Latest reviews

I bought it because I've always been a fan of light blades and never seen them as less reliable than the heavier ones.
In my opinion, the Ma Long Light is certainly a blade that delivers.
It doesn't vibrate when you hit the ball. I think it provides a great feel for the ball, since I am able to play very short and accurate blocks.
It's also great for rallies, looping and mid-range counter-attacks (I do a lot of those with my backhand). There is not an area where I find this blade lacking; perhaps it's not the most aggressive out there but I prefer to sacrifice a little bit of power in order to gain in control and close/mid-range agility.
Also, sometimes getting a lighter blade is a good for players with bad shoulders.

Anyway this is going to be my main blade for a long time.

I bought two of this for my FH and BH after I was using DHS Hurricane 3.

What I like about the Xiom Vega Pro is that it is far from being as tacky and so it picks a lot less dust. After using it for almost two months now playing about six hours a week it still is very good. I like how a less tacky sheet means less sensitivity to the opponent's serving spin, especially compared to DHS Hurricane 3. I can also do a lot more fast blocking with this rubber. It is particularly suitable for players who like me stay close to the table and either play an aggressive game or counter-attack with well-aimed fast blocks. The throw angle is high enough for a comfortable close to mid-range game where you dominate your opponent. I can literally smash through every loop of the opponent with the Vega Pro.

Perhaps where it lacks a tiny bit is in speed, but then I suppose that can be fixed with a thicker version. I picked the 1.8mm one because I wanted my setup to be as light as possible since I had some shoulder pain, but now that it's gone I will be going with 2mm or max.

Manufacturing quality is superior, no differences between each other in the box. Always the same consistent feel on impact

As with all plastic balls, the ball does crack however out of eighteen i bought only one has cracked over 6 months of multi ball( with other balls) too. It is seamless and makes a crisp contact with the rubber as it makes contact. Also probably best value for money.

I love this blade. It gives a nice feel to the new plastic ball and has lasted me over two years now. I highly recommend this blade because when with fast rubbers it has a nice balance

I use this on my backhand on my Donic Ovtcharov Senso V1, i found out that it is very comfortable to use it as backhand. It has a lot of spin and great power to return the ball.

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.

Extremely powerful, it gives you a very solid and commanding feeling when powerlooping and finishing a point. Close to the table, especially when flicking, it is noticeably less controllable. But overall, great feel, and a very high-quality blade.

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

The Stiga Optimum 40+ is not a really bad ball now, or at least not as bad as when it first came out! The first 4-5 batches (of 72 balls) were absolute rubbish, you could break the ball by blocking, and most of the boxes had like 3-4 really good balls (out of 72 balls!!)

Nowadays they are getting better and better and some of the balls even lasts for two weeks before they break! The speed, or the lack of it, is not easy to adjust to, but okay when you're used to it. The spin ain't that bad, but it's definitively harder to spin good..

Unfortunatly this is the ball we use in ALL the tournaments in Norway, from nationals to hobby, this is the ball. And now as i've got used to it, I kinda like it, but the ball is really bad compared to some of the other plastic balls out there, and not to mention the good old cell balls

The spin is what troubles me, my game depends on spin so I was really dissapointed with this ball, but overall it is quite durable but nothing special.

This blade is really good for beginners who dont want a premade bat. It is really easy to control and if you hit the ball hard it is not that slow.

I use this rubber on my backhand and it fits my game very well. Mostly I loop third ball. It has a lot of spin and also very controlable in a short game.

Already tried different types of blades for years as a passive attacker (Butterfly: Gergely, Sardius, TBS, ALC, W7; Stiga: CR Clipper, Energy Wood, Graphite, Infinity; Donic, Joola, and more. All I can say is, Tibhar Inferno gives the perfect speed, touch, control, durability, and price.

I must say i wasnt impressed by this blade.
I had it for 2 weeks. Played about 10 hours with it. Curl P-1R and Rakza 9 were the rubbers.
It was the most controlable blade i ever played with. Close, Mid, far from table, i could always returns the balls.
The problem was with offensive strokes. FH drives, LP hits, wasnt much impressive. Coming from Joo Se Hyuk as defensive setup, i think it was a huge downgrade to my game as defender.
Sure, the beauty of the handle it something to consider, also the sound and vibration that it makes
But still, a bit slow/soft/flexible for modern defensive game/my liking

I was skeptical about trying Nittaku rubbers. Despite owning a whole bunch of Nittaku blades i still had nightmares with Refoma and Midship SC. And as a fanboy of Rakza line i didnt thought that there would be similar rubbers to my like. I was wrong.

It has 42 degrees. Either sponge and topsheet are very soft. It is thin, small pips and very spaced.
Easily damaged.
It has awesome spin potential, but due softness, might not be good on FH rallies.
It has a high throw.
Not linear, a bit bouncier than rakza when block and pushing.
Does serves well. OK~ish
A good BH rubber or an outstanding intermediate FH rubber.
Huge sound! Reminded me a bit of LT Sound
I dont think it ever bottomed out with me and im not a small guy, 1.83 105kg
--
The setup i used was Nittaku Acoustic Carbon, Fastarc G-1 FH, Fastarc S-1 BH.
I must say im not prepared to perform with the blade at its full potential.
The best setup i found so far to play mid distance exchanges, counters and loops. But as i my game still close to table, i find difficult to control sometimes and adjust the distance.
Despite all of that "dear diary..." , the setup is very good! As i tend to use BH still middle of the table, i really require a spinny controled rubber to my game. S-1 fits it. I can easily open any underspin, not mattering how heavy it is. The change between spin and speed is very easy also, 3rd/5th ball are my main weapons. I cant safely vary spin that much tho. I got the feeling sometimes that if i flatten my hits i will miss, or spin it more will get the ball too high. I prefer Rakza 7 at these moments.

Worth a try, you wont be disappointed

2 months ago i decided to train with SPs. At first i bought 729 802-40, Stiga Clippa and Adidas Blaze Speed. 729 and Stiga were way too spinny for a full SP play to my like. I sticked with Adidas and then after, in need of more speed, i bought Rakza PO.

The firsts session were a disaster. As it has the same sponge as Rakza 7 soft it is bullet fast. I must make the right contact and stroke to be sucessful or will end just blocking.
The Pips are thinner and more spaced than 802-40 and Clippa, horizontaly aligned.
I think it is as heavy as rakza 7 soft.
It has some deceptiveness. On spinny balls block, if you dont make the wrist movement and just hit the pips, the ball with be dead or even with some back spin, it just oddly floats.
I can get a good amount of spin on serves, just enough so oponnent doesnt easily attack.

The setup im using with this SP is : Nittaku Tenor, Rakza 7 FH, Rakza PO BH.
Although being a fast setup, it is very controlable, even with Rakza PO. It is just a positioning matter. You must get the ball off the bounce or in its higher moment you will end in the net.
Rakza PO really shines on counter attacks. I just love to push so the oponnent loops with a high arc, yummy!
DO NOT TRY TO CHOP. This SP is very bouncy when you put some energy into. It is not linear, it does is a ~tensor~ short pips.

Feel free to PM if you want to ask anything else.

I gotta be honest, the first time i tried this rubber i did not like it at all. I bought a pair and sold after 2 sessions. Back then, ive just used Rakza 7, they are a lot different to generate spin and speed.

-48 degrees i think
-Hard, compact sponge with an elastic top sheet.
-DOES NEED TO BREAK IN. About 10-15 hours of play, after that, the topsheet becomes much softer and it plays much easier, in a very pleasant way.
-Medium/high throw
-You must engage the sponge to generate as much spin as rakza 7/t05.
-Outstanding control in all departments. Block, serve, receive, drive, flick, loop, counterloop....the best tensor rubber in this department i found so far.
-Huge speed but also with low gear. Slow shots are slow, fast shots are fast. A very linear rubber. You get as much speed as your stroke has.

I think the best setups i found so far for this rubber are 7plies or carbon blades. I tried on Rosewood V, Acoustic, Acoustic Carbon, 7p2a, Ludeack, Xiom Extreme S, TB ALC(courtesy of a friend) and Viscaria. The best results were with Acoustic Carbon, 7p2a, Xiom Extreme S, TB ALC and Viscaria.
It doest lasts alot. Most of members from both clubs i go, uses Xiom Omega IV ASIA or Europe, i see most of them change rubbers after 6-8months.

Be patient with this rubber and you will be rewarded

Literally the worst practise "ball" I have ever used. How the manufacturer even thinks they are saleable surprises me. They are all very egg shaped and the bounce is completely unreliable. The good news is your pet cat will like them. Do not buy even if you just want them for multi ball work go with the Donic 40+ training ball instead.