Butterfly Kenji Table Tennis Racket

I bought this racket because I've noticed my game leaning more towards defense rather than offense. There's nothing quite like returning a smash where the opponent put absolutely everything he has behind it. This racket excells beautifully at that. However if you like to hit a lot of drives and smashes, this is absolutely not the racket for you. I've used a number of Butterfly rackets - most notably the Seemiller and Carlos Chiu. This one has a flared handle that takes a lot of time to get used to and it's also a bit lighter than those other two. It also seems to have less padding. These all combined make for a great defensive racket but also makes it a bit rough offensively. It seems to be inconsistent in both speed and spin when trying to hit anything with power. With the Chiu, the ball always seemed to come off the paddle the exact same - hard - which made it tough to return smashes. The Seemiller was better than the Chiu on the defensive end with less power but with tha... Read more

I think its unfair how others have reviewed this racket relative to Carlos Chiu or other superior Carbon rackets. I am a player who is upgarding to Kenji and not the other way round and hence I think my review will bring more variety to the mix. I am an advanced-recreational player and I wanted to upgrade from Naifu/Sweeris/Kodo level rackets to something more aggressive and powerful. I tried Stiga eurotech and Sportscarft rackets but they seemed to lack soul as compared to the butterly products. I finally decided to give Kenji a try and only after a couple of days I have the following to say (I'll add more review after playing for a few months): 1) Spin/Speed/Control rating of 90/95/80 for this paddle is accurate. The racket is fastttt and not all that easy to control. Some one trying to play me close to the table gets blown away with this racket. Spin is wicked too. Overall a v aggressive racket. 2) Flared handle feels different, weird at times. I dont know if it is really needed ... Read more

After purchasing the Carlos Chiu racket, I was curious to how the Kenji would feel in comparison. The latter is significantly slower than the former, and it's enough to affect my gameplay. I lean more towards offense, and this racket wouldn't allow me to hit the ball as hard as I like, unlike the Carlos which completely whips the ball. Another thing that took a little adjusting was the curved handle, something I haven't seen before. I didn't like it too much, but there were other players who found it appealing. If your gameplay is more defensive, this would be a good racket for you, and the price is very modest. The spin is good and control is excellent. Just don't expect insane ball speeds during gameplay.

I'm an advance recreational player who owns several Carbon rackets. I purchased this along with a PRO series Carbon racket from Butterfly. Although this racket is rated for speed, I found it to be slower and easier to control than any of the Carbon rackets that I own. For the price the rubber and performance is great. If you're used to playing with cheap table tennis rackets you'll enjoy the feel of this reasonably priced Butterfly.

For its price, convenience, and availability, the Butterfly Kenji is a perfect paddle for someone looking for something a tier above the 'run-of-the-mill paddle you are likely to find at your local sporting goods store. Obviously, when it comes to Ping Pong paddles, everybody has their own preference. If your like me---a fairly skilled, though truely just a recreational Ponger---you probably have no idea where to start looking for a raquet. I bought this raquet because it seemed a step above the paddles you find pretty much everywhere else. I was looking for something to help my game; something affordable, but still kindof nice; something generic, yet a paddle that would deliver overall better performance. To my pleasant suprise, I found the Kenji to be, not just everything I wanted, but even better than I expected. My style standard form is Backhand. I hold my paddle as if shaking hands--American Style. I suppose my game is a balance between defense and offense, spin an... Read more