Dhs Long V vs Dhs W968

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Jan 2019
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Hi,

For those users who have tried both HL5 AND W968. Is the difference between the two blades night and day? Moreover, is the quality of wood used a lot better than commercial HL5? Would love to hear your experiences.
 
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Active Member
Jan 2019
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607
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Jun 2019
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I compared my 2019 HL5 (bought from tt11) and a 2013 W968 (a friend bought it from ebay). Some people in my circle could not tell the difference immediately, but I did. They are so different, the W968 can absorb balls easily and and then push out balls strong, bringing me huge error tolerance. When I practise blocking topspin, HL5 can not exceed 5 times mostly, but W968 allows me nearly unlimited times until my opponent gets exhausted. In my opinion, they are two different things, the latter can boost my level and confidence by 30%.

The only thing is where I can buy a genuine and older version W968? W968 is evolving, becoming smaller and harder from what I have read online.
 
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Oct 2019
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I will say: the w968 blade is not just an upgrade version of long v. But they sure have same characteristcis, such as the great feeling of forehand and a good performance facing backspin and, of course very high quality spin and speed. Also, you have to be aware that there are two versions of w968, one is provincial (which had a HL 5 series but different to the long v) and the other one is the real w968 used by ma long etc... (which had a w968 series). Those two are different as well, W968 obviously has a better quality control, you wouldn't see any defect on the blade, but when you play it, you need to have a very powerful full swing. Otherwise you wouldn't get enough sustain from the blade, as you get from Viscaria or other butterfly blades. That's why a lot of people feel so bad and hallow with w968, because they don't have enough power to play it.
 
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Most people would be better off just settling with HL5. Not sure why people continue to pursue the equipment pro uses when these equipment will likely work against them. If you desperately want W968 feel, get Acoustic (all wood or inner carbon version) or any other similar inner carbon blades with Limba outer composition. ML used to play with Acoustic. One would be a fool to pay such a massive premium for W968.
 
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