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Hey guys! In this video we’re joined with the European Team Champion and World Number 40 Joao Geraldo who loves to test equipment!

So the World Number 1 and 2022 World Champion Fan Zhendong has his own signature ALC blade out now with Butterfly. We tested the blade to see how it stacks up to other blades we have tested including the Viscaria which this blade is based on. I used Tenergy 05 on my forehand and Dignics 05 on my backhand, Joao used the Dignics 05 on both his forehand and and backhand.

For those who need a good rubber for block and flat hits, a little less sensitive to incoming spin, Rakza 9 is the rubber for them. The rubber is quite difficult to control in the short game and it doesn't create that much spin, but if your game is based on blocks and flat shots, it's definitely worth trying the Rakza 9.

For a more detailed analysis, see my video review...

Rakza X does not excel anywhere in particular, but in no segment of the game will it disappoint, that's why it's a top all-round rubber. Rakza X is the best buy for players who need an all-round rubber or players who are not sure which segment of their game the rubber needs to cover the best.
For a more detailed analysis, see my video review...

My first professional backhand rubber was the Tenergy 19. The forehand was the Tenergy 05. The best table tennis-related decision I've made was the put the 19 on my forehand too.

Speed; The speed is just about the same as T05's speed (only around 5% less). You can pretty easily make the killer shots (smashes, flat hits, volleys, counterattacks) like with the T05.

Spin; The spin is slightly, but not unsignificantly higher than the T05's spin. This is thanks to the greater dwell-time the sponge provides you. Though the sponge hardness for both T19 and T05 are the same, but the T19 feels a little bit softer. Topspins, underspins and sidespins are pure quality with this rubber. The grippy topsheet does all the work for you (some at least).

Control; The control is higher than the T05's control. The T19's greater dwell-time provides you higher safety and margin for error when it comes to handling incoming spins. There is no extreme catapult effect, thus it gives you a better chance to direct the ball wherever you want to. It is spin-sensitive (because it is spinny), but not that spin-sensitive like the T05.

Anything else; This rubber has tons of feel, it is a pleasure to play with it. If you were or have been playing with T05, you'll easily adapt to the T19. It is much easier to use and utilize than T05. It is durable, it can last until 3-6 months if used properly. Only thing you should look out for is to clean it regularly and properly (only water or wet wipes, no cleaners).

An excellent rubber for all round players who like a linear feel.
It's perfect for returning players who learned to play without catapult effect.
Allows for both controlled light touches and powerful offensive shots all with excellent control.
Because the power is linear, speed is directly proportional to effort, so you do need to put power in to hit winners. But when you do they are very good. This may make it unsuitable for those who have high level control but not much power and would benefit from more assistance.
It's quite a spinny rubber, yet at the same time is not overly spin sensitive, if you put a tiny bit of your own spin it tends to dampen any incoming spin nicely.

The Donic Waldner Senso Carbon is a very good allround blade. It is classed as OFF- but I would surely put it as ALL+, if not ALL, maybe because I am used to using fast blades. If you want to get good speed and make it feel like an offensive blade, pair it with tenergy or Donic bluefre rubbers. For more control, you can use slower rubbers like the Donic Baracuda or the Butterfly Rozena. Very good blade for allround players, but I am a very offensive player so I think it needed more speed, and felt like it wasn't good enough.

The Donic Baracuda is one of the greatest rubbers I've ever tried. It can generate very good amounts of rotation, but it lacks a little bit of speed. It is a very bouncy rubber with a high throw angle.

The Donic Ovtcharov No.1 is a very fast blade. It has good control, it's more controllable than a Timo Boll ALC in my opinion but for me, it still lacks control. I use it with a Donic bluefire M1 on the forehand, and Donic bluefire JP03 on the backhand. Overall great blade. It has a nice feeling but my coach wants me to change it because he thinks it has too much vibration. He is right, but I like feeling the ball so I have no problem with vibration.

Blades i have used before: Timo Boll ALC, Innerforce ZLC, Rosewood NCT V, Infinty VPS and a bunch of Stiga blades.I found that this blade sutit my playstyle the most. Very similar to Timo Boll ALC but is better with backhand punches, cheaper and in my opinion better looking.

The grip and the throw angle is way too low despite being a semi-tacky rubber. I tried this rubber on my backhand and it was an absolute nightmare at the beginning. Coming from a European rubber on backhand, the throw angle is simply way too low. The speed was incredible slow as well, I had to put a lot of effort into my strokes to get it over the net (especially on backspin balls) I would simply not recommend this rubber to anyone. Don't buy it.

Donic Acuda S2 is a excellent rubber for the all-round game. The top sheet is very grippy, which gives you a lot of spin on your shots. However, the sponge is quite hard, so you don't get a lot of power on your shots. The control is excellent, and the spin potential is very good. This rubber is great for players who want a lot of control and spin on their shots, but don't need a lot of power. Overall, the Donic Acuda S2 is a great rubber for the all-round game.

Rakza Z has a slightly harder sponge, 51 degrees. What makes it heavier, cut to 157x150mm weighs 52g. According to what it's like to play with it, I'd say it's closer to ESN tensor rubbers than to Chinese sticky rubbers, but it's that stickiness that gives it extra spin, so it's actually a real hybrid rubber and, in my opinion, one of the best hybrid rubbers on the market. With counter topspin and flicks, it is not necessary to pay so much attention to the angle of the racket. I have noticed that if I misjudge the amount of opponent rotation, with the Rakza Z I can put the ball back on the table pretty easy. When I started playing with Rakza Z I noticed that I attack the opponents serve much more. Also, during the game I decide to counterspin more, because the rubber gives me more security, so I decide to attack more often. See my more detailed analysis in the video review below.

Tenergy 19 is a new rubber from Butterfly that has been added to the already known Tenergy collection, so I will compare it with Tenergy collection. Although these have the same sponge, due to the different geometry of the pips, Tenergy 19 has the feeling to be the softest of all of the rubbers from the Tenergy collection. If, of course, we exclude the FX versions. So with Tenergy 19, the ball gets into the sponge more and because of that it stays on the racket a little longer, so the control is very good. The most famous rubber from the Tenergy collection is the 05. It is much bouncier than the Tenergy 19. So Tenergy 19 is easier to control than Tenergy 05 during the service and short game. Also, because the ball is on the racket longer, it is easier to play a counter topspin.When I started playing with the Tenergy 19 I saw immediately that it was very good in the block, but the more I played with it, the more I used the active block and noticed how much security I actually had in that active block. Practically, if I positioned my feet well, I couldn't miss the block. For flat shots and block, this combination of Tenergy sponge and the new topsheet is really good.See my more detailed analysis in the video review below.

I have tried a lot of blades in the last 6 months, including a few very decent 5 ply - these include;Primorac / Stiga all-round wood / Nittaku Acoustic / Nittaku ViolinWhilst I very much liked the Acoustic and Violin, the OSP is just a cut above in terms of build quality and feel. It is a little slower than the Acoustic and maybe pretty similar to the Violin but the handle is certainly for superior to both the large handle and std handled Nittaku blades.I have come to this blade after using both an HL5X and Viscaria, having realised that I play better and more consistently with an all wood blade. I can use rubbers that would render the Viscaria or HL5 very difficult for me to control and the slower blade with higher dwell just gives me back some of that control and time - hence better quality and skinnier shots with more control.So far this is the best blade I have used (Currently with D09c on FH and Rasanter C48 on BH)

Review for Killer 1,5mm Highly disruptive short pips. Behaves as medium pips. Very good for allround offensive game play with low friction short pips. For all around play 1,5mm, for better offensive options thicker sponge recommended. Funktional with ABS plastic ball. Review for Killer Soft Hello , I play with Killer Soft 1,8 some weeks , blade Vodak Diolen Control All+ , non-carbon "outer" composite blade speed range All+/Off-. . Before used many MPs and SPs, LPs. Killer many versions ,Keiler ,Dawei 388C-1, MW955 , Grass D.TecS, Moristo SP, Firestorm and many others. This vid shows good many properties of this rubber. Last year I played with K.O.1,3mm. Because I needed better offensive options and feedback in last tournament from one the best sparing was , that K.O. in my hand is not so disruptive (I play active shots and K.O. is best by passive shots) , I tried to glue Killer 1,5mm. By test on robot I saw , that it is good , but dwell time is not so high as I wished. Logical step was Killer 1,8mm OR Killer Soft 1,8mm with sponge only 37sh. I tried later from 2 reasons - I wished possible safest opening up and I wanted little bit to eliminate effect , that every rubber after some time lost part of first good feel and get little bit harder. First testing - I feel that rubber is too soft , that ball is going into blade by powered shots. But after short time was rubber little bit harder and it was optimal for my todays requests. My conclusion - comparison with Killer 1,5mm Speed - similar to regular Killer with the same sponge thickness. Little bit more bouncy. Spin - due this soft sponge is more possible to change spin value and is possible to give spin into chop or pseudotopspin. Deception - probably 80% efect fall down as regular Killer. But much more possibility taking away the pace by "absorbing" block. Sound - little bit "klap" sound as VOC glued rubber Dwell time - higher Openning up - safer , not needed quick motion by this shot. Chop - more options due softer sponge Aggressivity , powerstrikes - litle bit less Short game - litle bit more difficult Block - more variability/possibilities , one the best properties is absorbing block , big taktical weapon topspin - better options direct game - litle bit more difficult , not so hard and efficient Killer Soft (1,8mm) is going some steps near to klassical short pip due this softer sponge. It has more options in lifting game and less options by direct shots. For me , wit afret 30 years with inverted rubbers on my backhand and due this still influenced technique , is this rubber good option , at least feeling is very good. First results with my regular sparing partners are very promissing , most of matches winn. Best property of this rubber - is possible to play with high stability, allround offensive game.

Before using the ZJ ZLC, I used the Mizutani Jun ZLC. Using the MJ ZLC, it felt grippy. However, until the plastic ball was stiffer, the MJ ZLC was easier to make a spin, but not as high. After replacing the ZJ ZLC, the very hard, stiffer base can make the highest spin balls! The highest spin of the top spin balls with the ZJ ZLC! Sure, the MJ ZLC makes faster balls and discs, but more spin and spin from the ZJ ZLC! Probably the thinner 5.5mm thick base of the ZJ ZLC-it balances spin and speed!

Hey you can find one of my review but after 10-20 hours the blade breaks without any reason, you can find my thread here https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/fo...y-Quality-Broken-blade-after-20-hours-of-playI will not say more it is not first time when koto zlc is breaking very fast, the quality check on this construction is the worst I ever seen. You remember the process of SUPER ALC "it took about 10 years from the first blade prototype to the launch of this new product as we faced various challenges in creating the new Super Arylate-Carbon fiber material" that 's the highest level of being lier . Butterfly lies and lies for their consumers and this is the reason you must think twice if you want to buy any butterfly blade because I don't like when someone lies and gets paid for their lies, Japanese producer should be ashamed with their mind tricks, there is no Lean Production (they sold 5 years old blade in 2021), Six Sigma, no MUDA, no Poka Yoke because no one cares why KOTO ZLC IS BREAKING, no VSM because they value only your money, no quality check (you can see pink kiri core not white core). They really broke their Japanese tradition as being leader of production. China is the leader and everybody knows about that. They didn't use any of magician tricks because they work harder than any Japanese brand. The distributor consumer service (not main place, Germany OEM is cool) is one of the worst. Boer have better consumer service. This is my review and this is soft and easy to broke blade because the flex is very high and they didn't even test the composition, you must choose your poison but it is not worth any stars.

This is probably the most popular blade online- but it has very few reliable reviews. I have played this blade for about 7 months or so. I do not recommend this blade for beginners because it can be too fast and uncontrollable. A better option is Infinity VPS or Yasaka Sweden Extra. Fh: this blade can be a force on the forehand side-however it's difficult to find the right synergy with chinese rubbers. My personal recommendation is for a 40 deg chinese rubber, namely kokutaku 007. Hurricane 3 that has been boosted is also good. Drives are good the ball travels at a good speed with decent feeling. Loops have good power but has average spin for allwood. It lifts heavy underspin with relative ease- to be expected for allwood. Flicks: Probably the best blade I have come across which can deliver flicks with such ease. BH: This blade feels okay on the backhand- my recommendation is to play euro style/ japanese style rubbers. I have switched many rubbers on this, but I found that it played it's best when I had tenergy 19. With T19 I felt that my bh felt controllable with tons of killing power. Drives: The ball travels with a good speed, I think the feeling is crisp. Loops: A bit harder to control in terms of placement, but it's a sufficient pace to pressure opponents. Flicks: BH flicks were good. It's inherent quality of bh flicks depends on what rubber you use. Service: I enjoyed great amount of spin with this blade. Serve return: I was able to chop the ball with immense spin- often I got compliments on this aspect. Now the biggest con to this blade is it's terrible hand feel and vibration. To define vibration- it simply means how the blade feels when you hit a ball in your hand. All blades have vibration- think of a stick hitting the pavement. Blades in a simillar, but slightly different fashion all have this. Vibration will be used interchangeably with hand feel The Ma Lin's vibrations you will either love or hate. Hitting the ball on the sweetspot does not feel rewarding, it has this sort of unexciting feel to it. There's no dopamine when you hit a nice loop. The Ma Lin has decently sized sweetspot but hitting it right on- the ma lin's stiff feeling does not feel good. I think this a very personal preference type of thing- you either love or hate the feeling. It also has mediocre ball feel, compared to other all wood counterparts, the feeling isn't as good as say Infinity VPS. Your question might be why? Why does it play like this in my opinion? I reckon it's because of the Walnut top-ply. This wood is very hard and it's relatively uncommon in the modern era (or any era for that matter) to see it as a top ply. But it's what gives the blade its "signature feeling". Conclusion: A powerful blade for close to the table players, with outstanding service and serve receive- however it's vibrations could be a deal breaker for some people.

After using the normal version of Rakza Z, it was only going to be a matter of time before I tried the EH version!!In many ways RZ EH plays very similarly to RZ, as would be expected, the feel is somewhat harder because of the harder sponge, RZ EH is less bouncy on softer strokes, a little more effort is needed to better engage the sponge, but once accomplished the speed is there.RZ EH has been used on FH only.Tackiness was good out of the packet, I glued new sheets of RZ and RZ EH onto my blade at the same time. RZ still has tackiness similar to new whereas the EH hard version has lost about 50% compared to new.Spin levels are high, kick is good, when looping the feel is good, not too hard not too soft. serving is great, good spin.blocking is fine as well, crisp controlled.Flat hitting is average, add some spin and it’s better!!short game, due to the extra sponge hardness short game control is great, good for pushing, FH flicks are greatThere is some spin sensitivity but nothing to bad, you just have to adjust bat angle to compensate.Throw - not as high as RZAs with RZ, RZ EH doesn’t excel at anything in particular but is good in all aspects of game play.If you have tried RZ and thought it a bit too soft / bouncy / high throw for FH then give RZ EH a goRakza Z series is one of my favourites 😁

I have a lot of Polish fans so I will make review in two languages.I had 3 badges of Michael Maze alc and 3 badges of Marcos Freitas alc. This is bad blade....quality of the ball is probably the worst from every top level blade. I had all of them, I can judge them and this is not worth to mention. Timo Boll ZLC, faster, flexier better pleasure and quality. Every Marcos Freitas alc has the same problem. The ball is going forward even with the highest throw of composition but the spin is low. I don't need to elaborate how this blade works, but it is too bouncy for even Pro players, example Joao Geraldo top player in France, he used it a lot with Dignics but he played 10th times better with Innerforce layer alc. He can use everything because he works like nobody but for us "not pros" this is bad choice and I am scared why people use to write here a lot of good reviews, it is probably first good sight, honeymoon trip, after 4 months you will have problems with back and knees because you must work like nobody and the ball is coming back, there is not too much spin, but balls come back and you must back to your main position from left to right. First sight is trapMiałem 3 sztuki tej deski i 3 sztuki deski Michael Maze alc, to jest zła deska. Jakość piłki jest jedna z najgorszych w porównaniu z każdą topową deską. Ja miałem większość premium desek. Mógłbym je oceniać ale nie jest to warte wspominania, np Timo Boll ZLC, szybsza, lepiej się odkształca i dodaje lepszą przyjemność i jakość. Każdy Freitas ma ten sam problem w porównaniu 3 egzemplarzy. Piłka leci przesadnie do przodu nawet z jej kompozycją która się odnosi do odejścia deski bardzo do góry, po za tym rotacja jest bardzo słaba przy tej windzie. Nie potrzebuje by rozwodzić się jak ta deska pracuje, ale jest zbyt skoczliwa nawet dla zawodowców, np. Portugalski czołowy zawodnik w Francji, on używał jej cały sezon z Dignicsami, jednak jak przyszło co do czego dużo lepiej grał deską innerforce. On może używać deski jakiej chce bo pracuje prawdopodobnie jak nikt inny, jednak dla nas nieprofesjonalnych zawodników to jest zły wybór i jestem przerażony dlaczego ludzie tutaj napisali tyle dobrych recenzji, to jest pewnie związane z pierwszym dobrym wrażeniem, podróż poślubna itp, po 4 miesiącach użytkowania, będziesz miał problemy z plecami, kolanami ponieważ będzies musiał pracować jak nikt, a piłka wciąż będzie wracała. Tutaj nie ma za dużo rotacji, a piłka wciąż wraca, a Ty musisz wciąż wrócić do pozycji z lewej do prawej. Pierwsze dobre wrażenie to pułapka