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I bought this blade in 2014 looking to replace my Viscaria because I felt it lacks the speed and power.
I was searching for a blade that has the control and dwell of the Visca yet faster than it. then came out this blade
slapped a Tenergy 80 for fh and the fx version for the backhand. My wish was granted a fast blade with excellent feel and dwell
a year later I changed rubbers and put 05 and 64 the hidden potential of this blade was revealed. The ball stays so long that I felt
the spin produced by the 05 was amplified. My spins were golf balls and the 64 for backhand was the best in terms of blocking actively or passively.

As my level improved due to experiences from National games I started to like the Mizu even more specially in counters and long table rally.
Now I am using two 05's to compensate for the slower polyball. Still producing golfballs whether in the forehand or backhand side.
Long table play,flicks,block and control in service is still the same. artillery in long table, crunchy flicks, stable blocks and Mizu like serve.

PS. I changed my Mizu for Akrasia for some time buuuuuut eventually went back
as it is more stable and my spins here is more consistent.

I switched my FH from the Airoc Astro S into this rubber cuz my problem in short games when using Airoc Astro S. Before switching into this rubber I tried my friends T05, T80 and Xiom Sigma Euro II also the Calibra LT Plus. With T05, the problem is, the rubber is so hard that is hard to control and when I loop, my friends easily counter-loop my loops. Different problem with T80. With the T80, when playing close, it always lead the ball off the table, even with less effort. Now the problem of Xiom Sigma Euro II. The rubber isn't suits my blade, The Intensity NCT Carbon. The dwell time with the Sigma is ultra short. Same problem with the Calibra LT Plus cuz of the super-hard sponge. But those problems I didn't encountered with the Calibra LT. With The Calibra LT, I can execute any of my friend strokes and fits well with my Chinese style of play. And this rubber fix my problem in short games and still the best for flicks. But for BH, I still use the Airoc Astro S

My best Stiga rubber so far. Im using it niw in the intensity carbon and all my shots are amazing. Fh and bh topspins are superb. Drives and underspin loops are the best. The only bad news is touching. The less amount of gear makes touching super low, but gew adjustment makes touches with this rubber deadly. Im an rbp penholder with chinese style of technique, with this thing counter loops and topspins are efffortless. Serves are good too

The Calibra LT sound is a great rubber if you like soft sponges. It has a long dwell, but fast catapult feel leaving the bat. Great control and precision to make amazing shots. The spin is awesome, its equally effective in rallies and serves. The defensive side and the short game of the calibra sound isn't the greatest. you gotta stay on offense, the sponge is too soft for me to get good touch in the short game

What is OSP...?
I had to find out who this manufacture was, so I decided to get a blade and chose the new OSP Virtuoso CRWi UNI OFF which is pretty similar in composition as my main blade the DHS W968 2nd edition.

I have heard so many good things about their blades which comes in high handcrafted custom quality.
I must say that the rumors were true when I received the blade.
IMO the quality is higher than brands like Butterfly! So smooth on the edges and and you can actually feel and smell is has been made hand.
This blade is a beauty and I am really looking forward to see how it performs - hopefully as it looks!

My custom OSP Virtuoso CRWi UNI OFF specs, according to the data card which is incl., are:
Head size small 157x150
weight 87.3g
thickness 5.63mm
FL handle Custom Master shaped
Balance center/head











In depth analysis of the OSP Virtuoso CRWi UNI OFF.

After reading a lot of positive things about OSP and their popular model Virtuoso it made me curious what's the fuzz was about. Until end of 2015 OSP haven't had any commercial blades with carbon and when they announced their new carbon blades I knew, I had to get one!

I had to find out who this manufacture was, so I decided to get a blade and chose the new OSP Virtuoso CRWi UNI OFF which is pretty similar in composition as my main blade the DHS W968

Unboxing:
When I opened the box which the blade arrived in I could smell the varnish OSP use as sealing. It was like being in a carpenter's workshop and by the looks and smoothness of the edges of the blade one could easy tell the blade was handcrafted. The quality of the Virtuoso CRWi is so high some would say it is better than even Butterfly blades!

I received my blade according to the specs I wanted and from the data card the spec are
Head size small 157x150
Weight 87.3g
Thickness 5.63mm
Handle FL Custom Master shaped
Balance center/head

Composition: Limba-Limba-Carbon UNI-Ayous-Carbon UNI-Limba-Limba (not confirmed)

The box includes the Virtuoso CRWi UNI OFF blade, the specification and greeting card from OSP and a beautiful ruler for measuring net height and rubber thickness.








Drive
When driving with this blade I could immediately feel the the high amount of control even with hard rubbers like H3 FH and T05 BH. Compared to both IF ALC and my DHS W968 this blade had more feel which made it easy to direct the ball where you want it.

Loop
In the opening game you could really feel the ease to make open ups due to the dwell that the limba outer ply helps create. Controllable slow spinny loops is done with less effort on both sides with a medium arc. You can really feel the ball dig into the bat. When looping from mid distance I could feel the carbon layer being kind of activated and adding extra speed to the loops. To compared the speed to other blades it would be similar to the IF ALC, but maybe a bit less speed. For my personal preference the speed was lagging a notch. The blade plays like if you loop slowly the blade acts like an ALL+ blade and with higher load it acts like an OFF blade.



Short play
In this part of the game the control just made the it easy to receive slow and relative fast incoming services short with good quality. This means low receives and with good amount of spin if you are able to snap the ball.

Flicks
Banana flicks it just amazing with this blade! Again the dwell and amount of control is just evident going over the table and grab the ball like the ball is sticking to your rubber.

Conclusion
The esthetic of the OSP Virtuoso CRWi UNI OFF is just amazing and I can not pinpoint anything negative about the blade or the quality. I personally would have chosen a faster blade if I was to use it as my main blade. Perhaps the Ultimate or Martin would be have been a better choice for me. I would recommend this blade to players who plays close to the table and like to take the first advantage by opening with spinny loops or flicking over the table. Also the player that likes to keep the table with controllable blocks. If you would get a carbon blade with an all wood feel this is a really good alternative!

This rubber was amazingly precise on my bh when used with the stiga emerald vps penhold blade (as i am a penholder). But some problems when i flip my racket and use it on forehand. When start playing on mid to far distance it always direct the ball to the net. For me its good on flicking, agressive counter attack and bh drive. My opinion this rubber suits more for bh than fh. Spin is ok. Weight is far lighter that the non-FX version and its also controllable.

This is one of my two main composite blades, and is the debatably faster one with better feeling for power loops and heavy pushes. I use the blade with Xiom Omega V Asia on both sides. The blades are high quality and come with plastic topsheet coverings that are reusable for the rubber.

This blade has a limba outer ply vs. the Euro which uses Koto. This difference dictates most/all of the differences between the Pro and Euro. I am a limba lover, so I like the Pro a lot. That said, the Euro is the only koto blade that I have ever been able to get along with in all my years of TT so the X-Carbon + Zephyllium must be a pretty good composite all by itself.

The blade is definitely not bouncy and the power really kicks in on harder shots. I used it with T05 with the cell ball in 2014 and having switched to OVA ( Omega V Asia), I don't feel anything is lost with the plastic ball.

The blades are constructed with jointless wood per Xiom advertising to make the blades feel as close to one piece as possible with minimal disjoint. They need sanding as the handle is not smooth and will cause blisters if not sanded. That said, there is a sander that comes with the blade that is sufficient and the labor required is not a lot.

I would not feel that I was using anything inferior to a top Butterfly blade. The issue would be whether you like the handle. The ST handles were very good and felt mainstream. While I currently use the flare, I found it initially not to me suiting but later adapted after I changed my grip recently and my grip change suited the FL handle more than the ST, hence my return to this blade. But I hold the handles closer to the neck and people who like to have the handles in their palm have sometimes complained about the handle being too skinny or the base too fat. It's perfect for me, but I point this out so that you make sure you are comfortable with the handle before purchasing. Handles are a highly underestimated part of blade evaluation.

I will continue to evaluate vs. the Euro over time. Highly recommended, more so because its price point is good vs. quality for similar Butterfly blades if you buy from TT-japan. Initially, its price point was really low, but was raised over time to compete with Butterfly but it is still lower and better, IMO.

Edited after 1 year of use

This rubber is amazing. It has great feel and high throw but it lands as the end of the table instead of being near to the net. The top sheet has some kind of special tech that is similar to rasant grip but better and more consistent. It doesnt feel tacky at all but it has all the good properties of a tacky rubber and non of the cons. But this means that its not 100% the same as a chinese rubber. Sponge is medium and its very direct

This rubber is spinny, fast but not too fast and controllable and not as hard and has great feel. An analogy would be the speed and power of T05, control,dwell and feel of Xiom vega europe and spin of neo H3. Its not as good as its comparison counterpart but thats the price for having everything

This is a very good BH rubber but its hard to use as a FH rubber if you play close/mid distance dues to the high throw and long trajectory as the ball will often overshoot even with perfect technique. Its amazing if you play far distance but that comes at a price as well and not many people play far.

This rubber is good for BH flicks and looping underspin as the tackiness makes it easy to generate enough spin to counter the backspin and the dwell time is sufficiently long so you will not feel that the ball leaves the blade too quick (It has longer dwell than T05 and 64, almost as long as Xiom vega Euro, If this is too quick then you're not ready for this type of rubber). Furthermore, the path trajectory (High throw and lands end table) helps increase margin of error on BH techniques which are more compact compared to FH, but this has the opposite effect on the FH side as balls tend to overshoot if you are not careful.

I must however stress that this rubber plays and feels weird with celluloid balls. The ball bounces slightly off and the sound is very unpleasent. But since plastic balls are in play now, this point is fairly mute unless you play celloliud as you're a recreational player instead of a competitor player.

It is also fairly sensitive to spin so its not easy to punch through spin unless the ball is short and high and passive blocking is slightly challenging but not overly hard. Active blocking is fine. I think this is due to the tackiness of the rubber. This sensitivity to incoming spin also means you have to be careful when receiving serve, you have to spin everything unless its a no spin serve, in short, good touch is required. It is however easy to keep the ball low and short when receiving as long as you receive the ball correctly.

Conclusion: Outsanding rubber for BH but not so good on Fh. Its very spinny and controllable with enough speed for kill potential. Its sensitive to incoming spin so good touch is required. Some skill required to use this rubber well, stay away if you like to slap and punch balls.

I ordered this blade because I felt that the ZJK ALC was a bit too fast for me and because I felt that the koto outer plies would still give it a similar feel. I have been using this blade for the past 2 weeks and have been positively surprised by this blade. My last two blades were the ZJK ALC and before that the Stiga Allround NCT and I will compare the E-1 to both of those blades.

Rubbers: FH:Tenergy 80 (max), BH: Evolution FX-P (max). Playing style: Close to the table, controlled offense



1. Short game: The blade behaves quite well while serving and receiving. I can put a bit more spin on shorter serves compared to the ZJK ALC as there is less catapult. It is not as slow as the Allround NCT in this aspect but it should be controllable for most players. The harder outer layers also helped while flicking the ball. Fast long serves are no problem at all as the blade has sufficient speed.

2. Opening up: The E-1 is not as unforgiving as the ZJK ALC in opening up as the balls are not propelled forwards as much. Slow spinny opening topspins were possible as well as a faster topspin against backspin over the table.

3. Counters/Blocking: Here is where the blade really shines compared to a traditional 5 ply blade. The koto outer layers give the blade a more crisp feeling compared to a standard 5 ply blade with limba outer layers. he solidity of the blade gives it a better feeling while blocking or playing fast counters close to the table. It feels similar to the ALC in this aspect, though you feel more vibrations because of the absence of the ALC layers. However, this blade does not vibrate nearly as much as the Stiga Allround NCT.

4. Mid-distance: Though I normally don't play this far from the table, you could generate sufficient speed 2-3 meters behind the table. My loops did not exactly have the zip that I had with the ALC, they were still fast enough for my level.

5. Counter-topspin: Though the ALC was more solid in playing counter-topspins, this blade still performed very well. I had more control with counter-topspinning close to the table, compared to the Allround NCT.

6. Build Quality: The blade felt very nice in the hand. The handle was a bit anatomic, but I sanded it down. The neck is not as wide as with most Stiga blades and I prefer it this way as well as it allows more types of grips. I change my grip between backhand and forehand strokes and I was able to do so without a problem. The wider neck of the Allround NCT would feel uncomfortable in this aspect.

7: Sweet-spot: What you would expect from a 5 ply blade.

8. Final thoughts: Though it feels like an all-wood blade (and it is!), it was more similar to the ALC in terms of feel, compared to the Allround NCT. It lacks the extra speed that the ALC provides but makes up for it in control. I would recommend this blade for a wide range of players who like playing a controlled-offensive game. I think that only high level players with a solid technique/game will miss the extra speed of a carbon blade. I also think that this is a better blade for developing players (especially with the introduction of the plastic ball) compared to typical ALL+ blades as you don't need as much effort in generating power but you maintain a good amount of control.

FYI, the picture is old. It now looks like JM SZLC but with white lines instead of yellow. Its also 5+2 ply unlike the description which gives 3+2. This blade has great feel and feedback as the ZLC flexes and transmit vibration of the ball well, the top ply is also limba which helps. Looping is great as the ZLC flexes and provides dwell time but the ball will travel fast once it leaves the blade so you have the best of both worlds. Seems to compliment a chinese full arm style loop but europeon style works but not as well. You do have to come forward more and hit the ball slightly to the side which makes looping backspin on the BH tricky. Definately more suitable for 1 wing loopers who step around on the BH side.Punching and flicking is surprisingly great even against backspin. Counterlooping is amazing as the soft wood and ZLC will negate some spin and power from your opponents loop, this increases your margin of error. Throw angle is abit low but that could be due to my rubbers which also have low throw. Touch is controllable once you know the treshold of force that causes the zlc to flex. Any force below this treshold will cause the blade to play like an all wood blade. The treshold is quite low so be careful if you have bad touch. Similar to touch, the serve is tricky as sometimes you will engage the carbon and sometimes you dont. Due to the nature of serving, its harder to control when and where the the ZLC comes into play but with practice I'm sure this wont be an issue.

Overall a great blade. I like to refer it as the ZLC version of Viscaria. I believe anyone who can control ALC can control ZLC with practice and vice versa, the only reason you want to choose ZLC is for the playstyle it supports which is does for me.

Here's my review on the Nexy Higgs

Rubber used:
Forehand Stiga Airoc Astro M
Back Hand Xiom Omega V Tour

First Drillings: Speed is really amazing much on control but for the speed especially polyballs dragging is seen here.

Top Spin: This blade is pretty awesome really having different gears base on the set up used.

Short strokes : near the table , quite an adjustment needed but still great.

3rd ball attack: Looping is quite a breeze near the table even mid distance. Drives is what amazes me since this is where speed is created.

Back hand: Control for blocks is there due to the feel of the wood. Punch blocks is where speed generates and backhand loops is also great. Flicks on forehand and backhand is perfect and splendid on your next set up of play.

Overall Summary: This blade is an OFF to OFF+ blade it may be due to the Wenge plies . Short strokes is really great on this blade. Away from the table is where you get your control, and when you set up the game you can rip off full blast. This review is base on my experience. It may vary on different players who used it.

Here's my Review on the Zealot Blade: Rubbers use for forehand : Xiom Omega V Europe 2mm Backhand : Butterfly Tenergy 80
Now base on drillings its great to use . I would say this is a balance blade. Easy to block/punch block those topspins and loops when near the table.

For Spins : Top spin near the table is amazing and also when doing loops using this blade. Addictive if i may say so.
Flicks not that fast but it would be easy for the next set up play.
Drive's also great. Not that stiff but Flexible never thought that this is a 5 ply all wood blade. As i would do some loops or even top spin it has dwell time.
Though effort is needed when away from the table but who's complaining. I like the blade and the feeling of control during the game .

From my understanding the 40+ ball was introduced to make the game more competitive by slowing down the speed a tad. I think they achieved their goal. Longer rallies do make the game more enjoyable to both play (recreational) and watch. With that being said my 40+ review will try only to consist of comparisons with other 40+ balls.

The 3 star Nittaku 40+ Premium is the cream of the crop. Unlike other balls the weight and hardness make this ball the absolute best. Other 40+ balls that you will indeed come across will be lighter, they'll be more floaty, and they'll take way more effort to produce quality spin with control in placement. In fact the other 40+ balls, with the exception of one, will nearly be impossible to control consistently. The Nittaku is truly a 3 star ball. Other balls, with the exception of one (butterfly G40), seem to be 2 star if not 1 star balls which were accidentally tagged as 3 star balls.

Serves = fantastic (DHS came close but Nittaku is still better)
Rallies = superb
Touch play = consistent (you will need to remember this ball is bigger than a 38 and thus slight more bouncy)
Spin = excellent (just watch the pro players popping balls up, they're not trying to. Lol)
Close to table play = excellent quality and consistent trajectory
Off table play = cuts through the wind (yes it's slower than the smaller balls previously used, but again the weight and hardness of the ball makes off the table play direct and you'll have confidence in your shot making ability)

Now for the bad - You can buy a 3 pack and not get one round ball (Nittaku better step it up, especially if they are going to charge roughly $3 per ball). You can buy a 12 pack and get roughly 3 to 4 round balls (maybe). And that's with being lenient and not over scrutinizing the balls chosen. Some very picky players I've seen reject some balls that I accept. But it just goes to show that there is somewhat of a tradeoff. Excellent playing properties sometimes have to come at the sacrifice of a perfectly spherical ball. But that's my only down side...oh, I almost forgot the price. $3 per ball makes you cringe when the ball is accidently stepped on. Ouch!

Fantastic rubber - supports all looping styles - the soft topsheet allows for heavy spin on slow loops and great arc as well. The hard sponge allows for hard drive loops. You can be extremely consistent looping with this rubber no matter your looping style. The linear speed is not super high which makes it good for controlled blocking speeds, but the soft topsheet makes it reactive to spin, which makes passive blocking more difficult and active blocking more rewarding.

Highly recommended. If you find it too heavy in max, 2.0mm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfCRWfcIz4g

Hey guys, this is my first review, so if there is anything I've missed out - Let me know!

Just a note, I play with Tenergy 05 on Forehand and Tenergy 64 on the backhand.

I have played with the Schlager Carbon (SC) for pretty much all my table tennis life (15 years) - So this is what I have as a benchmark.



Speed:

It's fast sure... But it's not THAT fast - It is noticeably slower than the SC. Especially away from the table. That being said, the spin that you can generate with the blade, gives it that extra pop during looping rallies which makes it superior to the SC in this respect.

Control/Feel

This is all subjective of course, but I found it excellent in this area.

The SC has absolutely no "vibration", whereas with the Garaydia, you can instantly feel the ball when hitting simple forehand to forehand rallies. I'd say it was quite a bit harder than the SC. It also has a very "carbon" feel, which I personally like.

Spin

The extra dwell I was able to get on both looping wings was excellent. Typical loops were being blocked long, and the slow loops were very difficult for the opposition to handle.

Blocking

It's not the brick wall that the SC is, but it is still excellent. Drive blocks are easy, and the extra feel I got allowed better placement.


Conclusion:

Overall, my initial impressions with this blade are very good.

The build quality is clear from the off, and it's very nice in the hand.

If you are looking for a blade to give you a bit of extra speed (or a bit less if coming from a SC), then I'd certainly recommend the Garydia ZLC

Drinkhall Carbon Powerspin Blade
Weight: 86g
Thickness: 6.2mm
Type: Carbon OFF
Composition: Koto, Carbon, Ayous, Kiri
Rubbers tested with blade: Evolution MX-P

Hi everyone, in the review video below I am with Paul Drinkhall the 2016 World Team Bronze Medallist, and we are looking at his personal blade with Tibhar, the Drinkhall Powerspin Carbon.

Video review:


Written Review:

This blade is comprised of 7 plys and made up of 5 layers of wood and 2 layers of arylate carbon with a simple and clean design. Paul worked with Tibhar to develop him a blade that gives him outstanding control with high end speed and good shock absorption on impact.

The blades handle and surface feel very smooth, and is very comfortable to hold. The blade weighs 86 grams which is reasonably light and has a thickness of 6.2mm.

Myself and Paul use the Tibhar Evolution MX-P rubbers on both sides of the blades.

Topspin:

At the beginning I noticed the power I could generate with this blade the ball literally rocketed off the bat. I could topspin with a lot of speed whilst maintaining the control due to the direct arc. The blades crisp sound and carbon feel is very evident. Similar to the Drinkhall all round blade review i had difficulty controlling Paul’s extreme topspin shots due to the intense speed and spin. It is so impressive how Paul gets so much quality on the ball with such small, compact strokes. Paul had tried many samples in the build up to making this blade and he said this final version had the best balance between speed and spin for the advanced player.

Speed & spin:

During 3 point forehands I liked how I felt confident going for power on low balls. Even when Paul dropped back from the table I felt I was able to keep the pressure on him without using too much effort.

Combining the blades with the Evolution MX-P rubbers gave us both a large amount of spin. The Powerspin Carbon has sufficient dwell when playing against backspin to produce a lot of spin on the ball. I also liked the arc I could produce when I slowed the game down and went for maximum rotation on the ball.

Short Game:

We both had good feeling when touching short over the table, again one of Paul’s strength is his short game with flicks and close range attacks and found no problem hitting directly through the ball with pace.

Counter Spin:

Counter topspin worked well due to the direct nature of the blade playing close range shots.

Away from table:

Playing against Paul’s forehand topspin from away from the table was not easy however when I timed the ball well and connected accurately I could produce a great topspin.

Conclusion:

The Drinkhall Power Spin blade has definitely been designed for fast attacking close range play. The blade is very suitable for players who like to play aggressive on flicks and 3 ball attacks, something which Paul is renowned for. Paul really is a world class player and, when playing with him, it amazed me how much precision and timing he had in all of his shots. Although this blade is great at aggressive shots, he noted how he felt he could hold attacks well when passive blocking. This well balanced blade we would recommend it for players who are proficient in technique and have a fast stable attacking game. This blade is definitely a top of the range blade from Tibhar, stacking up well with other premium carbon blades.

Photos from the review:

Blade Composition


Blade Weight


Blade thickness


Me and Paul

Soft. But not too soft. It feels harder than Evolution FX-P. Great touch and control for all kinds of stroke.
You are facing no surprise when playing : everything is done with tremendous consistency and stability.

Nice sound, especially when brand new.
Quite fast. It slows down when the boost effect fades away but the rubber remains reasonably fast.

The topsheet of this high-end rubber is top-quality, very grippy and enduring.

The blocks are amazing, especially on a carbon blade.
On Ma Lin Carbon, the blocks are superb!

I'm currently enjoying this bad boy on my BH.

looks strange. for some people can be too heavy and fast, but i liked it.
overall very good balls

Double Day is not a well know brand outside of Asia and I only found out about it through another player how posted a travel blog for Taiwan where he talked about this manufacturer and some of the blades they make. It's said that DD used to make blades for Butterfly but I have not been able to confirm this from additional sources.

Now to the actually blade I decided on, Valiant ALC Winner a 5 ply blade 5,7mm thick with ALC. This makes this blade similar to a Timo Boll ALC but with 2 ply's less and for 1/3 of the price and that is an absolut steal if you ask me.

The blade came in a nice box that beats any manufacturers packaging by miles and on the side was all the stats of the blade including this particular blades weight of 87g. I had asked the seller ping-pong.tw if they had a blade around 90g and this was the heaviest blade they had in stock.

The outer ply was in perfect condition rivalling the likes of Butterfly in quality and the handle in ST was nicely rounded and not squarish like Butterfly so I could get a good grip. It's not a thick handle I would say it a bout the same as a Butterfly ST handle. I compare this blade a loot to BF but that is because most players will have experience with BF blades.

How does it play, well it play like a 5 play blade with ALC I guess. I paired it with Razant Grip max thickness on both sides and I can loop for days. Opening loops, counter loops, out of position loops they come back spiny and with a good arc on the table. There was no vibrations and the blade have good speed in the OFF range. Blocking is ok but ofc. it will never feel as solid as a 7 ply all wood blade for example.

If you are looking for a quality ALC blade look no further, I will recommend this blade all week long an twice on Sunday!

And remember speed, spin and control mostly comes from you and not your bat.

The blue sponge from the Bluefire series combined with the topsheet from the Acuda series make a very good kit. Looping and passive blocks are extremely easy to perform, making the Acuda P2 perfect for players who always aims for longer rallies. Since the hardness combined from both the topsheet and sponge are medium, this makes it very hard to perform at the short game, most of the times when receiving the balls either go to high or too deep in the table. Some more experienced players might be able to compensate for its bounciness.

Third ball aggressive shots are hard to perform, since the contact time is short. So I would say this rubber has a low-medium throw.

This rubber is perfect for players looking to aim for longer rallies and reliable shots.