JOOLA is a leading brand in table tennis. They’ve provided America and the rest of the world with all kinds of high-quality products related to ping pong. One of their specialties is their high-quality ping pong paddles. This article will look at one of their finest and most reasonably priced ping pong paddles, as we provide the complete JOOLA Infinity Balance review.
This paddle is ideal for the more intermediate player, but can definitely be used by more advanced players.
| Performance | Speed: 92, Spin: 92, Control: 92 |
| Blade | 7 ply real wood |
| Rubber | Method 38 |
| Sponge | 2.1mm |
| Playstyle | All-round |
| ITTF Approved? | Yes |
| Our rating | 8.8/10 |
Who is it for? | Who is it not for? |
We recommend the Infinity Balance to intermediate players who have learnt to control their offensive shots, such as the forehand topspin stroke. The Infinity Balance provides solid speed, so if you're able to play more offensive strokes consistently, you'll definitely benefit from using this paddle. | We don't recommend this paddle to players who are new to ping pong, as the paddle provides some speed which may be hard to control if you haven't mastered the basic techniques. |
We’re going to focus on the key components of the ping pong paddle – namely: the blade, the rubber, the handle as well as what the paddle specializes in.
If interested, we’ve written a complete ping pong paddle buying guide here – which may help you in determining which paddle suits you best.
The Blade
The Infinity Balance blade consists of a 7 ply real wood combination consisting of:
- Limba (enhanced feel): This wood is used as the outer ply in ping pong blades as it provides flexible but firm feeling, benefiting a players topspin play.
- Koto (for quick counterattacks): This wood is nimble and stiffer, helping with faster block and explosive counters.
- Ayous (precise control): A more lightweight, firm and elastic wood which is why it’s often the heart of many all-round blades. This wood is great for players looking to keep the ball in play.
- Kiri (reduced vibration): This wood is lightweight, but hard enough to reduce vibrations when contact is made with the ball.
This combination of woods is used in some of JOOLA’s other paddles, because of its great results.
These woods create a blade thickness of 5.7mm, giving it a light but firm feel. The combination of woods also gives the paddle good flexibility as well as durability. This paddle weighs 167 grams, making it pretty heavy compared to other paddles in its class.
The multi-layer construction helps generate velocity on impact, which gives a bit more speed than others in its class range. For this reason, we wouldn’t recommend the Infinity Balance to beginners, as there may be a struggle to keep the ball from flying off the end of the table at first.
Overall, this blade in the Infinity Balance is of serious quality and you won’t find much better in this price range.
The Rubber
The rubber used for the Infinity Balance is JOOLA’s Method 38 rubber. This inverted rubber is used on both sides and provides players with a considerably tacky surface. If you’re a player who is looking to add more spin to your play, tackiness is exactly what you’re looking for, and the Infinity Balance provides a good amount of this.
The 2.1mm thick sponge provides players with a pretty quick spring to their shots, ideal for offensive play. They say that sponge thickness of between 2 and 2.2mm is ideal for topspin attacking play. A thicker sponge will also benefit any other kind of spin play. The one thing to look out for is that it may be hard to control the ball when first using this paddle, due to the noticeable spring in the rubbers.
The Method 38 rubber is another reason why we consider the JOOLA Infinity Balance a premium table tennis racket, and the characteristics of this rubber make it a good choice for an offensive-minded player.
The Handle
The handle used for the Infinity Balance is the classic flared handle grip. This is the go-to handle type if you’re a player that uses the Shakehand grip – as it is the most comfortable and is also optimizes forehand play. JOOLA uses the flared handle for most of their paddles, making comfort and performance a priority.
In terms of the handle, the Infinity Balance aims to provide comfort without taking away from performance. Using a paddle that is comfortable and suits your grip, will make a dramatic difference in improving your game.
General Overview
We’ve put together a table highlighting both the pros and the cons of the JOOLA Infinity Balance:
We’ve also put together some ratings out of 100, for the 3 key characteristics – speed, spin, and control.
| Speed | Spin | Control |
| 92 | 92 | 92 |
Conclusion
The Infinity Balance is a high-level paddle that is definitely capable of improving anyone’s game. It performs in all key areas of ping pong play and is definitely one of our favorites in its class.
If you’re a decent player looking to pick up a ping pong paddle with all the necessary attributes at a decent price, we couldn’t recommend the JOOLA Infinity Balance higher.
We’ve reviewed plenty of other paddles here, which may better suit you.
