light weight blades (< 80g)

Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic

   Dear all, 
I would like to start a discussion/review on light weight blades for offensive play based on 
- heavy spins
- active blocks
- smash 
- mid-distance 

Motivation: some players can experience some shoulder injuries caused by using heavy blades and want to continue training using lighter racket while keeping closed performances than their heavier blades. 
Moreover, light blades can be useful for Juniors. 

After reading some comments on other forums, most players said that it is better to play with 85g~90g blade of super nice quality, that leads to effortless shots compared to light blades. Personally, I think that it could be true for mid-distance play. However, I think that heavy blades will demand more power during short reaction time (blocks, ...), leading to possible injuries. To me, this assumption motivates the use of light weight blades, and therefore it is worth to share players experience on such topic.   

Example of Light weight blades : 
Cornilleau AERO OFF+ (75g)
Tibhar Carbon Light (76g)
Donic Balsa Carbo Fleece (<75g)
YinHe T11+ (70g)
Tulpe 703 (80g)
Butterfly Maze Performance (82g)
Killers Blade "The Ripper" (60g) 

From my personal experience, I used Carbonado 290 (95g) with Xiom Omega VII Pro (2.1mm, 47g) and Victas V15 Extra (2.0mm, 50g). Total weight was about 190g. But I got shoulder injury ...

I changed to Donic Balsa Carbo Fleece, and it was really interesting but I lost speed and precision. I am currently using Cornilleau Aero OFF+, and despite some vibrations, this blade is very well balanced and fast while keeping good control. 

light weight Rubbers 
The choice of rubbers for such light blades is also interesting to debate since the weight of 2x rubbers is always closed to 100g. I found that T05 hard (44g) is not so heavy but has great speed, spin and control. V15 extra has similar performance but it is quite heavy (50g).

Below 170g : 
Aero OFF+ (75g) +  T05 Hard (2.0mm, 44g) +  Rasanter R47 (2.0mm, 47g) = 166g. 
YinHe T11+ +  V15 extra (2.0mm, 50g) + Xiom Omega VII Pro (2.0mm, 46g) = 166g.

Between 170g and 180g 
Maze Performance (82g) + DHS H3 blue (max, 48g) + Omega VII Pro (max, 47g) = 177g
Rapid Carbon Light (76g) + V15 extra (2.0mm, 50g) + MXP (2.0mm, 50g) = 178g

1- Does someone know if it exists some super nice quality blades < 80g ?
100% wood based, hand-made or any embedding layers such as ALC, ZLC, CAF etc... in order to get high speed / high control / light weight performances ? 
When writing this question, I had in mind some super nice blades like Andro Ligna off, Andro wanokiwami, Acoustic, Viscaria, ... 

2- what kind of rubbers should be mounted on those blades accordingly ?
This might lead to traditional discussion on Hard Blade / Soft Rubbers or Soft Blade / Hard Rubbers, but this is not the main purpose. The idea is keep the 4 above mentioned "offensive" criteria. 

Hope the discussion to be fruitful, 
Yours

Author	Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic
jaja31 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Beginner Joined: 10/30/2018 Location: Tokyo Status: Offline Points: 11	Post Options Post Reply Quote jaja31 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: ~~~~ light weight blades (< 80g) ~~~~ Posted: 11/11/2018 at 12:16am
	Dear all, I would like to start a discussion/review on light weight blades for offensive play based on - heavy spins - active blocks - smash - mid-distance Motivation: some players can experience some shoulder injuries caused by using heavy blades and want to continue training using lighter racket while keeping closed performances than their heavier blades. Moreover, light blades can be useful for Juniors. After reading some comments on other forums, most players said that it is better to play with 85g~90g blade of super nice quality, that leads to effortless shots compared to light blades. Personally, I think that it could be true for mid-distance play. However, I think that heavy blades will demand more power during short reaction time (blocks, ...), leading to possible injuries. To me, this assumption motivates the use of light weight blades, and therefore it is worth to share players experience on such topic. Example of Light weight blades : Cornilleau AERO OFF+ (75g) Tibhar Carbon Light (76g) Donic Balsa Carbo Fleece (<75g) YinHe T11+ (70g) Tulpe 703 (80g) Butterfly Maze Performance (82g) Killers Blade "The Ripper" (60g) From my personal experience, I used Carbonado 290 (95g) with Xiom Omega VII Pro (2.1mm, 47g) and Victas V15 Extra (2.0mm, 50g). Total weight was about 190g. But I got shoulder injury ... I changed to Donic Balsa Carbo Fleece, and it was really interesting but I lost speed and precision. I am currently using Cornilleau Aero OFF+, and despite some vibrations, this blade is very well balanced and fast while keeping good control. light weight Rubbers The choice of rubbers for such light blades is also interesting to debate since the weight of 2x rubbers is always closed to 100g. I found that T05 hard (44g) is not so heavy but has great speed, spin and control. V15 extra has similar performance but it is quite heavy (50g). Below 170g : Aero OFF+ (75g) + T05 Hard (2.0mm, 44g) + Rasanter R47 (2.0mm, 47g) = 166g. YinHe T11+ + V15 extra (2.0mm, 50g) + Xiom Omega VII Pro (2.0mm, 46g) = 166g. Between 170g and 180g Maze Performance (82g) + DHS H3 blue (max, 48g) + Omega VII Pro (max, 47g) = 177g Rapid Carbon Light (76g) + V15 extra (2.0mm, 50g) + MXP (2.0mm, 50g) = 178g 1- Does someone know if it exists some super nice quality blades < 80g ? 100% wood based, hand-made or any embedding layers such as ALC, ZLC, CAF etc... in order to get high speed / high control / light weight performances ? When writing this question, I had in mind some super nice blades like Andro Ligna off, Andro wanokiwami, Acoustic, Viscaria, ... 2- what kind of rubbers should be mounted on those blades accordingly ? This might lead to traditional discussion on Hard Blade / Soft Rubbers or Soft Blade / Hard Rubbers, but this is not the main purpose. The idea is keep the 4 above mentioned "offensive" criteria. Hope the discussion to be fruitful, Yours
	Amultart 88g - T05 2.1 - T05 2.1 Tokyo, League Division 2. Playing for more than 40 years

Sponsored Links

Hozuki Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Super Member Joined: 01/22/2017 Location: Germany Status: Offline Points: 477	Post Options Post Reply Quote Hozuki Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 11/11/2018 at 3:35am
	Light blades are light because they are soft or thin or have a small blade face. Due to that they lack power. And they do not pair well with hard rubbers. There is a good reason most light blades are beginner blades. Balance is also too head heavy with modern rubbers. And you need to swing harder. So it might actually feel heavier and more exhausting than normal, proven setups.

ericd937 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Gold Member Joined: 06/01/2012 Location: Saigon, Vietnam Status: Offline Points: 1191	Post Options Post Reply Quote ericd937 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 11/11/2018 at 6:02am
	I have a Photino Light which weighs less than 80 grams. It's also forsale or trade. It is in excellent condition. Let me know if you are interested. I would be interested in trading for any ZLC or T5000 type blades.
	Current Setup: TBS FH T80/BH D80 Official USATT Rating 1815 Current estimated level: 1800-1900.

nachalnik Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Super Member Joined: 09/05/2009 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 240	Post Options Post Reply Quote nachalnik Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 11/11/2018 at 10:40am
	Most of the blades with a balsa core will be lighter than 80 grams. I believe some of them are very fast like TSP 8.5 or similar. Also, balsa is pretty good for looping as it tends to be more controllable

MCollins Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Silver Member Joined: 05/28/2016 Location: Canada (NL) Status: Offline Points: 644	Post Options Post Reply Quote MCollins Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 11/11/2018 at 12:11pm
	A member on this forum, MDP, does handmade custom light balsa blades and he does a very good job. Surprisingly, they're good for offensive/topspin play - probably because he does a thin balsa core. It's certainly worth looking into.
	My Feedback http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=75703&title=feedback-mcollins

Slowhand Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Super Member Joined: 11/08/2018 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 159	Post Options Post Reply Quote Slowhand Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 11/11/2018 at 4:22pm
	Hadraw VK has Korbel speed but lighter weight. Shouldn't be too hard to find one at 80 grams or less.

alphapong Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Silver Member Joined: 05/11/2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 622	Post Options Post Reply Quote alphapong Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 11/13/2018 at 9:26pm
	Joola has a number of light blades. Air Carbon and Air Fiber are both very light. The Air fiber I got were around 60 grams. The Solja blade is like a lighter Primorac. The ones I have gotten were between 74 and 76 grams. I like this blade a lot for smaller developing players. Also, I have gotten Falcon medium as light as 73 grams and Eagle Carbon as light as 72. These can vary so you would need to ask that they weigh them and look for lighter ones.

lcj1128 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Beginner Joined: 12/10/2017 Location: south korea Status: Offline Points: 7	Post Options Post Reply Quote lcj1128 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 11/14/2018 at 2:50am
	andro treiber k - off speed, 75g~85g light weight, alc carbon

Kolev Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Gold Member Joined: 10/04/2004 Location: Belgium Status: Offline Points: 1529	Post Options Post Reply Quote Kolev Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 11/14/2018 at 3:34am
	The most obvious choice are the balsa based blades. They can be quite different even they share the same weight and material. The balsa itself can be softer or harder, flexier or not.For example the core of X5 is totally different visually and by touch compared to the core of my balsa carbon blades. The rest of my blades, although very different are all about 80gr. I just ask the shop keeper. Few examples: Senkoh 90-80gr!!!!(two of them) Foco off+ 80gr Latika. 80gr TB ZLC. 82gr 729-8030. 72gr Yinhe Qiu Yike carbon palisander 80gr
	Hallmark Carbon Extreme (x3) FH: D05/G1/RX BH: Z2/D64/Ω7Pro

ashishsharmaait Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Silver Member Joined: 02/27/2013 Location: India Status: Offline Points: 914	Post Options Post Reply Quote ashishsharmaait Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 11/14/2018 at 4:46am
	I have an unused XIOM Vega Pro which weighs 76g which I bought for my daughter. Just in case someone's interested.

~~~~ light weight blades (< 80g) ~~~~

light weight blades (< 80g)