The Palio Expert 2 Table Tennis Bat is one of the best all-rounder paddles available in the market. It is widely considered a favorite for beginners, and this is for good reason.
Cost-effective, quality, and simply a jack of all trades, the Palio Expert 2 is a great option to have! In this Palio Expert 2 review, we’ll take a look at it, in great detail.
Table of Contents
Palio Expert 2 Paddle Specifications
Our Rating: 4.3/5
- Grip Type: Shakehand
- Price: $
- Weight: 7.04 oz / 199 g
Play Rating
- Speed: 6.0/10
- Spin: 8.5/10
- Control: 9.7/10
- Durability: 7.5/10
Materials
- Rubbers: Palio CJ8000 rubbers x2
- Plies: Wood
- Sponge: 1.88mm
What to Expect
If you purchase the Palio Expert table tennis racket, you can expect a paddle purely made for beginners. It is a fast racket highly recommended by the Internet, and by us, to invest in it, if you are truly a beginner. Here in this exclusive Palio Expert 2 review, we take a closer look at its features.
CJ8000 Rubber
The rubber quality on the Palio ping pong paddle is CJ8000. Both sides are covered with the same rubber, and that is a rubber of premium grade. CJ8000 is a little tacky rubber, meaning it will suck the ball in just enough to allow you to generate spin. The blade is an exclusive collaboration between Expert and Palio table tennis.
Palio CJ8000 rubbers are approved by ITTF, making them good enough for tournament usage. Although, we doubt people would play using this rubber, as it is ideal for beginners, not so much for pros. In addition to the Palio CJ8000, there is also a thick layering of a softer sponge underneath the rubber. It is just under 2mm thick, which makes this racket quite thick, allowing for a good level of control and high amount of spin.
Insanely Good Control
For a beginner, it is incredibly important to buy a paddle that offers a wide range of control over all kinds of shots. This is significant, as it will allow you to play all types of shots, and once you get used to the basic techniques and basic strokes correctly, you can take the next step of playing aggressive ping pong. The Palio Expert Table Tennis racket comes with maximum control over your hits, helping you increase efficiency while keeping more balls on the table.
It does not matter if you are up against a player with incredible skills; your Palio ping pong blade will give you an excellent chance to improve quality of your game and offer you lots of controlled shots. It slows down the game to your convenience.
Shakehand Flared Handle
The handle of palio premade rackets is designed in a way to maximize comfort and control. It has flared handle from the bottom, meaning it will not slip out of your hand, no matter how intense the rally is.
The grip is shakehand and not penhold. This, too, makes sense given the fact that most beginners have a shakehand grip rather than a penhold grip.
Free Case
Despite how affordably priced this racket is, it is also accompanied by a free Palio bat case. We recommend using the case to ensure the longevity of the rubber and the racket itself. Like we mentioned before, the rubber is quite tacky, which means even dust tends to stick on the surface. This could be harmful to your paddle affecting the quality of speed and spin. A case can help in keeping the rubbers clean.
Pros
Affordable
The Palio Expert 2 is also one of the most moderately priced paddles in the market. It’s in a similar price range to the Gambler paddle. You can find cheaper paddles, no doubt, but we cannot guarantee the same quality on those paddles. The racket comes with a tacky top sheet that make it a breeze to make super fast spinny serves with perfection.
Other models that have the same features as the Palio Expert blade, can cost a lot more. This makes the Palio a good bat and a versatile option for everyone in the market.
Highly Rated
It is always important to read up on a product before buying. We found some amazing reviews on the Palio Expert Bat and it seems to have little to no bad reviews. This makes the Palio Expert 2 a decent option. People seem to love the maximum control it offers the most. Moreover, it helps you develop the correct technique to learn and thrive in the sport.
Staying consistent playing with this racket guarantees great success by ensuring complete control over your ball speed. Moreover, it enhances your ability to generate spin while maintaining precision in your shots.
ITTF Approved
It is rare to buy a paddle in this cheap price and to see it being ITTF approved. The good news, though, is that the Palio Expert ping pong rackets are approved by the biggest table tennis authority, the International Table Tennis Federation. We always maintain purchasing paddles with the stamp of approval of ITTF because it helps you in the long run while maintaining top-notch speed, spin and overall control.
Free Case
In most situations, you buy a paddle and you have to buy a case in addition to your purchase. It is not compulsory, but it is highly recommended because the paddles tend to deteriorate in quality, especially, in the presence of dust. The Palio Expert saves you the hassle of looking for a cheap case because it comes with one!
Cons
Plays Out Slow
While it is recommended for beginners to play with a paddle that offers excellent control over the ball and lesser speed, some might disagree. If you have an aggressive playing style and you want others to start with this mindset, then maybe the Palio ping pong paddle is not the best of options. It tends to slow down the game, quite a bit, and if you are a quick learner, you might be looking to upgrade fairly quickly!
Quite Heavy
This is a genuine concern as the Palio Expert ping pong Bat weighs nearly 200 grams! This is quite heavy compared to some of the other options that we have played with. We believe that this is done on purpose to ensure higher control on atleast basic techniques such as generate spin like a pro, but playing with such a heavy paddle may not be everyone’s cup of tea.
Rubber Coming Off
Some customers have reported the rubber coming off fairly easily. It is not a huge issue, and it is expected too, considering the Palio Expert costs fairly less. If you experience this problem, we suggest gluing it back on.
Our Rating: 4.2/5
Ratings can be misleading. For a beginner, the Palio Expert 2 is a 10/10; however, for even an intermediate-player, a Palio Expert might not be a good purchase. However, all things considered, we rate the Palio Expert 2 as high as 8 because it is quite cheap, and you get a lot of good things, including good spin, more control, more speed and so on.
This incredible ping-pong blade has been completely redesigned. Thanks to its tacky topsheet, you can produce topspin backspin and sidespin with ultimate ease. It truly feels like a custom table tennis bat that caters to the skill level of all players.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I buy the CJ8000 rubber to replace the one on my Palio Expert 2?
Yes, if you feel that the rubber on your Palio Expert Table Tennis Bat has run its race, you can buy the same rubber from virtually anywhere.
What glue should I use to stick the rubber on the Palio Expert 2?
There are lots of options available if you are looking for glue for your racket rubbers. It is, of course, important to use table tennis glue, firstly. Secondly, we recommend using the Butterfly Free Chack, as it is quite sticky and will not alter the rubbers’ ability to produce a good spin.
Conclusion
One of the few shortcomings of the Palio Expert 2 Table Tennis Bat, are perhaps regarding its name. It is certainly not made for “experts”, and it appeals to beginners. Apart from that, there is hardly anything wrong with the paddle. It is a good option for defensive players and beginners can get used to knocking around by practicing with the Palio Expert ping pong paddle.
Palio Expert 2 Table Tennis Bat is a solid purchase, especially, considering the fact that it costs peanuts. Since the racket is flared-handled, it offers a nice grip that keeps the paddle in your hand, no matter what. Players with a penhold grip might suffer, but then again, beginners are rarely penholders. All in all, it is the complete article for a beginner player.
