Has Anyone Played with a Viscaria Clone?

lyh · Jun 5, 2016

Hi! Has anyone tried a Viscaria clone from China, such as those on Aliexpress? How do they play? How do they compare to the genuine ones? Thanks!

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free..._3&btsid=7f3dac7f-5515-407c-9c8a-b9af2e8f7f9c

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Tabl..._3&btsid=7f3dac7f-5515-407c-9c8a-b9af2e8f7f9c

UpSideDownCarl · Jun 5, 2016

You mean counterfeit Viscaria blades right? Not clone but counterfeit.

Like, this is a Yinhe clone of a Stiga Rosewood:

http://www.tabletennisdb.com/blade/galaxy-yinhe-qiu-yike-rosewood.html

The difference between a clone and a counterfeit is that the clone, you know the company that is making it. And you know the blade that is being copied. So the actual company making the blade is clear and there is no attempt to pretend it is the other company's product.

With a counterfeit, the company is trying to make the blade look like the Original and you don't even know the name of the company that actually makes the product. So the blades in your links actually say that the blade IS a BUTTERFLY Viscaria. It does not say it is an imitation of one. And you don't know what company actually makes them. That information is hidden.

Sent from Deep Space by Abacus

kukamonga · Jun 5, 2016

http://pingpongclassics.blogspot.com/2016/06/fake-blades-quick-review.html

Baal · Jun 5, 2016

I play with the Butterfly Viscaria. A guy came into our club once with a fake Viscaria and it played nothing like my real ones. I don't know if all fakes are as bad as that one.

And I need to underscore what Carl said. Those blades aren't clones, they are fakes. It's not the same thing.

By the way, the head shape on the second picture the OP listed is completely wrong for a Viscaria. That will affect the way it plays.

Gene Tuttle · Jun 5, 2016

I have a Zhang Jike ZLC clone/counterfeit blade from China and it doesn't even play as good as my real Timo Boll ALC. The surface is a bit rough and the carbon is more like graphite sandwiched between the layers of wood which splintered all the way through the carbon layer the first time I changed the rubber even though I sealed the blade. If you want a Offense- or allround blade (really slow) that looks like an expensive blade then go for it but you will not be even close to the real deal and it will not have any quality to it other than a handle you can salvage after you change the rubber. The Tenergy rubbers at that site are also low quality all round rubbers. Could be used for defense perhaps but little else. Good beginners rubber.

lyh · Jun 5, 2016

Thanks for the replies everyone! I didn't know the difference between the two terms. More vocabulary! More opinions are still welcome. I thought if they play similar why not try the much cheaper option.

Baal · Jun 6, 2016

Yes, I can see why the terms can be confusing.

Anyway, one reason not to is that to provide money to counterfeiters only encourages them to infest the world with more fake products. We are flooded with enough as it is. Also too, the blades they make are rarely very good.

passifid · Jun 6, 2016

The yinhe vis series are similar and the 729 v series has a few alc if you want a cheap alc. If you want more expensive then tha but still cheaper rhen viscaria try double day. They used to make the the blades for butterfly a while ago and offer their own versions which I hear are excellent quality.

Baal · Jun 6, 2016

One thing about clones is they often have a visual design motif that hints at the appearance of the blade they are copying. For example, yinhe makes a blade that borrows nearly all the visual design motifs of OSP, but it still says Yinhe on the blade. Some of the Double Day blades make it quite clear that they are aiming at buyers of the Butterfly Timo Boll series. It still says DOuble Day on the blade, though, so there no chance of mistaking one for the other. Those are clones, not fakes, in table tennis forum language anyway. (We speak in code here sometimes).

The things alibaba and taobao? Mostly counterfeits.
For a less expensive ALC blade, I have also heard really good things about the Double Day products. I have never found anything like the original Viscaria though.

Stallion87 · Dec 3, 2017

My intuition tells me that it's better to play with a clone rather than buy a counterfeit. My guess is that with the counterfeit the manufacture will put more emphasize on the look of the blade rather than the performance itself. I use Yinhe pro feeling which is somewhat similar to viscaria and I'm very please with it. Sanwei F3 Pro is another option, and from what I read it's little bit softer than the Yinhe so might be closer to the Visaria. I think the Yinhe is a bit faster.

You have a section of Blade clones in the website called experttabletennis article name: best-table-tennis-blades

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Has Anyone Played with a Viscaria Clone?

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