Cornilleau Hinotec Off- review

background: played when younger for several years and started again 18 months ago (30 years later). now just started playing local league (spain). i practice as much as i can (3-5 times per week). i play double inverted and enjoy looping both sides (although my bh is more of a loop drive) but also enjoy playing defensive and touch shots.

i restarted 18 months ago with a cornilleau aero off blade and two equal friendship rubbers on both sides (put together by a local coach). after a year, one of the players at our club gave me a cast off tenergy 64 for my forehand saying i needed more power on it. it was gorgeous to loop and block with, but i couldn't push for toffee and had no feel for the short game. i then bought a pretty new rakza 7 soft max from another player at the club. this was much more forgiving and i could generate great spin on my serves, but still felt uncontrolled in the short game. 

the aero blade is very light and i didn't feel like i had much power. i had put mark v 1.8mm on my bh and although i had excellent control (dead blocks and touch shots were a dream to play) and was pretty consistent with drives and occasional loops, i had no power on my shots. and fast bh blocking (i know its also a technique failing) was very difficult. something had to change. i wanted a bit more speed, and a heavier blade with a bit more feedback.

so about 1 month ago i ordered 2 dawei inspirit (regular 2.0mm) rubbers. i wanted the same rubber on both sides and was hoping for a bit more speed on the bh without sacrificing too much control, and more control and consistency on the fh. where i live, there are no tt shops, but i visited barcelona over xmas and after holding lots of blades and bouncing lots of balls, i purchased a cornilleau hinotec off- blade. the st handle felt great in my hand (the only one which felt as comfortable was a stiga ebenholz and that was 100 EUR!) and i thought i'd stick with cornilleau as i'd been learning on the aero off anyway.

i've now been playing with the new combination (hinotec off-, inspirit on both sides) for 4 practice sessions and a league match yesterday.

first impressions: the st handle just feels great. i find the flared handle sometimes digs into the bottom of my palm. the wings are sanded as well. very comfortable. with the inpsirit rubbers on it, the balance had changed quite a bit compared to the aero off and mark v/rakza 7 soft: it felt a bit head heavy, but some grip tape helped with that. the finish of the blade is excellent. although it appears to be lightly factory sealed, i wiped on two very thin coats of polyu satin finish (nothing fancy, just local hardware store).

speed: although it's only an off- blade, it feels much bouncier than the aero off. that could also be the rubbers, but i've got much more power from all distances. this is especially true for my bh. (the whole setup weighs 185 gr, nearly 15 grs heavier than my previous setup, but i don't feel any extra strain on wrist or shoulder)

looping: i instantly felt comfortable looping both sides. the blade has quite a bit of vibration (as opposed to the aero off which has hardly any), which i like. i get a real feeling of hitting the ball.

blocking: excellent. i was even blocking from close to the table in my match yesterday, something which i mostly don't have the confidence to do.

overall: i feel like i've found a combination which i won't have to change for a while. the blade and rubber combination behaves predictably which is exactly what i was hoping for. after only one week's play i was already able to go for my shots on both sides.

i haven't tried many blades, so i can't compare. i have hit for a bit with a primorac off- and the vibration felt similar. i think for 40 eur the hinotec off- is a really good blade to develop with.

p.s. i lost both league matches in the final set 11-8 against two pretty good juniors, both of whom thrashed me last year! next year they are toast lol!