Viscaria, Timo Boll Spirit Or Timo Boll ALC?

TableTennisPlaya · Oct 13, 2015

Hi! This is my first time posting on this forum.

My question is which blade should I buy? I've been thinking of these 3.
1) Viscaria
2)Timo Boll Spirit
3)Timo Boll ALC

These Are The Rubbers That I Am Going To Use
<big style="color: rgb(37, 37, 37); font-family: sans-serif;">• </big>FH: Tenergy 05
<big style="color: rgb(37, 37, 37); font-family: sans-serif;">• </big>BH: Tenergy 64

Here Is A Straw Poll For You Guys To Vote! http://strawpoll.me/5725099
Please share your thoughts on these blades & the one that you prefer the most and why.
Any Ideas, Tips Thoughts etc. would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

Ilia Minkin · Oct 13, 2015

If you like Zhang Jike, go for Viscaria. If you like Timo Boll more, toss a coin. If it is heads, go for ALC, otherwise go for TBS.

Killerspintt · Oct 13, 2015

If you can buy a blade you have already tested (like a viscaria from a friend), buy this one (and when I mean this one, I mean THE blade you have tested : for example the viscaria from your friend, not another viscaria for butterfly ^^).

If you are willing to buy a new one without testing it before : go for the cheapest : the TBS.
A viscaria can be softer/harder/lighter/heavier/stiffer/more_flexible/slower/faster than a TBS.
And the same way a TBS can be softer/harder/lighter/heavier/stiffer/more_flexible/slower/faster than a TBalc.

It will depend of your luck. Having owned a ton of the viscaria's or renamed viscaria's (like TBS) from butterfly.....at least 20 of them (certainly far more), in the end I've only kept the blades which were selected before by a semi-pro friend, they just play way way way better than all the others I've owned, and among those blades there is : Two Zhang Jike (blue dragon), one TBS, one TBalc, one viscaria and just recently added one Zhang Jike ALC.

You have no idea how much two Viscaria/TBS/ALC...etc can be totally different, its a matter of luck unless you can test it before or have someone to select you the blade.

So my best advice is : find a way to test the blade before buying it, pay no attention to the name of the blade it doesn't matters, they are all renamed viscarias.

TableTennisPlaya · Oct 13, 2015

Ilia Minkin said:
If you like Zhang Jike, go for Viscaria. If you like Timo Boll more, toss a coin. If it is heads, go for ALC, otherwise go for TBS.

Is it true that Timo Boll uses Viscaria with a Timo Boll handle? I heard that he has always been using Viscaria for a very long time, could be wrong though.

TableTennisPlaya · Oct 13, 2015

Killerspintt said:
If you can buy a blade you have already tested (like a viscaria from a friend), buy this one (and when I mean this one, I mean THE blade you have tested : for example the viscaria from your friend, not another viscaria for butterfly ^^).

If you are willing to buy a new one without testing it before : go for the cheapest : the TBS.
A viscaria can be softer/harder/lighter/heavier/stiffer/more_flexible/slower/faster than a TBS.
And the same way a TBS can be softer/harder/lighter/heavier/stiffer/more_flexible/slower/faster than a TBalc.

It will depend of your luck. Having owned a ton of the viscaria's or renamed viscaria's (like TBS) from butterfly.....at least 20 of them (certainly far more), in the end I've only kept the blades which were selected before by a semi-pro friend, they just play way way way better than all the others I've owned, and among those blades there is : Two Zhang Jike (blue dragon), one TBS, one TBalc, one viscaria and just recently added one Zhang Jike ALC.

You have no idea how much two Viscaria/TBS/ALC...etc can be totally different, its a matter of luck unless you can test it before or have someone to select you the blade.

So my best advice is : find a way to test the blade before buying it, pay no attention to the name of the blade it doesn't matters, they are all renamed viscarias.

So your point is that not all viscarias/tbs/tba are the same & that they're all different? If so, then why is this?

NextLevel · Oct 13, 2015

The build quality is different. If I was OP, I would actually consider ordering a Double Day Winner from Taiwan. I heard that DoubleDay was the OEM for the original black Tag Viscarias and TBS.

http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=72231&title=double-day-winner-blade-impressions

http://www.ping-pong.tw/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=50&products_id=3979

Even with shipping, it is going to be cheaper than any of the other blades you would get.

Hamasaki_Fanz · Oct 13, 2015

all are lookalike, probably the difference is just a little bit stiffer/faster/flex etc which noticeable but probably after few sessions you can change your technique and get used to it. People tend to go for Viscaria, which is said to be more general compared to others.

So, just like Minkin said: ZJK / FZD / top chinese players use Viscaria; Timo use TimoALC; Ma Long used to use TBSpirit.

OR IF YOU WANT, GET THE NEW BUTTERFLY KENTA MATSUDAIRA ALC

denizyilmaz · Oct 13, 2015

hello there i used tb alc before with both tenergy 05 and felt strong enough close to table in middistance you should hit and drive the ball rather than swinging it with spin in order to reach the decent dynamic imo.now im using new viscaria with 05 and 64 my experimental and first events bout it is a different world about feeling the rubbers eating ball issue and speed..i think vis at least mine is much more powerful and a bit harder to control while blocking unexceptable but with a constant usage it probably will be a great mid and even far distance gun.while alc lacks getting away from table to its power vis can throw the ball easily and the central balsa layer really gives you an interesting control sensation at the same time so conclusion it is softer and more powerful blade and with right rubbers which should be interested and get used to it before with that bat you gonna feel the diamond touch as stiga claims

i vote for vis

TableTennisPlaya · Oct 13, 2015

denizyilmaz said:
hello there i used tb alc before with both tenergy 05 and felt strong enough close to table in middistance you should hit and drive the ball rather than swinging it with spin in order to reach the decent dynamic imo.now im using new viscaria with 05 and 64 my experimental and first events bout it is a different world about feeling the rubbers eating ball issue and speed..i think vis at least mine is much more powerful and a bit harder to control while blocking unexceptable but with a constant usage it probably will be a great mid and even far distance gun.while alc lacks getting away from table to its power vis can throw the ball easily and the central balsa layer really gives you an interesting control sensation at the same time so conclusion it is softer and more powerful blade and with right rubbers which should be interested and get used to it before with that bat you gonna feel the diamond touch as stiga claims i vote for vis

Thanks for the reply. You are using the exact same bat build as I have been wanting. But I was unsure about the Timo Boll Spirit & if that is any good.
Have you ever used the Timo Boll Spirit? Right now I think I want either the Viscaria or the Timo Boll Spirit. I'm thinking of getting a Viscaria.

Baal · Oct 14, 2015

I have owned multiples of all of these blades, and have used primarily Viscaria since 2006 or 7 (I can't quit remember). They are all designed for exactly the same style of play. Pick the one that has the handle that is most comfortable for you. That is the main difference but it is not insignificant. I reject the idea that one of these is vastly faster than the others like some have implied. They do something to the top surface of the TB-ALC that makes it slightly harder and crisper than TBS or Viscaria (I personally don't like the effect), maybe it is UV light or something. The handle of TB-ALC is about 2 mm longer which changes weight balance a bit. Viscaria only comes in FL.

Another option is the ZJK-ALC, which is heavier, feels and plays like older Viscaria blades. If I am forced to get a blade that is recently made, actually that is the one I would pick. New Viscarias are lighter and yet faster than old ones, and to me they feel a bit hollow, and not as good a ball feel as old ones. They definitely changed something.

At the end of the day, I don't really think you can go wrong with any of them. Like I said, the differences are such that it is really easy to adapt from one to the other.

All Bty ALC blades are perfectly matched with T05.

Kevin Geraldy · Oct 14, 2015

I have a viscaria and tbs with new metal logo tag, I can tell you that my viscaria has more thicker koto outer plies compare with my tbs. btw I prefer my viscaria because the handle is much more comfortable

ZB12345 · Oct 14, 2015

TableTennisPlaya said:
Hi! This is my first time posting on this forum.

My question is which blade should I buy? I've been thinking of these 3.
1) Viscaria
2)Timo Boll Spirit
3)Timo Boll ALC

These Are The Rubbers That I Am Going To Use
<big style="color: rgb(37, 37, 37); font-family: sans-serif;">• </big>FH: Tenergy 05
<big style="color: rgb(37, 37, 37); font-family: sans-serif;">• </big>BH: Tenergy 64

Here Is A Straw Poll For You Guys To Vote! http://strawpoll.me/5725099
Please share your thoughts on these blades & the one that you prefer the most and why.
Any Ideas, Tips Thoughts etc. would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

I would say the viscaria...

Sent from my SM-N910C using Tapatalk

Joshy · Oct 14, 2015

This question is difficult to answer because it depends on your style of playing tabletennis. Viscaria and Alc are very fast blades,the timo boll spirit is a bit more slowly. It is also important to test all the three blades to get to know which is the best for you

NextLevel · Oct 14, 2015

The blades are very similar other than handle choice and differences in year of creation. If they made all 3 this year, they would all be very similar.

karan705 · Apr 10, 2016

How do their handles compare? Which blade handle is thinner? Just curious.

SilentRain · Apr 10, 2016

I have TB ALC and regular play with my friends viscaria. Between the 2, go with viscaria. Its slightly slower and less spinny but has way more feel (or my TB ALC was just bad batch). I also find viscaria to be more compatible with chinese rubbers. Not to say you cant use H3 neo on TB ALC, it just feels more natural with viscaria. TB ALC has a nice ST handle while viscaria has a nicer FL handle.

Note that ALC has a very numb feel altogether. If you're worried about feeling, you can consider innerforce ALC or Hurricane long 5. Both are limba-limba-alc-ayous-alc-limba-limba. Limba has great feel and with the carbon being closer to the core, you have more feel but slightly weaker carbon effect. This can be good or bad. Good if your control is not that high but bad if your control is high as the carbon effect has been slightly dampened and therefore wasted.

Viscaria, Timo Boll Spirit Or Timo Boll ALC?

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