Latest reviews

Blade quality is excellent. The handle is a little cubic comparing to popular designs, slightly narrow yet a little thick. It is really good if you like it but some may understandably not if one is used to the design of other big brands. Would suggest getting the large handle version if one likes a filling grip. Weight leans on the heavy side plus it is rather head heavy, a point to consider especially for penhold version.

Medium speed overall. OFF-/OFF depending on rubber pairing. It is not a slow blade by itself but it can act as a relatively slower one. First speed is pretty good, second speed is average/slightly below average.

Control is excellent. Inner carbon layer activates in a linear fashion so there is no sudden jump in gears. The gear spectrum is quite wide, starting from very low to medium high+. It feels soft in low force range and has good backbone in high force range. There is always good support but the ball will not shoot out super fast in high gears. Vibration is quite low but feedback is clear and steady. Dwell time is pretty high and trajectory is medium.

During a game, I carelessly sliced very hard on the table edge while saving a short ball but the blade is only mildly damaged. The veneer received a tiny few mm crack (seen only when rubber was removed) and there is a vague mark on the side. I expected way severer damage but the layers surprisingly stayed sturdy. A personal point on durability here.

Excellent speed and good support overall. The rubber feels quite bouncy due to softy top sheet and not too hard sponge. It can bottom out in large force flat smash but the feeling is not a disturbing one.

Trajectory is amazing. In low force, the initial portion is medium/medium-high throw then lands long and flat, shooting towards the opponent. In higher force/closed angle, the trajectory is medium/medium-low throughout, having a little bit of arc, but not too much nor being completely flat.

Though non-tacky like Rakza X, they can both brush the ball well and create huge amount of spin, thanks to the super grippy top sheet. Testing in actual game, the spin factor acts like as a big multiplier to speed instead of being a lethal threat in its own right. It mostly creates threat because there is little time to respond to a relatively high level spin under good speed. Scenario of eating spin outright is not too common but possible. The opponent was more often surprised by the amount of spin during rallies/fast serves and create mistakes that lead to a kill.

Control is pretty easy throughout close to far distances. However, maintaining short game can be relatively difficult due to rubber bounciness and high speed. Control has to be very precise or else it is better just to open up.

First of all, a noteworthy point about the handle shape: blades in the Ma Lin series share a very well-designed handle for Chinese penhold that is super easy to grip and alternate pressure between thumb and index finger. Cannot stress enough of that since it is the most comfortable design I have encountered, tested personally and with beginners.

Ma Lin Carbon performs like an enhanced wooden blade with increased speed and support from inner layer carbon when called for. In low force range, the soft outer layers provides great touch. There is some flex and the overall feeling is around medium hardness leaning towards the soft side. Control is akin to wooden blades. In medium force range, the carbon seamlessly activates and the blade feels mildly stiff while retaining sufficient flex. There is no abrupt 'kick in' although one can notice it from the difference of sound or vibrational feedback. This enables proper mid distance game although it is not exactly its strength. The insufficiency in power only happens in long rallies or far distances. In high force range, if one exerts and maintain the effort in good position, it can stably reach low end OFF speed close to mid distance.

Over a decade and more, this versatile blade is still completely relevant in today's game below advanced level. Pair with soft rubbers for control and hard/bouncy rubbers for speed. Recommended to anyone wants to enjoy a carbon blade with woody feeling.

A truly special point to note about Yasaka Ma Lin Extra Offense is its handle for Chinese penhold. The thickness and shape is designed in a way that one can learn the cpen grip and corresponding swinging motion extra effectively. It has been tested on a couple of absolute beginners and the consensus is that it encourages a certain way of movement comparing to a few other popular cpen blades. The width may not suit smaller hands but sanding the sides could solve this problem.

For playing properties, close to the table, you get exactly what you give. The touch and playing results are super coherent. Control is easy and there is some amount of non-disturbing vibrational feedback. The hard veneer provides immediate speed and the relatively softer core provides proper bounce - they work in good balance. The blade is a little hard but very flexible. Everything is comfortably linear.

However, in the era of 40+ plastic balls and carbon blades, speed and power is insufficient. While having acceptable speed, it is nowhere as fast as a basic carbon blade or 7-ply stiff wooden blades. The power is also lacking during continuous smashes and can be returned with relative ease. Moreover, no rubber can make up for the lack of support from mid-distance onwards. The blade suffice in most playing styles from ALL to OFF- with its huge compatibility in rubber pairing but it cannot reach competitive OFF level as advertised. Not the best with pips but possible.

Excellent price and manufacturing quality. Blade is highly durable. Recommended especially for penhold learners, and all beginners to intermediate amateurs who look for good feeling and control.

Unnecessarily large amount of force has to be exerted for a very low increment of result/feedback. The sponge suppleness actually works against control in many scenarios since there is almost no support. If one chooses to use this rubber for some reasons, a stiff and bouncy blade is recommended.

There are two utilities for this rubber I can think of. First, it can be a good tool to learn spinning for very beginners due to having a grippy topsheet with almost no bounce in the sponge. Even though the actual spin is at best average, the feeling of spinning the ball is commendably clear. It also has a convenient upgrade path to the regular version: retaining the same feeling from topsheet and adjusting only to a harder/bouncier sponge. Second, it can aid transition to stiff blades jumping a long way from a soft one. Other than that, even multiball feeding and defensive purposes has better options.

Having the above said, RX-S is a quality-built rubber and there is no wrong in using it if one desires. Be extra cautious when changing rubbers since the soft sponge can easily be damaged in the process. Hence an averaged (8) for durability: (9.5) for good durability if stuck on the same blade and (6.5) for sponge fragillity upon rubber removal/glue removal.

It may be a brother of the regular RZ but the characteristics are quite different. The overall feeling of RZ-EH is more direct and less bouncy. Throw angle is medium-high, trajectory is longer, tackiness is 15%-20% lesser, weight is even heavier and sponge feels very much harder. Spin is still pretty high but slightly lower comparing to RZ. Speed deficiency of RZ is fixed by increased sponge hardness and this rubber can be a medium-fast spinny powerhouse if one has to capability to always hit it through. If not, the touch can at times be thick and mushy.

The weight of this rubber is uncommonly heavy so watch out for lopsidedness between front/back side if it is a factor to consider. The hard sponge of RZ-EH can properly compensate support for a softer/slower blade but the best blade synergy should be medium-soft to medium-hard depending on playing style. Not recommended for blade too stiff/low dwell.

The tackiness makes it uncomfortably high throw right out of the package...play for around half an hour to wear out the super sticky layer, then the throw angle becomes reasonable - still high but more stable and easier to control.

Spin is the rubber's strength. The slightly tacky top sheet does the job. It will diminish over some time but the rubber itself is still super grippy. The sponge is measured considerably hard but the actual feeling is not. More like well-supported than having the need to specially exert effort to hit through it. An additional note is that the sponge stayed sturdy even after multiple re-gluing, which may not always be the case with softer ones.

Excellent performance in looping but not that easy to do a direct smash. The high throw angle will kick in and unstably mess with the smash angle/direction. Moreover, lack of speed will hinder the smash and a simple topspin stroke may as well create more threat.

Overall a unique but very affordable rubber. Pairs well with medium to stiff blades. May be too slow with softer blades.

One of the best rubber in terms of price to durability ratio. Medium to medium-high throw. Very linear output with low upper limit. From observation, good BH choice for developing players although it is also a FH choice for some. It lacks an obvious character but the overall feeling is comfortable. Can be a good or bad aspect, depending on what a player demands. If one does not know what to choose, this rubber may be a good one to start with.

Speed:
Blades with a hard veneer is preferred if one wants to have medium fast speed, otherwise it lands around medium. For perspective, a competitive player would call it a slow rubber but an average amateur may find it controllably fast.

Spin:
Super easy to create spin but not very spinny in actual performance. The clear feeling on gripping and spinning the ball creates an illusion of generating huge spin, while in reality the effect is average at best.

Durability:
Very playable for a long time if you do not mind the sides chipping a little over time. Not too affected by humidity and temperature overall.

Control:
Best suited for developing players who started on slower rubbers. It is just about controllable enough for a complete beginner but on the speedy side. Very controllable from intermediate level.