Open Thread: Crane Full-Size Table Tennis with Paddles and Balls

Last Updated on July 9, 2023

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The pastime known as table tennis traces its origins to the 19th century in England. Originally an after-dinner sport for rich people, in 1901 a British company trademarked the name ping-pong, eventually selling the rights in America to game manufacturer Parker Brothers. Today, table tennis — or ping-pong — is both a competitive sport and a hobby for families. I’m probably not the first person who remembers playing ping-pong against my cousins during family reunions at my grandparents’ house.

A table-tennis table would seem an unlikely thing to find at Aldi. For one, it’s big, and Aldi has to be particular about big items in its small stores. For another, I can’t recall ever seeing Aldi selling one before, not even during the holidays. So seeing one show up at Aldi as part of its holiday toy selection is a big surprise.

What We Know:

Crane Full Sized Tennis TableThe Crane Full-Size Table Tennis with Paddles and Balls is an Aldi Find, which means it’s a limited-time item. At the time of this post, it retails for $89.99.

How good is this price? To understand that, we should first talk about features, because not all ping-pong tables are the same. They come in different sizes, with many of the ones in stores either being “mid-sized” or “full-sized.” A mid-sized table tends to run about 93-96 inches long and roughly 45-55 inches wide. A full-sized table, meanwhile, is a fixed 108 inches long, 60 inches wide, and 30 inches high — 9 feet x 5 feet x 2.5 feet. Full-sized tables are the official size used in table tennis competitions and are often called “official size” in product listings.

As you might expect, mid-sized tables are cheaper than full-sized ones. I looked at Walmart, Target, and Amazon, noting that mid-sized tables tend to run $125-$200, while full-sized tables tend to run $300-$600+.

The Aldi table is full-sized: 9 feet long, 5 feet wide, and 2 1/2 feet high. At $89.99, it would be a great price even for a mid-sized table, but as full-priced tables go it’s spectacular. I don’t see any new ping-pong tables anywhere at this size for anywhere remotely close to this price.

What’s more, the Aldi table also comes with a net and post set, two paddles, and two balls. It also is a foldable design.

The table also comes with a 2-year warranty, serviced by a company whose website is run by MD Sports. Not coincidentally, MD Sports sells a table tennis set that looks identical to the Crane one, and also includes a manual. MD Sports sells their version on Amazon for around $210, and it averages 4.3 out of 5 stars based on over 1,100 reviews. The Amazon listing also indicates that MD Sports has an assembly video for their version, which you can find on the Bilt App on Google Play or the Apple App Store.

What We Don’t Know:

There has to be a catch, right? It’s hard to say how easy it is to assemble, how stable it is, or how durable it will be under repeated play. Those are all considerations.

For this price, though, it may not matter.


Have experience with this table? Let us know in the comments!

About Joshua

Joshua is the Co-founder of Aldi Reviewer. He is also a writer and novelist. You can learn more about him at joshuaajohnston.com.

19 Comments

  1. My 18 year old son really wanted a ping pong table this past spring/summer due to covid. We looked everywhere and if you could find one it was around $500. This morning I saw on an Aldi Facebook page that an $89 pp table was in the AOS. We got there when the store opened and purchased a table. My son put it together this afternoon (took about 4 hours alone). Surprisingly it is really very nice. It would be nice for $400 but for $89 it is a steal. A quality table for your home. Folds up for storage or to move around. I’m very impressed! Definitely worth it.

  2. Can someone measure the folded up space required and take a picture. I may have to return mine or sell it.

  3. I am looking at this table or a $200 table (Prince brand) from Dicks. The construction looks OK on the Prince table, (which does NOT come with paddle or balls) but I’m hoping this table is as good. Cant really tell from the picture but the legs look a bit flimsier than the more expensive table.

  4. I snagged the last one of these at my local Aldi. It’s no competition table but at $89.99 It’s an awesome buy for a full size table. I was worried about the seam in the middle, this is not a problem the seam is very tight and has no (or very little) impact on play. It’s a little tough to put together and the folding mechanism isn’t that great but as far as play goes it’s pretty solid.

  5. I recently purchased this table, but we cannot figure out the best way to go about standing it up for the life of us! If anyone has any suggestions, please… PLEASE reply to this comment!

  6. We bought ours today from Aldis and are having the same issue Josh….I am going to Google or uTube to see if there is an assembly video to make sure everything is in place…..I will return to share info here.

    • Very much appreciated! I did some Google searching myself and came up empty. I’m thinking the best way to get it up will involve a few more people lending a hand just to make sure everything is steady and what not. I would just hate to break anything trying it with too few people.

  7. Got the table assembled. It’s definitely worth the price. The quality is not great but you get what you paid for. It took nearly 5hrs with my assembly skills. There is a assembly booklet inside the packaging, just followed that. Lots of screws to be fixed. Better to have a private toolkit. The tools that comes along with the package is really bad. I used tools from my Ikea tool kit and a Ryobi power driver. A wrench set also useful, but I didn’t have it.
    Its a full size table and good for a small family with a young kids at home. comes with two paddles and 2 balls.

  8. Put it together on Xmas day. Specifically followed instructions in booklet. There is a pretty big gap in the middle when flat. I am obsessively trying to figure put how to rectify this..
    Plz help if u know what the issue is..

  9. Ronald J Mihaljevic

    It took me 5 hours to put this together on Christmas Day too. And I have a 4 inch gap in the middle too, it almost seems as if the braces are too long.

  10. Have yet to put ours together. Any tips coming straight out of the box would be appreciated. Single mom here trying to put it together with 4 young children 😬

  11. I believe this table is exactly the same as one on Amazon called MD Sports Table Tennis Set and on Walmart as MD Sports Table Tennis Table. Different company selling it, same product. You will find an instructional assembly video on Amazon. Good luck!

    • I did some detective work and it looks like you’re right. Good call. I’ve updated the post accordingly.

    • Thank you so much. I am having issues with the last two side brace parts and the wingnuts are just impossible to thread in. I think I have the rest correct, but going to have to nab someone to look at it as my cats are not helping me too much! Will check out video as well! Big help I am sure

  12. Looks like I just got lucky with no gap in middle. Just followed directions…took me about 5 hours. I know this for sure…we bought a 200/250 table for 89 and my two young boys love it. If we get 2 yrs out of it, this was worth it for sure.

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