u/vamsivadrevu

I used to play TT in the office back in 2014 with GKI hitback rackets. I was a beginner then and I'm still a beginner now. Recently getting into the game again but those premade rubbers have completely disintegrated. The rubber has hardened beyond use and my shots aren't landing where my muscle memory expects them to land. So I decided to get a GKI offensive for temporary use but I still have these 2 gki rackets from 2014 that I want to put to use.

I already ordered mercury 2 front and back rubber to test it out for one racket and see if it'll be worth investing in just the rubbers. They're yet to arrive. But this turned out to be more expensive than outright new premade rackets! Spent Rs. 1500 on the rubber!

Are these rackets really worth putting expensive rubber on? They're comfortable to play with and very controllable for me. I used to be able to place the ball wherever i wanted back then with fresh rubber!

I have no idea how much of a difference the blade makes to the shots. I play heavy top spin and a fast game using placement rather than outright smashes. These old racket blades seem to be having 3 wooden ply construction. What kind of rubber should I get and if it is even worth sticking expensive rubber on these old premade racket blades. Would removing old rubber destroy the racket blade completely?

Any opinions and suggestions are most welcome!

This is the daily morning ritual that I look forward to the most. Winding up HMT pilot.

Wake up, check the time and then wind up the watch! Looking at the movement beating inside and listening to the click spring rachet sound is oddly satisfying. It is like a fidget toy. Only better!

I've been buying budget quartz watches recently as I've saturated my watch box with mechanical and automatic watches and the process of winding is feeling a bit too repetitive. I guess I've come full circle back to quartz watches now!

Got this Q&Q white dial A212J003Y model from Amazon for Rs. 1295. I've been buying these Q&Q plastic quartz watches on impulse lately because they're so simple, minimalist and practical. They're the perfect alternative to the very small casio mq24.

I've also bought VS12J001Y, VQ66J004Y, M102J001Y from Q&Q because they're cheap and practical.

This one A212J003Y seems to be the perfect size for my 18.5cm wrist at 38mm case width.

When I'm bored with my Automatic and mechanical watches I've been using these as beater watches and they've held up well. For someone working at a desk, this is all the watch we would ever need.

100m water resistance, simple, minimalist, uncluttered dial, beautiful hands and a seconds hand that hits the minute markers. I've not been so lucky with my other Q&Q watches because they were not as precise at hitting the minute markers. This one A212J003Y seems to be assembled well or i just got lucky.

It does look like the swatch "twice again" model though. But with better water resistance, and smaller case width at 1/10th the price. But this one has extremely poor lume. The hands have barely any lume (unless it is extremely dark and your eyes are fully accustomed, the hands won't be visible, and even when they're visible, there's no markers on the hours to identify what time it is). But these are nit picks at this price. The lug holes could have been drilled through to prevent gouging with spring bar removal tool on resin cases. The crystal could have been seated flush with the bezel to prevent hard hits. And instead of acrylic it could have hand mineral or sapphire. I know it is too much to ask at this price but if a manufacturer is making a practical watch, these considerations should be evaluated. A sapphire crystal might cost more than the movement itself though. But the best part about acrylic crystal is that it can be polished many times and brought back to an almost new condition unlike mineral and sapphire.

And the integrated 18mm lug to 22mm PU strap is a poor design choice. Finding the right straps will be hard. Could have had a simple 20mm lug width with proper lugs. The existing strap is very thin and flexible but that just makes it very comfortable to wear.