Blade/Rubber Recommendation
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Category: Equipment
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Topic: Blade/Rubber Recommendation
Posted By: h0n1g
Subject: Blade/Rubber Recommendation
Date Posted: 04/15/2015 at 11:02pm
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Hi there, a friend of mine has just gotten back to play regularly (twice a week). I'm not very up-to-date on equipment anymore but he's looking for advice. He has played at a pretty good level (state youth selection in Germany) in his youth (until he was 16, he's now 30) and casually until he was about 19 - so he hasn't played actively for 10+ years. He described his (previous) game as "offensive but tactical with FH top spins and backhand flips, chops and stops", some close and a lot of medium distance to the table. He doesn't remember his last blade but his rubbers were Sriver/TackinessD (FH/BH). His budged is "capped" at 300$. Please help me to help him! Thanks!
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Replies:
Posted By: asifgunz
Date Posted: 04/16/2015 at 11:34am
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Lol the irony. How is 300$ a cap xp. He can easily get double tenergies with a mid tier blade. However, it might ruin his form. I have seen too many players use tenergy who can barely rally with it. With that being said, You can go classic with double mark V's (ttjapan has for 24$ i believe) with a Xiom Aria or Stradavarius blade. I say strad because I have used it myself. Hayabusa would be too much for him, given that he has been away from tt for nearly a decade. You might want to give him a taste of hybrid. Double Big dipper on a clipper. Classic blade with new school rubbers. Finally, i would recommend staying under 100$ as a total price. Let him train with this equipment and once settled in, he should look towards pricier (better? idk) Stuff. -------------  "I do not have any idols. I am my own idol." - Zhang Jike Feedback: http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=71761&PN=1#905629 |
Posted By: h0n1g
Date Posted: 04/16/2015 at 12:16pm
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thanks for the reply. Re budget - that's why i put it in "" - basically he has enough money to play whatever fits his needs. Yea, he definitely doesn't want to go the Tenergy route as he reckons its too quick for him. He was interested in the Tenergy05 I believe but was unsure about speed. How different is the Stradivarius to i.e. the TB Spirit or the Korbel?
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Posted By: john18
Date Posted: 04/16/2015 at 1:09pm
Tenergy 80 or maybe the FX series (T05 fx , T64 fx ,...) are easier to control and of course are top quality if you have money. Here is a table of the different series :
For the blades, there are too many !  |
Posted By: asifgunz
Date Posted: 04/16/2015 at 1:34pm
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I cant really speak on the bty blades. For I havent used them. From the info I have come across before getting the strad , was that it was similar to timo boll something. The one with aramid. Just quicker on blocks. Lol I choose to stay away from bty products due to price hike. Unless your friend plays 6ft+ away from table, strad will do everything. At least it did for me. Let a couple of more people give their input and also have a read of reviews by the great reviewers all across our forum. ------------- "I do not have any idols. I am my own idol." - Zhang Jike Feedback: http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=71761&PN=1#905629 |
Posted By: Egghead
Date Posted: 04/16/2015 at 2:01pm
Why get a strad ?? shall get a Zetro Quad Zetro Quad w/ Bluefire M1 or MX-P or Fastarc (fh) / EL-P or fastarc (bh)
------------- Aurora ST: Rhyzm / Talent OX |
asifgunz wrote:Posted By: asifgunz
Date Posted: 04/16/2015 at 2:37pm
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zetro quad, even though a great blade, is heavy. Ones I have come across are all 92-94 grams. Plus a Strad imo gives better control on table. Hayabusa zxi has the best of both. Light weight (84grams) and power of the ZQ. I think it is still Xiom's priciest blade even with vega and Omega blades which recently came out. I have used Strad and my friends strad with many different rubbers. Mark V, to Hurricane, to Omega IV pro. Hence I can recommend it. ------------- "I do not have any idols. I am my own idol." - Zhang Jike Feedback: http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=71761&PN=1#905629 |
Posted By: Snakefish
Date Posted: 04/16/2015 at 10:46pm
$300 budget allows a lot of flexibility. For the blade, start with what kind of handle he wants to play with. This will help narrow down the brands to choose from. Then ask your friend, how many plies ? 5 or 7 ? all-wood or carbon ? Many different kinds of carbon to choose from. Definitely with his budget, must get a quality, well-made blade. Then you have to choose rubbers based on your style of play. As the style is already described, shouldn't be that hard to narrow down to a few choices. (lots of feedback on this board). If he doesn't want Tenergy, then stay away from Tenergy. ------------- Andro Treiber Z - fl FH: Tibhar MX-D max BH: Tibhar Quantum ProX-blue,max |
Posted By: h0n1g
Date Posted: 04/17/2015 at 2:25am
| thanks Snake, but do you have some concrete suggestions? He doesn't know if carbon or all wood or the ply count he likes. The carbon blades he tried back in the day used to be "too hard" and "without feel", thats what he told me. He believes he had a 5 ply blade. |
Posted By: asifgunz
Date Posted: 04/17/2015 at 11:59am
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I would say viscaria but im afraid thats too heavy as well. I came across this thread where a few people compare stradivarius, treiber k and a few other blades to viscaria. http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=68951&title=viscarialike-blade-from-other-brands I Hope its of help. ------------- "I do not have any idols. I am my own idol." - Zhang Jike Feedback: http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=71761&PN=1#905629 |
Posted By: Snakefish
Date Posted: 04/18/2015 at 5:43pm
Ask your friend what kind of handle he likes ? skinny, med, large ? flare or straight ? ------------- Andro Treiber Z - fl FH: Tibhar MX-D max BH: Tibhar Quantum ProX-blue,max |
Posted By: h0n1g
Date Posted: 04/18/2015 at 10:01pm
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His favorite is Anatomic but he's fine with Flared as well.
He likes medium to larger handles.
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Posted By: asifgunz
Date Posted: 04/18/2015 at 10:21pm
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I would start of with the thickest. St in most cases, and a sheet of sandpaper will let him work it into a shape of his choice. For most brands, the handles now are much different from those of a decade ago. ------------- "I do not have any idols. I am my own idol." - Zhang Jike Feedback: http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=71761&PN=1#905629 |
Posted By: Snakefish
Date Posted: 04/19/2015 at 3:04am
Good. This is a first step. Based on handle preference you mentioned, I would take a good look at: Nittaku, Adidas, Donic Maybees: Xiom, Butterfly After your friend has narrowed down to 1 or 2 brands to filter, then Next step is: all-wood or carbon. Today's carbon is so much better than those back in the day. ------------- Andro Treiber Z - fl FH: Tibhar MX-D max BH: Tibhar Quantum ProX-blue,max |
Posted By: h0n1g
Date Posted: 04/19/2015 at 4:54pm
| Is the Nittaku Violin or Acoustic something he should look at? |
Posted By: john18
Date Posted: 04/19/2015 at 6:16pm
Absolutely, they were 2 of the blades who came in my mind when I read your thread. Quality is top-notch (made in Japan), they are solid value for all-wood blades. The accoustic is a little bit faster but they are both excellent looping famous blades. I'm sure there are some guys here who could tell you more about these. |
Posted By: Snakefish
Date Posted: 04/19/2015 at 8:46pm
Yes, they were on my mind. I have a Violin-large handle. Just slightly little big for me as my hands are relatively small. But I can still play with it comfortably. The Violin is slower than Accoustic and you really feel the ball for loops. An Acoustic Carbon is faster than regular Acoustic. (you can read a lot of feedback in other threads). The regular flared handle is small based on what people here have said. I also have Latika. Really nice medium-size comfortable handle. It plays a little faster than what the ratings say. Looping & driving is effortless. Very good control also. Same as Butterfly-quality. I will be getting a Latika Carbon by June. So the Acoustic is an excellent choice  Let me know what your friend decides. Any other candidates ? ------------- Andro Treiber Z - fl FH: Tibhar MX-D max BH: Tibhar Quantum ProX-blue,max |
Posted By: h0n1g
Date Posted: 04/20/2015 at 12:05am
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so three more questions: 1) The Violin is about 150-160$ it seems. The Latika on the other hand is $70. Where does the discrepancy come from? 2) The other blades he's considering: Waldner Senso Carbon, Petr Korbel, TB Spirit 3) For rubbers, he's pretty set on the Rakza 7 Soft for the BH but still has no idea about the FH rubber, so suggestions are welcome. Vega Europe was mentioned by a friend of his and so was Tenergy 80 FX. 4) Are you selling your Violin? :)
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Posted By: Snakefish
Date Posted: 04/20/2015 at 10:12pm
1) Violin quality is very high & is a classic.. 5 plies are ash,ash,kiri,ash,ash. Latika is also 5 plies, but i don;t know what they are. Latika handle is a little thicker than regular Violin/Acoustic , but not as thick as Violin-large handle. Marketing costs. 2) Patr Korbel all-wood blade is a classic favourite of many. I find the handle small as attested by many mentioned on this board. TB Spirit is loved by many as an all time favourite, however, I think the handle is way too small. I had to wrap it for more comfort - for my small hands even. I am testing Waldner Senso Carbon this week. Handle is thick. A loopers blade with lots of control. 3) Rakza7soft is great choice for BH. Does FH attack ? Hitter? Driver? Looper? 4) Violin is integral part of my collection. It's staying put for now  I put T05 on FH and T80 on BH. Premium fast rubbers for a premium blade. Fantastic looping blade with excellent blocking control.------------- Andro Treiber Z - fl FH: Tibhar MX-D max BH: Tibhar Quantum ProX-blue,max |
Posted By: h0n1g
Date Posted: 04/21/2015 at 1:50am
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He can't find the Violin with a large handle anywhere :o He played with the TB ALC today and really liked it
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Posted By: Snakefish
Date Posted: 04/21/2015 at 2:26am
If handle of TB ALC not too small for him, then it should be a serious consideration. My friend uses it & loves it in every way. I have it, but not tested yet. The Violin large handle is out there (X-files music playing....) ------------- Andro Treiber Z - fl FH: Tibhar MX-D max BH: Tibhar Quantum ProX-blue,max |
Posted By: h0n1g
Date Posted: 04/21/2015 at 4:07am
| I actually got to correct what I wrote, after inspecting, the blade he played was a Butterfly Zhang Jike (Non ALC/ZLC) not a TB ALC. |
Posted By: roypnoy
Date Posted: 04/21/2015 at 9:52am
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Posted By: Snakefish
Date Posted: 04/21/2015 at 8:20pm
Was it the Zhang Jike pre-made ? it has carbon fibers. Not that good. There's the Zhang Jike alc - blue handle, ZJK alc, ZJK zlc, ZJK t5000 ------------- Andro Treiber Z - fl FH: Tibhar MX-D max BH: Tibhar Quantum ProX-blue,max |
Posted By: h0n1g
Date Posted: 04/21/2015 at 10:35pm
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It was the Zhang Jike (http://shop.butterflyonline.com/zhang-jike) He got to play with the Innerforce ZLF today and is trending towards this one now - he liked it even better than the Violin.
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Posted By: Snakefish
Date Posted: 04/22/2015 at 12:02am
That Zhang Jike link you mention - it does have arylate carbon, so it is ALC. Another friend of mine uses it & suits him. Good to hear your friend likes the Innerforce ZLF. Make sure your friend takes his time & tries to try out many different blades especially when willing to spend up to $300 ------------- Andro Treiber Z - fl FH: Tibhar MX-D max BH: Tibhar Quantum ProX-blue,max |
Posted By: h0n1g
Date Posted: 04/22/2015 at 1:18am
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He went and ordered the Innerforce ZLF with a Tenergy 80FX 1.9mm on FH and Rakza7 Soft in 1.8mm on BH.
He appreciated all the insight you guys provided him - thank you!
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