Blade upgrade recommendation

says MIA
says MIA
Well-Known Member
Nov 2016
2,132
1,091
11,017

Interesting you say this because I was thinking of swapping the r47 on the FH to the 48 because apparently its spinner and has a softer feel. Was tossing up between that and the Xiom omega 7 pro because the r47 doesn't seem very durable at all. My BH Ximo Euro always seems to last way longer and I'd say I'm a slightly BH oriented player.

As far as blades go guys I probably going to go with a solid 5 play OFF blade because I feel no matter how fast or slow the blade is with my current standard I'm still hitting balls long due to bad footwork/technique :D (had a rough night of league matches :'( )

Sounds like your FH rubber is too fast and has too much kick for you. R48 and Omega VII Pro would last longer but not fix that problem.

Since you really like Vega Europe on your BH, have you thought about using it on your FH as well / both sides, for more control so you can work on your technique more easily and fix issues?
 
  • Like
Reactions: IB66
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Member
Mar 2021
32
13
73
Sounds like your FH rubber is too fast and has too much kick for you. R48 and Omega VII Pro would last longer but not fix that problem.

Since you really like Vega Europe on your BH, have you thought about using it on your FH as well / both sides, for more control so you can work on your technique more easily and fix issues?
Probably wouldn't be a bad idea TBH. I did have the R42 on the FH and after a year of that thought the R47 might be the play, but soon after I changed we got hit with Covid so haven't had enough practice with that rubber. Maybe swapping to the slower FH rubber and faster blade will even things out for 6 months or so.

 
  • Like
Reactions: thomas.pong
says MIA
says MIA
Well-Known Member
Nov 2016
2,132
1,091
11,017
Probably wouldn't be a bad idea TBH. I did have the R42 on the FH and after a year of that thought the R47 might be the play, but soon after I changed we got hit with Covid so haven't had enough practice with that rubber. Maybe swapping to the slower FH rubber and faster blade will even things out for 6 months or so.
That's what I'm thinking too, and it definitely seems like it would make the most sense.

The blade is the base, so you can get good support from it, the rubbers can act crazy and unpredictably if you don't have the correct technique, footwork... Going from R42 to R47 is a huge jump.

The right pairing is important. If you want a bit more speed while retaining good control coming from an ALL blade, better to go to an OFF- 5-ply all-wood and keep the rubbers you were accustomed to (R42 both sides), than to go up several notches up in rubbers (R47). So a blade like a Primorac OFF-, Korbel, Offensive S, Stratus Power Wood, Azalea OFF, Acoustic, Virtuoso OFF- paired with two R42's would be good. Many of my clubmates play with that. On the side you can also put Vega Japan, Rozena or Factive (all mild 45 deg) on your Appelgren to experiment and compare with your new blade side by side.

 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Member
Mar 2021
32
13
73
Thinking I'm going to get the 5 ply OFF with the Xiom Omega euro on the BH and then having the same on the FH or swapping back to the R42 (probs xiom due to durability)

In theory what do you guys think if i went the 7ply OFF instead but super downgraded in rubbers? say Xiom intro on both sides with probs 2.0 or 1.9mm thickness?
 
Last edited:
Thinking I'm going to get the 5 ply OFF with the Xiom Omega euro on the BH and then having the same on the FH or swapping back to the R42 (probs xiom due to durability)

In theory what do you guys think if i went the 7ply OFF instead but super downgraded in rubbers? say Xiom intro on both sides with probs 2.0 or 1.9mm thickness?

Viable option. Vega Intro both sides at 2.0mm is good enough.

 
says MIA
says MIA
Well-Known Member
Nov 2016
2,132
1,091
11,017
Thinking I'm going to get the 5 ply OFF with the Xiom Omega euro on the BH and then having the same on the FH or swapping back to the R42 (probs xiom due to durability)

In theory what do you guys think if i went the 7ply OFF instead but super downgraded in rubbers? say Xiom intro on both sides with probs 2.0 or 1.9mm thickness?
Going the 5-ply OFF- classic route is the clearest and safest, it will provide you with more feel and control which is what you need to improve your technique, while still giving you a bump in speed, and it won't feel too dissimilar from your current blade. Then it will be easier to calibrate and upgrade rubbers in the future. You can pair that with that the Xiom Omega Euro or R42 on both sides very well and you won't feel lost, in fact, it should be more comfortable.

You'd be getting a very different feel from a 7-ply, something hard and stiff, so less touch and feel, a lot of kick, good for hitting, harder to produce spin. Then you'd very likely not have fun with the downgraded rubbers, coming from R42, R47 and Omega VII Euro... But if you're looking to be a hitter and not develop a better topspin, I'd say go for it.

 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: latej and ttarc
Going the 5-ply OFF- classic route is the clearest and safest, it will provide you with more feel and control which is what you need to improve your technique, while still giving you a bump in speed, and it won't feel too dissimilar from your current blade. Then it will be easier to calibrate and upgrade rubbers in the future. You can pair that with that the Xiom Omega Euro or R42 on both sides very well and you won't feel lost, in fact, it should be more comfortable.

You'd be getting a very different feel from a 7-ply, something hard and stiff, so less touch and feel, a lot of kick, good for hitting, harder to produce spin. Then you'd very likely not have fun with the downgraded rubbers, coming from R42, R47 and Omega VII Euro... But if you're looking to be a hitter and not develop a better topspin, I'd say go for it.

I would still say depends on the combination of the 7 ply blade. The older generations of esn rubbers can still be very spinny but the control is much better as they are made for cellu balls. Sure the speed maybe less but the compensating factor is the faster 7 ply all wood blade. With his level, he should start wit a Combo that is more on spin for the rubber and the speed will just be compensated by the blade. I believe this is one way to solve the problem.

 
says MIA
says MIA
Well-Known Member
Nov 2016
2,132
1,091
11,017

I would still say depends on the combination of the 7 ply blade. The older generations of esn rubbers can still be very spinny but the control is much better as they are made for cellu balls. Sure the speed maybe less but the compensating factor is the faster 7 ply all wood blade. With his level, he should start wit a Combo that is more on spin for the rubber and the speed will just be compensated by the blade. I believe this is one way to solve the problem.

Don't get me wrong, it's definitely one way, but on the other end, he'd have to go with some of the most moderate rubbers like Vega Intro, and that coupled with the 7-ply (much less feel) has real chances of throwing him off. Whereas a 5-ply with old gen ESN like Vega Japan seems to me like a more straightforward compromise and transition from what he's currently using.

 
Don't get me wrong, it's definitely one way, but on the other end, he'd have to go with some of the most moderate rubbers like Vega Intro, and that coupled with the 7-ply (much less feel) has real chances of throwing him off. Whereas a 5-ply with old gen ESN like Vega Japan seems to me like a more straightforward compromise and transition from what he's currently using.

I am not disagreeing but just pointing out that it is still a viable option as long as the combination is right. He can even have chinese rubbers both sides, those soft but spinny ones and will still make him learn to use a faster blad. Modern Chinese rubbers now are so diverse that you can have dozens of combo. For example, he will get a clipper or extreme s but when paired with one Mars 2 or sanwei Taiji, he will heave a controllable setup but guaranteed to be spinny and has good speed. He can outgrow the rubbers and change into a different one in a span of 6 months if he plays seriously.

 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Member
Mar 2021
32
13
73
Ended up going with the Xiom Offensive S and Xiom Omega Euro 5s on both the FH and BH. Once i smash through these rubbers I'm definitely going back to the Omega 7 euro on the BH as I don't like the feel of the Omega 5 series so far. (guess it pays not to be cheap :p)

Thanks for the help and guidance.
 
Ended up going with the Xiom Offensive S and Xiom Omega Euro 5s on both the FH and BH. Once i smash through these rubbers I'm definitely going back to the Omega 7 euro on the BH as I don't like the feel of the Omega 5 series so far. (guess it pays not to be cheap :p)

Thanks for the help and guidance.

What things do you not like with Omega 5 Euro??

 
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
Well-Known Member
Sep 2011
12,822
13,217
30,396
Read 27 reviews

I am not disagreeing but just pointing out that it is still a viable option as long as the combination is right. He can even have chinese rubbers both sides, those soft but spinny ones and will still make him learn to use a faster blad. Modern Chinese rubbers now are so diverse that you can have dozens of combo. For example, he will get a clipper or extreme s but when paired with one Mars 2 or sanwei Taiji, he will heave a controllable setup but guaranteed to be spinny and has good speed. He can outgrow the rubbers and change into a different one in a span of 6 months if he plays seriously.

I will have to go the way of Yogi on this one.There are too many different categories of rubber and sponge, let alone individual combos of them, to be lucky and quickly discover what rubber is suitable and appropriate for oneself... and that is assuming one knows their blade and what it is appropriate for... and also assumes player has a very good idea of what they do well, has enough consistency to tell if it is a blade or rubber affecting something, and has feel for the ball to know a difference.

That is simply asking too much from an individual to "get it right" right away in terms of an optimal combo of blade and rubber for what they do.

So many players have not yet discovered what they do or which category makes it easier for them to do that...... then it really doesn't matter what dude 1 or dude 100 says, if the player cannot feel the ball or be consistent or know their game well, then recommendations are just useless.

What IS useful about a recommendation is that if a player is TRYING to develop a certain set of shots, like say the ones needed for allround ofensive play, then a recommendation about a certain class or category of blade and rubber IS LIKELY to result in a combo that gives that player THE CHANCE TO DEVELOP those shots WITH A REASONABLE EXPECTANCY of REASONABLE RATE OF GROWTH.

That is what the recommendations are good for.Once a player get this stage down, a player still has to try a lot of different classes of blade and rubber to understand what is more appropriate for them or makes it easier for them to do certain things.

Surprisingly, even many advanced players have not discovereed this, many of these just stuck to a certain class or category until they got real good. that works too.
 
Last edited:
Top