Solid or telescopic rods
Solid rods give the club feel while telescopic rods stay inside the cabinet: how each works and which one suits your home.
The rods are the part of a table football table you touch all evening. They carry the players, they take every shot, and they decide how the game feels in your hands. There are two kinds, and the choice between them is one of the first you make.
How solid rods work
A solid rod is one steel rod that passes through both sides of the cabinet. When you push it towards the far side, its end comes out of the opposite wall. This is the classic design you see in clubs and at tournaments. Garlando states that solid, going-through rods follow international competition standards.
What it means for you:
- The feel of a real game. The rod moves as one piece, so pushes, passes and shots are direct.
- More room across the table. On our solid-rod tables the width with rods is 125 cm, while the cabinet itself is 74 to 77 cm wide.
- Care around small children. The rod end moves out on the far side, roughly at the height of a small child’s face.
Most tables in our catalog have solid rods, from the Garlando F-200 Maple to the ITSF official Garlando Pro Champion.
How telescopic rods work
A telescopic rod is built from sections that slide into each other. When you push it, the rod shortens instead of travelling through the cabinet, so the end never comes out on the other side. Garlando calls them safety rods: they never protrude from the cabinet, which protects children.
What it means for you:
- Safer with kids around. Nothing sticks out on the far side, whoever is standing there.
- Less room needed. For planning, count the cabinet width plus 18 cm per side instead of the full rod length.
- A different feel. Players used to club tables notice that telescopic rods play differently.
In our catalog the Garlando G-500 Pure White has telescopic rods, with chrome handles and an all-white cabinet.
Side by side
| Solid rods | Telescopic rods | |
|---|---|---|
| How they move | Through the cabinet | Inside the cabinet |
| Game feel | Club and tournament feel | Different from club tables |
| Small children nearby | Needs attention | Rod ends stay inside |
| Space across the table | Width with rods, 125 cm on our tables | Cabinet width + 2 x 18 cm |
Which one for your home?
Choose solid rods if the table is mainly for you and your friends. Adults who play hard want the direct feel, and a game night at home should feel like the real thing. The Garlando G-2000 Evolution fits this well: solid rods, 75 kg, leg levelers and a design that looks right in a living room.
Choose telescopic rods if small children live in the house or visit often, or if the room is tight. Our product notes suggest the G-500 Pure White for families with children under 10.
If you have both, decide who the main players are. If it is the adults, solid rods give the better game, and the rule is simple: little ones watch from the goal ends while a match is on. If the children will play every day, telescopic rods take one worry off your mind.
What it means for room size
Rods change the space you need across the table. Our room-fit rule:
- Solid rods: width with rods + 2 x 60 cm minimum, + 2 x 90 cm comfortable. For a table that is 125 cm with rods, that is 245 cm minimum and 305 cm comfortable.
- Telescopic rods: use the cabinet width + 2 x 18 cm as the width with rods. For the G-500 Pure White (76 cm wide) that gives 112 cm, so 232 cm minimum and 292 cm comfortable.
Along the table the rule is the same for both: length + 2 x 50 cm. More in How much space you need.
A word for offices and venues
Offices and bars usually choose solid rods: adults play, the game is fast, and the club feel is part of the fun. Telescopic rods make sense there only when space is very tight or children visit often.
Still deciding?
Our table finder quiz asks who will play and how big the room is, then suggests tables with the right rods. You can also compare models side by side in the catalog.
Questions about rods or a specific model? Write to SKF and we will help.