STIGA is a European brand that has been around since 1944 and has mastered the fundamental equipment in table tennis. Their paddles are one of their specialties, so we thought we’d provide reviews on some of their best. In this article, we will provide the complete STIGA Raptor review.
The ITTF approved Raptor is one of STIGA’s newer paddles and is one of their most impressive builds for sure. The paddle is built for spin and speed, making it ideal for advanced table tennis. The paddle has a stylish and classy design, giving it a professional feel – adding to its professional performance. The Raptor is the perfect paddle for experienced and skilled players looking to add some flare and bite to their game.
| Performance | Speed: 99, Spin: 100, Control: 80 |
| Blade | 7 ply – 5 real wood 2 carbon |
| Rubber | STIGA’s S5 |
| Sponge | 2mm |
| Playstyle | Offensive |
| ITTF Approved? | Yes |
| Our rating | 9/10 |
Who is it for? | Who is it not for? |
We recommend the Raptor to more advanced intermediate players with great skill in control a fast paced ball, as well as players looking to increase their spin play. | We don't recommend the Raptor to beginners or inexperienced players. This paddle has immense spring and speed, so there will be a struggle to keep the ball in play if you don't have the necessary skills or experience. |
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 STIGA Raptor is constructed with a 7 ply blade, consisting of 5 real wood layers and 2 carbon layers. This is a similar blade build to the STIGA Pro Carbon.
The wood used for the blade is balsa wood, and these wooden layers are covered by a carbon layer on each side. Balsa wood is an extremely popular and reliable wood, which is often used in blade builds.
The carbon layers are responsible for enlarging the sweet spot of the Raptor, which gives the paddle a bit more pop in all areas of contact. The carbon layers also reduce vibration where contact is made with the ball – this helps with precision and consistent ball striking.
This has become a pretty popular blade build in modern times, with carbon technology becoming a common trend. This blade build is ideal for offensive players, as the carbon layers help bring some pace to shots – as well as bringing in other noticeable benefits.
Overall, this is a premium blade that will definitely have a noticeable impact on your ball striking. STIGA has been making high-class blades for decades, and they have kept their standards up with the Raptor.
The Rubber
The rubber used for both sides of the Raptor is STIGA’s S5 rubber. This inverted rubber is also used for the STIGA Pro Carbon. ACS technology is used for the rubber, which combines microscopic air particles in an ultra-light rubber, which maximizes elasticity – benefiting speed but not taking too much away from control.
The sponge thickness for the Raptor is 2mm, which is ideal for higher speed. A thicker rubber will increase the spring and therefore add pace to shots, but will also take away a bit of control. This is a big reason why the speed rating is a lot higher than the control rating in the Raptor.
Overall, the S5 rubber has a professional feel – the pips-in rubber combines advanced technology as well as a slightly thicker sponge, which complements the speed-filled blade. This rubber is used to maximize speed and generate some impressive spin.
The Handle
The STIGA Raptor has gone for a concave handle, which is essentially a flared handle. The slight difference is that the Raptor uses WRB technology, which means the handle is hollow. This gives the handle a light feel while remaining balanced in terms of weight. This is an ideal handle for the Shakehand grip user.
Having a hollow handle means the weight of the paddle is centered around the face of the paddle, giving the Raptor a unique but powerful feel.
WRB stands for: Weight balance, Rate of recovery, and Ball sensitivity respectively.
The Raptor has a handle built for comfort and balance but also built to enhance ball striking and precision. This is one of the most impressive handles we’ve reviewed in our time.
General Overview
We’ve put together a table highlighting both the pros and the cons of the STIGA Raptor:
We’ve also put together some ratings out of 100, for the 3 key characteristics – speed, spin, and control.
| Speed | Spin | Control |
| 99 | 100 | 80 |
Conclusion
Overall, we absolutely love the paced-filled Raptor. The paddle performs impressively when it comes to speed and spin and definitely has the potential to take your game to a competitive level. These speed and spin numbers make take away from control slightly – but this is definitely manageable with time and practice.
The paddle is reasonably priced in terms of what you’re getting, as it provides professional-grade numbers.
If you’re looking for an easier paddle to control – we’ve reviewed many options here.
Have you tried the Raptor? Or any other STIGA bats? We’re interested to hear your thoughts.
