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Nittaku Ludeack Fleet review courtesy of TT11

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slevin View Drop Down
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    Posted: 07/03/2014 at 1:33pm
Tabletennis11 sent to me the Nittaku Ludeack Fleet (LF) blade for review.


I have tested it side-by-side with the following blades
Nittaku Acoustic Carbon (NAC)
Nittaku Violin (L)
Nittaku Rutis Power
Nittaku Meister Holz Sieben
Mizutani Jun (MJ)
ZJK-ALC

Appearance: Great Nittaku quality, as expected.
Dimensions: 159x152mm
Weight: 88.3gms
Blade thickness: 6.33mm
Composition: Assuming that the other layers are the same as the Ludeack (which it seems): Limba - Glass fiber - Ayous - Ayous - Ayous - Glass fiber - Limba 

Bounce test: Nice, soft and with good dwell. Feedback felt nice and dull (unlike that of the NAC which felt more precise). On higher bounce, one can notice that the LF feels like a class slower than the NAC. The LF has more dwell and is overall, softer.

I put on T05 on each side first and then later tested the blade with Tibhar Evolution MX-P and Andro Rasant Grip.

Overall viewpoint: Wow! A stunner! Basically, I'd give it the same overall rating as the Nittaku  Acoustic Carbon but it has a slightly different objective.

This blade, while big, has a phenomenal FL handle (possibly the best I've ever used). It has exceptional balance (not head heavy at all, even at 191gms overall combo weight with MX-P / 5Q VIP) unlike the NAC.

I've owned a Ludeack before. For some reason, I felt that this blade was actually slightly less bouncy and softer than the Ludeack! It seemed to have better control as well.

It has a large sweet spot, soft feel on looping and excellent spin potential. Great all-round blade. Personally, I would pick this blade rather than a Ludeack or a Clipper any day of the week.

Let me compare this blade to the ALC family (as like them and unlike the MJ / NAC, this blade offers a similar soft dull feedback & a solid feel given it's thickness). Compared to the TB-ALC, et al, this blade offers a much better feel & more feedback. It is just as consistent & solid, is a touch slower, more forgiving, similar throw and offers better spin on low to medium strokes (& about the same spin on larger strokes). The glass fiber seems to have a nice, dampening effect.

What I did not like about this blade: I'd LOVE the same blade but with a standard 157x150 size. However, a lot of recent blades are made with this large a size (the Hayabusa & Innerforce series for example). 


Edited by slevin - 07/03/2014 at 4:47pm
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tabletennis11 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tabletennis11 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07/03/2014 at 4:32pm
Thanks for the review! Very professional and interesting to read.

For your information, this week we have a special offer for Nittaku Ludeack Fleet. 
20% off.
:)
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hithithit View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote hithithit Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07/03/2014 at 4:53pm
Yes, thanks slevin and tabletennis11 for the review and equipment sponsorship, respectively. I too give a thumbs up to Ludeack Fleet, having owned one but gave it away to a friend after I got my Acoustic Carbon (which I think is also great). Both incidentally are available at tabletennis11 whom I must make clear have no association with but have purchased from them a few times in the past - very reliable. Rutis Power is also a great blade, like a baseball bat in the mould of a table tennis blade, as independently reviewed by slevin and which I also have owned but gave it to a friend who just didn't want to give up his old racket (which was doing him more harm than good). It too, is also available at Tt11.

@TT11, slevin gave me the bad news that someone stole his Mizutani Jun :( since he has given such great reviews and seems like a decent person, any chance you could please leave him a blade to keep, maybe the Nittaku Acoustic Carbon? Or if I am not asking too much, send him instead a Nittaku Resoud, without the case that comes with it should be fine I think) haha joking about the Resoud :)

Edited by hithithit - 07/03/2014 at 4:59pm
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kurokami View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kurokami Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07/03/2014 at 9:28pm
Nittaku Ludeack Fleet Review
tested with Andro Rasant, Tibhar Evolution MX-P (pre-glued)
my primary racket: Viscaria with H3N Provincial, Tenergy 64

First, for those of you concerned with Nittaku handle sizes, this FL blade handle was on the large side, similar to what you'd expect from Stiga (so no worries, those of you with larger hands). The balance and heft reminded me of the Clipper CR non-WRB. 

Speed: very fast/OFF+. From drives to loops at close range to off the table, everything zipped! The speed is closer to the ZLC range than ALC, maybe even faster than IF ZLC, but close enough to question. The glass fiber plies add a bit of flex and vibration touch while adding speed to the original Ludeack blade.

Feel: stiff, on the hard side. While you get some flex and vibrational feeling, some of that is contributed by the wood, and it's the glass plies that provide most of that feedback. You get more direct (not strong, but clear/pinpointed where it is) feedback and less "woody" vibration at the brief instants when you contact the ball compared to ZLC composites. I would give the LF a "hard" rating on the Butterfly scale. 

Control: Shots are very crisp and hard topspins can be as spinny as with any other blade. Dwell time is on the low end, less than Butterfly ZLC blades. Impulse force is higher than with most blades so play strategy will still hold similar advantages. As a result, you'll get directional control when blocking, hitting, countering, or driving. The rapid bounce and firm rebound allows you to control shots aggressively: just as when you dampen stronger spin shots by giving it a little punch, this does it for you. Strong drive counters and punching through all loops from anywhere on the court are what these factors mean for this blade.

Conclusion: I would classify the Ludeack Fleet as an aggressive attacker's blade best suited for hitters/counter-drivers mid-range to off the table (Japanese/European style modern attack play). It's a suitable alternative to ZLC blades with Glass Fibre ply technology to increase flex, reduce wood vibration, while adding speed for the modern game.


Edited by kurokami - 07/03/2014 at 9:30pm
Viscaria
H3N/T05
http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65345&KW=&title=feedback-kurokami
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote slevin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07/03/2014 at 9:53pm
Great review, Kurokami. Very detailed.Clap

A question: in your description of attributes like speed & dwell, were you testing the blade or the combo as a whole (Ludeack / MX-P / Rasant Grip) as compared to your personal combo (Viscaria / H3N / T64)?
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kurokami View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kurokami Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07/05/2014 at 9:54pm
testing the blade as a combo. i just left the MX-P and Rasant that were on there already.  
i listed my personal setup so ppl know where i'm coming from and what i'm used to.
Viscaria
H3N/T05
http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65345&KW=&title=feedback-kurokami
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote assiduous Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07/11/2014 at 2:42pm
Being always the third one to test those blades, I notice my perceptions are very close with those of kurokami. I don't want to write another long review confirming 90% of what kkami said, but I have to say a few words of my own anyway
Quality: below Nittaku average. Looks like a stiga handle. REALLY comfy and wood is kind of grippy instead of smooth. I prefer grippy wood surface cos my palms sweat a lot and smooth wood feels terrible in my hands. Still, with respect to aesthetics, the blade is on the low end of Nittaku range. Perhaps I am influenced by the fact that I received it simultaneously with 

Nittaku Meister HolzSieben

which is absolutely amazing in appearance. 
Speed: Fast, OFF+. Just like kkami described.
Stiff, Hard, No Vibration, Little Dwell. Again like kkami described.
Control: EXCELLENT. The blade will land desperate returns from really far. In looping the ball goes straight to where you are guiding it. The high speed really helps in this regard, because you can focus your effort on the control, instead of swinging like a mad man. 
Feel: HOLLOW. This is the only area where I am disappointed. Slevin mentioned solid, but I have to disagree. Perhaps solid in meaning that it does not vibrate or flex, but the blade feels kind of hollow to me, like it is full of high pressure air, or like it has styrofoam in the middle. I played some real matches and got excellent results right off the bat, but I cannot get used to this hollow feel. Hollow feel was THE ONLY reason I sold ZJK SZLC. It bothers me. I prefer the solid wood feel of ZLC, ALC to some extent, Mazunov, Koto in general. Acoustic Carbon has much more solid feel compared to this glass fiber.
Purpose: Agressive Attack. Musch like kkami described. Unlike Acoustic Carbon, this blade has the speed to really rough up a defender without having to swing like mad and lose control in the process. That's what people don't understand when they say YOU make your speed. Swinging mad inevitably results is loss of control, that increases exponentially as you increase power. I would not call it punching blade because looping was very high-control even on high speed. Not much dwell, but control is so good that you land them anyway. To be honest, if you have lots of dwell, you ain't gona have great control. Its a tradeoff you have to make.
All in all, if hollow feel does not bother you and you are attacker, I can recommend this blade if you can afford it. Keep in mind that 'FEEL' has no actual benefit in the game, and is really personal preference, and also note that I have always played with BTY blades and may be just used to their feel.
puppy412 : Sorry man, I don't mean to sound disrespectful, but I know that more training will make me better, I don't need to come here to figure that out
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mg Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09/08/2014 at 11:25am
So it is my turn to write a few words about the Ludeack Power and I must say I really like it, the last test blade that impressed me that much was maybe Tibhar Inca. I should say that I play rather close to the table, offensively on both wings - looping/loop-driving/driving, with occasional blocking on the BH-side, I prefer flicking to pushing when receiving and I rely on variation in my serving.
I agree that the LF has a very comfortable FL handle and a great balance. The blade I tested is 87 g heavy (for me that's the perfect weight for a composite blade), I tried it with a XIOM Sigma Pro I (red, max) / Adidas P7 (black, max) and then with Nittaku Hurricane 3 Pro (black, max, sponge felt around 38 degree on DHS scale) / Adidas TenZone (red, max). All rubbers were new and cut to the blade except the TenZone that was played for 5-6 hours and cut to the standard Butterfly size (150x157 mm). Both set-ups ended up at 183-184 g (sidetape included) and didn't feel too head-heavy.
LF is a fast blade, there's no doubt about it, but I felt that it wasn't too hard to control it even at a very high speed. I liked the feedback, it really gives some strange feeling but it is not "artificial" in the way the Liu Shiwen plays for example. On the first day I was thinking of playing the P7 oh FH and Sigma on BH but after the first 10 minutes I decided that it should be just the other way around. The P7 felt a bit soft for my liking, maybe because of the topsheet, but the rubber itself is great, reminds me of Donic Baracuda, just a bit harder and faster. I didn't expect to have such a good control with the Sigma on the FH-side and I played really well that evening. Serving was easy and reliable, I was able to attack with a great accuracy and power and even I managed to place some really good drop shots on receiving short underspin serves. I was just wandering if I could make the things better by putting a slower rubber on the FH (playing the Sigma requires full concentration all the time) and something a bit harder on the BH. Well, Nittaku H3 Pro didn't feel slow at all on this blade but it still gave me a bigger margin and the TenZone felt better (as expected) although I can't say it actually played better.
As you could imagine I was really pleased with the LF, maybe I should buy one, it just felt so great to play it:) I think it has quite everything an attacker needs - comfortable handle and good balance, speed, power and more control than you would expect in such a fast blade. And it seems to work well with different rubbers, I just prefer using Chinese rubbers on all-wood blades and had some difficulties on slow loops with the Nittaku H3 Pro, although it is not as tacky as a H3 Neo and the sponge seems to be different.
I would like to thank tabletennis11 for making these nice blades available for testing, in my opinion the LF was definitely worth the time I have spent with it.
My feedback:



http://www.mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=47297&title=mg-feedback
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AndySmith Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/03/2014 at 6:31am
Here are my thoughts on the Ludeack Fleet.

Appearance

The LF is something of a plain Jane in my eyes. The design is clean, but a little basic. The quality of materials is good. The handle is a reasonably chunky FL, so no worries about Nittaku munchkin handles here. The handle wood is rough, and as has already been mentioned, is similar to how many modern Stiga handles feel. I'm not a fan of that, but YMMV.


Speed

Fast - OFF+. This is a blade with a lot of power, and with modern rubbers will favour good technique, short strokes, distance play, or some combination of all of that.

Faster than Boll ALC, a touch slower than Boll ZLC.


Feel

It's mostly stiff. Hitting way off-centre reveals some vibrations, but very short and muted.

I actually thought it was a little on the soft side in touch play, which is nice. This takes the edge off the bounciness you might expect with a 7+2 blade. But in general play it's medium/hard.

The main thing to take away from the feel of this blade is the hollowness. Like sid mentioned, it has an airy and empty feel, especially noticeable on hard impacts. I really dislike this personally (it's the reason I can't get along with many modern Stiga blades too) - I prefer a solid feel for feedback purposes. I find it reassuring and satisfying. I've encountered this hollow feel on many thin 5 ply blades, so I'm surprised to see it here on a thicker 7+2. I wonder if it's something to do with the feel that glassfiber gives?


General Play Notes

For a blade with a high raw speed, the short game is pretty easy to control, which is a major plus point if you plan on using it with bouncy or more reactive rubbers.

In active play, the speed/accuracy mix is the most dominating feature. General topspin play and driving is very powerful, and you can hit some incredible shots from distance. On harder impacts it feels like the dwell increases a bit, which supports some very powerful looping. In fact, the highlight of my time with this blade was switching between heavy looping and fast, flatter driving from distance. It makes both a joy to play, and I feel that's a rare quality in a blade.

Passive blocking and punching were also excellent. The high speed helps me here.

Active blocking was a handful. The high speed does NOT help me here.


Wrap Up

The Ludeack Fleet suits an aggressive, offensive player who mixes loops and drives from distance. Good footwork and form are probably crucial to use it to its full potential. Close-in offensive play requires high-level technique (very easy to loop long when up close), but general short game (push, block) is better than you would expect from a blade this fast. It's an impressive piece of kit to combine all these features IMO.
This was a great signature until I realised it was overrated.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tabletennis11 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/21/2014 at 1:12am
Thanks to everyone who participated in our Nittaku Ludeack Fleet testing program! :)
Now, the question is - what should we do with this blade? Any ideas? Maybe lets give it to the best reviewer? We will cover the shipping costs.

PS. Happy holidays time! :)

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tabletennis11 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/23/2017 at 5:18am
This is an old thread, but we recently had our equipment tester Patrick also review the regular Ludeack, Ludeack Power, and Ludeack Fleet. In case you're interested in comparing your findings with his, here's the link.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TT newbie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/23/2017 at 6:39am
Originally posted by slevin slevin wrote:

What I did not like about this blade: I'd LOVE the same blade but with a standard 157x150 size. However, a lot of recent blades are made with this large a size (the Hayabusa & Innerforce series for example). 
This is not a problem at all. With a sharp cutter and some sand you could easily turn the head size to any shape you want. I do it myself to some cpen blades which I find too big.
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