Killerspin Jet 800 Review

The Killerspin Jet 800 table tennis paddle is a high-end pre-assembled racket designed for intermediate to advanced players. It’s an extremely popular premium racket because it combines the high-quality Nitrix-4Z rubber with an ultralight blade that has two carbon layers.

This ITTF-approved racked includes Killerspin’s top-of-the-line side tape technology which makes the racket more durable and gives it a nice slick look. The excellent sponge and blade of the JET800 allow you to generate a lot of speed and spin, it’s no wonder why Killerspin’s top sponsored players, including Olympic Champion Chen Qi and US National Champion Ilija Lupulesku, use this racket.

Specifications

• Has a 7-ply wood blade, 5 wood layers plus 2 carbon layers for increased power and competition-level performance
• It’s the lightest, most powerful JET-Series racket
• ITTF approved, 2.0mm high tension Nitrx-4Z rubber
• Ships with a basic 30-day warranty
• Killerspin’s Ratings out of 10: Speed 9.5, Spin 9.0, Control 8.0

Quality of Rubber

The JET800 comes with Killerspin’s famous Nitrix-4Z rubber that has the advantage of being able to generate a lot of spin, especially on serves and harder shots. While it’s main advantage is being able to generate heavy spin with powerful, driving shots, the grippy rubber top-sheet also has some defensive strong points as well. The Nitrix-4z is surprisingly forgiving when receiving high-spin shots and can offer a good amount of control defensively.

Blade Construction

The highlight of the Killerspin Jet 800 is the quality of the blade. The blade is made up of 5 extra-light wood layers and 2 layers of carbon composite material for a total of 7 plies. The carbon layers reduce weight while adding a noticeable extra rigidity to the paddle increasing its overall power. Strangely, the carbon blade not only adds more power for hard-hitting, high-spin shots but it also allows the paddle to have a larger “sweet-spot” allow you to easier absorb slams from your opponent. The layers of carbon are made with higher precision, have better uniformity of bounce and offer more rigidity throughout the paddle thus giving you more power, less vibration and generally a harder feel. Even though the carbon in the Jet 800 is combined with 5 layers of wood, it has noticeably less vibration and feels very hard and fast.

Balance and Overall Feel

The overall balance of the Jet 800 is great and geared specifically for looping and powerful top-spin shots. The paddle feels very lightweight but not uncomfortably so. Weighing in at precisely 1.8 ounces, it definitely seems like it would feel weird in your hand, but it somehow feels perfectly comfortable. It sits just right in your palm and the balance between the ergonomic handle and the weight of the blade is excellent, you don’t feel the weight being distributed unequally at either end or in any one direction.

The biggest issue with the Jet 800 is the adjustment period of playing with a harder, more rigid racket that offers so much power. Learning to control this racket can take some time, especially if you’re not used to carbon, but once you start to get the hang of it feels amazing. However, even after getting used to this paddle you do lose a bit of control in exchange for the increased power and spin. It forces you play a little more aggressively than you normally would in order to make up for this (which I think is a good thing).

Positives

• Blade offers fantastic speed and power
• Very good rubber offering great spin
• Solid construction and good feel

Negatives

• Lacks some control, takes some getting used to
• Somewhat expensive

Conclusion

The Jet 800 is a premium pre-assembled paddle that excels at enhancing a player’s aggressive offensive game while not hindering their ability to return their opponents shots. While it does take away some of your ability to place the ball precisely where you want to, this paddle more than makes up for this by giving you a massive increase in your ability to put spin and speed on the ball.

It can definitely take some time to get used to, but the adjustment period is well worth it. After learning to control this paddle, your game will be elevated to a new level and you’ll wonder how you ever played without the Jet 800’s two carbon layers.