pls update any garaydia/hadraw reviews

so garaydia is slightly lower than tb series, faster than IF but less vibration? i'm not sure i like that even with hinoki outers like nexy 3.5G. was going to consider buying it or hadraw with my initials

While I am very happy to see these thick 3+2's back in the lineup after a short absence (and with all the handle options, especially ST!), I am disappointed there is no SZLC model.  I know my own needs very well now, knowing that a thick hinoki-composite 3+2 around 7mm is what fits me best.  I would be ready to splurge on a SZLC model.

Another disappointment are the suggested retail prices.  Looks like $200-300-even more are no longer taboo.

Since the glue ban I moved to thick 3+2 blades and I settled on a Xiom Strato, but in the Butterfly realm Primorac Carbon, Gergley, Sardius, Schlager, Amultart, Iolite, Photino, etc. are all just variations of the same theme.  Compared to today's popular sub-6mm blades, the biggest difference is in low speed touch.  Maximum speeds might be similar (depending on the blades you compare) but thin blades require a lot more input to bring the speed out of them.  Thick 3+2's block a lot better because of this.  However, you need a better touch around the net, but that was never the weakness of my game so these blades were a good fit.  My current racket is a 6.9mm carbon version, and I was looking for a slight, and I mean very slight reduction in speed and an increase in feel.  I felt that the Garaydia ALC's spec of 6.8mm and the use of ALC instead of straight carbon would be close to what I wanted on paper.

This turned out to be only partially true for reasons I did not anticipate.  First of all the blade was actually a bigger reduction in speed than anticipated, whether this is a bigger than expected difference between ALC and T5000, the shorter handle than my existing racket (lower leverage), or a combination, I don't know.  It was just a bigger reduction in speed than what I felt should've come out of very small changes in spec.

Second of all, Garaydia ALC did not provide more feel than my Xiom Strato (for Butterfly world purposes just think of it as a Primorac Carbon or Gergley).  The reason seems to be that this new-school 3+2 utilizes a different ratio between core and top plies.  If you look at all the original 3+2's, they almost all have massively thick and yummy top lies of hinoki to soften the combination of thick blade + composite.  Garaydia ALC (and possibly the other Garaydia blades) have thicker cores are relatively thin (for a 3+2) top plies.  The result is a sharper feel with about the same amount of vibration.

I was a good blade overall, very versatile, and as a slower 3+2 it sits in the middle ground between a pure looping blade and something that can also do sharp blocking and hitting.  I let it go though, mostly because I was more used to the handle on my old blade and the Garaydia wasn't a big enough change in the right direction for me to keep it.

I wish the market would make more of these types of blades but I think they've fallen out of favor with today's pros with the glue ban and poly ball, and a new generation of players who only started in the last 10-15 years or so probably only played with sub-6mm rackets.  I was in full "take my money" mode when BTY announced the Garaydia series but unfortunately they still like to make tiny handles and maybe I chose the wrong one.  Perhaps the ZLC is a better fit for me.  At the prices they're asking though, I think I'll just stick with what I have.

Garaydia ZLC feels different from most of the blade, i guess most people need time to adjust if you come from Timo ALC, Photino. And, some people may not like the feel that Garaydia ZLC have.

Garaydia ZLC has the same dwell time as Mizutani SZLC, but Garaydia ZLC is not springy.

I would say, Garaydia ZLC will become a stable looping blade for both BH and FH once you initiate the looping. If you like to do short ball placement or high ball defence, this blade will NOT be good. Some players who like to perform slow loop, short ball BH flick to top spin every ball, you should consider this blade, you will find this blade enable your top spin easily. You will be able to perform top spin continuously without using too much of energy.