Martin Kilpatrick Conversion Top Review

The Martin Kilpatrick Conversion Top is a top-of-the-line conversion top that allows you to quickly and easily convert your pool table to a full-featured table tennis table. It’s much cheaper and more portable than a full-size ping pong table and lets you save that space footprint of a separate table in your basement or game room.

Specifications

• The dimensions fully assembled are 108L x 60W x 4H (inches)
• The top is 9 feet x 5 feet when both halves are assembled
• 3/4” German crafted conversion top
• 1.5” metal rail offers added stability
• Unique net assembly allows for use on 5-foot wide pool table
• Surface connectors keep top attached during the play position
• Includes net and post set

Build Quality

The highlight of the Martin Kilpatrick Conversion Top is, quite surprisingly, the top itself. Weighing in at nearly 120 pounds, it comes with a full 3/4-inch MDF top which is comparable to many mid-level free-standing table tennis tables. This is impressive considering that this is a much more portable conversion top and was not designed to be a full free-standing table. The top is German-crafted and looks to be of the same high-quality as other Martin Kilpatrick products.

This heavy-duty Martin Kilpatrick Conversion Top not only features a playing surface that rivals the tops of much more expensive free-standing tables, but it also has some great hardware that is unique for a conversion top. This conversion top features a 1.5-inch metal rail that extends around the edges of the top that adds extra stability and greatly improves the bounce of the playing surface. The rail acts very similarly to the apron of traditional table tennis tables except for the fact that it doesn’t actually attach to a frame. The rail fits nicely against the pool table edges and keeps the table extremely stable. It’s surprising how well this top locks into a standard sized pool table. Two interlocking plastic connectors keep each table half connected so that it doesn’t separate during play.

Assembly

The assembly of the Martin Kilpatrick Conversion Top is quite easy, provided that you have two adults capable of managing a box that weights around 120 pounds. Once taking the top out of the box, all that’s left to do is make sure the two table halves are connected and place the top over a pool table. The built-in metal rail should slide nicely into the pool table. After setting up the net you should be ready to play.

Potential Downsides

One issue with the design of the Martin Kilpatrick Conversion Top is the fact that the metal support rail only extends around three of the 4 sides of each table half. This means that the rail does not run along the inside of the table where the two halves meet. This can create a bit of a sag in the middle of the table, something that could potentially get worse over time. While this is a minor issue, it can get to a point where it negatively affects the playing experience. Some customers may choose to build their own rail or support that runs underneath the middle of the table top to make sure this doesn’t happen.

Conclusion

The Martin Kilpatrick Conversion Top is probably the most popular ping pong conversion top available. This due to the quality of the playing surface and the ease of the use of this product. This conversion top is extremely easy to set up and take down, and it folds up very easily so that it can be stored pretty much anywhere. The Martin Kilpatrick top should fit most pool tables (8-9ft in length) fine and even comes with an oversized net-bracket for oversized pool tables. We highly recommend it for those who do not have space for a tradition ping pong table and already have a pool table.