New custom racket review(sort of). Azalea+N Hurricane P3TO+Genesis II M

This is my first custom made racket so I don't have much good reference points to compare to these equipment but I'll try to explain my feeling and limited knowledge.
Blade: Azalea Allround



Weight: I don't have a sufficiently sensitive balance but I guess it is around 86g?
yogi said it is 87g

tabletennis11.com ~84g
(https://www.tabletennis11.com/other_eng/stiga-azalea-offensive)

mytabletennis.net 87g
(http://mytabletennis.net/forum/2018-stiga-blades-review_topic82927.html)
Speed:
It is not super duper quick but enough for me to use for the time being. I have been playing for a month now since I picked up table tennis again so that could give you a good idea of what level I'm on. You really need to use every muscle on your body to generate enough speed to finish a point but that is what a beginner to intermediate player wants exactly.

Feel:
It has a tremendous amount of feedback(It is referred to as vibration? Even if it is not, the molecules has to transfer the kinetic energy to my hand somehow.Is there anything but vibration fundamentally?). So much so that I can literally pin point where a ball strike with my eyes closed. It is much butter than the pre-made racket I used a while ago because you can FEEL what you are doing, for example, if you hit a full power shot the vibration is different from a spiny grazing brush. It gives me more information which sometimes explain what I did wrong and reassure what I did right.

Sound:
It sounds like a hollow wooden box being struck. Frankly, it sounds bad since it sounds flimsy ,which thank god it hasn't proven itself to be so far. But if you play out on the street or in a noisy club, you won't notice it so I can deal with it.

Look:
I like the black handle paired with pinkish purple lines. Simple, catchy but not over the top. If you are finding this kind of blade but are put off by the "girly colour"—which I disagree—you are missing a good option.

here is a really good revire by yogi_bear:
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/equipment/blades/17643-azalea-all-around

Forehand rubber: Nittaku Hurricane Pro III Turbo Orange

Hardness:
45 deg. I found this number from various websites.
https://blog.tabletennis11.com/nittaku-hurricane-pro-3-turbo-orange-review
(a really informative review blogger on this rubber)
https://www.spinfactory.de/rubbers/hurricane-pro-iii-turbo-orange.html
https://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=32337
(joo too typed that it is "36 degrees China scale" so ~45 ESN )

Weight:
79g uncut. 55g cut. (from tabletennis11)

Tack & Grip:
I didn't even have the concept of tackiness on a table tennis rubber before. I can feel the tack but I really can't give you a good compare, though the cover said that it is a "Chinese topsheet" so it can't be that far away if you have used it and know how it feels, ... right?

Overall:
I don't have to make big adjustment from my ancient DSH commercial Hurricane 3 to the NHP3TO. If you play chinese rubbers, you know the drills. It is effortless to loop, especially long backspin balls that I could had problems with. Its bit the ball way harder than the old H3 which was OLD so it is not terribly useful and fair to compare. Nevertheless, I can say that the sponge is certainly a bit more springy&softer probably due to the Japanese style sponge but keep in mind that it still has 45 deg.

Most importanly, it doesn't make your whole apartment stinks like dead fish if you know what I'm talking about
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/showthread.php?20881-Alternative-to-smelly-Chinese-rubbers

Forehand rubber: Stiga Genesis II M
There is not a lot of information out there yet sadly so I can't give you much data.

Hardness:
Yogi_Bear, absolute expert(and rich possibly),did a review again on this rubber.
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/fo...is-2-M-rubber-reviews&highlight=stiga+genesis
He said that it is 45~47 which I disagree, if the NHP3TO is a unmistakable 45 deg. It is noticeably softer than the NHP3TO by about 20-30% just by felling it by hand so it is at most 44 deg without understanding of the hardness scale lol.

Weight:
70g uncut (yogi_Bear)

Tack & Grip:
It is a little bit less tacky than the NHP3TO but still get a good grip. When I flick or long push with my backhand, I don't really feel any slipping at all. The spin is definitely able to destroy people when they put down guard to my backhand serve variation.

Overall:
I had to adjust quite a bit to the Genesis II M as this is my first non-Chinese rubber ever used. I can't tell if it is the high throw angle or the brimful power provided by the sponge. It shot off the table a lot initially, though the stroke can be easily fixed with a more closed rocket angle with out considering the difficulty of fixing my muscle memory. Regardless, it does make me hold back a bit in terms of the the release of power but I'll try to adapt to it as soon as possible.

Conclusion:

I'm hugely satisfied with this purchase and combination. The weight has gone up a bit and the centre of mass shifted to the front but it is probably well under 180g and I don't have much problem so far.

Thanks for reading.

lVegita said:

Are you hitting the ball at the center of the blade? If yes, have you tried hitting a little more towards the top? The sound should come out better, not so hollow, and it would be a good indicator that you are contacting the ball a.

Click to expand...

3 on middle, 3 between tip and middle(kind of the edge of the sweet spot), 3 on the edge.