So, by way of context I have previously owned a provincial 968 that was good but not great, and also a couple of Long 5 and a 5x. All of these had things I liked, but none were keepers. I had a Xiom TMXI and also a Hayata H2 that were good but not great. I found myself migrating back to the Viscaria’s I had previously played with. I then came across a used Hurricane King and loved it, hence the start of this journey.
So the Q and the S arrived at about the same time and I spent a few months trying them with various FH rubbers (H3 / D09C / C55) They both felt good but the Q felt consistently safer and more controlled and generally I played better with it in match play. It was slower and less dynamic but the S kept calling me, and every time I used it it felt more dynamic and certainly closer to the feel of the Vis.
After a few months of playing matches with the Q I was ready to let the S go but would pick it up again and realise it had more of everything than the Q and the cycle would start again.
I then got an opportunity to buy a player edition W968 and have had that for about 2 weeks - in short, with the same rubbers (H3 / Rakza Z) it has so far been the stand out blade. It has the softness of the S with the control of the Q and, to me, the best feel and dynamics of all three - obviously it is early days so this is by no means the conclusion. I have a good friend I practice with who is a better player than me and he would choose the Q every time. My W may also not be representative given that it is a player edition and may not be std spec.
In summary - all three are very very good and have good balance and feel, the handles are all chunky and feel nice in hand. They offer good control around the net and good speed when you hit with commitment, they all have good feeling when playing but I would say the Q is the least exciting and dynamic but the safest.
I also have a Donic original senso and that is a very nice blade indeed of a similar style.
None of these have the backhand responsiveness of a Viscaria or the stability when blocking - but all of them are better suited to my topspin oriented game.
Not a technical review so may not be what you are looking for, but I am a feel based player and so far the W feels the most like the blade I will stay with. Having said that, any of these blades would be wonderful if that was all I had to choose from - none are anything but great. Mine are all on the heavier side (91-94g) which I prefer and build up to 193-196g with the H3 and Rakza - none feel heavy to me.
Please feel free to ask any specific questions and I will do my best to answer.
