Butterfly 3-star 40+ Poly

Butterfly poly has a good celluloid like feeling when hitting. Nice grip and spin. Quite soft feeling on hit. After two edge hits these balls explode, not break. I say it was fun while it lasted. Absolutely not worth it's price. Bought a package of 3. Two of them broke in 20 min, one lasted for 3 hours. Joola Super-P is better, but not as round. I was noticed by the system for zero warning for durability, so I changed it to 3. Actually poly balls brake often, but this brakes every time.

Made in CN, Sounds a little odd and plasticky but plays quite satisfactorily, only downside I managed to get only 6 hours total time each ball, they just crack for no apparent reason during play. I'm an offense attack player. Now switched to XSF, which are not too bad - meanwhile also testing Btfly G40+. G40+ is amazing! Love the really crispy crunchy cracking sound on contact. So far G40+ not failed yet after more than total 50hrs play.

I can not believe such a sub standard product is used in the Senior British League. I've worked my way up over a number of years to compete at the mere bottom level of the national team competition - and it's removed all fun from the experience. Ok - I guess it's the same for everybody playing in that competition - but I just simply can't understand how this product has not been changed and is forced upon the players by the organisers. No consistency, the soft material dents after a couple of edged shots. If the hall were to get hot or sticky/sweaty, the dwell time within the rubber is non existent and the ball just slips off the rubber time after time. This prevents rallies and general positive table tennis being played. I had to employ negative tactics to win games against good upcoming juniors, which is not the reason I play at all. Of all the things that Butterfly has produced, in all the equipment that I've tried I've no complaints about the manufacturing of the product, whether that be rubbers, blades, clothing, old celluloid balls etc. It's a shame this product completely goes against the grain in my opinion and undoes their good name. Contributes to making table tennis dull and boring. Such a shame

The Chinese variety of these have been used in a number of UK events and are generally accepted as poor. Roundness is an issue, not genuine eggs but never round. They also seem to be weak and softer than you would like. Rumour has it the German produced ball is massively superior but to date these seem to be unavailable in the UK.

As of late Summer 2015, there exist at least two completely different kinds of Butterfly 3-star poly balls. What you buy is the balls made in China. There are three major problems with these balls: (1) Uneven bounce. Depending on the part of the ball contacting the table, the ball bounce can differ dramatically. Sometimes, the ball just “sits” for no apparent reason. (2) Durability. Among several balls I had, the life span was between 1 and 5 hours. The balls crack fairly fast due to the properties of the plastic used. There is nothing you can do: it is just physical property of the material to crack after the ball was hit certain (very small) amount of times. (3) Cost. The price of the ball is too high. I am a regular club player (several hours per week). Based on the ball durability, I would expect to crack about two balls per week, i.e. about 100 balls per year. The price in Canada is $4 + tax per a ball. Does Butterfly really believe that I will spend more than $400 on balls per year?! These Chinese-made balls should not be given “3 stars”. The balls should be sold as practice balls and priced accordingly (50 cents a piece). These balls can be played only in low-level competitions (club, league) with some reservations. I am giving Butterfly the grade “C” for these balls. Another variety of the balls is made in Germany. Those are completely different balls. Different plastic, different finish, different bounce and feel, etc. These balls are supplied to “selected events in North America”. Overall the quality of these balls is good. I hardly ever noticed uneven bounce; even when it happened, it was very small and I was able to adjust. The durability is not great, but it seems to be better. The price is not available since it is not sold anywhere. I am giving Butterfly the grade “B+” or “A-” for these balls. The suggestion to Butterfly is to further polish the “German” ball, start mass-producing it in China, lower the price, and sell it to the public.