Thanks arg0. I took out my ST hybrid wood. It is actually same size as the blade I am using. Strange but I remember it to be smaller. Will try it out in real play.
First impressions form a short training session. Note: I had shoulder pain and was playing at about 50% my usual level, today. So don't trust my impressions too much. Tested the Arctic Wood (AW) with Vega Pro on FH and Nimbus Soft on BH. Mainly played passively: blocks, counters, backspin. Maybe because of the low weight of my AW, I would not classify it as OFF+; rather OFF. The feeling upon ball impact is hard, however the wood is not stiff. Think a Waldner Dicon/JO Limited 2016 with a harder feeling. Feedback/Vibration is very nice and crisp. Sound upon ball impact is full (ie, not hollow), medium-pitched, and pleasant to my ear. The ST handle is nearly identical to the Violin Large Handle I normally play and it's likely the most comfortable ST handles I played with: not too oval, not too squared, just right. YMMV. Stay tuned for clearer impressions as soon as I recover.
First impressions form a short training session. Note: I had shoulder pain and was playing at about 50% my usual level, today. So don't trust my impressions too much. Tested the Arctic Wood (AW) with Vega Pro on FH and Nimbus Soft on BH. Mainly played passively: blocks, counters, backspin. Maybe because of the low weight of my AW, I would not classify it as OFF+; rather OFF. The feeling upon ball impact is hard, however the wood is not stiff. Think a Waldner Dicon/JO Limited 2016 with a harder feeling. Feedback/Vibration is very nice and crisp. Sound upon ball impact is full (ie, not hollow), medium-pitched, and pleasant to my ear. The ST handle is nearly identical to the Violin Large Handle I normally play and it's likely the most comfortable ST handles I played with: not too oval, not too squared, just right. YMMV. Stay tuned for clearer impressions as soon as I recover.
BTW, just noticed that Stiga adapted both the average weight (now 85g) and the class (now OFF) for Arctic Wood, with respect to the original annoucenment (as per the first post). See the table below.
These new values are much closer to my initial impressions. Unfortunately, I do not have any other Stiga blades to compare it with.
After having had a closer look at the Arctic Wood (AW) blade, and at the pictures of the Infinity VPS (IVPS) blade in this thread, it could well be that the AW has the same ayous core and same intermediate layers of thermally-treated (VPS) spruce, the only difference being the outer plies, where limba of the IVPS blade was replaced by the misterious arctic tree wood. The outer plies of AW are also thinner than IVPS, which may account for AW being slightly thinner than IVPS (6.0mm vs 6.1mm).
So Arctic Wood is essentially an updated Infinity VPS, most likely with a denser outer ply, resulting in a harder/crisper feeling and a bit more speed.
For some reason I recall reading/deducing the "Mysterious Arctic Wood" was some kind of Arctic Ash, but I don't remember why.
Possibly because of the stripes? On this list, there are no ash trees (fraxinus) listed among the Arctic trees. On the other hand, here it says ash trees (Common Ash, European Ash, Fraxinus excelsior) also grow in the Arctic Circle. So it may well be. One thing is for sure, it's not salix arctica.
These are the images of the tree used in the video (for what it's worth).
Looks like some kind or larch or pine, to my untrained eye. Dahurian larch can be quite irregularly shaped, and some pictures of larch grain I found on the Web are quite similar (colour aside), so maybe we have a candidate...
Nobody else has had the chance to play with an Arctic Wood (AW) yet? I just saw it's also not yet on the Stiga website, apart from their digital paper catalog.
Just wanted to add that the outer plies are very thin, hard, and smooth, to the point that they appear sharp and glassy (must be the Stiga "Diamond Touch" finish). When unglueing rubbers I had a tiny tiny splinter come off: it was hardly thicker than a hair and just a few mm long. It's about the same size as the grooves I showed in the wood grain and totally unnoticeable now. However, I still am a bit worried.
I normally always thinly seal my blades before glueing rubbers and the rubbers usually stick less to the wood than with the AW which I did not seal before.
Any advice on whether the "Diamond Touch" blades would still benefit from a thin layer of lacquer?
What I also discovered and found interesting is that in the English catalog, AW is labelled as "stiff", while in a German Stiga newsfolder it is labelled as "fast steif" ("nearly stiff"). I browsed through the English 2017/18 catalog and the other blades I found being labelled as nearly stiff are Clipper (incl. CC and/or WRB) and Allround Classic Carbon. On the other hand, if it's truly an Infinity VPS V with harder and thinner outer plies, I suppose we can expect the stiffness to be about the same, unless Stiga also changed the glueing process.
I really look forward to other player's impressions.
BTW, the suggested price on the German newsfolder is €90, that is $100 to date.
Still tempted to buy this blade, but I'm not sure yet. I really like my Infinity VPS, although the speed could be a bit higher. However, I don't want to sacrifice too much control. I know, one goes with the other :)
@arg0 , did you already had a chance to play with it?
Yes, to some extent, see my first impressions above. Still did not fully recover from the injury, though, so I don't have any updates. And I don't have an Infinity to compare it to, sorry.
The Arctic wood is an awesome 5 ply off blade. Slightly slower than Eternity VPS even if it is rated faster but nevertheless has plenty of speed up to mid distance. The blade is very forgiving especially on difficult shots. It is bouncy despite being a thin blade. Mostly a looper's blade up to mid-distance and blocks also well. The Arctic wood is suited for all types of playing levels. It is also very light at 85 grams legend flared. The master flared version is lighter by 2-3 grams. The price is also not expensive compared to the Ebenholz or Rosewood series. Overall, it is a blade that offers a fresh and new feel compared to those limba and walnut outer plies.
Thanks for the info Yogi. Have you actually played with it? This review is a bit tame compared to your normal reviews. (Don't get me wrong, still greatly appreciate your info)
Can you tell something about Arctic vs Infinity in terms of speed, control etc?
By the way, the links to the images are not working. The [/IMG] tag is part of the URL it seems.
yes played with it for 2 days with a globe 999 national, mantra h and mantra m rubbers. infinity is slower than AW. Although AW is rated by Stiga as faster than Eternity VPS, AW is slower by a very short margin. it loops like an offensive classic cr but faster and there is a balance of flex, softness and hardness when you are attacking with it especially if you loop it.
My initial impressions were based on playing with the celluloid ball. Yogi_bear, did you use plastic or celluloid balls? Did you seal the blade? Any issues with splintering?
BTW, just noticed that Stiga adapted both the average weight (now 85g) and the class (now OFF) for Arctic Wood, with respect to the original annoucenment (as per the first post). See the table below.
These new values are much closer to my initial impressions. Unfortunately, I do not have any other Stiga blades to compare it with.
That chart is bullshit. I own a few Stigas and Clipper Cr is little faster than Rosewood V.
My initial impressions were based on playing with the celluloid ball. Yogi_bear, did you use plastic or celluloid balls? Did you seal the blade? Any issues with splintering?
i used teh stiga 3 star polyball. i sealed the blade only after i changed the rubbers. no issues with splintering so far compared to the eternity vps.
tom, good to know, thanks. Then I will seal mine before glueing the next rubbers.
jonyer1980, it has been a very long time since I last tested a Clipper Wood, but from what I recall, Arctic Wood could be about the same speed if not slower than regular Clipper.
yogi_bear, could you please fix the link to the images in your review? thanks!
BTW, just noticed that Stiga adapted both the average weight (now 85g) and the class (now OFF) for Arctic Wood, with respect to the original annoucenment (as per the first post). See the table below.
These new values are much closer to my initial impressions. Unfortunately, I do not have any other Stiga blades to compare it with.
That chart is bullshit. I own a few Stigas and Clipper Cr is little faster than Rosewood V.
Someone well informed told me that the arctic wood is....simple pine :))) so the most common and cheap wood in Sweden... what a nice find and...potential big profit for Stiga :))
Someone well informed told me that the arctic wood is....simple pine :))) so the most common and cheap wood in Sweden... what a nice find and...potential big profit for Stiga :))
Pine is a softwood. Does that fit the info / reviews of AW that are known?
From the grain it's certainly some type of conifer: it may well be a pine.
[Update: pines and conifers in general are softwood and, as I learned after posting the above, softwood has no pores, while arctic wood has. Thus it's not pine. My best guess now is sorbus aucuparia (Rowan), see my post further down (possibly on the next page).]
The cost of many blades of known manufacturers has, with few exceptions, very little correlation with the actual cost of the raw materials, so I would not be surprised if this "arctic wood" is a common wood. What it appears to me is that it is quite hard and possibly brittle, so it may be more difficult and or costly to work than, say, limba. This would justify some, though likely not all, the additional price.
I was drawn to the Arctic Wood because of the beauty of the natural wood design, and it turned out to also have a very nice feel.
I had a great laugh when user PiZa in another forum compared the original trailer
Someone well informed told me that the arctic wood is....simple pine :))) so the most common and cheap wood in Sweden... what a nice find and...potential big profit for Stiga :))
Pine is a softwood. Does that fit the info / reviews of AW that are known?
Hardness of wood also depends on how old the tree is. Softwoods in "even-aged" forests are characterized by rapid initial tree growth and slower growth as the individual trees begin to compete for resources. In this case, the younger, faster-grown parts of the tree will be less dense than the older, more slowly grown wood. At higher latitudes (arctic, according to Stiga), trees grow slowly and may be quite old when they reach the size suitable for producing TT blades. If the outer plies made of arctic wood (lower case) of the Arctic Wood blade (upper case) are made of these type of trees, I see no contradiction in assuming that the arctic wood is a softwood and the Arctic Wood has a hard feel.
[Update:
as I learned after
posting the above, softwood has no pores, while arctic wood has. Thus it must be a hardwood. My best guess now is sorbus aucuparia (Rowan), see my post further down (possibly on the next page).]
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arg0 wrote:
