Blade Information

* weight
* stiffness
* hardness
* different wood layers (ayous, spruce, limba, ...)
* how the blade is balanced
* grip
* glue used between the plies
* ...

those speed and control numbers. If they come from both manufacturors there are not to be compared. Only if they come from the same source(something like http://www.tabletennisdb.com/) they are comparable.

I think it's very hard to pinpoint the difference between those blades and if you like the Joola I advice you to hold on to it as long as possible.

Good Reply Mr Tom

Another thing to note, the exact same blade (both same model) could also be different

ie a weight different of 3 to 5grams will all be different to how the blade performs

Even if you have 2 of the same blade in the same weight. They're pretty likely to play differently in some way from one another. There's a reason pro's don't change their blades too often.

If you have 2 of the exact same blade in the exact same weight, are they cut from the same tree around the same part of that tree? Having a backup paddle is rough, you need to break it in as well as make sure it's as close as possible to your main setup that you can get it to.

The most important things have been covered.

But, there is also this. Different kinds of contact get different results from the same kind of wood. And certain woods feel better with direct impact/drive contact, and other woods feel better with brush/spin contact.

So, I have a story. This was years ago before I looped. I would hit the ball flat. All my shots were drives. So it was when I first started trying to learn.

Someone asked me to try 2 blades. They both had a Hinoki outer play. The inner plies on one were Limba and Ayous. The other was 5 plies all Hinoki.

I tried both and felt that the blade with Limba and Ayous underneath felt better, faster and it felt like it had more control. Then a friend who was 2400 level tried them. She said that the one with Limba and Ayous was no good. It was too slow and the control was not good either. But she said the all Hinoki blade was much better: faster, more control and better feel. I was mystified.

When I started being able to loop better, I was no longer mystified. The all Hinoki blade was kind of slow and felt empty when you hit with it. But once you looped with it, it was amazing.

So something like trying to put a number to speed and control when they are complicated and not straight forward matters isn't really possible.

To make a decision on a blade you have to have it in your hand and feel it. And something that feels a certain way to you may feel completely different to someone else.


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