Palio Table Tennis Bats: A Complete Guide

Are you at a beginner to intermediate level and seeking an inexpensive pre-assembled paddle? One of the rackets from the Palio Table tennis bat line could be the perfect choice for you. I just bought the Palio Master 2.0 last week, and I’m very impressed with the rubbers. They are very tacky.

In this guide, you’ll learn about all of the Palio bats in the range, including their construction, performance, and which type of player each bat suits.

Why Go Palio?

The Palio ping pong paddle series is a collaboration between Expert Table Tennis, an educational table tennis website, and Palio, a reputable table tennis manufacturer. They came together to produce high-quality pre-assembled paddles with carefully selected rubbers and blades to cater to each skill level. They have the added benefit of featuring replaceable rubbers, whereas most other pre-assembled paddles do not.

Therefore, they provide comparatively better value for money.

Another reason you might want to choose one of the Palio rackets over another top table tennis brand because they specialize in cheaper equipment for lower skill levels. The most well-known brands, by comparison, like Butterfly, instead focus their development resources on high-end equipment for advanced players. As such, the Palio bats are tough to beat in price and performance from beginner to intermediate level.

About the Palio Bat Series

The Palio bat line consists of six different Palio ping pong paddles. The latest third generation includes the:

• Palio Expert 3.0
• Palio Master 3.0
• Palio Legend 3.0

The remaining three paddles are a part of their second generation, known as the Legacy range. These consist of the:

• Palio Expert 2.0
• Palio Master 2.0
• Palio Legend 2.0

As the third-generation paddles are newer, they are slightly improved. Given that each paddle’s second and third-generation types are priced the same, it makes sense to purchase the new version.

However, given these bats have not been around for as long, they have fewer reviews, although the high quality of each bat remains apparent.

Palio Table Tennis Bat Reviews for Beginners

 

Palio Expert 3.0

 

Specifications:

• Blade: Palio Expert blade
• Rubbers: Palio CJ8000
• Rubber style: Inverted
• Handle: Flared
• Assigned ratings: Speed= 6/10, spin= 9/10, control= 10/10
• ITTF approved: Yes

Pros:

• Very high control
• Good spin
• Low speed
• Linear pace
• Inexpensive
• High-quality construction
• Replaceable rubbers
• Bat case included

Cons:

• Tacky rubbers require consistent cleaning

Kicking off with the newest Palio Expert bat for beginners, we have the Expert 3.0. It sports a Palio Expert blade with Palio CJ8000 rubbers on both sides. What is most striking about this blade as soon as you pick it up is the quality of the thing. It’s far better than most other paddles you get at the same price range. Palio stays true to their respected name!

As far as performance goes, it’s pretty much exactly what you need as a beginner. It’s not particularly fast, which helps to give you more control of your shots. This is highly important as you practice against players better than yourself. With more powerful shots coming your way than you are familiar with, you need a slower bat to stop the ball from going over the end of the table.

This slow to moderate speed is courtesy of the Palio Expert blade and the Palio CJ8000 rubbers. These rubbers are much spinnier than they are fast. They are Chinese, and as Chinese rubbers often are, they are tacky. This means the balls quite literally want to stick to the bat — great for producing spin.

However, I should note these rubbers are not super spinny. Their 9/10 rating in this department is a tad generous. But they have plenty enough spin to force you to learn the spin mechanics of the game. And you certainly need to do this if you want to improve.

Palio Expert 2.0

 

 

Specifications:

• Blade: Palio Expert blade
• Rubbers: Palio CJ8000
• Rubber style: Inverted
• Handle: Flared
• Assigned ratings: Speed= 6/10, spin= 9/10, control= 10/10
• ITTF approved: Yes

Pros:

• Very high control
• Good spin
• Low speed
• Linear pace
• Inexpensive
• High-quality construction
• Replaceable rubbers
• Bat case included

Cons:

• Tacky rubbers require consistent cleaning

The Palio Expert 2.0 is the predecessor to the Expert 3.0 Palio ping pong bat, and there are really not that many differences between the two.

The main disparities that Palio cites are the edge tape and bat case. The 2.0 features thin edge tape covering only the blade, leaving the rubbers unprotected. The 3.0 instead has edge tape which covers the width of both the blade and the rubbers. It also has “Expert Table Tennis” printed on the tape, which appears much more professional than the red and black edge tape on the 2.0.

As for the bat case, the 3.0’s are of higher quality and appear much nicer. The zip is in the shape of a little bat which we really dig!

Another difference we noticed is that the blade’s appearance is also slightly different. While the little window logo at the bottom is the same, the 3.0 has a newer paint job than then Expert 2.0. However, the 2.0 appears to share the exact same construction, so the change is purely aesthetic.

Read More: The Palio Expert 2.o Full Review

 

Palio Table Tennis Bat Reviews for Intermediate Players

 

Palio Master 3.0

 

Specifications:

• Blade: Palio Master blade
• Rubbers: Palio CJ8000
• Rubber style: Inverted
• Handle: Flared
• Assigned ratings: Speed= 8/10, spin= 9/10, control= 8/10
• ITTF approved: Yes

Pros:

• High control
• Good spin
• Moderate speed
• Linear pace
• Inexpensive
• High-quality construction
• Replaceable rubbers
• Bat case included

Cons:

• Tacky rubbers require consistent cleaning

The Palio Master 3.0 is part of PalioETT’s intermediate range. However, I feel that it could also be a good fit for more skilled beginners as well.

It shares the same Palio CJ8000 rubbers as the Expert 3.0, so you can expect similarly high levels of spin. Yet the speed has gone up a notch, hence PalioETT marketing it towards intermediate players. The specific plies are not referenced, but we do know that the bat has an all-wood construction which is exactly what we expect.

It also has an upgraded blade on the Master 2.0 Palio table tennis paddle, boasting higher quality and improved feeling. Furthermore, it’s got a radical color change which we didn’t see between the Palio Expert 2.0 and 3.0. The handle is now red with two strips running from top to bottom, one black, and the other white. The handle has a flared grip which most players will like.

Overall you can expect a complete all-around game from the Master 3.0. While faster than the Expert 3.0, it still has a very linear playstyle. Therefore, you don’t get any unexpected catapult effect like modern attacking rubbers. This makes the bat far more user-friendly and easier to pick up at lower skill levels, but similarly effective at higher skill levels if used effectively.

Palio Master 2.0

 

Specifications:

• Blade: Palio Master blade
• Rubbers: Palio CJ8000
• Rubber style: Inverted
• Handle: Flared
• Assigned ratings: Speed= 8/10, spin= 9/10, control= 8/10
• ITTF approved: Yes

Pros:

• High control
• Good spin
• Moderate speed
• Linear pace
• Inexpensive
• High-quality construction
• Replaceable rubbers
• Bat case included

Cons:

• Tacky rubbers require consistent cleaning

Once again, there are few differences between the legacy version and the third-generation version of the Palio Master.

The Master 2.0 shares the same drawbacks that the Expert 2.0 possesses: a lower quality bat case and thinner, less protective edge tape.

However, there is another small change between the Master 2.0 and the Master 3.0. As mentioned before, the blade is slightly lower quality. It also has less feeling and features the old blue and white handle design.

In all honesty, the changes between the two bats are pretty minor, but given the paddles cost the same amount of money, it only makes sense to go with the newer Palio Expert Master 3.0.

Read More: Palio Master 2.0 Full Review

 

Palio Legend 3.0

 

Specifications:

• Blade: Palio Legend blade
• Rubbers: Palio Hadou
• Rubber style: Inverted
• Handle: Flared
• Assigned ratings: Speed= 10/10, spin= 9/10, control= 7/10
• ITTF approved: Yes

Pros:

• Good spin
• Fast
• Linear pace
• Inexpensive
• High-quality construction
• Replaceable rubbers
• Bat case included

Cons:

• Tacky rubbers require consistent cleaning

The Expert Legend 3.0 is the most advanced paddle of the Palio line. They target the bat toward advanced players. However, I feel most advanced players would want something a little more lively. So, generally speaking, I feel that the bat would be a better fit for intermediate players.

The main change from the Master 3.0 to the Legend 3.0 is the speed increase. The blade, which still has an all-wood construction, features harder wood and leads to increased pace. Similarly, the rubbers have seen a similar change. Rather than Palio CJ8000 rubbers, the Legend 3.0 instead uses Palio Hadou rubbers. These are harder like more advanced Chinese rubbers tend to be, and also less tacky, but overall, they still produce more spin.

These changes owe to a more attacking style and demand more skill from the user. For the money, they really are a great buy. To me, the player looking at such a bat is contemplating building a custom paddle of their own. So it’s important that the Legend 3.0 can both compete in terms of performance and price. And it does. At a minimum, you’ll have to spend at least another $30 to build a decent custom bat, and likely much more. So the Expert Legend 3.0 really fulfills a need for these players.

Palio Legend 2.0

 

Specifications:

• Blade: Palio Legend blade
• Rubbers: Palio Hadou
• Rubber style: Inverted
• Handle: Flared
• Assigned ratings: Speed= 10/10, spin= 9/10, control= 6/10
• ITTF approved: Yes

Pros:

• Good spin
• Fast
• Linear pace
• Inexpensive
• High-quality construction
• Replaceable rubbers
• Bat case included

Cons:

• Tacky rubbers require consistent cleaning

We once again see near-similar changes between the Legacy range and third-generation assortment of bats.

The Palio Expert Legend 2.0 uses the old edge tape and the old blue bat case. So it’s marginally worse in this regard. It also features the old blade, which is slightly lower quality, has less feeling, and has a different colored handle. However, on this particular occasion, I slightly prefer the look of the Legend 2.0’s handle compared with the Legend 3.0.

Yet taking everything into account, it’s only logical to go for the new Legend 3.0, given that both paddles cost the same price.

Read More: Palio Legend 2.0 Full Review

 

Conclusion

To conclude, Palio table tennis bats are of very high quality, and you will be hard-pressed to find better rackets at their price range.

While the Legacy (2nd generation) Palio bats are great, we only recommend you buy the third generation of paddles. They have minor improvements and are priced the same so you get slightly more for your money.

As for which third-generation paddle you should go for, that ultimately depends on your skill level. We recommend the Palio Expert 3.0 for beginners, the Palio Master 3.0 for intermediate players, and finally the Palio Legend 3.0 for more skilled intermediate players who prefer a more aggressive playstyle.

FAQs

Are Palio Table Tennis Bats Good?

Palio table tennis bats are very high quality. Palio is an expert table tennis manufacturer that excels at producing high-value cost-effective table rubbers and blades.

Does a Good Table Tennis Bat Make a Difference?

Table tennis bats make a huge difference to performance. In fact, there is no other racket sport I can think of where your equipment is more important. Purchasing a quality table tennis paddle aimed at your skill level will help your game develop leaps and bounds.

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