the tacky rubbers in perfect condition.
BLUTENKIRSCHE ELITE
Here’s everything you need to know about the Blutenkirsche Elite table tennis bat…
The rubbers used on the bat are the ITTF approved Kokutaku Blutenkirsche 868. They are very tacky, especially when compared to cheap premade rackets, which gives the bat plenty of spin.
The Blutenkirsche “offensive” blade comes with a flared handle but is fairly slow, giving a good amount of control.
Blutenkirsche has a vast range of blades and rubbers to suit every playing style from high-grade wood blades right up to hi-tech carbon blades and rubbers for competition and professional players. All their products are excellent quality and fantastic value for money.
You could certainly do worse than the Blutenkirsche Elite.
THE REVIEW
Compared to some of the other cheap premade table tennis rackets, the Blutenkirsche Elite is a very good bat. The rubbers are tacky and give you the ability to “brush” the ball. That is the most important factor in premade rackets.
The problem is, the majority of premade bats have rubbers on them that are completely dead and don’t allow you to spin the ball at all. It isn’t until you’ve played with a “proper” table tennis bat that you’ll understand the difference – the huge amount of spin you can generate with good rubbers.
To learn more about what to look for in a table tennis racket please read my popular article The Best Table Tennis Bat for Beginners, which is available on my Expert Table Tennis blog.
The Kokutaku rubbers do give you some spin. The sponge is a little hard, though – which is often the case with Chinese rubbers. That can make it a little more difficult to develop “feeling” for the ball, as the ball doesn’t really sink into the sponge very much. Instead, it just pings straight out.
The main problem with the Blutenkirsche Elite is the blade. The wooden blade used for this bat is very cheap, and you can tell. This racket kind of feels like a cheap £5 bat that someone has stuck half-decent Chinese rubbers on. It’s playable for sure and better than most, but no the best you can buy.
OTHER OPTIONS
If you are thinking about buying a Blutenkirsche Elite table tennis bat I would personally recommend paying £5 more and going for the Palio Expert 2. The rubbers are tacky but have a much softer sponge which allows for greater control and feeling.
The wooden Palio Expert 2 blade is also much better quality and more similar to the professional blades you can buy individually. If you were to compare the Blutenkirsche Elite to the Palio Expert 2 side-by-side you would immediately be able to notice the difference between the two rackets. The Palio Expert 2 simply feels a lot better to play with.
BUY THE RACKET
You can buy the Blutenkirsche Elite table tennis bat from Amazon in the UK. It is not currently available in any other countries.
- Amazon.co.uk: The bat costs £19.99 (with £4.99 delivery) and includes a free case.
Or why not check out our favourite table tennis rackets, the Palio Expert 2, Master 2 and Legend 2!
- Palio Expert 2: The best bat for beginners. Only £29.99 (Amazon.co.uk) or $39.99 (Amazon.com)
- Palio Master 2: The best allrounder. Only £34.99 (Amazon.co.uk) or $49.99 (Amazon.com)
- Palio Legend 2: The most powerful bat. Only £39.99 (Amazon.co.uk) or $59.99 (Amazon.com)
You might be interested in reading Ben’s popular article The Best Table Tennis Bat for Beginners, which is available on his Expert Table Tennis blog. And don’t forget to check out all of our other Table Tennis Racket Reviews as well.
Have you used the Blutenkirsche Elite racket yourself? What did you think of it? Please share your experiences and leave a review below in the comments.