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Double Fish Dragon Blades Review by Yogibear
The Double Fish brand is one of the biggest brands in China. Outside of China their products like their tables and balls are quite well-liked and known. The market has been dominated by other Chinese brands outside China but they have shown to produce amazing rubbers and blades recently. I have used Double Fish rubbers in the early 90’s and I was a huge fan of their Double Fish 830 rubbers. The DF 830 rubber was the one that got me into serious study of the sport from just a recreational past time. The Double Fish 830 before was a bit advanced in its time because the topsheet was composed of 2 layers. The top layer that was very thin and had the sticky part and the lower thicker portion which houses the thin part and the pip structure of the rubber attached to the sponge. I was fortunate enough to get some samples directly from Double Fish through the kindness of Tony of Tony’s Table Tennis (I owe you a great deal Bro!).
I received more about a dozen of blades in which 3 of their flagship blades from the Dragon Blades Series were included:
Dragon Blade 1 ZLC
Weight: 89 grams
Thickness: 5.7mm
Speed: OFF+
Layers: Koto (outer), ZLC, Ayous, Kiri (Core)
Dragon Blade 2 ALC
Weight: 89 grams
Thickness: 5.9mm
Speed: OFF+
Layers: Limba (outer), Ayous, ALC, Ayous (Core)
Dragon Blade 3 All Wood
Weight: 90 grams
Thickness: 6.3 mm
Speed: ALL+ (personal rating is at least OFF)
Layers: 7 (to be determined)
https://imgur.com/soHkNYh
https://imgur.com/H2I0Mym
These 3 blades are high-quality blades from Double Fish. The product finishing is top-notch for these 3 blades. Surfaces of the handles and blade heads are all semi-smooth. The outer surface of each Dragon blade is durable enough and not prone to splintering. I removed and reattached rubbers for testing several times and even without using a protective seal, the wood fibers seem to hold and not splinter easily. The construction of each blade is that of an expensive Chinese blade but the price is for a very affordable blade. I have used the Double Fish 218 Control and Spin rubbers on these blades for testing. I also used German and Japanese rubbers with these blades.
In terms of speed, the Dragon Blade 2 ALC is the fastest of the 3. Although the Dragon Blade 1 has ZLC layers, The Dragon Blade ALC is stiffer and probably also because of its thicker wood layers. At first, I had more adjustments made with the Dragon Blade ALC because it was very bouncy and the arc was a bit higher than the ZLC version. During basic forehand drive drills and especially topspin drills, I felt that the power and bounciness of the Dragon Blade 2 ALC has a notable difference compared with the ZLC version. If I compare the speed of the Dragon Blade ALC, I am quite sure it is faster than an FZD ALC blade and the regular Viscaria. The speed of the Dragon Blade 1 ZLC is more or less that of the FZD ALC. The Dragon Blade 3 on the other hand, I felt it was not slow even if it was rated by Double Fish as ALL+ but it felt at least to be OFF- or OFF. The Dragon Blade 3 like any other 7 ply all wood blades (mostly) have a good speed level that can be considered in the OFF level or OFF- level. The Dragon Blade 3 did not feel slower than the regular Clipper wood but a bit slower and softer than the Fextra and Samsonov Force Pro Black blades.
The Dragon Blade 2 ALC felt the stiffest of the 3. I felt the repulsion and bounciness of the ball on every shot. It gives you a hard feel on attacking shots. The 2 composite Dragon blades are Stiff but you can feel the differences between the 2. The Dragon Blade 3 has a medium stiff feel. It felt perfect for using pips both long and short and it is my favorite blade of the 3.
In terms of control, the Dragon Blade 1 has a notable amount of control despite having a ZLC layer. It offers some flex and the right amount of stiffness where if you want stronger shots away from the table, the ZLC version will always give you the extra kick but at the same time will not compromise the amount of control you can get. I think the ZLC version is perfect in all 3 distances from the table (near, mid and far distance). The ALC version has to be better mid and far distance from the table for amateurs like me. THE 7 ply all wood version on this case is good near and mid distance from the table. When using German or Japan rubbers on all 3 versions, the ZLC version was the best in terms of potential and overall possible areas of attacks in and out of the table. The ALC version is for better and higher-level players because when using non-Chinese rubbers, the speed of the ball gets to be very fast.
The Dragon Blade 1 ZLC would be the best blade for most players because in my opinion, it has all the best balance of good feel, speed and control. In its own way, the Dragon Blade 1 ALC is almost perfect in terms of performance. Even when I was using a bouncy German rubber, it never lacked the necessary amount of control and the spin generation was never compromised. I did feel that for the forehand, the ZLC version is really good with hybrid or semi-tacky rubbers. The ALC version on the other hand, if you smash a lot or you stay a bit farther from the table, it really shines if you use a non-tacky but grippy German rubber, it pairs well also with hybrid rubbers as it offsets some of the speed but if you go all out on speed, bouncy German rubbers are perfect for the ALC version. The Dragon Blade 3 7 ply all wood is my personal favorite. The distinct feel of mixed softness and stiffness is really pleasant to the hand and give you a large amount of control. This became my favorite as I used this with the Double Fish 1615 long pips. It can still give deceptive shots despite being a 7 ply all wood blade and it is even better with short pips. Overall, these 3 blades are worth more than their actual price because the quality build and performance of each Dragon blade version is comparable to that of a high-end blade.
The Double Fish brand is one of the biggest brands in China. Outside of China their products like their tables and balls are quite well-liked and known. The market has been dominated by other Chinese brands outside China but they have shown to produce amazing rubbers and blades recently. I have used Double Fish rubbers in the early 90’s and I was a huge fan of their Double Fish 830 rubbers. The DF 830 rubber was the one that got me into serious study of the sport from just a recreational past time. The Double Fish 830 before was a bit advanced in its time because the topsheet was composed of 2 layers. The top layer that was very thin and had the sticky part and the lower thicker portion which houses the thin part and the pip structure of the rubber attached to the sponge. I was fortunate enough to get some samples directly from Double Fish through the kindness of Tony of Tony’s Table Tennis (I owe you a great deal Bro!).
I received more about a dozen of blades in which 3 of their flagship blades from the Dragon Blades Series were included:
Dragon Blade 1 ZLC
Weight: 89 grams
Thickness: 5.7mm
Speed: OFF+
Layers: Koto (outer), ZLC, Ayous, Kiri (Core)
Dragon Blade 2 ALC
Weight: 89 grams
Thickness: 5.9mm
Speed: OFF+
Layers: Limba (outer), Ayous, ALC, Ayous (Core)
Dragon Blade 3 All Wood
Weight: 90 grams
Thickness: 6.3 mm
Speed: ALL+ (personal rating is at least OFF)
Layers: 7 (to be determined)
https://imgur.com/soHkNYh
https://imgur.com/H2I0Mym
These 3 blades are high-quality blades from Double Fish. The product finishing is top-notch for these 3 blades. Surfaces of the handles and blade heads are all semi-smooth. The outer surface of each Dragon blade is durable enough and not prone to splintering. I removed and reattached rubbers for testing several times and even without using a protective seal, the wood fibers seem to hold and not splinter easily. The construction of each blade is that of an expensive Chinese blade but the price is for a very affordable blade. I have used the Double Fish 218 Control and Spin rubbers on these blades for testing. I also used German and Japanese rubbers with these blades.
In terms of speed, the Dragon Blade 2 ALC is the fastest of the 3. Although the Dragon Blade 1 has ZLC layers, The Dragon Blade ALC is stiffer and probably also because of its thicker wood layers. At first, I had more adjustments made with the Dragon Blade ALC because it was very bouncy and the arc was a bit higher than the ZLC version. During basic forehand drive drills and especially topspin drills, I felt that the power and bounciness of the Dragon Blade 2 ALC has a notable difference compared with the ZLC version. If I compare the speed of the Dragon Blade ALC, I am quite sure it is faster than an FZD ALC blade and the regular Viscaria. The speed of the Dragon Blade 1 ZLC is more or less that of the FZD ALC. The Dragon Blade 3 on the other hand, I felt it was not slow even if it was rated by Double Fish as ALL+ but it felt at least to be OFF- or OFF. The Dragon Blade 3 like any other 7 ply all wood blades (mostly) have a good speed level that can be considered in the OFF level or OFF- level. The Dragon Blade 3 did not feel slower than the regular Clipper wood but a bit slower and softer than the Fextra and Samsonov Force Pro Black blades.
The Dragon Blade 2 ALC felt the stiffest of the 3. I felt the repulsion and bounciness of the ball on every shot. It gives you a hard feel on attacking shots. The 2 composite Dragon blades are Stiff but you can feel the differences between the 2. The Dragon Blade 3 has a medium stiff feel. It felt perfect for using pips both long and short and it is my favorite blade of the 3.
In terms of control, the Dragon Blade 1 has a notable amount of control despite having a ZLC layer. It offers some flex and the right amount of stiffness where if you want stronger shots away from the table, the ZLC version will always give you the extra kick but at the same time will not compromise the amount of control you can get. I think the ZLC version is perfect in all 3 distances from the table (near, mid and far distance). The ALC version has to be better mid and far distance from the table for amateurs like me. THE 7 ply all wood version on this case is good near and mid distance from the table. When using German or Japan rubbers on all 3 versions, the ZLC version was the best in terms of potential and overall possible areas of attacks in and out of the table. The ALC version is for better and higher-level players because when using non-Chinese rubbers, the speed of the ball gets to be very fast.
The Dragon Blade 1 ZLC would be the best blade for most players because in my opinion, it has all the best balance of good feel, speed and control. In its own way, the Dragon Blade 1 ALC is almost perfect in terms of performance. Even when I was using a bouncy German rubber, it never lacked the necessary amount of control and the spin generation was never compromised. I did feel that for the forehand, the ZLC version is really good with hybrid or semi-tacky rubbers. The ALC version on the other hand, if you smash a lot or you stay a bit farther from the table, it really shines if you use a non-tacky but grippy German rubber, it pairs well also with hybrid rubbers as it offsets some of the speed but if you go all out on speed, bouncy German rubbers are perfect for the ALC version. The Dragon Blade 3 7 ply all wood is my personal favorite. The distinct feel of mixed softness and stiffness is really pleasant to the hand and give you a large amount of control. This became my favorite as I used this with the Double Fish 1615 long pips. It can still give deceptive shots despite being a 7 ply all wood blade and it is even better with short pips. Overall, these 3 blades are worth more than their actual price because the quality build and performance of each Dragon blade version is comparable to that of a high-end blade.
