Adidas Challenge Speed Prototype and Full production model

Got myself a new blade from Adidas. I was very excited with this one because this is a 7 ply all wood blade. The blade is very beautiful to behold. Unlike the other adidas blades which i have tried, this is stands out aesthetically. the handle was beautiful designed and very comfortable to the hand. The handle is smooth, its narrower compared to its fibertec brothers but still very good to hold and its smooth. The handle is almost as big as the butterfly ALC or ZLC blades.


The blade is a 7 ply all wood blade with the following specifications:

weight: 85 grams
thickness: 6.7mm
blade size: 157x150cm
wood plies: limba-ayous-ayous-ayous(thicker central core)-ayous-ayous-limba


Rubbers used: Joola Samba+ 2.2mm black, LKT Rapid Sound Black Max, Adidas P3 2.0mm

The blade feels very good as i did my fh-fh and bh-bh drills. The Joola Samba+ was very bouncy on the Challenge Speed but I was surprised with the amount of control. This is a very promising blade since compared to stiga clipper cr this blade is:

Speed - Adidas Challenge Speed > Stiga Clipper Cr
The Challenge Speed is indeed faster than the clipper cr with a bit more solidity on the shots. Speed is lesser than the Ebenholz 7 or Rosewood 7 but you can still do power shots with speed of almost a fast carbon blade depending on your skill level. Adidas is right in labeling this blade as OFF+ but its control is like its an OFF- blade.

Weight - Adidas Challenge Speed < Stiga Clipper Cr
The Challenge Speed is not head heavy and feels like the 92gm blade is an 88gm blade. This blade is fairly balanced. Having a thinner construction helps the challenge speed reduce its weight.

Control - Adidas Challenge Speed = Stiga Clipper Cr
Both have good feel and outstanding control on the ball with the clipper cr inclined more on looping while adidas challenge speed is on loop drives and power shots. Far from the table, the adidas blade outshines the clipper cr.

The amount of vibration is minimal. The blade has good feel and it greatly helps the player control the ball especially on power shots. Looping is not a problem with this blade since it gives enough dwell time on the ball. It is compatible with both chinese and euro/jpn rubbers since I tested it with 3 rubbers.
All in all im very impressed with the challenge speed and among the adidas blades that i have now this is a gem. I would recommend this to intermediate up to the level of the pros since this is a very good blade. Also, i didnt have any problems using soft, medium soft and hard rubbers on this blade but i think this baldes go well with medium soft rubbers and hard chinese rubbers. Tenzone, P3 and Tenzone SF go well with this blade
 
says hAHAHAHA THANX MATE :D
says hAHAHAHA THANX MATE :D
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Exciting stuff indeed. All wood blades more often than not provides more dwell time. Just 1 point that I would like to highlight here buddy..it would be good if you can use a more common rubber to test blades as it gives readers a point of reference, such as Xiom Omega/Vega, Butterfly T05/T64, Stiga Calibra/Boost, DHS Skyline/H2&3/Neo etc.

However, i have to say you did an outstanding job mate. Thanx;)
 
I usually test it with chinese rubbers like LKT Rapid speed.

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says Where will table tennis be in the future? And what ideas...
says Where will table tennis be in the future? And what ideas...
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I think that it is great for table tennis that adidas are getting involved in the sport! Also makes me wonder why, alot of talk would go on behind the scenes at the adidas head office, they must see it as a good investment as one of the sports that is on it's rise. If it keeps in this direction it won't be long until it is on television often and one of the major sports...hmm maybe adidas have a cunning plan!
 
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I think that it is great for table tennis that adidas are getting involved in the sport! Also makes me wonder why, alot of talk would go on behind the scenes at the adidas head office, they must see it as a good investment as one of the sports that is on it's rise. If it keeps in this direction it won't be long until it is on television often and one of the major sports...hmm maybe adidas have a cunning plan!

Well, they started their project in 2008 and they say that their mission is to make the game faster. :)
 
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Amazing work Sir!
Your reviews are amazing.
Seems that Adidas is really into table tennis yet is not that popular atm.
Adidas should thank you :D

Well, they started their project in 2008 and they say that their mission is to make the game faster. :)

Haha Sharara won't be happy to hear that :p
 
says Spin and more spin.
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That is very similar to a Clipper Classic. A little lighter, a tiny bit thinner like the older Clippers which were better for Looping. It is the same wood plies and very similar thicknesses of plies. The one place where they get the .3 mm to make it 6.7 mm instead of 7 mm (Clipper) is the two plies that are right under the Limba are thinner than on a Clipper. That is also probably where they get the weight 5 grams lower. But the looks a little thicker and there is a real advantage to how Stiga makes the limba plies super thin, almost like paper. But that is a blade I would definitely try to see how it feels.
 
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I think Adidas just doesn't develop anything in Table Tennis, they just have a company (this blade looks very much like a Stiga product) make a blade for them and put on the adidas label. Also their rubbers P3, P5 etc are most likely made by another company.

I think the products can be good , but it's just an Adidas label, not more.

Just like Andro, Tibhar, XIOM, Joola all is just made by one factory : ESN in Germany.
 
phillypong, although they are made by ESN, the quality of their rubbers exceeds that of Tibhar. The factory that produces stiga blades doesn't produce the blades of Adidas. I am very sure of that because I know where the blades are made. Adidas is a bigger company compared to other table tennis brands and you would expect a lot of research and development teams working on their rubber. eventhough ESN makes the rubbers, Adidas engineers are the ones making the specifications and improvements on what ESN has to offer because they don't want their rubbers to be called a relabeled products. Also, I think you should try their products before passing your judgement. You will be really surprised and you will not be disappointed on them.
 
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I have played with a bunch of clippers: old 20 year old Peter Karlson, WRBs, Clipper CC. For me the Challenge Speed is definitely better than any of these. It just feels right, speed and control, looping and driving, blocking and pushing it does all these strokes pretty well. Challenge Speed is definitely a keeper, for me the holy grail of 7 plys.
 
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