The Stag seamless is made by XSF?
In the UK first national tournament using the plastic ball (Stag), a current international female (a defender) did not make it out of her group.

Here's the final;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUVrQ-40Ye0Bqyx-NeTtorgw&v=dBfgsv39EY8

Here's the mens final
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emmHVk9kboA&list=UUVrQ-40Ye0Bqyx-NeTtorgw

kurokami wrote: regarding the reviews on which balls were best that had XSF at the top, are those only in ref to the 3* balls? we bought XSF training balls and they were pretty bad though don't have a comparison at the same quality level from other brands. it's just that celluloid training balls were still similar in performance. for the plastic, their 1* played very different from the 3* DHS and those again were different from the Joola 3*. ** so the current best plastic ball is Nittaku Premium?

Yes, and yes, only the 3* balls.

SEAMLESS BALLS   WILL FAVOUR THE DEFENDERS (because of the better bounce)    

Chinese Sports magazine has now came out with an article about some practical study of the three types of the balls now in general use in China..   The study proved in all evidence that the seamless plastic monosphere is the best BOUNCY ball.,   and therefore it is playing to the defender's hand best of all.

I have to fully agree with the article as to the seamless better elasticity..   Our domestic senior celebrity, whose play takes much after Shiono syntetic defensive play, did prefer Yinhe seamless to DHS seamed, after he found Yinhe is a ball easier to slap dowm.

在2012年中，本刊有幸获得了第一批无缝乒乓球的样
品，并在接下来的时间里不断进行跟进报道，从接触过的多次
不同的新球样品试打反馈来看，运动员都感觉新球的弹跳以及
弧线轨迹与还原和赛璐璐乒乓区域有所不同，在弹跳实验中，
我们以大家最常见的七层纯木底板为例进行多次弹跳实验。
   以固定高度球自然落体下降之球拍重心回弹的高度为例）
   赛璐璐乒乓球：300px
   新材料有缝乒乓球：287.5px
   新材料无缝球：362.5px
从弹跳实验的结果来看，回弹能力最强的是新材料无缝乒乓
球，其次是赛璐璐乒乓球，弹性最小的是新材料有缝乒乓球，
正如厂商工程师的分析，无缝乒乓球因为没有接缝，所以也更
均匀，在受力过程中的能量损失也更小，所以也能产生更强的
回弹，同时在微观上，新材料有缝乒乓球因为体积增大，所以
弹跳的高度也收到一定的影响，不如赛璐璐乒乓球回弹能力

regarding the reviews on which balls were best that had XSF at the top, are those only in ref to the 3* balls? we bought XSF training balls and they were pretty bad though don't have a comparison at the same quality level from other brands. it's just that celluloid training balls were still similar in performance. for the plastic, their 1* played very different from the 3* DHS and those again were different from the Joola 3*.

Edited by kurokami - 10/30/2014 at 12:32pm

I think that's a fair description to be honest, but it is better than the random elements you get with some of the other plastic balls.  Definitely harder to serve with really heavy spin but with a little practice you rediscover how to be deceptive.  All of the polyballs have less spin, it comes with the size. 

Good feedback Tassie!

Even though they seem to win me more points too (prossible for the same reason ), I can't get myself to like them (yet)...

Baal wrote: The thing I don't understand, though, is if it is just the label, why is one $2 more for a box of 6 than the other, and also, if one is for international market, why is a Canadian website able to sell both kinds?  I'm not trying to challenge what anyone has said, it just seems strange to me.  Maybe in the future most US and European vendors will only be able to sell the international version?  On the other hand, why would a company develop two different balls from a factory in China (not just the label) and get ITTF approval for both of them? ANYWAY, I like these ball a lot better than the seamed polyballs I have tried.

I am still a little confused on this.  Wish we can get some real technical truth on the 2 differently labeled balls as to their exact material make up (plastic formula). 

From the word back ppdepot got back from XSF about these 2 different labels....XSF and XSF Sports....


"Xushaofa Sports 3* Seamless balls vs. Xushaofa 3* Seamless balls
We have received many inquiries from players and coaches about the difference between the new 40+ plastic Xushaofa and Xushaofa Sports balls.
We forwarded the question directly to the manufacturer. Here's the answer that we got from the representative of the company, Ms. Xu:

There is really no significant difference as they are essentially the same product but with different stamps! Both brands are of 3-star quality and are seamless. However, since Xushaofa Sports balls were produced after Xushaofa ones, the former may be slightly better than the latter, which reflects the company’s ongoing effort to make its formula better.

Yang Jiang
Ping-Pong Depot"




So then to me... this statement at the end actually indicates they may very well have changed the plastic formulation and not just introduced a new logo for a different market.  And maybe a possibility of having a more perfectly round ball? (not sure about that though)

I also recall reading somewhere that there maybe a change in stiffness/softness to the ball with the latest ball (sports one) being softer to feel more like the celluloid balls.  It would be nice to see PPDepot do a compression test on the balls....haaaa   I know I'm dreaming there.

If anyone out there has both versions of these balls.....do a pinch test or let us know if you can feel any compression differences when hitting both. 



***  also i believe the XSF reply to PPD's question had a mistaken wording in it.  " the former may be slightly better than the latter,...  should read as  "the later may be slightly better than the former".


Edited by Rich215 - 10/06/2014 at 4:10pm

haggisv wrote: They must be different, or they would not have 2 seperate approvals.

Yes, the logo/label is different - hence they need a seperate approval.

But as reported, approval is a simplified process when the original manufacturer ball is already approved - new labled ones I guess is only paperwork thing....

So are they the identical ball with a different label?

Baal wrote: I am confused now about one thing.  Xushaofa appears to sell two grades of plastic 40+ seamless balls, both ITTF approved!  One is called Xushaofa Sports and the other is just called Xushaofa, and both come with a black label.  The sport version is slightly more expensive at pingpong depot ($2.00 more for 6 balls).  I am not sure what the difference is.  The ones I have tested so far seem to be the plain Xushaofa ball. http://www.facebook.com/804287529622465/photos/pb.804287529622465.-2207520000.1409073790./816600945057790/?type=1&theater

They are actually two different markets,sport=international. I have only tried the one on the right, the distributors are coming to market highly motivated to get their ball in play, hence the price difference, they were being introduced at an even lower intro-price earlier here in Canada by pongshop.ca and i have to say it is quite good, some younger ranked players were given some and they said there was no discerning difference betwenn them and the celluloids.

"



image source:ITTF Approved ball list.





Edited by thatguy - 08/26/2014 at 9:39pm

I am confused now about one thing.  Xushaofa appears to sell two grades of plastic 40+ seamless balls, both ITTF approved!  One is called Xushaofa Sports and the other is just called Xushaofa, and both come with a black label.  The sport version is slightly more expensive at pingpong depot ($2.00 more for 6 balls).  I am not sure what the difference is.  The ones I have tested so far seem to be the plain Xushaofa ball.

http://www.facebook.com/804287529622465/photos/pb.804287529622465.-2207520000.1409073790./816600945057790/?type=1&theater

NextLevel wrote: mhnh007 wrote: The XSF I tried break quite easily.  The 1st one breaks after about 10 mins, and during a rally, and when it breaks you know right away, and had to stop.  The 2nd one did not even last as long, had an edge ball on a hard loop, and broke the ball.  The 3rd one lasted the whole hour, but we were very gentle with it as it's the last we have. These were all ITTF approved, yes?   I am beginning to think that celluose diacetate is just not up to the job.

XSF aren't Cellulose Diacetate - to my knowledge it's impossible to mold seamless balls with this material - it's something different.

As for a previous question - indeed the red labled (non approved) XSF are different from the black labled (ittf approved) ones. Even to the naked eye the material (or maybe the wall thickness/or both) is different, less translucent for example - sound is different as well (the black labled ones much "less strange").

Durability is hard to say - I've played with a few for an incredibly long time, it seemed to be unbreakable - one example just cracked impressively (many cracks, but no parts flying around :-) ) after just a few minutes. They seem to be a bit sensitive to sharp edge impacts. If cut in parts the material seems not that brittle that it could seriously hurt anything/anybody  - to me it seems even less brittle than celluloid. Cracking might be a combination of sharp edge impact and fatigue....

I happen to like the seamed DHS balls more - the loss in forward speed is equal with a lower bounce (to me that's somehow more natural than higher bounce with less forward motion).

I guess this is a very personal thing and, Baal, I also guess your impression could be very different in combination with a different type of opponent?
A higher bounce/slower forward motion usually is a n easy killer for short pips hitters for example - or anybody who's good at flicks.

Best regards!

Yes, I am pretty sure that the event that cause my XSF ball to break would not have broken a celluloid ball.  This is a concern.

The XSF I tried break quite easily.  The 1st one breaks after about 10 mins, and during a rally, and when it breaks you know right away, and had to stop.  The 2nd one did not even last as long, had an edge ball on a hard loop, and broke the ball.  The 3rd one lasted the whole hour, but we were very gentle with it as it's the last we have.

Baal wrote: [QUOTE=Ray]Baal, As for high humidity, I am playing with these balls in Houston TX, a city that was built on a swamp on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.  Same humidity as New Orleans, Miami, etc.  They are fine here.  I don't know how they would be if you used them Tucson or Las Vegas. As for the wide variety of experiences, among the various reviews, I actually haven't read anything bad about how these particular balls play, probably because they haven't been used all that much yet.  But they are noticeably slower.  In very high humidity climates, you can occasionally expect any ball to sometimes slide a bit along the table.

High humidity ...... an ac acts as a dehumidifier to some degree, it depends on the room used, temperature, ac usage, foundation, walls, etc. I would assume most places to play in Houston have ac.