Replacement for Butterfly Liu Shiwen

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   Short version: What to replace this very good blade with? 

I’m currently playing with the Butterfly Liu Shiwen blade with MX-P on both sides. I really like this set up and it suits a lot of my game and the feeling is great. My only real issue is the way in which power is delivered.

The blade has great dwell time but this can mean that its hard to generate speed, especially on slow and mid speed loops. The dwell can also sometimes be an issue when counter looping far from the table but this does not happen too often and seem to cause more issues on the forehand than the backhand. When playing mid-fast or fast shots the blade generates power beautifully.

So I’m looking for something with similar feeling and speed to the Liu Shiwen but perhaps a material or wood that produces power a little more linearly at medium speeds. Are there any blades with ZLF closer to the outside ply of the blade or any blades with a similar material construction to the Liu Shiwen but with a harder/more springy composite material?

Anyone else played with Liu Shiwen, what did you change to?

I’ve tried some allwood blades like the Simon Gauzy Quest OFF which is a good blade but confirmed to me that I would prefer some type of composite material blade.

I previously played with Michael Maze, Samsonov Force Pro and have recently been experimenting with the Ovtcharov True Carbon. My style is 2 wing attacker relatively close to the table.  

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Actuar90 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Super Member Joined: 01/24/2018 Location: Ireland Status: Offline Points: 124	Post Options Post Reply Quote Actuar90 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Replacement for Butterfly Liu Shiwen Posted: 01/30/2018 at 10:51am
	Short version: What to replace this very good blade with? I’m currently playing with the Butterfly Liu Shiwen blade with MX-P on both sides. I really like this set up and it suits a lot of my game and the feeling is great. My only real issue is the way in which power is delivered. The blade has great dwell time but this can mean that its hard to generate speed, especially on slow and mid speed loops. The dwell can also sometimes be an issue when counter looping far from the table but this does not happen too often and seem to cause more issues on the forehand than the backhand. When playing mid-fast or fast shots the blade generates power beautifully. So I’m looking for something with similar feeling and speed to the Liu Shiwen but perhaps a material or wood that produces power a little more linearly at medium speeds. Are there any blades with ZLF closer to the outside ply of the blade or any blades with a similar material construction to the Liu Shiwen but with a harder/more springy composite material? Anyone else played with Liu Shiwen, what did you change to? I’ve tried some allwood blades like the Simon Gauzy Quest OFF which is a good blade but confirmed to me that I would prefer some type of composite material blade. I previously played with Michael Maze, Samsonov Force Pro and have recently been experimenting with the Ovtcharov True Carbon. My style is 2 wing attacker relatively close to the table.

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SmackDAT Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Platinum Member Joined: 01/01/2012 Location: London Status: Offline Points: 2231	Post Options Post Reply Quote SmackDAT Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01/30/2018 at 11:07am
	Innerforce/Apolonia ZLC, or if you want a huge jump in speed, Mizutani (S)ZLC/Donic Crest OFF! Very similar construction, jumping to a viscaria clone may mess you up since it's koto outer
	Zhang Jike ALC AN (88g) Tenergy 05 Hard (2.1, B) Tenergy 19 (2.1, R) https://goo.gl/bFWoxW

Lightzy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Super Member Joined: 09/18/2017 Location: T-A Status: Offline Points: 345	Post Options Post Reply Quote Lightzy Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01/31/2018 at 4:38am
	I'd stick to the LSW, it's one of the best blades there are, and improve the speed of your hitting :) In any case it's not really a blade for looping far from the table (though it's just fine for that). Edited by Lightzy - 01/31/2018 at 6:16pm

Actuar90 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Super Member Joined: 01/24/2018 Location: Ireland Status: Offline Points: 124	Post Options Post Reply Quote Actuar90 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 02/01/2018 at 8:28am
	Yes, have been thinking that an apolonia could be a good choice or possibly a carbonado. Unfortunately nobody in my club plays with any of these blades so hard to treat one out. If I can't find a blade that addressee the weaknesses of the LSW then I'll definitely end up not changing

obesechopper Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Silver Member Joined: 04/20/2011 Status: Offline Points: 839	Post Options Post Reply Quote obesechopper Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 02/01/2018 at 10:21am
	I've used the Liu quite often... nothing comes close to it! And that's after testing 40+ other blades. The closest would be the imnershield zlf but that is a reduction in speed. Similar one that is a bit stiffer and faster is the xiom Vega pro

Sedis Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Super Member Joined: 01/31/2015 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 219	Post Options Post Reply Quote Sedis Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 02/01/2018 at 1:16pm
	Have you thought about a Butterfly Ai Fukuhara? It is almost exactly the same, just slightly thicker at 5.8mm instead of 5.6mm and with a 'standard' 157x150mm head size instead of 158x152.