Liu Shiwen ZLF alternative

Nicky Franck · Mar 13, 2018

Is there a cheapest alternative to the Liu Shiwen ZLF. I love this blade but the price annoys me, 160€.
Is there a blade, (allwood) that has the same kind of feeling/vibration and most importantly, flex. This is the best blade I’ve tried and it does everything well. Hoping there’s a blade under 100€ that will give the same flex and feeling, maybe not the same but maybe a downgraded version but cheaper price.

Lightzy · Mar 14, 2018

What makes the LSW blade what it is are:
1) Gigantic blade head
2) Innerforce construction
3) Zylon fiber (probably the most flexible material used in TT blades)
4) Superior materials, make and weight distribution, befitting a premium blade.

Even without condition 4, there is no cheap blade meeting these requirements that I know of, but that's generally what you should look for.
Problem is, that without the innerforce zylon layer, you just got a giant headed blade made of soft wood. Those are generally defensive blades because they can't generate the speed, may have inconsistency because of sweet spot which artificial layers help with enlarging and making more consistent, etc.

In short I don't think there's anything like that. Just buy a LSW. You only live once, and it IS a work of art, that blade.
I think the closest cheap approximation will be so far off the mark it is no real approximation. They may be great blades, but not feel or play like this one.

Konrad Bak · Mar 14, 2018

Stratus powerwood

729B2zzzz · Mar 15, 2018

DHS hurricane 301 sorta plays like it sorta

mlax · Mar 15, 2018

I have not encountered a blade that plays the same or super close to the LSW. I'm not sure why someone above said Powerwood, but the PW plays completely different from the LSW. I haven't played the 301, but given its makeup, i have a hard time seeing it playing the same.

You could try the Donice Crest AR+. It's Slower than the LSW but it does have similar attributes - even thou, it has lower throw (meaning it would be more difficult to play with low-throw rubbers like the H3 etc.) and its much more direct.

Another blade you could try that has some resemblance is the trusty Waldner Senso Carbon.

Konrad Bak · Mar 15, 2018

haha you propably donic seller or something

powerwood has big head -158 x 152. flex, spinny, little bouncy, easy to play with medium-soft feeling . You will not get ZLF replace but characteristic from SPW is very nice and you will like it. For me the best option is get SPW near 80 grams.

mlax · Mar 15, 2018

I don't sell anything actually. I don't even play with Donic but Nittaku and Butterfly blades. But I have played both the Powerwood and the Crest AR+ and WSC extensively and the LSW used to be my main blade. You have clearly not played all of them given your commentary.

jawien · Mar 15, 2018

Bty Primorac JP.

Konrad Bak · Mar 15, 2018

I played WSC, LSW, SPW.
LSW I dont like it.
WSC is ok BLADE but its harder, stiffer with smaller head
SPW is avesome.
Crest AR is expensive blade.

He wants spend less money, he wants something spinny, he wants something with big head size, he wants something without stiffness.
Primorac JP is good option too.

OrienteTT · Mar 16, 2018

somehow I think Yinhe y13 or 729 F1 could be a cheap alternative.

their construction is very different from one another, the feel is some waht different, but they will play like what you want.

Thin blades for flex, they dont feel hard , in fact they feel moreless like wood blades, specially the F1, good feedback, nice speed (specially Y13) you can get great control and very good spin.

For me, the best feeling cheap blades with composite, the other one is 729 V6, but not an alternative to LSW, not so flexible.

I would choose yinhe y13.

Lightzy · Mar 16, 2018

I think to summarize, as I see it, there are lots of interesting fun blades.
There is nothing like the LSW ZLF.
A nice blade that isn't LSW ZLF is still a nice blade.

DHS301 btw plays entirely different than LSW. It's much .. lower throw feeling, topspins are a lot more direct over the net, soft touch is better and more controlled, and it's faster at the top gears and slower at the lower gears, though both are very speedy blades.

Konrad Bak · Mar 16, 2018

waldner senso is high throw, Liu is low throw blade.

729B2zzzz · Mar 16, 2018

ahh ok

Giangt · Mar 16, 2018

There are no real alternatives to the LSW blade regarding composition and head size.
The blades that has the same composition are Innerforce ZLF, Innerforce layer ZLF, Ai Fukuhara Pro ZLF and Yinhe V-3.
All of the blades mentioned above have 157x150 head size (LSW 158x152). Not sure with the V-3 though...

Gekko · Mar 28, 2019

New harimoto's blade may be similar in a few aspects.

AmiciSumus · Mar 28, 2019

Nicky Franck said:
Is there a cheapest alternative to the Liu Shiwen ZLF. I love this blade but the price annoys me, 160€.
Is there a blade, (allwood) that has the same kind of feeling/vibration and most importantly, flex. This is the best blade I’ve tried and it does everything well. Hoping there’s a blade under 100€ that will give the same flex and feeling, maybe not the same but maybe a downgraded version but cheaper price.

This my two setup and they are very alike/similiar ... I prefer in fact the Fukuhara Ai Pro ZLF FL 87 Gr

Butterfly Liu Shiwen ZLF FL 86 Gr
- Rasanter Grip 2.1 Black
- Rasanter R47 2.0 Red

Butterfly Fukuhara Ai Pro ZLF FL 87 Gr
- Rasanter Grip 2.1 Red
- Rasanter R50 2.0 Black

cHroMe · Apr 8, 2019

Maybe...

Butterfly Liu Shiwen (5,6 cm. Plies: Limba + Limba + ZLF + Ayous + ZLF + Limba + Limba = 7)

Nittaku Acoustic Carbon Inner (5,5 cm. Plies: Limba + Limba + Fe Carbon + Ayous + Fe Carbon + Limba + Limba = 7)

Mtcollins · Apr 8, 2019

I've tried LSW and Acoustic Inner, and I thought they played very different. But I'm far from an expert.

symbat · Apr 20, 2019

I just picked up a LSW and I have 2 H-301's. One of my H-301's flexes more than the other. So far, (still testing the LSW) the LSW and the H-301 with more flex are similar. As a matter of fact, my LSW is closer in feel to my higher flex H-301, than my stiffer H-301 is.

Also, on my more flexible H-301, I like AK47 Red on the FH and AK47 Blue on the BH. On the LSW (so far) I like Rakza 7 on the FH and Battle II on the BH. Keep in mind that I practice (in my garage) and play at work (break room) and these are smaller areas,. Most of my play is close to the table to mid distance at best.

Oh, and I am no expert, but I do have the EJ bug.

Konrad Bak · Apr 21, 2019

if somebody looks on the post, I wanna tell you something more, I played Donic Crest AR and I like more than LSW and AI fukuhara.
I can say that Palio Energy 03 is very similar to Liu Shiwen of course maybe I get a good one because chinese quality check is very bad but soft spinny blade for 15$... must cop for yall

Liu Shiwen ZLF alternative

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