5ply wood blade, comparisons?

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a 5ply wood blade, but don't know which one. It should be slower then a TBS and have some more flex. Could someone tell something about their experiences with blades in this category? Important factors are not too heavy and stiff and no large head size.

Would like to know more about:
- yasaka extra
- donic dicon
- tibhar s. alpha
- stiga oc

Maybe some other ones worth mentioning?
Thanks!

hey karabijntje why don't you try a Stiga OC or OC CR? great 5 ply blade. Lots of feeling en enought speed. What level are you playing in de Dutch competition? could be important by the choice of your blade. Stiga OC CR with Stiga boost TS is working for me. Hurricane Hao is also worth mentioning by the way.

Stiga sucks, I tried NCT offensive and it wasn't bad, but the finishing of the blade is ugly. On the first day of using it I had to take the rubber, the top ply got splintered and a chunk got taken off.. this never happened with me before.

i have OC non WRB and OC CR non WRB pen version, and yes the CR does feel a little more solid than normal OC and a little less vibration and little more speed. but still lots of feeling

So Sallom, we proberbly see your Stiga Offensive NCT penhold in the for sale/trade section

atin wrote: i have OC non WRB and OC CR non WRB pen version, and yes the CR does feel a little more solid than normal OC and a little less vibration and little more speed.�but still lots of feeling So Sallom, we proberbly see�your Stiga Offensive NCT penhold in the for sale/trade section

Don't think I'll sell it, I don't know how to post stuff in regular mail and I don't have experience in it :O

Thanks for the info all. I was looking at the construction of the blades, here's a nice topic on it: Blade's Composition List. Looks like dicon and OC (new) have the same wood types. (limba-spruce-ayous-spruce-limba) Is there anyone who has used these blades?

pushchop wrote: You just described an Avalox Blue Thunder 550.  It's designed for close to table play and great for looping.  Does not have enough speed to play far from table.  Mates well with harder rubbers.  I tried T05 on it, and yes it was faster but felt somewhat odd with flexible blade and spring sponge both combining speed at different gears.  It's on the lighter side, at about 79g.  Head size is average.  If you like controlled looping, it's great.

As my main blade for the last year, I can vouch for this blade.

Similar but superior to OC in virtually every way except for smashing and blocking.

It's ridiculously easy to loop with. Superb control for over the table.

It's also good right out to mid distance paired with faster rubbers. Not good for far from table.

What level of play / rating / style are you?

I know this is a "beginning intermediate" (US800-1400) blade - but I know several players around 1700 (control loopers/ off the bounce blockers) who also use  it).

OK, I have all of them, with the exception that the Extra is the 3D version.

Extra 3D is medium slow in speed.  Good feedback.  A really good looping blade.  Too bad, I have the Extra 3D and not the original Extra.  So I can't really help you here about Extra.  For Extra 3D, it has 3 slots going inside the handle, making this blade elastic.  The good thing for elastic blade is that it can catapult your shot greatly, giving extra kick and spin in your shots.  However, the bad thing is that for blocking or smashing, it is not good unless you can consistently hitting on the middle of sweet-spot.  Mine is 83 grams only, so it is quite light.

Samsonov Alpha is a unique blade.  It has small head, so you will have problem using your rubbers for other blades, since most (if not all) of them are bigger.  Although it is thin but it is stiff, yet has soft feeling, making it a good balanced blade.  It is good for looping (soft surface, good dwell time) and good for hitting / blocking (because it is stiff).  But being stiff and soft, it has no catapult effect, so your shots will be linear, meaning what you give is what you get.  For controlled offensive style, this is one of the best blade.  Too bad, the head size is small and it is quite light (mine is 83 grams only).

Dicon is a good blade.  I have one, but not J.O. Waldner Dicon, but Master Dicon (same thing, as I have verified this with Donic).  Mine is about 87 or 89 grams (can't remember), so weight is good for me.  Now, it is quite stiff at the beginning, especially for slow to medium fast strokes.  But if you swing hard, it is a bit flexible, so you get the catapult effect also.  So it is stable for short game (not flexible) but catapult your shots when you hit hard (a bit flexible).   Of course, I am saying this based on playing with All+/Off- wood blades which are usually soft and quite flexible.  If you compare with composite blades, Dicon is considered quite flexible.  This is a better option compared to OC-CR, as I found OC-CR too flexy and vibrates too much (especially the WRB version).

OC-CR  WRB (83 grams) and non-WRB (86/87 grams, can't remember specifically).  Non-WRB is more balanced and has less vibration (still vibrates quite strong).  I think because it is only 5.5 mm in thickness (as supposed to Dicon which is 5.7 - 5.8 mm in thickness).  It is a good looping blade but not too good for smashing / blocking because it is springy and quite flexible.  Dicon is better in this aspect and still OK for looping. 

I wish I have more to write but it has been years since I used them, so those comments are from memory.  Hope it helps.

Sorry pushchop!

 i was asking  karabijntje - and agreeing with your description!

Xiom Aria is basically a BT555/BT550. Composition is the same: Limba-Spruce-Ayous-Spruce-Limba.

Don't know the thicknesses of the Blue Thunders, but Aria is 6.4mm. Soft and stiff. Soft for looping, stiff and thick for good blocking and smashing. Short game touch is also good.

Xiom just came out with Aria Lite which is a thinner blade at 5.7mm. I think the original Aria is perfect, the thinner version is bound to lose stiffness and explosiveness/power.

Xiom straight handle is squarish and thick, so good for big hands. Flared handle is also very nice, and smooth.

icontek wrote: addoydude wrote: Xiom Aria is basically a BT555/BT550. Composition is the same: Limba-Spruce-Ayous-Spruce-Limba. The 550 is both soft and FLEXIBLE. Unlike the Aria, it was not designed for smashing or passive blocking.

Ah, then Aria must be the improved version of BT550. :) Aria Lite is probably more like the BT 550.

"Absolute no soft feel" -- that seems excessive description. Surely the Aria (limba-top, no carbon) cannot be hard. I have a Galaxy K4 (koto-top, with kevlar-carbon) that is about same speed, but definitely not the same hardness. Comparing K4 and Aria, K4 would be hard and fast, Aria would be soft and fast.

As I have already mentioned a few times, among 5-plies wood blades for me nothing beats (so far) Nexy Color. It's an OFF-/OFF class blade - read the review on it among recent threads.

What is the second layer of Aria? How thin are the BTs?

JimT wrote: As I have already mentioned a few times, among 5-plies wood blades for me nothing beats (so far) Nexy Color. It's an OFF-/OFF class blade - read the review on it among recent threads.

Thanks JimT, it looks very tempting. Could someone explain the differences between limba and hinoki outer plies?