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I am currently an intermediate player in the US with a USATT rating of ~1600 and have aspirations of reaching 2000 within the next few years. My goal in 2020 was to reach USATT 1800, but as we all know, the Universe had other plans. I play a moderately aggressive style game with an emphasis on service and third ball attack near the start of points and spin and placement later in rallys.
Despite no match play in the past year, I have had access to a table and a return board for the past 8 months. In all of this downtime from match play I decided to spend some hard earned money on various blades and rubbers to really take my time to understand if I could find a combination that played significantly better for me than what I have used in the past.
All in all I have read hundreds of reviews on blades and rubbers and have purchased or have access to the following equipment:
Blades:
Avalox Blue Thunder 550 (78g)
Yasaka Goiabao 5 (87g)
Nittaku Ludeack (93g)
Yasaka Battle Balsa (77g)
Rubbers:
Palio Blitz 42 degree (Max)
Palio Blitz 47.5 degree (Max)
Xiom Vega X (Max)
Xiom Vega Pro (Max )
Yasaka Rakza Z (Max)
Stigna DNA Pro H (Max)
Donic Baracuda (2.0mm)
DHS Hurricane 3 Neo (2.15 Medium Hardness)
I have tried almost every possible combination of these blades and rubbers in countless hours of service practice and forehand and backhand looping/hitting against the return board.
My findings:
1. Equipment matters - honestly more than I expected it to. Some combinations felt more right and some combinations felt wrong. No matter how long I played with some setups they never felt right and I would immediately see higher spin, control, and consistency when switching back to a setup that had performed well in the past.
2. Blade and rubber synergy is real - and most reviewers online seem to ignore this fact. Blades do not work without a rubber. Rubber does not work without a blade. I have become increasingly frustrated with reviews that do not mention the entire setup used for testing. For example for me Xiom Vega X played average to below average in terms of shot consistency, feel, and spin on almost every blade, except when paired with the Nittaku Ludeack. On that blade the Vega X on my backhand proved to be one of the best possible backhand pairing of any rubber / blade combination I tried.
My recommendation for others who do not have this amount of free time or money to try so many different setups who do want to find a more ideal setup:
1. Pick a blade in a weight range and composition that you think will compliment your particular style of play and stick with it unless you want to meaningfully change your style of play (ie: transition from a control based style toward a more aggressive looping style [lightweight 5 ply -> heavier, thicker 5 ply], or change from more controlled looping more toward faster looping with some blocking/hitting [heavier 5 ply -> 7ply or composite 5 ply], etc.). Blades in the 70g range are considered light and will tend to be slower, but with potentially more control than heavier blades, the 80g range is most common, 90g+ blades are less common but have their own set of properties that some people love.
A general blade guide: 5 ply all wood and 5+2 ply inner composite blades will have higher throw angles, and will tend to shine for looping, while heavier 7 ply all wood blades and outer composite blades will have lower throw angles and will be more ideal for hitting and blocking.
2. Test different rubbers. For every blade from the above list I was able to find a rubber pairing that complimented said blade very well for me. Sometimes I disliked a blade for months until I tried a rubber I had never really liked on any other blades, and then like magic - that particular blade and rubber paired well and I was back to consistent, fast, and spinny shots and serves. Unfortunately I have no silver bullet here and this is where I believe that having some time and money to use on testing new combinations can be very beneficial.
3. If you are generally already happy with your current setup and only want "more speed" (a common statement I read on many forums), I would consider trying to find a blade that is somewhat heavier (+5-7g) and potentially slightly thicker than your current blade and keeping your rubber the same. Alternatively, if your current rubbers are not the max version of sponge, I would consider keeping your blade the same, but moving up to a thicker sponge of the same rubber you are already using.
Too long; didn't read (TL;DR)
Blades and rubbers have a clear synergy effect. I found that a rubber might not match well with some blades, but matched very well with other blades. If you are reviewing a specific rubber, please note the blade used (or better yet multiple blades!). If you are reviewing a specific blade, please note the rubber(s) used to make your evaluation.
If you have not spent much time trying to optimize your equipment I do think there is a benefit of finding a blade and rubber combo that just seems to "work" for you. Personally, I recommend selecting a blade based on weight and composition that generally matches your preferred playing style, sticking with it, and testing various rubbers with different properties (harder<->softer, grippy<->tacky) until you find a setup that "clicks".
Despite no match play in the past year, I have had access to a table and a return board for the past 8 months. In all of this downtime from match play I decided to spend some hard earned money on various blades and rubbers to really take my time to understand if I could find a combination that played significantly better for me than what I have used in the past.
All in all I have read hundreds of reviews on blades and rubbers and have purchased or have access to the following equipment:
Blades:
Avalox Blue Thunder 550 (78g)
Yasaka Goiabao 5 (87g)
Nittaku Ludeack (93g)
Yasaka Battle Balsa (77g)
Rubbers:
Palio Blitz 42 degree (Max)
Palio Blitz 47.5 degree (Max)
Xiom Vega X (Max)
Xiom Vega Pro (Max )
Yasaka Rakza Z (Max)
Stigna DNA Pro H (Max)
Donic Baracuda (2.0mm)
DHS Hurricane 3 Neo (2.15 Medium Hardness)
I have tried almost every possible combination of these blades and rubbers in countless hours of service practice and forehand and backhand looping/hitting against the return board.
My findings:
1. Equipment matters - honestly more than I expected it to. Some combinations felt more right and some combinations felt wrong. No matter how long I played with some setups they never felt right and I would immediately see higher spin, control, and consistency when switching back to a setup that had performed well in the past.
2. Blade and rubber synergy is real - and most reviewers online seem to ignore this fact. Blades do not work without a rubber. Rubber does not work without a blade. I have become increasingly frustrated with reviews that do not mention the entire setup used for testing. For example for me Xiom Vega X played average to below average in terms of shot consistency, feel, and spin on almost every blade, except when paired with the Nittaku Ludeack. On that blade the Vega X on my backhand proved to be one of the best possible backhand pairing of any rubber / blade combination I tried.
My recommendation for others who do not have this amount of free time or money to try so many different setups who do want to find a more ideal setup:
1. Pick a blade in a weight range and composition that you think will compliment your particular style of play and stick with it unless you want to meaningfully change your style of play (ie: transition from a control based style toward a more aggressive looping style [lightweight 5 ply -> heavier, thicker 5 ply], or change from more controlled looping more toward faster looping with some blocking/hitting [heavier 5 ply -> 7ply or composite 5 ply], etc.). Blades in the 70g range are considered light and will tend to be slower, but with potentially more control than heavier blades, the 80g range is most common, 90g+ blades are less common but have their own set of properties that some people love.
A general blade guide: 5 ply all wood and 5+2 ply inner composite blades will have higher throw angles, and will tend to shine for looping, while heavier 7 ply all wood blades and outer composite blades will have lower throw angles and will be more ideal for hitting and blocking.
2. Test different rubbers. For every blade from the above list I was able to find a rubber pairing that complimented said blade very well for me. Sometimes I disliked a blade for months until I tried a rubber I had never really liked on any other blades, and then like magic - that particular blade and rubber paired well and I was back to consistent, fast, and spinny shots and serves. Unfortunately I have no silver bullet here and this is where I believe that having some time and money to use on testing new combinations can be very beneficial.
3. If you are generally already happy with your current setup and only want "more speed" (a common statement I read on many forums), I would consider trying to find a blade that is somewhat heavier (+5-7g) and potentially slightly thicker than your current blade and keeping your rubber the same. Alternatively, if your current rubbers are not the max version of sponge, I would consider keeping your blade the same, but moving up to a thicker sponge of the same rubber you are already using.
Too long; didn't read (TL;DR)
Blades and rubbers have a clear synergy effect. I found that a rubber might not match well with some blades, but matched very well with other blades. If you are reviewing a specific rubber, please note the blade used (or better yet multiple blades!). If you are reviewing a specific blade, please note the rubber(s) used to make your evaluation.
If you have not spent much time trying to optimize your equipment I do think there is a benefit of finding a blade and rubber combo that just seems to "work" for you. Personally, I recommend selecting a blade based on weight and composition that generally matches your preferred playing style, sticking with it, and testing various rubbers with different properties (harder<->softer, grippy<->tacky) until you find a setup that "clicks".