Im looking to upgrade my table tennis setup my current setup is a premade racket from dhs the dhs h8002 (dhs hurricane 3 fh and dhs hurricane 8 bh).Im a prettry advanced intermediate player that just hasn't changed racket since forever.My choices are the FZD alc, Ovtcharov alc, harimoto alc and dhs king acb,I was thinking of getting the FZD alc but I still haven't chosen yet.My rubber combo will be DHS hurricane 3 neo fh and Hurricane 8-80 bh.
If you're a pretty advanced intermediate player then you should have a fair idea of what you want, what you need beneath your rubbers and also what you can control.
Three random votes (prior to this post) for FZD doesn't really mean anything but personal preference and won't help you in an expensive purchase.
The FZC ALC is a regular ALC construction where ALC is the second layer in the blade (1 layer wood then ALC).
The Harimoto and Oct are Innerforce, where the ALC is the layer next to the core, so 2 wood layers between it and your rubbers.
I've tried the FZD, Harimoto (friends blade) and now I own a Butterfly Innerforce ALC.
The Dimi I have not tried.
Imo the Harimoto and Inner ALC are the same. Harimoto is a slightly bigger head shape but I didn't notice when playing with it.
The FZD has a fatter handle which I loved. It felt the best in my hand for sure. But it is faster, no doubt, and more stiff. I was using it with a Dignics 05 and an 09c so not the most forgiving of setups at all and it demanded proper timing and technique otherwise 💩.
I suspect I could have lived with it and gotten used to that blade after 6 months or so but I took a more cautious approach and got the Inner ALC instead which I now love.
It's all subjective for sure but the guy who plays Harimoto also finds no real difference between his and my racket (coincidentally we use the same rubbers) so comparison is very easy.
Do you have access to any of these to try?
My level is appx 1600 TTR Germany. If your higher than that and train regularly then FZD ALC will likely be no issue and could be for you, if you like the handle. Perfect if you like to play a bit back from the table too, easier dista on those loops.
But if you value control or like a slightly slower blade, or really play close to the table then maybe Harimoto or Dima are the way to go?
Difficult to get it right without trying them I think.
PS, have a read of the comprehensive FZD review from BobFL in post 3, it's in his profile 😉
