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Review: Dr N World Champion blade

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JimT View Drop Down
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    Posted: 07/27/2012 at 3:00pm
Disclosure: the blade was donated to me for review by the manufacturer.

Brand: Dr. Neubayer (www.drneubauer.com)
Model: World Champion (name is perfect - just for you, buddy!)
Class: OFF-
Handle: FL, 100 mm
Weight: 80 g
Face dimensions: standard
Thickness: approx. 7.8 - 7.9 mm
Plies: 5W

Quality of design and manufacture - very decent. However the handle is made mostly of balsa, is very soft and a bit fragile. Other than that, no complaints.

Pricing - PP sells it for $70. Dandoy sells it for $50 USD, DrN himself - for about $65 USD, OOAK - for $65 AUD, etc.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JimT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07/27/2012 at 3:01pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JimT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07/27/2012 at 3:01pm
Main review:

So I put on it some standard, simple and reliable, rubbers - Air Illumina Alpha on FH, Palio Blitz on BH - and started playing.

Right off the bat (pardon the pun) it was clear that this is at most OFF- blade. When I moved away from the table, I had trouble returning the balls with my regular swing. That does not mean anything bad - just the speed rating of the blade.

So here goes:

Speed: From ALL+ to OFF- . There is no carbon and wood seems to be mostly softish and rather slow. The outer layers however are thin and a bit harder which helps to make this OFF- rather than ALL blade.

Spin/Flex: no flex. Spin is OK for such a thick blade as it is relatively soft, with decent dwell time. But you need thick inverted rubbers to help with spin as there is no catapult produced by flexible blades on stronger strokes.

Dwell time: pretty good. At least as good as my BBC Ultima or Yinhe W-1. Comparable to 729 V-6.

Control: a little better than W-1 but requires good wrist and touch. Sensitivity is quite OK.

Throw angle: medium, same as W-1 imho

Bounce: not very bouncy. DrN promises there is no balsa used in the core and it is true. It is not similar to his other thick blocking monsters, and so there is no annoying bounce which helps to clear the net but certainly doesn't help in properly controlling the ball when you are playing with offensive inverted rubbers. With pips, yeah - but not with my rubbers.

now to the specific strokes

Loops: you need relatively fast and thick rubbers to make your loops spinny. OFF- speed helps to put the powerful loops on the table but you have to do all the work by yourself.

Drives: fine; not great but very decent

Blocks: it is a thick blade with no balsa, so with proper rubbers it blocks better than your average blade. More than adequate.

Short  game: there is still some little pop around the net. It seems the blade is really intended to be used with short pips or fast long/medium pips which will of course take care of that little extra bounce when your stroke is not too fast.

Lobbing/fishing: don't go too far from the table or be prepared to do some extra work on your lobs

Passive game and defense: it's OK - nothing extraordinary. The dwell time on passive strokes is not very high, probably due to somewhat harder outer layers (relative to what I am comparing to  - thick WRC on my Ultima and soft juniper on 729 V-6). It might be playing quite differently with slower rubbers and/or pips, but that is for someone else to decide.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JimT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07/28/2012 at 8:10pm
Oh my god! Nobody is interested in this blade? Cry

What has the world come to? But no kidding - I think that there are so many many blades, like literally thousands of more or less mass produced blades from 40-50 manufacturers that there is no way people can reliably keep track of them.

That's why when someone asks me "what do you think of this not-so-famous XYZ blade, will it work for me" then in 88% of the cases my answer is "I have no idea... and maybe not a lot people do".

But still perhaps somebody out there is playing with this one, or interested in it - so I am making this tiny contribution in hope it will help this one lonely connoisseur in his quest. Go forth my friend!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote IanMcg Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07/28/2012 at 9:47pm
In the last pic the left top ply looks two times the size of the right top ply

Also do you have a sheet of anti laying around to test on the World Champion? I think thats what all, if not most, Dr. Neubauer blades are designed to work with. Funky material.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JimT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07/28/2012 at 10:00pm
Originally posted by IanMcg IanMcg wrote:

In the last pic the left top ply looks two times the size of the right top ply

Also do you have a sheet of anti laying around to test on the World Champion? I think thats what all, if not most, Dr. Neubauer blades are designed to work with. Funky material.


I think it is just the lighting issue - I examined the blade and it is symmetric.

Also - I would gladly send it to someone in the CONUS who wants to play it with anti or pips and promises to write a proper review. I do not need the blade anymore, and Dr.N surely would be glad to get another review from a proper anti/pips player (which I am not).
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ddaw Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07/28/2012 at 10:14pm
I would love to write a review about it! I am playing with long pips BH and H2 on my forehand. You can ask Fatt about my qualifications! ;) I have tested close to 100 blades, now play with Off- or All around blades. I play 3 to 4 times a week so I can give it a good test drive!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JimT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07/29/2012 at 7:57pm
OK. I have another "suitor" and if he also pans out then we will arrange the queue. In the meanwhile, ddaw, why don't you PM me your mailing address. Thanks!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote haggisv Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07/29/2012 at 8:04pm
It sounds like the performance is quite similar to a balsa blade... perhaps the thick inner ply, instead of being balsa, has been replace with another soft wood with similar properties? How soft does the inner ply feel?
Balsa blades are often not that good for looping, and usually run out of steam away from the table, but they tend to excel at hitting and blocking.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JimT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07/30/2012 at 11:49am
Originally posted by haggisv haggisv wrote:

It sounds like the performance is quite similar to a balsa blade... perhaps the thick inner ply, instead of being balsa, has been replace with another soft wood with similar properties? How soft does the inner ply feel?
Balsa blades are often not that good for looping, and usually run out of steam away from the table, but they tend to excel at hitting and blocking.



I haven't tried to push into the wood of the core with my nail or anything like that - but it is probably pretty soft and light as the blade is 8 mm thick and only weighs 80 g.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JimT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08/13/2012 at 12:10pm
The blade was just sent to ddaw - hopefully he will write another full review and then perhaps some of his clubmates could hit with it as well. The quest continues!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ddaw Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08/28/2012 at 11:14pm

A little about me: My rating is around 1500 but play and beat players to the 2000 range ;) My style is a close to the table attacker with my forehand, I loop and smash but like equipment that allows me to play rallies. On my backhand I play long pips OX, I mostly block and push with them and try to change speed and spin.

My first impression of the Blade was that it was beautifully made, very light and felt really good in my hand! Even though they say it is not a Balsa blade it looks and feels like one.

 I was very excited to try out this blade and see how it played with long pips. I first threw on Sriver EL on the forehand and 729 755 OX on the back hand I went to the club.
 

The fore hand play was very nice and controllable close to the table and had enough speed for me to still hit past my opponent, but the farther I got away for the slower and slower the blade got. I can say I never hit the ball off the table but almost all my balls were returned.  To me I would rate it an ALL Around blade.

Regarding the backhand, 755 OX did not work at all! The blade is too fast to block close to the net and shoots straight ahead with not much movement.

After my first experience playing for about 2 hours with it, I was not very excited! But I decided to give it another try with a different set up! So I put H3 Neo on the forehand and short pips 1.5 sponge on the back side.

I felt almost the same about the forehand even with the harder rubber rating it an ALL Around blade okay close to the table. But the backhand was AWESOME with the short pips! I was able to smash and even loop with my backhand (This could be because the blade made up for my bad form and lack of power J but everything hit the table!

So here goes:

Speed:  Forehand All around – Backhand with pips OFF- . The ball bounces off the blade very fast but dies.


Spin/Flex:  Very stiff with no flex. I had very good spin with H3 not so much with Sriver close to the table. I didn’t feel the blade gave much dwell time but agree with JimT thick rubber helps! The stiffness makes it great for quick attacks but not so good for feel away from the table. With pips the ball shoots right off J

Dwell time: Not much Dwell time if you call it an All Around blade. Dwell time is consistent with an OFF- blade, but may lack the power for that classification if you take a step back from the table.

Control:  Very good control with inverted rubbers. With pips not as much (short pips

Throw angle: medium

Bounce: Forehand with inverted not bouncy at all, with pips a lot of bounce.

 Specific strokes

Loops: Close to the table very controllable and good spins. Away from the table controllable but lacks offensive power to hit winners unless you have great placement.

Drives:  excels with short pips, but only average with inverted. Short pips 9/10

Blocks: Very easy to block with inverted! Long pips not for this blade, if you push even a little bit ball flies off the table, short pips did fine but I had to work to keep it close to the net. 8/10

Short  game:  good with inverted  and short pips  7/10

Lobbing/fishing: not a strength 6/10

Passive game and defense: To me this blade is not for defense, step up to the table and get ready to fire away with fast hard inverted forehand  rubber and short pips or soft inverted on backhand.

 

I let a few of my club mates that play with pips try it out ,Long pip players get not like it at all , but short pip players love it!!!

I have one club mate trying it out with medium pips this week!

 

So who wants to try it next??????? Looking for next tester ;)

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tsanyc Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08/29/2012 at 9:35am
the visual appearance is everything to me in a blade.  That's just maybe meConfused
Some of these Dr. N blades are pretty expensive and really just "Normal" lookin', not bad looking..Tongue
 
The blade, handle designs are really important.  For the money, materials and its use (mostly def blades), I would settle with a Joola Chen or a Donic Defplay or a Bty JSH. 
 
Just my 2 cents..
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JimT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08/29/2012 at 10:23am
Thanks, ddaw.

I would also call it rather ALL+ blade; and it is not imho for defenders who play slow-down-the-ball kind of game on BH. It is rather for people who (if they use pips) attack on BH with their pips by aggressive blocking or flat hits. And in that the blade is pretty good. Also, as ddaw confirms, this one is for close-to-the-table players mostly.

So I can easily imagine 2-3 players at my club using it - they play exactly in that manner. They attack or play placement game on FH, and do flat hit or quick block with their short or medium pips on BH. Since they are over 50 (or even over 60) they do not run much and stay close to the table at all times.

As for tsanyc's claim "the visual appearance is everything to me in a blade.  That's just maybe me" - I should say that it is a commonplace feeling but really it is just you Wink (and a few other guys). I think that the majority of players care more about how the blade plays.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tsanyc Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08/29/2012 at 2:20pm
Originally posted by JimT JimT wrote:

Thanks, ddaw.

I would also call it rather ALL+ blade; and it is not imho for defenders who play slow-down-the-ball kind of game on BH. It is rather for people who (if they use pips) attack on BH with their pips by aggressive blocking or flat hits. And in that the blade is pretty good. Also, as ddaw confirms, this one is for close-to-the-table players mostly.

So I can easily imagine 2-3 players at my club using it - they play exactly in that manner. They attack or play placement game on FH, and do flat hit or quick block with their short or medium pips on BH. Since they are over 50 (or even over 60) they do not run much and stay close to the table at all times.

As for tsanyc's claim "the visual appearance is everything to me in a blade.  That's just maybe me" - I should say that it is a commonplace feeling but really it is just you Wink (and a few other guys). I think that the majority of players care more about how the blade plays.
JimT,
I used Bulldog once with LP on BH and YinHe M2, it played ok, not too too bad.  With the same rubbers, I switched over to Joola Chen WXing, what a big difference!  Chen is more aggressive and hits harder than Bulldog. 
 
Maybe I'll give DNWC a try... but more of these DRN blades are around 80~120 range... IMO, a lot of money.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tsanyc Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08/29/2012 at 2:23pm
what are those 2 thin greenish layers near the core?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JimT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08/29/2012 at 4:51pm
Originally posted by tsanyc tsanyc wrote:

what are those 2 thin greenish layers near the core?


I think they only look greenish on photo - that could be carbon? or perhaps just an optical illusion created by a  thin glue layer.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ddaw Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08/29/2012 at 5:49pm
There is NO carbon! lol I just looked ;) You can see a small glue line on the blade , but the photo makes it look bigger than it really is!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ddaw Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08/29/2012 at 5:52pm
Hey I just bought the Dr N Firewall and it is only a little slower than the World Champion! Firewall is still to fast for my Pips OX ;)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ddaw Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01/07/2013 at 9:47pm
Anybody want to try this blade?

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