Loki W81 ADC review

[Haito]

Loki W81 ADC vs W81 Outer ALC — Comparative Review​

I've been comparing the Loki W81 ADC with the W81 Outer ALC. I own two physical samples of the ADC, and after testing them with different rubber setups, I've found myself preferring it overall.

Both blades feel reasonably linear. The main difference is that the Outer ALC has a higher power floor, while the ADC shifts the entire gearbox down. In other words, the ADC offers a similar kind of response, just across a lower power range. That difference turned out to matter quite a bit for my game.

Speed and feel​

Neither blade feels wildly explosive or unpredictable to me (example of such would be Joola ZeLeBro PBO-c). Both have a reasonably linear response, but the Outer ALC produces a faster, more powerful ball for a similar stroke.

The ADC feels like the entire gearbox has been shifted down. It's easier to play at lower power levels, especially when blocking or making controlled shots, but I need to put in more effort to generate the same penetration. This becomes particularly noticeable when attacking from further away or trying to finish a point. I cannot quite put the same pace with the ADC as with ARC... That might be limitation of my body though.

For my playing style, that lower operating range is an advantage. I prefer being able to control the ball reliably over getting more power from the same stroke.

Forehand​

The Outer ALC makes it relatively easy to produce powerful forehand attacks without excessive effort. It performs well when topspinning from a distance, and its higher power floor helps put opponents under pressure. Based on some competitive matches, I got more points with ADC though. The players I played against cope well against power, but they do not cope well with a high spin and low speed shots. Varying the ratio between speed and spin is much easier ADC. In comparison with Donic Ovtcharov No.1 Senso its also much slower in the low gears. My Vodak Horejsi Super ALC had similar low power speed but kept the high gears.

The ADC feels more manageable when opening against backspin. I can use a more natural stroke and get the ball over the net with a good arc. However, the lower power becomes apparent when trying to finish a point with a full-power forehand or attacking from further away. Those shots require more effort to produce the same penetration. Its much easier to lift the ball than with Vodak HSALC, about the same as Ovtcharov No.1 Senso.

The short game was surprisingly manageable with both blades. I didn't find the ADC offered a dramatic advantage here, since the Outer ALC was already fairly easy to control in short play. I also do not see much difference here against other blades.

Backhand — the biggest difference for me​

The biggest issue I had with the Outer ALC was opening against backspin on my backhand. I was netting a lot of balls and struggled to make the shot reliable.

With the ADC, I felt more comfortable controlling the ball and getting my openings onto the table. Its lower power range seems to suit my timing better. This was one of the most meaningful differences in actual play for me: I'd rather have a backhand opening I can trust than extra speed that I struggle to use consistently.

Backhand drives themselves didn't show a dramatic difference in my testing. Blocking was stable with both blades, although the ADC returned a slower ball. The Outer ALC produced more speed for a similar amount of effort.

Serving, receiving and the short game​

Serving and receiving felt about the same with both blades. I didn't notice a meaningful difference that would make me choose one over the other.

The short game was also broadly comparable. The Outer ALC was already easier to manage than I expected, so the ADC didn't provide a major improvement in this area.

Chopping, smashes and flat hits​

The ADC was noticeably better for chopping. I found it much easier to keep chops on the table, making defensive shots more reliable.

Smashes and flat hits had similar finishing power with both blades. Despite their difference in overall power output, I didn't find that either had a decisive advantage when simply finishing a high ball.

Rubber setups​

I tested the ADC with two setups.

First ADC: Rasanter C53 on the forehand and FX-D on the backhand

I moved these rubbers over from my Outer ALC and used this setup at the Düsseldorf meetup.

The FX-D worked very well for me, but the C53 felt too soft on the ADC. On regular loops, I occasionally felt the rubber bottoming out. High, spinny loops and smashes were still fine.

Second ADC: Rxton 39 on the forehand and Rxton 37.5 on the backhand

This setup felt surprisingly similar overall. However, the heavily boosted Rxton 39 also came close to feeling too soft.

Since I used different rubber combinations on the two ADCs, I wouldn't attribute every difference in feel to the blade itself. The rubber setups clearly influenced the sensations I experienced, particularly the softness and bottoming-out behaviour.

Build quality and consistency​

I own two physical W81 ADC blades, and they played very similarly. One initially felt a little worse than the other, but after following the Zhang Jike sanding method, it played the same as its sibling.

The process involved sanding the playing surface, raising the grain, and sanding it again, following Zhang Jike's video.

The most obvious factory finishing issue was the edges: they were sharp as fuck and appeared not to have been sanded at all. Some manual finishing was definitely needed.

Apart from that, the construction of my two ADC samples felt consistent. I didn't notice a meaningful difference in how they played once I'd prepared the surface of the initially worse-feeling blade.

What I'd like to try next​

At some point, I will probably order either the Yuan Licen ARC or the Liang Jingkun blade. I contacted Loki support, and they told me these blades should have the same handle shape as the comfortable handle on the ADC.

The handle matters more to me than I initially expected. With the Outer ALC, I kept adjusting my grip and struggled to find a comfortable position. The ADC's thinner, better-shaped handle feels much more natural.

That makes the Yuan Licen ARC and Liang Jingkun blade interesting candidates if I want to explore another blade without sacrificing the grip that works for me.

Verdict​

I prefer the Loki W81 ADC.

The Outer ALC has a higher power floor and produces a more powerful ball for a similar stroke. However, I struggled to stabilize my backhand openings with it, and that cost me points. The ADC's lower power range makes it easier for me to control the ball and play consistently, while also making chopping more reliable.

Serving, receiving, the short game, and finishing power on smashes and flat hits were broadly comparable. The ADC also has a more comfortable handle, although its sharp, unfinished edges are a clear quality-control issue. The logic would suggest that ARC would be better for smashes, but I cannot see that much of difference. Maybe my body is to tense at the moment to feel the difference. You smash it, blade screems, ball goes "suuuuup".

The ADC isn't necessarily more linear than the Outer ALC; both feel reasonably linear to me. The difference is that the ADC shifts the whole gearbox down, giving me a more manageable power range.

For my game, consistency is worth more than the extra output. I'd rather work a little harder to generate power and trust my opening shots than have a faster blade that makes my backhand less reliable.

Who is it for?​

I'd recommend the W81 ADC to pretty much anyone, especially players looking to step up from an all-wood blade. Just keep your rubber choices under control rather than pairing it with something overly fast or difficult to manage. That recommendation comes with one important caveat: you need consistent training and ideally coaching to get the most out of it. If you build your shots around proper technique and use your whole body to generate power, this blade is a great fit. If you rely primarily on raw power and speed, though, it's probably not for you. The same goes for players whose game revolves around smashing and punching through the ball — I'd look elsewhere.

 

[victormanriquey]

Played with it today and really liked it, with Rxton 9 boosted on both sides was good, I will order one from @Haito and test further! Thanks for letting me try!

 

[Tyce]

I would say it's pretty close to H3, especially the FH 39d one. The feeling is kind of different, I would describe it as feeling slightly more cushioned, but only minimally so. You can play it like a H3, more than a Battle 2.
The topsheet is much, much better than the Rxton 3 Pro was. None of that plastic feeling I really dislike.
The BH version is less interesting, but still quite a solid rubber. Both worked very well on the ADC blade, which to be honest kind of sucked with the Rasanter and fx-D.

The blade is decent, it's one of those pieces of equipment that strikes a middle ground and does it well.
There's vibration, mostly in the handle which was a bit weird for me, but it's not too much and it doesn't get much louder on harder shots.
The handle is between thin and thick, and works for shallow and deep grips, tight and loose. There's more flex sensation than say my innerforce ALC, but again, not too much, nowhere near a HL5 for example. And it packs a good amount of punch, too.

 

[Archosaurus]

There's vibration, mostly in the handle which was a bit weird for me, but it's not too much and it doesn't get much louder on harder shots.

I think this might be my issue with the W81 Pro Inner. There's nothing on the index finger and it's all in the palm relatively. DHS in my experience has been much the opposite.

I'll give the new R9 a try some time, but I need to resist the EJ urge until my current sheets are all worn lol...

 

[Haito]

Both worked very well on the ADC blade, which to be honest kind of sucked with the Rasanter and fx-D.

To be frank those sheets are ancient. I think since April.

 

[Haito]

So... I played with Victors HL5 today. It was much harder to control. I did not play with the Q version of the blade, but it was ringing very nicely, well made one.

HL5 was noticeably easier to activate, it had much higher first speed. That being said.. The rubbers on that one were quite boosted. 39 got too soft for me. I think I would enjoy that blade with a rubber much harder. Like 41...

Fang Bo 2x (or whatever it was called), played super similar but boxy. Hollow. When I was playing with Dima, under power, I could hardly feel any difference. With B2X I could not put more than 50% of the power down, it was flying straight. With HL5 I could do easily 70-80%. I bet that if u put my rubbers on that HL5, and do a blind test, I could not distinguish between them... The only difference would be handle. I prefer the W81.

Under no power HL5 was faster, but I adjusted after a while. I am of two minds, whether it is really faster, or just rubbers were boosted more... The R9 remained more supportive even with stupid amount of booster. That H3 @victormanriquey I could go through too easily.

I think the rubber made the most difference :/

 

[Tyce]

That H3 39 was just as soft as the 37d on the BH lol, I switched sides for a bit and it felt like the same hardness but easier to control (the 37)

 

[victormanriquey]

I would say it's pretty close to H3, especially the FH 39d one. The feeling is kind of different, I would describe it as feeling slightly more cushioned, but only minimally so. You can play it like a H3, more than a Battle 2.
The topsheet is much, much better than the Rxton 3 Pro was. None of that plastic feeling I really dislike.
The BH version is less interesting, but still quite a solid rubber. Both worked very well on the ADC blade, which to be honest kind of sucked with the Rasanter and fx-D.

The blade is decent, it's one of those pieces of equipment that strikes a middle ground and does it well.
There's vibration, mostly in the handle which was a bit weird for me, but it's not too much and it doesn't get much louder on harder shots.
The handle is between thin and thick, and works for shallow and deep grips, tight and loose. There's more flex sensation than say my innerforce ALC, but again, not too much, nowhere near a HL5 for example. And it packs a good amount of punch, too.

Yeah what got me about the blade was the handle and the in between B2X and HL5 feel, its definitely a good middle, and as Haito says, it slaps all right

I liked R9 OS also, similar to H3N, it's not that easy to achieve this, was good, will test more to find the ins and outs

 

[victormanriquey]

So... I played with Victors HL5 today. It was much harder to control. I did not play with the Q version of the blade, but it was ringing very nicely, well made one.

HL5 was noticeably easier to activate, it had much higher first speed. That being said.. The rubbers on that one were quite boosted. 39 got too soft for me. I think I would enjoy that blade with a rubber much harder. Like 41...

Fang Bo 2x (or whatever it was called), played super similar but boxy. Hollow. When I was playing with Dima, under power, I could hardly feel any difference. With B2X I could not put more than 50% of the power down, it was flying straight. With HL5 I could do easily 70-80%. I bet that if u put my rubbers on that HL5, and do a blind test, I could not distinguish between them... The only difference would be handle. I prefer the W81.

Under no power HL5 was faster, but I adjusted after a while. I am of two minds, whether it is really faster, or just rubbers were boosted more... The R9 remained more supportive even with stupid amount of booster. That H3 @victormanriquey I could go through too easily.

I think the rubber made the most difference :/

Yeah I overboosted that 39, the nat yellow is really powerful, lesson learnt for next time, we learn every day

I think 37 was also overboosted but you felt it less there haha

And yes, very much agreed, W81 handle much better than HL5 for me too!

 

[Tyce]

I've overboosted a 37 before so that probably felt more familiar I think the 37 needs nothing more than a tiny lick just to activate it.

 

[Metaxa]

@Haito, Do you happen to know the FQ range of the Loki W81 ADC?
Do you buy them at the Chinese supermarket AE?

 

[Haito]

@Haito, Do you happen to know the FQ range of the Loki W81 ADC?
Do you buy them at the Chinese supermarket AE?

I buy them directly from Loki, on their official store. You can message then before ordering, so they can check if their stock has a weight u want.

 

[Metaxa]

I buy them directly from Loki, on their official store. You can message then before ordering, so they can check if their stock has a weight u want.

Oh, I’d already had a look at their site yesterday, but the website/shop wasn’t working properly in Chrome.

 

[Haito]

Oh, I’d already had a look at their site yesterday, but the website/shop wasn’t working properly in Chrome.

Their Alibaba shop works fine for me.

 

[Haito]

The blade is decent, it's one of those pieces of equipment that strikes a middle ground and does it well.
There's vibration, mostly in the handle which was a bit weird for me, but it's not too much and it doesn't get much louder on harder shots.

You need to hit even harder

 

[lodro]

Their Alibaba shop works fine for me.

it also does not work usin firefox

 

[Kilogramme]

So... I played with Victors HL5 today. It was much harder to control. I did not play with the Q version of the blade, but it was ringing very nicely, well made one.

HL5 was noticeably easier to activate, it had much higher first speed. That being said.. The rubbers on that one were quite boosted. 39 got too soft for me. I think I would enjoy that blade with a rubber much harder. Like 41...

Fang Bo 2x (or whatever it was called), played super similar but boxy. Hollow. When I was playing with Dima, under power, I could hardly feel any difference. With B2X I could not put more than 50% of the power down, it was flying straight. With HL5 I could do easily 70-80%. I bet that if u put my rubbers on that HL5, and do a blind test, I could not distinguish between them... The only difference would be handle. I prefer the W81.

Under no power HL5 was faster, but I adjusted after a while. I am of two minds, whether it is really faster, or just rubbers were boosted more... The R9 remained more supportive even with stupid amount of booster. That H3 @victormanriquey I could go through too easily.

I think the rubber made the most difference :/

The HL5 is probably closer to a LJK ADC. The layer of resin between the wood might be "harder" or quicker. Despite the similar composition. I really love the HL5 (Golden for me, but I am not sure there is a big difference in feeling). I find that it has a lot of control, plenty enough speed, and huge grip. With Chinese tacky rubber, it grabs the ball so well.

Reading your review of the ADC vs outer ALC, your struggle with BH opening might be because of the lower throw. I guess the Outer ALC is a viscaria like, and like many Viscaria like, the throw is lower, which makes the opening a bit harder than an Inner carbon like the w81 ADC or HL5. Fang Bo 2x is a different story, as the thick centrale core makes the blade closer to a Outer ALC than Inner. Your comparison of the W81 and HL5, reminds me the difference between the Fang Bo B2 classic (normal size central core, inner ALC) I used to play with. I switched for HL5 for a bit more speed. But, I don't find the blade much harder to control tbh. A twhat less, but not a lot compared to the speed gain (which is still slower to a Viscaria, on low power shot especially, top speed absolute, No Idea, can't put much force with viscaria coz not enough control, comapred to HL5 when I can put all force and control the ball).

You think R9 40 on FH and R9 37.5 will work well on HGL5 ?

 

[Haito]

The HL5 is probably closer to a LJK ADC. The layer of resin between the wood might be "harder" or quicker. Despite the similar composition. I really love the HL5 (Golden for me, but I am not sure there is a big difference in feeling). I find that it has a lot of control, plenty enough speed, and huge grip. With Chinese tacky rubber, it grabs the ball so well.

Reading your review of the ADC vs outer ALC, your struggle with BH opening might be because of the lower throw. I guess the Outer ALC is a viscaria like, and like many Viscaria like, the throw is lower, which makes the opening a bit harder than an Inner carbon like the w81 ADC or HL5. Fang Bo 2x is a different story, as the thick centrale core makes the blade closer to a Outer ALC than Inner. Your comparison of the W81 and HL5, reminds me the difference between the Fang Bo B2 classic (normal size central core, inner ALC) I used to play with. I switched for HL5 for a bit more speed. But, I don't find the blade much harder to control tbh. A twhat less, but not a lot compared to the speed gain (which is still slower to a Viscaria, on low power shot especially, top speed absolute, No Idea, can't put much force with viscaria coz not enough control, comapred to HL5 when I can put all force and control the ball).

You think R9 40 on FH and R9 37.5 will work well on HGL5 ?

No idea, I do not have that much experience with HL5, they all played differently. I used to play Ovtcharov Senso, which is super reminding of the HL5. I did play the H3 40, but I might have messed it up. It was too hard for that blade. Unfortunately 1h is not enough for me to have enough experience to give any sort of advice.

 

[Archosaurus]

The HL5 is probably closer to a LJK ADC. The layer of resin between the wood might be "harder" or quicker. Despite the similar composition. I really love the HL5 (Golden for me, but I am not sure there is a big difference in feeling). I find that it has a lot of control, plenty enough speed, and huge grip. With Chinese tacky rubber, it grabs the ball so well.

Reading your review of the ADC vs outer ALC, your struggle with BH opening might be because of the lower throw. I guess the Outer ALC is a viscaria like, and like many Viscaria like, the throw is lower, which makes the opening a bit harder than an Inner carbon like the w81 ADC or HL5. Fang Bo 2x is a different story, as the thick centrale core makes the blade closer to a Outer ALC than Inner. Your comparison of the W81 and HL5, reminds me the difference between the Fang Bo B2 classic (normal size central core, inner ALC) I used to play with. I switched for HL5 for a bit more speed. But, I don't find the blade much harder to control tbh. A twhat less, but not a lot compared to the speed gain (which is still slower to a Viscaria, on low power shot especially, top speed absolute, No Idea, can't put much force with viscaria coz not enough control, comapred to HL5 when I can put all force and control the ball).

You think R9 40 on FH and R9 37.5 will work well on HGL5 ?

I really love the B2, and being very forehand dominant, I'm thinking of getting a HL5 or HL5 Gold some time later. Is the HL5 "B2 but better" or distinctly different? I've never had the chance to play actual games with one.

 

[Kilogramme]

I really love the B2, and being very forehand dominant, I'm thinking of getting a HL5 or HL5 Gold some time later. Is the HL5 "B2 but better" or distinctly different? I've never had the chance to play actual games with one.

To me, the HL5 is the direct evolution of the B2. Similar feeling, but faster, and not necessarily less control. The top end speed is higher, but low gear are very manageable. Also FH dominant, like my playstyle. But many player complained on the BH with it, lacking stability. To me, it helped my BH. I felt more confident. And somehow, it helped me fix my main weaknesse in years I was unable to fix. Passive game. I can block and direct the passive/control game a lot more. A quality given to Viscaria like blade, not HL5. Before, If I was unable to attack, I was done. Unable to block with the uncertainety of matches. This blade helped me (H8-80 did help me too) to get over it.
Additionally, spin is even greater, and the added speed helps to finish point on BH when needed, despite not being my main weapon. Now I gain so many point on BH opener. Slow Spinny loops with H8-80 does a lot of Damage. In FH, well, I don't talk much, because it is probably the best blade for FH attacks, and many concerns were on the BH side, which to me was not true.

To summ it up. If you enjoy B2, wants more speed without compromise on the flex, feel and control, HL5 is the ideal evolution. So the "HL5 is a B2 but better" is kinda true. I just don't like the idea of this equipment is better than another, but it suits you better. That is why I say Kinda. Never played B2x, but it seems to be a complete different bread. Never Tried the SYS or WCQ blade, but it might be a good evolution too, but apparently, less FH oriented, and the handle is different too. @victormanriquey did tried the 3, but I think he never tried B2. I need to bring it to Krakow for him to try.