Hi all, here is my review with Paul Drinkhall looking at his Offensive blade in his line of new products with Tibhar.
The blade is 5 ply and has a nice feel with a cool looking, modern blue design. The offensive blade weighs 88 grams. We both used the Tibhar Evolution MX-P rubbers on both sides of our blades.
Speed:
When reviewing the all round blade we then tried the Offensive Classic. From changing to the Offensive Classic Paul started to get more speed from his shots and there was definitely more of a direct nature to this blade than the all round. He still maintained mixing speed and spin was with ease however now with more zip and again a more direct trajectory.
Spin
As seen in the review Paul still produced a huge amount of spin something I really struggled to adapt to due to the shear velocity he could produce. This was very evident when playing against backspin, this spin helped set up Paul very well for the fifth ball attack.
Flicks
Drinkhall has one of the fastest flicks in the game with electrifying speed. Paul noted how easy it was to flick with the offensive blade.
Another attribute to Paul's armoury is his counter topspin, which again is even more effective with the offensive blade. The Drinkhall offensive classic I would recommend for the player who has a well developed game and wants a bit more of a kick to their shots then an all round blade like the all round classic gives you.
Conclusion from the review
The allround blade is very good for maximum control, and ideal for a player who wants to develop solid strokes due to the added dwell time. However, if you are looking for something with a bit more power the offensive blade would be of a better choice as it had a more direct, harder feel and is slightly faster than the all round due to it’s harder ply's.
All in all both wood blades have excellent control and are ideal for beginners and intermediate players looking to develop their game. For wood blade lovers, the offensive.
Photos