Sportcraft Table Tennis Tables Review

The first thing a potential buyer must consider when looking at table tennis tables is whether they ever see themselves playing competitively. Deciding to buy a table tennis table that fits the USA Table Tennis Association specifications will count out many of the available tables. Regulation tables are basically 9 feet by 5 feet and the table top is 30 inches high.

Sportcraft table tennis tables can be found in regulation sized models as well as recreational "conversion" types.

The least expensive Sportcraft table tennis table is the X-3000. It's a 4 piece table with casters on the bottom of the middle legs so that it can be broken down and moved, or easily rolled to a new location. It comes with electronic scoring, net, 2 table tennis rackets, and 2 balls. The top is blue and made of polyvinyl chloride or PVC, which is a kind of plastic often used in tubing.

The next two in line are the similarly priced shadow tables. The Shadow Sapphire Table and the Shadow Carbon Table. They are both folding type tables with casters for mobility, laminated tops, and strong steel legs. On both, one side will fold up for solo practice. They both also advertise having textured surfaces. The major difference between the two seems to be the color. The Sapphire is black and the carbon is a much lighter grey color. In this case, I would recommend the black for players without a strong preference for the lighter colors.

The highest price table from Sportcraft is the AMF Fury Table Tennis Table. It has casters, and strong steel legs. The main selling point for this table is that everything is steel reinforced to prevent the surface from losing its levelness or otherwise weakening over time. The drawback is that its weight and the fact that it doesn't fold up as small as others make it far less mobile. It weighs 245lb which is almost twice the weight of the X-3000.

Sportcraft also offers a multigame table for recreation rooms and people who are not at all serious about playing table tennis. Multigame tables tend to be too small in surface area to meet USATT requirements, and are also less stable. Sportcraft offers the 72" 4 in 1 Flip Table which as can be judged by the name is too short to be a regulation table tennis table. It does have a nice flipping feature (similar to how a stand-alone white board flips on an axis), but can only be recommended for recreational play. It features table tennis, flick football, Turbo Hockey (air hockey), and billiards.

The 84" 3 in 1 Swivel Table is also, as the name implies, too small for tournament play, but also has a convenient conversion mechanism, and provides a table for table tennis, "Turbo Hockey" (air hockey), and billiards.

Both of these tables, at 32" high, are also too high to be considered regulation size.

As a table tennis player, I would recommend tables that are made for the sport instead of multi-game tables. The size will make a difference when playing competitively, and should definitely be a consideration. Next, a choice can be made based on space, mobility, and sturdiness. The highest price AMF Fury has steel legs, but one may not want to be moving it around too much. The two Sportcraft Shadow tables are slightly more mobile, and can be moved out of the way when not being used, but may be a problem to transport out to a friend's house often. They are sturdy and a good choice for people who use their rec rooms for other things than table tennis.

The drawback of the less expensive, more mobile table tennis tables is that they may start to sag or lose strength over time.

Before purchasing a large table you should also consider if you have the right room size for a table tennis table as well as what kind of table tennis equipment you'll need to play competitively.