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The zlc layer clearly looks different from the inner zlc version. The inner zlc version has a brighter white color, no idea why. https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...050%20jpg.jpeg
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...020%20jpg.jpeg
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/for...004%20jpg.jpeg
Did you get it from the same brand? If I recall correctly, your inner zlc is from stuor. In which case it's very possible that where they get their carbon is slightly different from each other, which means variance.
Exactly, they are actually different brands. The inner zlc I got is Stuor. the Outer zlc I got is Lemuria. But actually, even within each brand, they seem to use slightly different type of zlc.
Both Lemuria and Stuor use a darker zlc for the outer zlc ZJK clone.
Both Lemuria and Stuor use the bright white zlc (which they call gold zlc) for the inner zlc Harimoto clone.
I'm not sure why the color is different, and not sure what difference is in the material. But maybe the "gold zlc" is harder.
what indication do you have that the blade has zlc? (besides the name)
You can't know for sure, so of course, it could be anything such as an alternate painted aramid. But these are some reasons:
1) the sellers go out of their way to list each of the materials used in the blade
2) upon questioning through DM, sellers confirm that both the wood layers and composite material
3) despite the blade looking like the Super ZLC ZJK blade, the seller said the material is just a regular ZLC
4) Seller sent pictures of the zlc material
5) seller claimed the zlc material is bought from a supplier in China
6) after playing with the Stuor brand of zlc, I would say it does have some of the traits of a real zlc material (namely the springiness)
7) having asked multiple sellers of the same blade, they all gave the same answer
So just using occam's razor, there is probably a reasonably high degree of truth to what they are saying. Alternatively, they planned a hoax and coordinated responses across multiple sellers to sell a hobby table tennis blade for $30.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Zhuang
Welp, I would imagine most of the sellers are the same seller.
Yes, I had the same thought. But after talking to them, I don't think that they are the same seller. Some respond in English, some respond in Chinese. And their personalities are different. Some give short answers, some are more friendly. Some are more engaging and conversational.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kuba Hajto
Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Zhuang
I think the blade you have is this one, except yours doesn't have the stickers and paintings.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002473269197.html
If the seller has no problem saying he sells the zjk szlc I don't see why he would have problems saying it's zlc when it's not.
if he admits it's not zlc you could make a dispute which could force him to refund you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kuba Hajto
.............and the sellers are JUST sellers, not manufacturers.
They have to regurgitate what the manufacturers tell them . Most sellers do not have intimate knowledge
of materials so they just buy a few hundred blades and sell them.
If the manufacturer says it is super ZLC the seller will advertise it as such even if it is a simple carbo/kev laminate that has been used.
Buying chinese rip-off blades is like opening a box of chocolates - you never know what you gonna get 😁
Quote:
Originally Posted by olzetezkarzo
Actually I asked about this blade as well. Multiple sellers told me that this blade is not the same blade as the one I showed. It's made by a different maker and is lower quality.
The same as you, I wondered if it's just the same blade with extra painting on it. But they said that it's completely different.
Quote:
Originally Posted by olzetezkarzo
You know I've traveled in most countries in Asia. If you go to fake good markets in Malaysia, Thailand, or anywhere, they will sell fake goods alongside real goods. They're just trying to do their business. If you ask them which is fake, which is real, they will usually just tell you the truth. Most sellers are not trying to deceive you, they want to sell fake goods to those who want fake goods, and they want to sell real goods to those who want real goods.
Having DM'ed the seller of the ZJK SZLC, they definitely will never try to convince you that it's real. They just expect you to know that it's not real, and they expect you to want a blade that is in the style of ZJK SZLC.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lodro
Definitely, I didn't go into these with super high expectations that they would be exactly as the original. Especially I don't expect them to replicate the original's overall feeling. But if they can come close to the speed/flex, that's really enough for me.
I already have a V14 Pro and DHS Bo2 (outer alc and inner alc). So I just expect a outer zlc to be slightly stiffer and faster than the outer alc. And I expect the inner zlc to be slightly springier than the inner alc. If they can achieve those properties relative to my "real" blades, then I think they did a good job making a clone for $30.
My impression with the Inner ZLC, is that it really is a softer/springier version of the Bo2. I'll test it more today though. And also test the outer ZLC.
Well I put my slowest set of rubber on this blade to test it out, and overall it feels faster than V14 Pro. I'm pretty sure its faster than the TB ZLC, but I didn't do a direct comparison.
The arc was fairly normal, certainly not crazy low like some XVT blades I have tried in the past. Flex was slightly stiff, but within the same range as the V14 Pro. One thing is the feeling isn't as hard as I thought it would be. Koto + outer zlc sounds like it would be a fairly hard feeling, but it wasn't necessarily hard.
Of late, I have really started to appreciate inner-style blades, so outer blades feel kinda funny to me these days. But overall, this blade feels high quality to me.
I put Big Dipper and Moon Speed on this blade to test it out. The blade is certainly fast, but I didn't have particularly hard time using it on topspin shots. Compared to the TB ZLC, it is a bit thicker and has a more solid feel, and probably slightly faster as well. TB ZLC has a more springy/trampoline type of feel to it (like a badminton racket if you know what I mean).