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The soul of rock's equipments conner

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The soul of rock View Drop Down
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    Posted: 05/01/2016 at 12:52pm
I've been EJ-ing much recently, changing from blades to rubbers week by week, and yet to find my "perfect" combination (hopefully the Barwell Fleet will do the magic for me). During the process, I think I should better write out some notes for myself to see what I like and don't like about those. Thus I'm creating this thread to post some of my observasions and hope that might be helpful to some people. Please note that the bellow are my personal oppinions, and my experiences may be way different to yours. 

1. Blades
I've observed that the weight of blades does contribute significanly to their gears. So please take my oppinion as grain of salt, because blades with different weight may play differently. I will give general comparisions of the blades first, then add some notes for each of them later.

Speed: Yinhe V-16> YES(with top gear)> ZJK ALC > YES (on average)
Spin: ZJK ALC > YES> Yinhe V-16
Control: ZJK ALC=YES> Yinhe V-16
Throw: ZJK ALC > Yinhe V-16 > YES
Dwell time: ZJK ALC > YES > Yinhe V-16
Stiffness: YES> Yinhe V-16> ZJK ALC

 
a. Butterfly Zhang Jike ALC, 84g
This one is my most loved blade until recently my game "out-grown" it. First of all, the build quality is top-notch as you may expect from a high end Butterfly blade. Some people says that the ZJK ALC is just an expensive clone of the classic Viscaria, but I definitely don't agree with this. It's nicely balanced, not head-heavy like the Viscaria. The ZJK ALC has really good control with very little vibration. It produces better spin than my 87g Viscaria, but is noticably slower. The ZJK ALC is particularly good with close or mid table game, especially easy for the BH flicks. Blocking is super easy as well. Away from the table, the ZJK ALC lacks top gears. With Chinese rubbers on, it's a big no no for anyone who like to play away from table. Probably this is the reason why not so many pro. players switch to this from the Viscaria.

This one video demonstrates the lack of top gears of the ZJK ALC. It was taken 5 months ago and I've improved my FH (and footwork) a lot since then.


b. Yasaka Extra Special (YES), 94g
The build quality of this one is nice, but not as Butterfly level. The handle is really rought and I needed to sand it down a bit. The composition is similar to Stiga Clipper, but with Walnut top plies instead. It does feel harder, but the control is surprisingly good. The balance is about the same with the ZJK ALC, definitely doesn't feel head heavy despite its weight. Though it's way heavier than the ZJK ALC, close to the table, it's slower. My YES has more gears, thought, especially easier to generate power away from the table. One minus point is its throw is lower than the ZJK ALC, so you need to spend sometimes to adapt to it switching from the ZJK ALC. It does play well with every sheet of rubber stick to it, but on a side note, I need to swing it like crazy to get enough arc with Hurricane 8 on FH side. 

c. Yinhe V-16, 92g
This is an odd creature in my collection. I saw it in the FS thread and knowing that it's supposed to be the clone of the M.Maze, I decided to give it a try. It is surprisingly well built, and is a big bargain for the amount I spent. It is stiff, not stiffer than the YES, but definitely more than the ZJK ALC. It lies between an OFF+ and OFF blade, IMO. The control is good, but not as good as my other blade. The dwell time is not really long, so if you're looking for a blade with really good feeling, you should better look elsewhere.

d. Nittaku Barwell Fleet, 95g

2. Rubbers
I only use rubber in the maximal thickness available to the mass. I should have mentioned this before, I'm a small-sized Asian and my arms are awkwardly sort even for my size that sometimes it's frustrating for me to do FH flick without touching the table with my right leg, so it's hard for me to generate power on my own. Thus I'm using really heavy blades and rubbers with max thickness to partially make up for that. Also I rarely push with either FH or BH side, so I'm not gonna mention how pushes are with my rubbers.

a. BTY Tenergy 05
This one is probably the best overall rubber available in the market now. Fast and spinny at the same time, but not ultra fast like some new generation ESN rubbers. The throw is really high and it's really safe to loop at any distance with Tenergy 05. Tenergy 05, as for other Ternergies, is super stable as well, to some point that if you're playing with your training partners and if they get to the correct position, then they will most likely be able to read the spin and return the ball. Probably that's why matches between Ovcharov and Mizutani have more long rallies than either of them again the Chinese, lol. Tenergy 05 has a kicking effect when you loop and not so linear, so it could be frustrating to get the most power out of it, but when executed correctly, the amount of speed and spin together make a really high quality shot. One minus point is it's too sensitive to incoming spin, making FH receive and flick harder than some other rubber, especially Chinese sticky rubbers.

b. BTY Tenergy 64
My favorite BH rubber. It's faster and less spinny than Tenergy 05, with the same high control. The throw is a little bit lower, and is super stable as well. It's more linear than the Tenergy 05, which roughly means the more power you put in, the faster the ball comes out of your shot. I like it on my BH better than Tenergy 05 because when using the BH banana flick, the ball bounce lower and make it harder for my opponent to counter with a power loop, which translates to it's harder to get the ball to the other side of the table than Tenergy 05. If you're learning how to do BH banana flick, I would recommend using 05 instead of 64. Also it's faster to make up for the fact that you can rarely do a full swing with your BH loop during match play. This is my Tenergy 64 in action (sorry but can't help showing this, lol. I used to favor my BH a lot more than my FH so you're going to see a lot of it in this short clip. Now I only use my BH for the opening flick and then it's all about FH, which is kinda sad)


c. Yasaka Rakza X
This one rubber feels harder than any of my Tenergy and faster as well. The throw is low, and not as spinny as any rubber mentioned here. It doesn't mean you can't create a lot of spin with it, it's just harder. It's the most linear rubber that I'm using recently, so it suits people who struggle to create speed or power with Tenergies. Smashing is super easy with this one as a result. It's not so sensitive with incoming spin, so it's easier to do FH receive or flick. A really good FH rubber. 

d. Yasaka Rakza 7
It does everything in a similar way to Tenergy 05, but slower and less spinny. It feels softer than above 3 rubbers, and safer as well. The throw is a tad lower than Tenergy 05. For FH side, it may be too slow, but it is a really good BH rubber for someone who doesn't look to do loop kill with BH often. BH flick is easy, but the resulted shot is easy to counter as well. The dwell time is really long and you can easily feel the ball sink into the rubber. The control is extremelly good and gives a lot of confident when executing BH loops. I would highly recommend this rubber to anyone who's learning to be more agressive with their BH.


Duration of the rubbers
The Tenergies in general are the most durable for me. They may easily get chippings around the edges, but the level of play remains longest, far longer than any pre-boosted ESN rubbers which level drop dramatically after the boosting effect gone. Tenergies don't shrink if you like to reglue. I like to try out new rubbers in between seasons and most of the ESN rubbers I've used shrink after 2 or 3 glue jobs.


Edited by The soul of rock - 05/03/2016 at 4:15pm
Viscaria FL
FH: Nittaku Hurricane 3 NEO
BH: Tenergy 05
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zeio View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote zeio Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05/01/2016 at 12:58pm
The dreadful "lack of top gears".
Viscaria FL - 91g
+ Neo H3 2.15 Blk - 44.5g(55.3g uncut bare)
+ Hexer HD 2.1 Red - 49.3g(68.5g 〃 〃)
= 184.8g
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Baal Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05/01/2016 at 1:04pm
He's right though, the ZJK-ALC is distinctly slower than modern day Viscaria.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote zeio Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05/01/2016 at 1:19pm
People in Chinese forums always claimed the Viscaria as lacking top gears, as well...until a certain grand slam holder.

Edited by zeio - 05/01/2016 at 1:22pm
Viscaria FL - 91g
+ Neo H3 2.15 Blk - 44.5g(55.3g uncut bare)
+ Hexer HD 2.1 Red - 49.3g(68.5g 〃 〃)
= 184.8g
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Baal Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05/01/2016 at 1:42pm
Yes, certainly one can make the adjustment from Viscaria to ZJK-ALC without much trouble. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SmackDAT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05/01/2016 at 1:58pm
Love your forehand, Mr Pocket Rocket! I see the resemblance to an Asian Kreanga

Edit: isn't the ZJK ALC the same composition as the Viscaria though?...

Edited by SmackDAT - 05/01/2016 at 2:02pm
Zhang Jike ALC AN (88g)
Tenergy 05 Hard (2.1, B)
Tenergy 19 (2.1, R)
https://goo.gl/bFWoxW
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cje View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cje Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05/01/2016 at 4:43pm
Originally posted by zeio zeio wrote:

People in Chinese forums always claimed the Viscaria as lacking top gears, as well...until a certain grand slam holder.



yeah, imagine how good ZJK would be with a better blade...
http://www.murrayfieldtt.com/



YEO/ Galaxy E-3/ FH: Skyline III Neo / BH: Palio HK 1997
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote aroonkl Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05/01/2016 at 9:49pm
Mines, 86g, speed are close. Vis feels little softer and lower throw.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tinykin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05/02/2016 at 11:24am
That FH stroke has a nice flow but needs a bit more body behind it for more power.
Blade:
Darker Speed90
Rubber Fh and Bh DHS Hurricane 3, 39/38deg

Delusion is an asset
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The soul of rock View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote The soul of rock Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05/03/2016 at 4:16pm
Updated with some thoughts on rubbers.
Viscaria FL
FH: Nittaku Hurricane 3 NEO
BH: Tenergy 05
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