Stiga STS275 Table Tennis Table

Firstly, regarding the purchase itself:

1. Shop for LANDED cost to your door to make a proper comparison. For items this large, shipping and tax can be 25-33% of the cost. Any indoor table worth anything will be over $400.00 base price. First, I found the Stiga InstaPlay 399.99+119.99sh = ~$525.00 to my door. Then, Stiga 175 (slightly better model) ~$550.00, and finally the Stiga 275 for $599.99 free shipping/tax on amazon. **Definitely worth $75.00 more for two grades higher — MUCH better product, thickness of the steel, wheels etc. Take note that the base price is $399.99 (Instaplay) vs $599.99 (Stiga 275), but LANDED cost difference only $75.00.

2. Guidelines I considered:

(a) MUST be at least 3/4″ thick tabletop (1″ if you have the budget); (b) MUST be strong brand name, i.e. STIGA, Butterfly etc., to ensure that the tabletop surface is the best and that there is a brand name which is scrutinized by professionals, i.e. they have an image to uphold. (I saw Costco had a more epxensive model with 1″ top and VERY solid construction, but the quality of the tabletop surface and construction (arguable most important) was terrible, AMF brand. (c) Know who is going to use the table. In this case, lots of kids and no storage closet, so I needed something better than average to withstand pounding. Again, when all was said and done, for $75.00 (roughly 10% premium) would be worthwhile even without the kids and pounding.

3. Warranty: I opted for Amazon DIRECT since my experiences have always been good, but I would mention that other companies who sell such product actually handle warranty issues (Paddle Palace) for you during the warranty period directly with the manufacturer which can make your life a lot easier, so that may be of value to you. Again, stick with a brand that cares what people say.

But I will say that the Stiga InstaPlay looks very good and assembly is effortless. So if that is of prime importance or you are not in positon to assemble or get someone to help you, go for the Instaplay.

Which brings be to the major gripe:

The instructions were ATROCIOUS, and the diagrams convoluded. You MUST have at least two adults to set this up, but it wouldn’t hurt to have three. The parts were of decent quality and the actual number of steps isn’t so bad, if you know what you are doing. BUT… we had to redo a number of steps where we used the wrong bolts and the diagrams can be very misleading. I would have expected Stiga to put a little more time put into the manual for a purchase of this magnitude. For $600.00, the manual should have been clearer, IKEA could show them a thing or two on this score.

All that being said, while with good instructions or practice, you can do this in an hour, (a) you should budget 2-3 hours. (b) you MUST complete it once you start or you will likely lose parts or scratch surfaces.

Second gripe, Product Description describes solo play where you can set one side vertically and play against yourself, but there is a large gap between the two tables. honestly I didnt find it much of an issue for myself, but it was misleading as I thought there would be virtually no gap.

TWO more important thoughts:

1. the locks will damage the surface if you do not learn how to manuever them properly.

2. if you intend to roll the table away, make sure you screw the tabletop to the HIGHEST hole in the stands. Since the parts are used for multiple models you will find extra screw holes that may not be used.

Defintley a great buy at $600.00 shipped. I couldn’t find anything close for the value, Cost for Quality.

Rating: 4 / 5