Short update following 3h club practice and some friendly matches last night. ZJK News era blade and J1/J2.
First of note the frequency of this blade is 1470 or so which is higher than I expected and in the same ball park as my Faster Viscaria's. That having been said, whilst it does feel stiff, it feels less reactive and easier to control than the Boll ALC or Visc I have.
Firstly the rubbers - both felt harder than I expected. I was coming from Bluegrip C2 on FH and the J1 feels much crisper and firmer and also a fair bit faster when you hit it with power. It also felt like the ball quality was better and the arc lower and with more penetration. I won more points on winners through penetration and spin quality than I normally do. That having been said it was a rubber that required more prep and taking the ball earlier seemed to suit it - it was however less forgiving. I would say much closer to Bluestar A1 than Bluegrip C2.
Blocking was excellent and touch game good, but serves required more effort to keep short.
J2 was similar on BH but a little less forgiving and suited my game pretty well - lower arc, high spin than the Bluestar A2 I have been using.
Both rubbers changed through the evening and need more play tonight - it was also seriously humid and hot so all rubbers were under some pressure.
Note - both rubbers were boosted with 2 light layers of Seamoon.
The blade - this is an interesting one. I have been playing with a Boll ZLF and a Maze ALC recently. The Boll is obviously slower, softer and more woody of the three - possibly a little too much so (jury is out) The Maze I love but it's getting old and tough to replace. The ZJK stood out as a stiff blade - nice handle, nice balance and weight (86g) but sharp, quick and responsive (and this is the limba outer, intermediate focused version..)
It took me some adjustment - what I liked;
Classic outer feel - responsive, sharp, good feeling, linear and accurate.
What I was unsure about;
Speed - still pretty fast and requires good technique to control when looping and serving. Am I good enough - it is faster than the Maze and probably similar in outright pace to Visc / Boll, although it feels quite different - it's nothing like a Butterfly blade.
Blade and rubbers together - felt like a pretty good match and similar style - both dynamic, accurate, quick and sharp but with great spin and arc.
This was quite a different feel after my Boll ZLF with Bluegrip C1 and Bluestar A2. A more dangerous and exciting proposition with much more potential, but as always in this case, demanding more from me.
I plan to give this set up a proper testing period before deciding next steps.
