Butterfly Photino

Any review for Butterfly Photino ??

ejmaster wrote: it is a good blade. that is why some pros are using it (smirnov, and some asian female). �

anyone knows the rubbers he uses on photino?

debraj wrote: ejmaster wrote: it is a good blade. that is why some pros are using it (smirnov, and some asian female).   anyone knows the rubbers he uses on photino?

I think that someone said Tenergy...

smirnov use tenergy on photino

hey thanks guys.. who is the asian female using photino?

I've been planning to go back to inverted both sides and a friend of mine at my club is selling me a used Photino (he says its too fast for him). My FH game is very well developed with more loop drives and smashes than brush loops. My BH is not very strong with occasional loops and hits, mostly I block and push aggresively. Usually I've no problem adjusting to my FH and I'm always craving for more speed.

I've played with a bunch of fast rubbers on my FH like Outlaw, Macro Era 47.5, Tenergy 64, H3, Sriver G3 and some others. What type of rubbers/sponges (hardness?) best suits the Photino for FH. How does the H3 Neo perform on it? I was thinking of starting of with a Palio HK1997 Biotech (36-38) on BH. Is that a viable option. Thanks.

Thanks for all input

mizutani_jun wrote: LOOPMEISTER wrote: Photino is a great blade. It has a very large sweet spot. And it has probably the most gears out of any mid-fast/fast composite blade... Lots of control and touch, and good power. Its a looping blade, but probably has the lowest throw, flattest trajectory out of any composite blade with similar speed. Here's a basic blade comparison with mid-fast rubbers like macro era, Narucross EX, or Plasma... (not Tenergy)... Control = Photino > Mizutani > TBS/ALC/Maze > Gergely 21 Speed = Gergely 21 > Photino > TBS/ALC/Maze > Mizutani Throw angle (high to low) = TBS/ALC/Maze > Mizutani > Photino > Gergely 21 Photino has enough flex and softness to loop with, but you can also hit laser beam counter drives and smashes, because of its thickness, speed, and low throw angle. And I think its relative stiffness is what makes it have good control on loops. So Mizutani is faster than TBS/ALC/Maze but with more control? That`s nice to hear.

Actually, Loopmeister says that Mizutanis has more control, but TBS/ALC/Maze are faster...

metallikviper wrote: If the Photino is better in speed and control than the Mizutani, TBS, ALC and Maze then how come it is not more commonly used. Is it the high thickness, the low throw or is it just a feel thing?

Good question. I don't know the answer.

However, with fast rubbers like Tenergy, Photino becomes very fast and the ball path is straighter, making it harder to hit a fast loop that curves down when you are close to the table... Its easier for power loops to sail off the table. The thinner Arylate/Carbon blades with more flex and higher throw angles are better for hitting powerful loops that curve down and hit the table when you are playing relatively close to the table with fast rubbers like Tenergy. (Although Photino is more stable than those blades for pushing, etc., regardless of the rubber.)

For about a year I had my Photino on the shelf for this reason.

But as I started playing with mid-fast rubbers with more control like Macro Era, I found Photino to be the best control + speed + spin blade I have ever used. It has gears the other blades don't have. You just need to be using the right rubber.

Another reason not many people use Photino is because its much more expensive than a TBS or Maze, for example. And its "older" than the new blades like ALC, Amultart, Mizutani, etc. Some people are also turned off by its thickness, even though with the right rubbers its got plenty of dwell for looping and tons of control.

The Photino also has the best handle you will ever feel. Its thick and comfortable.

The only thing I don't like about it is the yellow and blue color handle. It fades very quickly and doesn't look so great. Its probably my least favorite colored handle out of the Butterfly blades if that's even worth considering.

shamoo wrote: How does it compare to amultart? Hard to figure things out when a lot of blades have similar descriptions

They are very similar in construction... Similar thickness, outer plys, etc. Big difference is Amultart has carbon zylon weave, and Photino is only zylon. Amultart is significantly faster. Amultart also comes in SI, FL handle, while Photino comes in ST, FL.

photino looks too chunky

debraj wrote: chunky!!! i don't think i came across that adjective to describe a blade. well imo this blade plays really good with tenergy and hexer both.

Tenergy is just too expensive for me. I will defintely give the Hexer a try, but do you know which of the cheaper ~$20 rubbers pair well with the Photino.

really? actually like thin blades although past a certain point they lose oomf - if grubba carbon had punch I would go back to it. 

I just recently started playing with Photino and Tenergy 25 2.1mm on FH and BH. ... it's beautiful...the speed, spin and control are heavenly. 

It is extremely fast as many people indicate it is...but with suprisingly good control.  I think this set up would be best for generally offensive players, who  like to play with great pace in their game and who have at least a moderate level of skill level to control the ball and spin.... 

the tenergy 25 combined with this blade also has great explosiveness, so if you like fast attacks close to the table it is really good... mid distance looping is also very good..