OK this one is a minefield! There will always be a tendency to try the next bat and especially rubbers. Especially after you lose! Could get expensive! We cannot really go into it all here but we will introduce the topic!

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Bat and rubber materials vary the way the ball moves from your shot. Bat and rubber materials work in combination. Bats can be made of wood or carbon or both. Handles can be concave, flared or straight, Rubbers vary in sponge thickness, hardness, softness, they can have smooth rubbers (AKA inverted), they can be pimples out (AKA pips, which can be short, medium or long), anti-spin rubbers or spongeless (OX).  See what I mean it is endless! You can have different rubbers on each side of the bat. So you can go for a slow rubber on the backhand and a spinny fast rubber on the forehand for example. The shape is normally oval type but the rules allow for others such as the recent trend for hexagon! Whilst you may go for something standard in your bat and rubber choice be aware your opponents may not! 

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Bats and rubbers usually have a control, speed and spin rating with the packaging or web page advertise them.

There is also a website called revspin.net which gives you players opinions and also profile ratings on the bats and rubbers.

Note the ITTF approves rubbers and bats. Do not buy or learn with one of the ones not approved! 

One side of the bat should have a black rubber and traditionally the other side needed to be red. However in recent years the 'red' side can be another colour as the ITTF approved 4 different colours; blue, pink, violet and green.

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For juniors smaller bat sizes are offered.

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Beginner bats are often inverted rubbers. These are recommended for people starting. Go for the same rubber on both sides. Go for an all round rubber with a mix of decent spin, speed but perhaps with mostly control. This is good as you learn the strokes and the basics of the game. You do not need an expensive bat when you start. Get a good quality bat with rubbers you can control and start playing. Once you are further along in your TT journey and you know what kind of style you prefer and the top of strokes you have you can then change to a rubber specially designed for your play.