Emerald Vps or Infinity Vps?

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Hey, i'm not sure which blade to purchase between the Emerald and the Infinity.Could someone help me with the difference between the two? I'm a player who likes to stay in mid and close range to the table, especially close to the table. I play agressive and loop very much on my forehand and flick with my backhand pretty much. I just don't really now if i should buy a blade with much speed or much control, and i also don't know if much control is good for my playstyle. I was also wondering what rubber/rubbers that are good for these blades. Thank you in advance.

 
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One thing you should know about the Infinity, I know of at least 10 people who had that blade delaminate (the plies simply came apart for no reason). Now if I had heard of one or two instances that would be a lot but not enough to scare me. I would just think it is 2 defective blades. But more than 10! One person I know had one. That happened, Stiga sent him a new one and it happened again.

It does not happen to all of them, but I think that Stiga has some problem with the laminating process of that blade. I am not sure why. That does not usually happen to other blades by Stiga.

But, in all honesty I would think about an OSP Virtuoso+ (plus). That is a really good 5 ply blade in the same speed class as the two you are looking at. But it is hand made and plays amazingly well. Good touch, good feel. Good dwell time. Generates a lot of spin. And a solid Off rated blade with a high though angle. Perfect for close to the table play but it performs well from mid and long range too.
 
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Okay so none of those would match, but what about the Carbonado Series? 190 and 145, I was on a website in my country and it said that those blades had 144 in speed and 45 in control, what about those, do you think they would match me? I've also heard of the Stiga Intensity NCT Carbon and the Stiga Rosewood NCT V11. Thank you in advance.
 
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Okay so none of those would match, but what about the Carbonado Series? 190 and 145, I was on a website in my country and it said that those blades had 144 in speed and 45 in control, what about those, do you think they would match me? I've also heard of the Stiga Intensity NCT Carbon and the Stiga Rosewood NCT V11. Thank you in advance.

Can't say much about the Emerald but it might be good for you. I have not heard about it having the problem that the Infinity has. It might but I have not heard of anyone who plays with it who I know. So Emerald may be good. But I don't know. I do think that OSP blade would be good though.

And the Carbonato blades, they may be good as well. I don't really know because I have not tried them. But there are a few people on TTDaily who have and they seem to like the Carbonato blades.
 
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Okay then i know it. I have been watching these so called reviews on blades on TableTennisDaily's youtube channel, they have one with the Infinity Vps but not with Emerald Vps though.

I think I'll go for the Carbonado Series or the OSP as you said, but what rubbers do you prefer for the Emerald and OSP?

Thank you in advance.
 
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Hi F1lle.
I am one of the persons who experienced the infinity delaminate and have seen many cases where other people experienced the same. Other than that the playing characteristics are very good. I would recommend the blade to you if it wasn't for its poor quality. I have also seen the Emerald delaminate but not as many as the Infinity. The infinity is reasonable cheap but if you are going for it and it delaminates you can always get it replaced due to the 1 year buyers warranty.

i have both Carbonados and they are both good blades. As you describe you playing style I think the 145 will suit you the best. It has a better feel toward wood blades than the 190.
 
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Ok so it looks like I'll go for either the Emerald or the Carbonado Series. I watched TTDaily's review on 145 with Fan Zhendong and 190 with Xu Xin and Kristian Karlsson, And I just wanted to mention that I like to loop with forehand and backhand flick against serves and that I like to block against heavy sidespin when the player is away from the table, or somethimes I do smash right at the other side of the table.

I'll check the 145, but is it any rubbers you prefer for the Carbonado 145 blade Giangt?

Thank you in advance
 
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One thing you should know about the Infinity, I know of at least 10 people who had that blade delaminate (the plies simply came apart for no reason). Now if I had heard of one or two instances that would be a lot but not enough to scare me. I would just think it is 2 defective blades. But more than 10! One person I know had one. That happened, Stiga sent him a new one and it happened again.

It does not happen to all of them, but I think that Stiga has some problem with the laminating process of that blade. I am not sure why. That does not usually happen to other blades by Stiga.

But, in all honesty I would think about an OSP Virtuoso+ (plus). That is a really good 5 ply blade in the same speed class as the two you are looking at. But it is hand made and plays amazingly well. Good touch, good feel. Good dwell time. Generates a lot of spin. And a solid Off rated blade with a high though angle. Perfect for close to the table play but it performs well from mid and long range too.


i second this from carl's post... i bought a brand new diamond VSP from a vendor in USA and when it arrived the blade was delaminated from the core... i didn't even glue or hit it.. it just separated from the core..

attached is the photo of mine , of course i sent back to vendor and they took care of it.

http://tinypic.com/r/e6f43o/8

e6f43o.jpg
 

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The Infinity plays really well. I've had it for 7 months now. It is both a slow and fast blade with very good feel. I am also looking into getting the Emerald as well in the coming months.

Pardon for the slight OT - for those having delaminating issue, may I know what region you are from? Could it be the weather or humidity is the culprit?
 
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Hey F1lle, im also playing close to mid range at the table and have a topspin dominant play style. I bought the Infinity last week because i felt the classic pro off is a bit to slow for me. The blade has a comfortable speed and is still good to control but i was very unhappy with the dwell time, it is much too short for me so im sticking with the classic pro off
 
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Ok so it looks like I'll go for either the Emerald or the Carbonado Series. I watched TTDaily's review on 145 with Fan Zhendong and 190 with Xu Xin and Kristian Karlsson, And I just wanted to mention that I like to loop with forehand and backhand flick against serves and that I like to block against heavy sidespin when the player is away from the table, or somethimes I do smash right at the other side of the table.

I'll check the 145, but is it any rubbers you prefer for the Carbonado 145 blade Giangt?

Thank you in advance
The Carbonado 145 is working well with both Chinese and European rubbers. I tested it with H3 and Tenergy 64 and 05.
 
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Such topics always amaze me. Someone is asking for advice and many people suggest all kind of equipment, even if some vital information is missing. Such as: how many years are you playing: 1, 10 or 15 years? What equipment are you using today and what are you missing in your current setup? Etc, etc.

....[sigh]....

Nevertheless, F1lle I hope you will find a suitable setup. A Carbonado with Tenergy will cost some bucks and it would be a waste of money if this setup doesn't suit you. I suggest you do some more investigation and test some setups before buying.

Just my 2 cents....
 
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Pardon for the slight OT - for those having delaminating issue, may I know what region you are from? Could it be the weather or humidity is the culprit?

I know people from New York USA, California USA, Denmark, Germany, Austria, the Philippines and New Zealand who have had that blade delaminate.

At the same time, I know people in same places with other Stiga blades that never delaminated. I don't think it has to do with climate but something to do with the way the wood is treated or something about the lamination process that is used for that blade.

Any well laminated wood will not delaminate under normal atmospheric conditions. I have 3 blades that I have had since 1990 and none of them have delaminated in spite of the fact that they were stored in the worst of possible conditions. Cold dry winters, hot humid summers. No consideration to how they were stored at all.

If you stick a piece of well laminated wood in a pot of boiling water and leave it for a while you can sometimes get the wood to delaminate. But in the air, if the wood was laminated properly, it should not delaminate. That is a quality control or a research and development issue.


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Right, I've played in 4 years and i'm a proffesional Table Tennis and i'm playing at a high level. I didn't rememer what blade it was, i'm not home at the moment so I can't check that...

The rubbers I have on it are Tenergy 25 on both sides. What I think about my blade is that it's so heavy.
 
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Such topics always amaze me. Someone is asking for advice and many people suggest all kind of equipment, even if some vital information is missing. Such as: how many years are you playing: 1, 10 or 15 years? What equipment are you using today and what are you missing in your current setup? Etc, etc.....

You are making a good point. How long he is playing, what his level is, what his previous setup was and what he would that is different would be valuable considerations. Usually when someone asks, which these two specific blades the person should choose I don't ask the same questions as when someone says: "if I want a new blade, what should I get?" The second query implies the person wants more help. The first implies some research has been done.

I have tried the Infinity. I have not tried the Emerald. The reason I suggested he take a look at the OSP Virtuoso +. It plays similar to but better than the Infinity. And is far more solid and sturdy than any Stiga blade I have used. When you accidentally hit most Stiga blades on the corner of a table the result is usually more damage than you should actually get. Rosewood and Ebenholtz are more sturdy than most Stiga blades and both play very well. But the OSP blade I recommended plays fairly similar to the Infinity but has better dwell, more spin, better feel and the same speed. So I thought I would include it as something to look at.

But after that the OP's next post was about the Carbonato blades. So perhaps he already has ideas of what he wants.

But it is true, to really help someone, knowing how long they are playing, their skill level and play style would help for making intelligent suggestions.

However, seeing them play would help even more. So when it is possible to have a coach who knows a lot about equipment to help you choose a setup, that would be ideal.

Perhaps the OP has already had a coach help him narrow down his choices and he just wants to see what other people think.


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Emerald is a very nice blade. Has the ebony top like the Ebenholz. Rubbers easy to apply smoothly and removed easily. Nice details on the handles.

Just make sure good inspection before using incase of any defect to the veneers.


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