W968 user group

Please share your inputs and discussion.

Yeah it is expensive. It is better to test it first if one of your clubmates uses it. It is not an easy blade to play with. I struggled the first several times that I played with it. I listed it for sale here after feeling totally unsatisfied with it several times. But then I tried rubbers and kept playing with it for about a month, it starts to shine. 

It is much harder to play with compared with a Hurricane Long 5. 

Letter W968 is between the two. I tried one before and it has pretty good feel. 

The Donic No 1 (made by DHS) is available in 2 versions, the more expensive one also has „premium carbon“ according to the product description.

W968 is softer than Long 5. More feel but requires better technique to get the most out of it.

The ceiling for Spin and speed is higher than Viscaria but it requires better technique, especially on the BH.

National W968 has a bigger head size. Even better forehand, needs even better acceleration to play a good backhand.

Does W968 also require to be paired with a tuned Neo H3 National Blue Sponge on the forehand for optimal results?  Or will it do with a Dignics 09C on both sides?

I can confirm some of this. I just got a nation (numbers) version from prott. It feels softer in the short game, stiffer in all other shots. The head size is 161mm, larger than the regular one which is 159mm. On medium strength shots there's a noticeable "ping" sound not present on the regular Long 5. This is associated with a more direct shot and more crisp feel for these shots, which makes for a s stronger BH counter and flick game. On hard shots there's a similar cracking sound, but feels faster and stiffer, though still with better catapult effect than say the Viscaria.

Per Sergio of SDC, the regular Long 5 has aramid fibers running vertically, and carbon fibers horizontally, while the 968 has both fibers running both vertically and horizontally. I obviously can't confirm this independently.

To me, overall the W968 is a more balanced blade than the regular Long 5. The regular HL5 is good with the softest shots and the hardest shots. It has severe deficiencies in medium powered shots like close to the table BH counters which is the majority of modern BH game. 968 improves on this dramatically, and is even softer with touch shots somehow, but does sacrifice some stability with full powered FH loops.

W968 is really good if you play far away from table. If you play close to table, a Harimoto alc is actually easier to play with and offers you better chances to win games.

An official W968 is probably better for most players than a players' version, as the players' version is usually made for professionals. And the official version is much cheaper.

It all depends on how you define how "good" a blade is. For a beginner, a 5 wood blade is better than any W968 for sure.

Official W968 is made for the general market. Player version usually is made maybe with some minor modification based on the requirements of the player. Some professional players might want thicker and harder blades, which are not suitable for most amateur players. 

And basically each W968 plays differently. So it is really hard to say which is better.

There are many inaccurate statements in this thread and I'll add some color to it. 

1. Only the absolute elite DHS sponsored players (ML, WCQ, SYS etc) get blades specifically made for them, and only they have the "National Player version". 

2. "National Player version" are EXTREMELY rare on the market, probably in single digits figure every year. The reason is simply why would ML, WCQ give their blades to other people for resale? Therefore, majority of these "National Player version" on the market are absurdly marked up "National Official/Digital version" or simply just fakes.

4. The way DHS distribute the National Official W968 is straightforward: they make a batch of blades and send them to the National team. All National team members are assembled and get to pick the blades based on their preference. The blades that are unselected by the players go to the market and become the "National Official/Digital version". 

Yin Hang's livestream recording(only available in Chinese, no translation): 

Or probably there is special W968 which is truly excellent and really cost a fortune, but how do I know that special W968 is really the special one (not ordinary W968 that is claimed to be a special one and sold for hundreds of $$$).  In other words, which is the trusted store or supplier?

So I am thinking, probably I am better off buying Donic No. 1, at least I know the official Donic store that will sell genuine Donic blade.

So, again, thank you for the discussion of W968 and HLong 5 here.  They help me clearing up my misunderstanding.