Table Tennis Edge Tape: What Is it and Should I Use it?

Last Updated on April 24, 2024 by Alex Horscroft

What Is Edge Tape?

Edge tape is a specialized type of table tennis tape that you adhere to the edge of your racket for protection. It comes in many different styles and it’s fairly cheap. You buy edge tape in reels of varying lengths much like any other kind of tape.

Reasons To Use Edge Tape

Rubber Protection

Undoubtedly, the main reason to use edge tape is to protect your precious rubbers. Although edge tape is thin, it does provide a fair amount of protection against soft and medium impacts to the edge of your bat.

The main damage your rubbers endure are impacts during pushes. When you hit the table at an angle during pushes it damages your rubber, and can even lead to the rubber peeling away at the blade which may mean you need to re-glue.

However, one other method your rubber takes punishment which I never see mentioned is during serving. I for one, and many others, frequently hit the corner of my bat into my body when I serve (pendulum and chop serve).

As this impact is head on it doesn’t promote the lifting of rubbers, however, it does still damage them which can cause them to erode over time.

Blade Protection

Edge tape also provides minor protection to your blade, but you should keep your expectations realistic. It will help reduce the depths of dents slightly, but doesn’t provide much more protection beyond that.

Improves the Look of Your Racket

While there are differing opinions regarding the aesthetic appeal of edge tape, most people, including myself, agree that edge tape enhances the look of your racket.

Edge tape is designed to be stylish, and there are tonnes of different looks to choose from. I like to get creative and try to get edge tape that matches my blade color as best I can. Also with the release of new rubber colors, you can even now buy edge tape which matches your non-black rubber color.

Besides its own physical appeal, edge tape also enhances your racket by hiding imperfections from poor rubber cutting. I’m no stranger to messing up my rubber cutting, usually from using poor-quality scissors. And the state it leaves my racket looking is a little disheartening.

If I opted to go the no edge tape route by racket would look pretty dreadful. Plain and simple. However, you would be shocked at how edge tape can hide your sloppy cut lines. I remember one shoddy job in particular, where I thought there was no way even edge tape can save me. Yet, somehow it did, and I even got a compliment from a friend on how great the rubber cutting looked. Needless to say, it was a little amusing!

Reasons You Might Not Want To Use Edge Tape

Inconvenient for Regular Rubber Changing

For me, the most compelling reason I hear against edge tape is how inconvenient it is if you are frequently changing rubbers. This makes sense as you carefully have to apply and remove each piece when getting new rubbers, and you get through a lot more of it than most people

However, for most players, this is a non-issue. Most of us keep our rubbers glued to our blade until they wear out, so we aren’t swapping our rubbers around super often.

Tendency to Pull Away Sponge

Another drawback is that edge tape can really stick to the sponge of your rubbers. This means when removing it the edge tape can actually tear away small chunks of sponge around the edges of your rubber.

Again for most players, this isn’t much of an issue. Our rubbers usually only come off when they are worn out and ready to be replaced. However, if you are swapping them over to a different blade, or removing your rubbers to add booster, it can be a bit of a problem. You really need to take your time and be careful to keep all of the sponge intact.

Increased Weight

Some players think that edge tape adds weight and makes rackets more head heavy. While this might be the case, most edge tape weighs just 1g. Therefore the effect is negligible. I am almost certain nobody would be able to tell the difference in a blind study. Therefore, I would discount this argument.

Are There Different Kinds of Edge Tape?

Beyond the different design finishes of edge tape, they do in fact come in different thicknesses and widths.

While most edge tapes cover the entire width of your blade and rubbers, some just cover your blade. These provide minimal protection, but they do allow you to keep the edge tape attached even when taking off your rubbers.

In terms of thickness, almost all edge tape is exceedingly thin. However, you can get really thick kinds like Dr. Neubaeur. It’s much thicker than the regular kind as it is made of foam. As such, it provides maximum protection. However, I do hear its adhesion is pretty poor. Therefore, if you decide to purchase it you will probably need to add some extra glue to ensure it holds to your racket.

Why Do A Lot of Professionals Not Use Edge Tape?

If you watch professionals play you’ll see that a lot of them don’t use edge tape. The primary reason for this I believe is because of how often they are changing equipment. At their level, equipment really matters, so they are changing rubbers after just a few weeks. Therefore it would be too much of a pain to keep applying edge tape.

However, we do see other reasons why professionals don’t use it. Ovtcharov for instance, mentions that he feels it makes his bat slightly slower. This is why he uses partial edge tape just on one side of his racket. This minimizes the “speed reduction” while still providing protection when pushing and serving.

In my opinion, Ovtcharov is chatting a load of nonsense here. I think it’s just in his head. Scientifically speaking, I can’t see how edge tape would diminish power whatsoever.

Recommended Edge Tape

While the likes of your rubbers and blade are a big deal, the edge tape you chose really isn’t. They all perform the same purpose, so it’s more a matter of choosing a kind you like the look of.

Below are what I consider to be some good choices.

Butterfly Edge Tape

First up we have a more muted option for players that prefer an understated look. This edge tape is by Butterfly, one of the top brands around.

12mm thickness – 10m (20 rackets)

Tenergy Edge Tape

Next up is Tenergy edge tape, also by Butterfly. Popular rubbers sometimes get their own edge tape, and as one of the most popular rubbers of all time, it should be no surprise that Tenergy has its own edge tape.

The logo looks really cool and I love the bright orange color. I’ve rocked it a few times and I see other players using it every now and again.

12mm thickness – 10m (20 rackets)
12mm thickness – 50m (100 rackets)

Andro Edge Tape

I really dig this reel. It reminds me of hazard tape. It sends the perfect warning message to other players who think they can take you down!

12mm thickness – 50m (100 rackets)

JOOLA Trinity Edge Tape

The Trinity edge tape is another more subtle kind. I actually prefer it to the black Butterfly edge tape. It looks a little more interesting to me, and I don’t see it as often as I do the Butterfly tape.

10mm thickness – 5m (10 rackets)
10mm thickness – 50m (100 rackets)
12mm thickness – 50m (100 rackets)

Dignics Edge Tape

I can’t say I’ve seen Dignics edge tape in person, but it’s very alluring. Of course, it makes more sense to use it if you’re using Dignics rubbers, but it’s by no means a necessity.

12mm thickness – 10m (20 rackets)
12mm thickness – 50m (100 rackets)

Dr. Neubauer Edge Tape

As mentioned earlier, the Dr. Neubauer edge tape has a foam composition unlike the other tapes mentioned thus far. This means it provides more protection. The issue with it is that it does not stick to your paddle very well. So you might have to use additional glue.

I also am not a big fan of its look. The inverted tick across the logo and the website link are a big turn-off for me. But if maximum paddle protection is your goal, it’s definitely one of the best edge tapes you can get.

9mm & 12mm thickness – 1 racket

My Take — Edge Tape Is a Good Buy

While not everyone uses it, I think edge tape is a good buy for the protection it provides and the way it enhances the look of your paddle.

There are only a few reasons not to use it. The most compelling of which is the cost and hassle associated if you change your rubbers frequently. So for most people, I think it’s worth using, but it is by no means a necessity.