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OSP Ultimate II Plus

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ThePongProfessor View Drop Down
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    Posted: 10/15/2019 at 12:01pm

OSP Ultimate II Plus 

I have tested many 7-ply blades for Tabletennis11.com, including the DHS Hurricane Long III, Nittaku Ludeack, Donic Ovtcharov Senso V1, Stiga Clipper WRB, and Stiga Ebenholz NCT VII to name just a few. All of them are high quality blades with different characteristics ranging from comparatively soft and moderately fast (e.g., Hurricane Long III, Ludeack, and Clipper WRB) to hard and fast (Ebenholz NCT VII) and thus serve different player types well. My personal favorites are probably the Tibhar Samsonov Force Pro Black Edition and the Stiga Rosewood NCT VII. Both blades have five central ayous plies, but differ in their surface veneers, with the Samsonov Pro having limba outer plies and the Stiga having rosewood plies. Limba plies result in longer dwell time and a great feeling when looping, whereas rosewood is a harder type of wood, which results in a more direct feeling upon ball impact and shorter dwell time. I prefer the Tibhar for my FH where I use Hurricane 3 type rubbers, while I really like Stiga Rosewood for my BH short pips.

Over the years, I have read many raving reviews of OSP blades, and I was, therefore, very excited to see OSP release the Ultimate II and the Ultimate II Plus blades (U2 and U2+, respectively). OSP describes the U2+ as a blade for advanced attacking players who want to maintain very high spin levels. OSP used Indian rosewood as the outer veneer to create a harder and more aggressive blade vis-à-vis the OSP Ultimate II but does not provide any information about the other wood plies. The spin is postulated to be a result of a special laminating procedure.     

OSP sends the blades in a no-thrill flat cardboard box, which, however, offers excellent protection during shipping. The content of the box exudes quality. First off, the Indian rosewood plies of the OSP U2+ are stunningly beautiful and clearly the blade is exceptionally well made. Also included in the box, is a flyer that offers suggestions on how to handle and care for the OSP U2+ and a little booklet (with a small sheet of surface veneer for repair jobs), which lists technical data for the blade (dimensions, weight, handle type, build date, etc) and provides a brief description of the blade. My OSP U2+ blade had the following dimensions: height: 158 mm, width: 149 mm, thickness: 6.4 mm, weight: 93 g. The exceptionally smooth SQST handle has the following dimensions: length: 102 mm, width: 28 mm, and height: 23 mm. The blade has a resonance frequency of ~1356 Hz.   

Unboxing: https://youtu.be/OK1J8Wn7nqI  

Testing procedure: I tested the OSP U2+ using well-used sheets of Nittaku Hurricane Pro 3 Turbo Blue (black, 2.0 mm) and Nittaku Moristo SP AX short pips (red, 1.8 mm) in my FH and BH, respectively. The rubbers were attached using a layer of Revolution 3 normal viscosity glue. I tested the set-ups over several sessions, playing drills and matches against my usual training partners using the Nittaku J-Top training balls.

Playing impressions: First off, the set-up was much heavier than what I am used to at nearly 200 g. Despite this, the blade felt well-balanced with the center of gravity oriented toward the head. The feeling generated upon ball impact is direct with an absolute minimum of vibrations. The first couple of FH and BH drives quickly revealed that the blade is fast (OFF level) and hard, producing a low throw angle. FH loops, played against blocks, have a fast and deep trajectory, which I found to work better from mid-distance than close to the table. Slow opening loops against backspin produce higher spin levels than would normally be anticipated from a blade that feels so hard, but still lower than, e.g., the Samsonov Force Pro Black Edition. FH blocks feel very solid but demand unusually precise timing. If mistimed, the FH blocks careen off the end of the table. I struggled a lot with BH blocking. The vast majority of the first 50 blocks went over the table. The very soft Moristo SP AX pips felt very peculiar in this aspect of the game, almost like medium or long pips with considerable spin reversal on the blocks, something that is normally not the case with these short pips. I am left wondering if the hard nature and short dwell time of the blade causes this effect. For sure my BH blocking consistency was much lower than usual. Flat hits and smashes are fast, but the heaviness of the set-up put a upper limit on the pace. Pushes, especially FH pushes, felt great with this setup. The combination of the hard OSP U2+ blade and the hard and tacky Nittaku Hurricane Pro 3 Turbo Blue rubber worked well together in this aspect of the game. I was able to keep pushes flat, spinny, and short or long, depending on my intent. The OSP-Moristo combination worked reasonably well in aggressive serve receives, which allowed me to put my opponent under pressure right from the receive. Serving with the OSP/Hurricane set-up felt great, with the blade and rubber working well in concert to enable high spin production. The massive weight of the set-up impeded my FH-to-BH (and reverse) transitions during match play. I found myself out of balance or simply not prepared for the next shot, more often than usual.

In the end, I must conclude that this is not a blade for me and/or for this particular rubber combination. This blade is likely better suited for lighter medium to medium-hard European and Japanese rubbers like Tibhar Evolution MX-P and Butterfly Tenergy 05, whose properties probably better complement the hard nature of the blade. The OSP Ultimate II Plus caters to a very specific class of players who cherish a massively solid feeling above all. The closest comparisons that I can think off is the Stiga Ebenholz VII and the Stiga Nostalgic VII. For me personally, I anticipate that the OSP Ultimate or the OSP Ultimate II might be better options, as their softer outer veneers will result in longer dwell time, allowing for greater spin production and more forgiveness.  

Edited by patrickhrdlicka - 10/15/2019 at 4:42pm
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lasta View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lasta Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10/15/2019 at 8:58pm
Hi, do you have a cross section photo?

IMO the original Ultimate was superb and unique in having a hardwood core. A shame they are going to opposite direction through the newer versions.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ThePongProfessor Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10/15/2019 at 11:55pm
One of the images on their webpage shows a pretty good cross-section: https://tabletennis-pingpong.equipment/home/39-972-osp-ultimate-offensive-blade.html#/25-handle-fl 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gromousse Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10/16/2019 at 9:15am
I own the original Ultimate, 3 Ultimate II with different shapes and weights, and a Ultimate II+
The original Ultimate was a very good blade but it is particularly suited for celluloïd balls, because when you hit hard with it, the trajectories become straight. It is still a good blade but now, with plastic balls, you have to stick near the table, or you may feel difficult to adjust the ball because of the lack of spin of the new ball.
The Ultimate II is, according to me, an excellent proposition to drastically increase the amount of spin of the ball, and helps too to keep the ball fast with an extra flex and softness provided by the sweet core. It offers much more grip and is more dynamic than the Ultimate 1 which is closer to old Clipper blade, without losing control ; in fact it offers better control, too. Whereas I can understand that some players can prefer the old Ultimate to the new, because it suits better their game, I would not say it’s a pity that OSP takes another direction for its new generation of blades, because the new OSP blades suit better the new plastic era of TT.
The Ultimate II+ is another creature... U2 can be played by many players I think, but U2+ is more oriented for advanced players who want precision and power without losing spin and especially without using carbon fibers which provide a different touch. U2+ delivers huge power and spin and is much more precise than U2 in service and returns, but it is also less permissive. I did not qppreciate much the association with H3 41 orange I am usually play, but I had surprising excellent results with T05hard and Dignics 05.
OSP Ultimate 2 / T05 / T05fx
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ThePongProfessor Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10/16/2019 at 12:41pm
@gromousse: I like your analysis and look forward to trying out the U2.  
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote stiltt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10/16/2019 at 12:55pm
With the U2, people used to play on any given bloody Sunday, with or without you. Now after the review they'll upgrade to the U2+ and wait for you until the end of the world.


Edited by stiltt - 10/16/2019 at 4:42pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote GMan4911 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10/16/2019 at 1:09pm
Thanks for the review.

Rubber/blade synergy is so important.  I recently moved a pair of 4 month old ITC Powercell Ultra 48s from my OSP Virtuoso+ to my Ultimate 2 because while the grip was still good, the sponge was starting to lose their bounce, or so I thought.  Wow, the Ultimate 2 restored the zip to the Ultra 48s and then some.  On the plus side, spin was just as good and maybe a tad better and the added speed makes my loops deadlier.  On the other hand, blocks were flying off the end of the table with more frequency. I tend to stand too close to the table so maybe that's a good thing as it's forcing me to play a step back to keep my blocks under control.

BTW, Xiom Omega V/VII Asia Max feels wonderful on the Ultimate 2.
OSP Ultimate II, FH/ITC Powercell Ultra 48 Max BH/ITC Powercell Ultra 48 Max
ITC Challenge Speed, FH/ITC Powercell Ultra 48 Max BH/Powercell Ultra 48 Max
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AMonteiro Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10/16/2019 at 2:45pm
When I saw they were making this blade I was very excited to buy because I tought It would be thinner, more like Ultimate or Ultimate II, then it would be perfect for me because my all time best blade before plastic balls was P700 (6.2mm) and since 2015 I'm using rosewood blades (Glory and Goiabao both 6mm)..

But UII+ with 6.4~6.5mm and this weight are not for me as I use heavy rubbers already.. Maybe one day I order one custom, a little bit thinner and lighter. 
Dynaryz AGR /Yasaka Goiabao 5 / Dynaryz AGR
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Matt Pimple Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10/16/2019 at 3:02pm
Originally posted by lasta lasta wrote:

IMO the original Ultimate was superb and unique in having a hardwood core. A shame they are going to opposite direction through the newer versions.
The original Ultimate has ayous core which is a very common core wood type and it is fairly light and soft for a "hardwood". The Ultimate II and I believe the Ultimate II Plus as well, use ayous as core too.
OSP Ultimate; Dr. Neubauer Dominance Spin Hard max, Dr. Neubauer Troublemaker 0.5

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lasta Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10/16/2019 at 11:28pm
Originally posted by Matt Pimple Matt Pimple wrote:

Originally posted by lasta lasta wrote:

IMO the original Ultimate was superb and unique in having a hardwood core. A shame they are going to opposite direction through the newer versions.
The original Ultimate has ayous core which is a very common core wood type and it is fairly light and soft for a "hardwood". The Ultimate II and I believe the Ultimate II Plus as well, use ayous as core too.


Hi Matt, the original Ultimate had a mahogany as the "central" core (Limba-Limba-Ayous-Mahogany-...), the subsequent version replaced it with spruce.
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