Hi Everyone,
This is a short review of the INNERFORCE LAYER ZLF.
I promised my good friend Carl I would add my review here as these Innerforce Layer blades are still quite new, and not well known yet.
As a little background I've been a fan of all wood blades ever since I started playing, having "grown-up" on an old BTY Jonyer Hinoki-FL that weighed 74 grams. No doubt it was a special blade with soft touch that yielded the best looping I've ever felt on a racquet. However that blade has one major flaw: once I start sweating (my hand tends to sweat profusely) the handle which is made of soft redwood, absorbs the sweat and that sweat then seeps into the blade wood, affecting playability quite dramatically. The blade quickly plays mushy and loses all its beautiful crispness and feel that makes it so special when dry. Despite this, I've been stubbornly resistant to switching blades and have been accused of being overly picky over the last 8-10 years having tried nearly every popular blade and finding fault.
This is meant to be an initial review of the Layer ZLF after my first session using well-broken in rubber that I am fully familiar with - Tenergy 05 and 05FX for BH both in max.
Speed: Medium (not nearly as fast as Boll ALC or Viscaria, but slightly faster than the wood versions of Primorac and Korbel). The Butterfly chart is pretty accurate here. I would rate it an OFF-
Dwell: Fair (not as good as my hinoki wood, the regular Boll ZLF and the ZLCs, but to me it has more dwell than the standard very popular Boll ALC or Viscaria). I also think vibration/ feel is quite good relative to special materials blades, and hand feedback too (again not on the level of an all wood). I personally suffered on short game due to this as I've gotten so used to the delicate touch of the Jonyer. The ball arc is medium, not high.
Kick/ Gears: 2 gears that kick-in firstly around 2nd gear (think of a car with 5-gears), and then around 5th gear on finishing attacks, loop-drive, smash, etc. The 2nd gear kick is a weird one for me and causes pop-up/out problems on serve and serve-receive.
Weight: 86 grams, which to me makes it head heavy to the point that it impacts shot-making, and will require getting used to, especially as I'm coming from a thick handle blade that was much lighter to begin with.
Handle: thin (24mm) - in fact too thin IMHO - causing blade to be more floppy/ unbalanced than it should be at least with heavy-ish Tenergy on both sides. As Carl says: "BTY are making all lollipop handles these days". Nice quality and design though and sweat does not seep through handle to blade. I think if I were to have a choice of handle, the straight might be preferable in this case due to a thicker overall handle profile.
Usage:
This is a blade that requires solid power from the looper or the ball will get blocked back quite easily. Not for sub-1700 USTTA rated players IMO, as the gear that kicks in from zylon fiber does so earlier than expected (i.e. during return of serve or on a push). Flick is somehow not as easy due to this zylon gear kicking in too early (or the top layer being too bouncy?) and with less ball arc/ lower throw than wood - it made BH chiquita flicks in particular more difficult than I expected. Flipping is something I have practiced a lot, and I feel this is one of the key "playability" characteristics of a blade. FH flip on the other hand was snappier than I expected and had penetration (that 5th gear). I will be focusing on being more aggressive with FH flip because of this lower throw and good snap-thru.
I would view this as a blade that is probably good for someone (with fuller strokes) who is trying out aralyte or zylon for the first time, and adapting from an all-wood blade. The blade will not give the user any advantage in terms of more power/ spin and hence penetration, but it does keep the ball in control - which in and of itself is huge. Again short stroke players will not like this blade as it really needs long loops to be worth using. The ideal user of this blade has natural higher arching loops and uses footwork, spin placement and consistency to win. The thin 5.3mm blade flexes enough to make things very interesting for users who can find ways to take advantage of that.
I still prefer my BTY Jonyer Hinoki over this from many perspectives (dwell, weight, physical form of handle, and balance perhaps mostly), but I have been long overdue for a move to the newer materials better suited for today's power game. The goal here is getting to understand the new feel without suffering through a 180-degree change. I am hoping I can use this blade for that purpose and then perhaps experiment. That said, I can also envision gaining an understanding of this blade over time, and adapting to it for the longer term; it's a control blade that is satisfactory-to-good in almost every category which potentially makes it a keeper. More to come after I've spent the requisite few weeks/ month using it.
Happy to answer any questions. And thanks again to NextLevel for getting this into my hands at an unreasonably good price!
This is a short review of the INNERFORCE LAYER ZLF.
I promised my good friend Carl I would add my review here as these Innerforce Layer blades are still quite new, and not well known yet.
As a little background I've been a fan of all wood blades ever since I started playing, having "grown-up" on an old BTY Jonyer Hinoki-FL that weighed 74 grams. No doubt it was a special blade with soft touch that yielded the best looping I've ever felt on a racquet. However that blade has one major flaw: once I start sweating (my hand tends to sweat profusely) the handle which is made of soft redwood, absorbs the sweat and that sweat then seeps into the blade wood, affecting playability quite dramatically. The blade quickly plays mushy and loses all its beautiful crispness and feel that makes it so special when dry. Despite this, I've been stubbornly resistant to switching blades and have been accused of being overly picky over the last 8-10 years having tried nearly every popular blade and finding fault.
This is meant to be an initial review of the Layer ZLF after my first session using well-broken in rubber that I am fully familiar with - Tenergy 05 and 05FX for BH both in max.
Speed: Medium (not nearly as fast as Boll ALC or Viscaria, but slightly faster than the wood versions of Primorac and Korbel). The Butterfly chart is pretty accurate here. I would rate it an OFF-
Dwell: Fair (not as good as my hinoki wood, the regular Boll ZLF and the ZLCs, but to me it has more dwell than the standard very popular Boll ALC or Viscaria). I also think vibration/ feel is quite good relative to special materials blades, and hand feedback too (again not on the level of an all wood). I personally suffered on short game due to this as I've gotten so used to the delicate touch of the Jonyer. The ball arc is medium, not high.
Kick/ Gears: 2 gears that kick-in firstly around 2nd gear (think of a car with 5-gears), and then around 5th gear on finishing attacks, loop-drive, smash, etc. The 2nd gear kick is a weird one for me and causes pop-up/out problems on serve and serve-receive.
Weight: 86 grams, which to me makes it head heavy to the point that it impacts shot-making, and will require getting used to, especially as I'm coming from a thick handle blade that was much lighter to begin with.
Handle: thin (24mm) - in fact too thin IMHO - causing blade to be more floppy/ unbalanced than it should be at least with heavy-ish Tenergy on both sides. As Carl says: "BTY are making all lollipop handles these days". Nice quality and design though and sweat does not seep through handle to blade. I think if I were to have a choice of handle, the straight might be preferable in this case due to a thicker overall handle profile.
Usage:
This is a blade that requires solid power from the looper or the ball will get blocked back quite easily. Not for sub-1700 USTTA rated players IMO, as the gear that kicks in from zylon fiber does so earlier than expected (i.e. during return of serve or on a push). Flick is somehow not as easy due to this zylon gear kicking in too early (or the top layer being too bouncy?) and with less ball arc/ lower throw than wood - it made BH chiquita flicks in particular more difficult than I expected. Flipping is something I have practiced a lot, and I feel this is one of the key "playability" characteristics of a blade. FH flip on the other hand was snappier than I expected and had penetration (that 5th gear). I will be focusing on being more aggressive with FH flip because of this lower throw and good snap-thru.
I would view this as a blade that is probably good for someone (with fuller strokes) who is trying out aralyte or zylon for the first time, and adapting from an all-wood blade. The blade will not give the user any advantage in terms of more power/ spin and hence penetration, but it does keep the ball in control - which in and of itself is huge. Again short stroke players will not like this blade as it really needs long loops to be worth using. The ideal user of this blade has natural higher arching loops and uses footwork, spin placement and consistency to win. The thin 5.3mm blade flexes enough to make things very interesting for users who can find ways to take advantage of that.
I still prefer my BTY Jonyer Hinoki over this from many perspectives (dwell, weight, physical form of handle, and balance perhaps mostly), but I have been long overdue for a move to the newer materials better suited for today's power game. The goal here is getting to understand the new feel without suffering through a 180-degree change. I am hoping I can use this blade for that purpose and then perhaps experiment. That said, I can also envision gaining an understanding of this blade over time, and adapting to it for the longer term; it's a control blade that is satisfactory-to-good in almost every category which potentially makes it a keeper. More to come after I've spent the requisite few weeks/ month using it.
Happy to answer any questions. And thanks again to NextLevel for getting this into my hands at an unreasonably good price!
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