Looking for an OFF- blade suggestions

AlBaron · Apr 24, 2018

Folks,
I just recently joined this forum, getting back into the game after 20+ years absence.
I actually got a coach to spend an hour a week with me starting last week.
It appears that I didn't forget EVERTYTHING about the game.

He is now advising me instead of buying an All / All+ blade that I should be looking at getting a good Off- blade instead.
Right now I'm thinking of Tibhar Stratus Power Wood, but also peeking at the Nittaku Septear Lead / Latika, and also Donic Waldner Dicon. Any thoughts on which one I should get? Or is there another blade I should add to my finalist list?

- Alex

SPIN-OPTIMIZER · Apr 24, 2018

AlBaron said:
Folks,
I just recently joined this forum, getting back into the game after 20+ years absence.
I actually got a coach to spend an hour a week with me starting last week.
It appears that I didn't forget EVERTYTHING about the game. He is now advising me instead of buying an All / All+ blade that I should be looking at getting a good Off- blade instead.
Right now I'm thinking of Tibhar Stratus Power Wood, but also peeking at the Nittaku Septear Lead / Latika, and also Donic Waldner Dicon. Any thoughts on which one I should get? Or is there another blade I should add to my finalist list?

- Alex

Welcome

it it all depends on budget, level of play, preferred wood composites, and expectations.
are you looking for a passive, or more spinny blade?
Do you prefer a hard, or soft feel?
any brand preference?
Light, or heavy?

Joola Rossi emotion, and aruna blades would both be nice choices ( in my opinion)

which rubbers are you currently using, or willing to use?

there are also many interesting stiga blades which are reasonably priced.

butterfly Primorac (non carbon) is also a nice blade.

Nate4s · Apr 24, 2018

Below would be some considerations, ranked from lowest to highest price (sort of, depending where you shop). I'm of the mindset that you should buy the best one (I get that this is subjective) you can afford, so you aren't constantly wishing you spent a little more getting something better and can be content with what you purchased. After having played with an ALC blade for awhile (Michael Maze), I have come to the realization how much I enjoy an entirely wood blade - the feeling/vibration adds something extra to the experience of playing. If I was going to order more blades, here are the ones I would consider (Disclaimer: out of that list, I own the Korbel and the OSP Virtuoso +)

-Tibhar Stratus Power Wood
-Tibhar Samsonov Force Pro Black
-Yasaka Extra Special (yes, I know it's considered OFF +)
-Butterfly Korbel
-Nittaku Violin
-OSP Virtuoso

AlBaron · Apr 24, 2018

SPIN-OPTIMIZER said:
Welcome

it it all depends on budget, level of play, preferred wood composites, and expectations.
are you looking for a passive, or more spinny blade?
Do you prefer a hard, or soft feel?
any brand preference?
Light, or heavy?

Joola Rossi emotion, and aruna blades would both be nice choices ( in my opinion)

which rubbers are you currently using, or willing to use?

there are also many interesting stiga blades which are reasonably priced.

butterfly Primorac (non carbon) is also a nice blade.

Pretty sure I want to stay with all wood. As far as rubbers - wanted to be the next step up from Mark V.
Primorac seems highly recommended, but it's $76. At this point - isn't a Latika a better value?
Just thinking out loud here.

Alex

SPIN-OPTIMIZER · Apr 24, 2018

AlBaron said:
Pretty sure I want to stay with all wood. As far as rubbers - wanted to be the next step up from Mark V.
Primorac seems highly recommended, but it's $76. At this point - isn't a Latika a better value?
Just thinking out loud here.

Alex

‘I think nittaku Latika is ok. The korbel has quite a thick core, and seems a little heavy for its performance. It’s mostly preference.

AlBaron · Apr 24, 2018

I'm 6'2" with hands that are proportional to the rest of me. Should I worry about the size of the Latika handle, and go with something european instead?

Alex

erm · Apr 24, 2018

OSP Virtuoso+
Avalox P500 or BT555
Korbel
Hadraw VR
Stiga Intensity
Tibhar Stratus Wood...

usualsuspect · Apr 24, 2018

AlBaron said:
I'm 6'2" with hands that are proportional to the rest of me. Should I worry about the size of the Latika handle, and go with something european instead?

Alex

I own a Nittaku Violin. The FL handle is the thinnest out of all my blades. Idk if this applies to all Nittaku blades or just Violin. FL handles are generally thinner than ST handles. If you have no preference to FL handles, than ST handles will probably be better for you.
As far as blade goes, I recommend Stiga Intensity or Yasaka Extra Offensive. Both are light and pretty good for everything, especially looping.

Ranger-man · Apr 24, 2018

usualsuspect said:
I own a Nittaku Violin. The FL handle is the thinnest out of all my blades. Idk if this applies to all Nittaku blades or just Violin. FL handles are generally thinner than ST handles. If you have no preference to FL handles, than ST handles will probably be better for you.
As far as blade goes, I recommend Stiga Intensity or Yasaka Extra Offensive. Both are light and pretty good for everything, especially looping.

I know some players where I play who use badminton grips on their table tennis rackets to make it better fit their large hands. I am talking burly guys over 6 feet tall. There is table tennis grip tape also.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5spSxk0UMU

UpSideDownCarl · Apr 24, 2018

Here is a list of 5 ply, all wood, Off- blades that I like and frequently recommend.

1) Stiga Allround Evolution (listed as All+ but all I have played with play like low to mid range of Off-
2) Yasaka Sweden Extra
3) Stiga Offensive Classic
4) Butterfly Primorac Off-
5) Stiga Energy Wood
6) Nexy Spear
7) Nexy Peter Pan
8) Nittaku Violin
9) OSP Virtuoso Off- (Comes with 3 options for head dimensions)

Slightly faster all wood 5 ply blades that are sort of at the higher end of Off- or lower end of Off. So I would not consider these pure Off- but could be categorized as Off- or Off.

1) Butterfly Petr Korbel (Large head adds speed and feeling but also head heaviness)
2) Tibhar Stratus Power Wood (Large head adds speed and feeling but also head heaviness)
3) Nittaku Acoustic
4) Nittaku Tenor (Large head adds speed and feeling but also head heaviness)
5) OSP Virtuoso Plus (Comes with 3 options for head dimensions)

There really are many many more.

But that should be a decent list.

Sent from The Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy

KM1976 · Apr 24, 2018

Hi,

I have played with Nittaku Septear in the past for a brief period. The blade has excellent build quality like all Nittaku blade and is a 7 ply hinoki wood. It offers excellent control and spin generation capabilities. Compared with Tibhar Stratus Power wood, which is a very fast all wood 5 ply blade Nittaku Septear is more balanced and more controlled with more gears. As forum members have pointed out, some players feel that Nittaku handles are slim but I think it is a matter of personal taste. Donic blades also in general have a very good build quality. If you read through my reviews, I have played with Donic Waldner Ultra Carbon Senso for almost 9 years. The blade is still with me and is in excellent condition even after so many years of use. The only thing which you might want to focus on is the blade being head heavy or center balanced. Again a matter of personal taste, but the reason I stopped using Donic WSUC was that it had a hollow handle and the blade weight was too much towards the head after putting on modern ESN rubbers.

AlBaron said:
Folks,
I just recently joined this forum, getting back into the game after 20+ years absence.
I actually got a coach to spend an hour a week with me starting last week.
It appears that I didn't forget EVERTYTHING about the game. He is now advising me instead of buying an All / All+ blade that I should be looking at getting a good Off- blade instead.
Right now I'm thinking of Tibhar Stratus Power Wood, but also peeking at the Nittaku Septear Lead / Latika, and also Donic Waldner Dicon. Any thoughts on which one I should get? Or is there another blade I should add to my finalist list?

- Alex

UpSideDownCarl · Apr 24, 2018

Septear is freakin’ fast if you know how to loop.

Sent from The Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy

Vamireh · Apr 25, 2018

UpSideDownCarl What can you say about the tibhar drinkhall allround classic weighing 87g? What game is this blade for? Is it all+ or off-?

UpSideDownCarl · Apr 25, 2018

Vamireh said:
UpSideDownCarl What can you say about the tibhar drinkhall allround classic weighing 87g? What game is this blade for? Is it all+ or off-?

I think if it is Allround Classic it is Allround or All. And if you wanted an All class blade, I would say the Donic Appelgren Allplay is good enough that it should be considered first.

Stiga’s Allround Classic is pretty nice too.

But I have never personally tried the Drinkhall blade. I am just sure that it is a rebranding of another good Allround blade by Tibhar.

Sent from The Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy

AlBaron · Apr 27, 2018

Thanks for all the responses. Looks like I'll be able to use my uncle's Yasaka Sweden Extra with Rakza 7 Soft on both FH and BH for a few weeks to try on. Will go from there.

Alex

piligrim · May 8, 2018

usualsuspect said:
I own a Nittaku Violin. The FL handle is the thinnest out of all my blades. Idk if this applies to all Nittaku blades or just Violin. FL handles are generally thinner than ST handles. If you have no preference to FL handles, than ST handles will probably be better for you.
As far as blade goes, I recommend Stiga Intensity or Yasaka Extra Offensive. Both are light and pretty good for everything, especially looping.

Violin come in two types of FL handle: FL and FL LG. FL LG is bigger then regular FL

AlBaron · May 9, 2018

After using the borrowed YSE for a couple of weeks, I realized that I liked the blade a lot, but wasn't ready for the Rakza7 Soft.
So I decided to start from the beginning, and get the YSE of my own with 2.0 Mark V on both sides. Will go from there.
Must resist EJ!

UpSideDownCarl · May 9, 2018

AlBaron said:
After using the borrowed YSE for a couple of weeks, I realized that I liked the blade a lot, but wasn't ready for the Rakza7 Soft.
So I decided to start from the beginning, and get the YSE of my own with 2.0 Mark V on both sides. Will go from there.
Must resist EJ!

Sounds like you are making excellent choices.

yogi_bear · May 9, 2018

Stiga arctic wood, xiom zeta offensive wood, offensive s

UpSideDownCarl · May 10, 2018

yogi_bear said:
Stiga arctic wood, xiom zeta offensive wood, offensive s

Yogi, why are you making suggestions. It looks like AlBaron has made a choice. The choice seems like a good choice. And he seems to want to resist the urge to EJ.

Oh well. Hahaha. Sometimes I wonder if people read before they post.

Looking for an OFF- blade suggestions

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