As you may have noticed, we’re huge fans of STIGA and their pre-made bats. STIGA’s paddle options give players the ability to learn all types of strokes and take their game to another level. For this piece, we’ll provide the complete STIGA Apex paddle review.
The STIGA Apex is an ITTF approved paddle which is comparable to the likes of the STIGA Titan. The pre-made bat is suitable for beginners or intermediate players looking to get a bit more from their paddle. The Apex is slightly cheaper than the Titan, as it doesn’t have the speed or spin that the Titan has – however, in terms of what you’re paying for, the Apex is a bargain. The paddle provides players with solid attributes and will give players the ability to master the basic strokes and techniques in table tennis.
| Performance | Speed: 65, Spin: 52, Control: 80 |
| Blade | 5 ply extra-light |
| Rubber | Drive inverted |
| Sponge | 2mm |
| Playstyle | Defensive |
| ITTF Approved? | Yes |
| Our rating | 7.5/10 |
Who is it for? | Who is it not for? |
This is the perfect paddle for beginners or intermediate who are looking for their first premium paddle. This is a great paddle for beginners looking to learn and improve the basic techniques and skills. | We don't recommend the Apex to advanced recreational players, as the paddle won't provide the desired speed or spin which more advanced paddles would provide. |
Once again, for this review, we’ll focus on the key components of any 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 Apex is constructed with an extra-light 5 ply real wood blade, which is the minimum amount of layers you should be looking for in a blade. A 5 ply blade provides the paddle with a solid and durable base.
This isn’t the most premium blade out there, but for a beginner or someone who is getting their first upgraded paddle – it will definitely be a huge improvement from the stock standard paddle.
This blade is built to be considerably lighter than STIGA’s other paddle builds. Having a lighter paddle will benefit beginners and less experienced players, as this will help them with more precise placement and solid control. This blade is built towards control rather than speed.
Overall, this is a solid blade and is made to be lightweight which is perfect for a beginner or inexperienced players. This blade is durable and will be a dramatic improvement for the stock standard paddle.
The Rubber
The Apex uses a Drive inverted rubber, which uses ACS technology. As discussed for other STIGA paddles, ACS plays a role in increasing the elasticity in the rubber, giving it a touch more speed and consistent strike for control.
This isn’t STIGA’s most premium rubber, however, with the use of technology and an inverted surface, this rubber produces some impressive results compared to the standard paddles.
The rubber has a smooth inverted surface on both sides. This rubber is geared more towards control rather than speed and spin, as the surface of the rubber doesn’t have much spring and isn’t very tacky. However, as mentioned earlier, this rubber will still be a large upgrade compared to the stock standard paddles – and there’ll be a noticeable increase in speed and spin.
The Apex has a sponge thickness of 2mm, which is reasonably thick for a paddle that isn’t built for speed. Having a slightly thicker sponge gives the Apex a decent amount of speed and even helps with adding spin. This helps make the Apex a good all-round paddle for a beginner.
Overall, the Drive inverted rubber fits the Apex well. It provides the extra-light paddle with solid speed with its 2mm sponge, as well as providing spin which is much better than stock standard rubbers. The rubber has used advanced technology which is a big reason why the Apex is so highly rated in its class.
The Handle
The handle used for the STIGA Apex is a concave Italian composite handle. This essentially means it is a flared handle, which is ideal for the Shakehand grip user.
The handle uses WRB technology, which basically means the handle is slightly hollow. This gives the handle a light feeling, and distributes the weight of the paddle to the face – this means the paddle will feel heavier in the blade rather than in the handle. This is quite a unique feeling at first but is effective once used to and STIGA uses this technology is a lot in their pre-made bats.
Overall, STIGA are known for their handles and make comfort and performance a priority.
General Overview
We’ve put together a table highlighting both the pros and the cons of the STIGA Apex:
We’ve also put together some ratings out of 100, for the 3 key characteristics – speed, spin, and control.
| Speed | Spin | Control |
| 65 | 52 | 80 |
Conclusion
Overall, the STIGA Apex would be the perfect first upgrade if you’re a beginner or an intermediate player. The paddle provides the necessary components to develop the basic technique and required strokes in ping pong.
If you’re in the market for a more advanced table tennis racket that has more speed or spin, we’ve reviewed plenty of other options here.
