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I am reviewing the DHS Neo Skyline III rubber boosted with Falco Tempo, usually 2 layers for me. I have played this rubber before without boosting but in my opinion this rubber is designed to be used with booster and the the way it plays boosted and unboosted is completely different. All the ratings I have given regarding speed, spin etc is for boosted version with good technique for chinese rubbers.

General characteristics:

This is a hard and heavy rubber. Actually all the tacky Chinese DHS rubbers have these characteristics. On a fairly standard sized racquet head (for example on my Butterfly Liu Shiwen FL blade) the weight is around 48-50 grams with booster included. Boosting makes the rubber softer, I don't have an instrument for measuring hardness but to me DHS Neo Skyline III still feels a touch harder than Tenergy rubber after 2 layers of Falco Tempo boost. In general with power shots you really have to generate your own power unlike Jap/Euro rubbers like Tenergy in which even brush loops have plenty of spin, speed and power.

FH: I only use this rubber on the FH side. The amount of spin, speed and power is amazing and it feels to me every couple of months when I have improved a little bit I can actually produce more stable shots with slightly more spin, speed and power. This rubber doesn't really bottom out and for me playing quality choppers this can be quite important since I am able to generate more topspin when required against heavy backspin chops. However, you need good stable technique and shots in which you are off balance or not in position is harder to adjust compared with something like Tenergy. The rubber is tacky and has a low throw for me (even boosted) and is very good for short or long push receives as the ball is less likely to pop up. Serves also contain noticeably more spin due to the high tackiness. I have tried provincial, national, blue sponge versions as well but they are incredibly pricey from my point of view and since I am boosting anyway for me there isn't such a significant difference although I do like the national blue sponge versions but then who wouldn't

Disadvantages: need to boost every 2-3 months and also adjustment in technique especially if you are really used to Jap/Euro rubbers like Tenergy.

I use this blade for penhold (I played penhold first before learning shakehand but I still play both styles) and I got the OSP Virtuoso + (chinese penhold handle) back in 2013. Mine came in at 84 grams (as I requested) which I suspect most penhold players would find a little heavy but that's how I like it. With OSP handmade blades you can actually request different head sizes and handle types and even handle orientation for a small additional cost. I just got a standard one and didn't ask for any changes. I am not totally sure what composition is each layer but I am confident that it's a 5 ply wood with limba as outer layers. By the way I would say I am slightly weaker penhold style nowadays (I play more with shakehand now), maybe around 1800 USATT.

General characteristics:

This blade has impressive dwell and feedback for all shots. You can really feel the shot whether you are doing standard drives/loops/blocks and even I feel it has good control when mucking around and doing some lobbing as a penhold player. Before I got the Virtuoso + I played with YEO Ma Lin and DHS Hao 1 and this blade is definitely an upgrade in terms of power and speed. It also has immaculate control for the short receive game which I feel is really important in a penholder's game.

FH: This is obviously vital for a penholder's game and I get the impression with an OSP penhold handle the handle orientation is naturally FH orientated as in the angle of the handle is not perfectly in centre with the rest of the blade. For me drives/loops/counters/blocks have excellent power and feel and dwell time is plenty whether you like hitting off the bounce or take a step back and loop from mid distance. The only small issue I have is that I feel perhaps the a slightly harder out ply would work better for me so in fact I have been thinking about getting a OSP V'King blade which I believe is identical except that it uses koto as outer ply instead of limba. I don't really play many topspin rallies way off the table but to me the trajectory is mid-low so you have to adjust further away from the table.

BH: I use both penhold traditional backhand, particularly those which comes fast into the middle of my body and RPB for looping top and backspin mid-far distance. Traditional backhand block feels really good with this blade, it has a very solid feeling when blocking and there is plenty of control and the blade feels like it borrows the opponent's power very well on blocks. I would say I have a pretty good RPB for an intermediate player and I can generate a surprising amount of power with my wrist even for loop kills with RPB. I have to say though that the orientation of the racquet handle (OSP penhold style) is not advantageous for RPB in my opinion, blades such as DHS Hurricane Hao II are in fact better in this one respect. I would also prefer a more stiff, direct feeling for RPB blocks/punches (see above for the V'King blade). RPB loops are very good though due to the softer, high dwell time.

I generally wouldn't ever rate 5/5 or 10/10 when reviewing any equipment since I simply believe there is always room for improvement for the "perfect" blade. The TTD reviews only allows whole numbers on rating, but I would rate this blade generally more like 4.5/5, I believe only the outer ply could be a little more stiff (either koto or slightly thicker?) and it would be near perfect for me. This is a battle hardened weapon for me, the blade has plenty of "scars" and of course like any wooden blade you will get scratches and small chips off edges but the durability is pretty amazing as much as I can tell.

General characteristics:

I got my Butterfly Liu Shiwen FL from Megaspin back in 2012. It came in at 87 grams which for me is a little lighter than I would like as I prefer something around 90-92 grams but I understand that weight range is not really available for this blade. I played penhold first with rpb (and I still do play both styles) and this blade was my second shakehand blade after I started practicing shakehand style. Initially I didn't play much with this blade but in 2015 I have been promoted to A reserves grade in my local TT league (I estimate this to be roughly 2000 USATT) and I have been using this blade exclusively in the past one year. By the way this is a 5 ply wood + 2 plies of ZL fibre which is placed on either side of the core layer (identical structural composition to the Butterfly Innerforce ZLF blade and the newer Butterfly Ai Pro Innerforce ZLF blade)

It is good for close/mid table strokes such as drives/loops, excellent for short and long pushes and has excellent speed/control ratio. There is excellent dwell comparable to classics such as YEO blade and there is good vibration as feedback so you know when you have mastered a stroke. In other words this is excellent for the intermediate players who are developing and consolidating their strokes.

FH: drives/loops/counter-hits/counter-loops close to the table is impressive with this blade. The control and spin possible is excellent and whilst it's far from being the most powerful blade, with the right rubbers you can generate enough power for loop drives/loop kills. I use boosted commercial DHS Skyline III rubber and I love the fact that I can feel the power I am generating and how it's transferred onto the ball. As noted in the cons above, this blade does drop in power substantially when you are at far distance so if you are at a level where you are playing a lot of topspin rallies from far distance or if this is simply your preferred distance to play then this blade may not work for you.

BH: blocks/punches/drives/loops are once again very good close to the table. I am particularly impressed with the stability of the blocks even against strong topspin from the opponent. It does feel to me that big BH topspins are quite difficult with this blade but then again I rely more on my FH and for me on the BH I hardly ever find myself at far distance. Short and long pushes against serves are very precise and you can feel exactly where the ball is going.

Some notable pros who are/who have played with this blade: Liu Shiwen herself! Before you buy this blade I recommend you see how the "owner" of this blade plays herself. Of course few players can match her technique but still it gives a good idea of the advantages of this blade with a close to the table style.

I have also noticed that male pro players such as Korea's Lee Sangsu and Portugal's Tiago Apolonia have used this blade