Greetings everyone, I recently got my hand on the OSP Martin AC OFF blade from Mr. Palatinus and thought I should write a review on it since there didn't seem like there is anything written about it out there. The blade I got weighed in at 93 grams, and I opted for a large head size. For reference, I am an intermediate player with a fairly developed forehand but a weaker backhand. The rubbers I used were the Yasaka Hovering Dragon, Red Max Med Hard on the forehand, and the Xiom OIV Euro, Black on the backhand. I have used Stiga Clipper, Infinity VPS, BTY Viscaria, Timo Boll ALC, DHS Fang Bo Carbon, Long 5X, BBC Hinoki Ghost, and OSP V'King.
Initial impressions: As expected from a blade made by Mr. Palatinus, the finish and craftmanship of the blade is spectacular. The FL handle was comfortable in the hand and the design of the blade was simple yet elegant. The first things that come to mind, doing forehand to forehand, was the enormous sweet spot on the blade. It literally felt like the sweet spot covered the entire blade.
Forehand topspin: The blade had a medium throw angle, the forehand shots did not feel as fast as a BTY Viscaria, nor did it have an extreme kick effect like the Long 5X, but it did have surprisingly good dwell time for an outer carbon blade, and paired with the large sweet spot it almost felt like you simply could not miss when using the blade. However, I did find that there was a general lack of spin when going for a loop drive. But overall, it was extreme consistent and forgiving.
Forehand against underspin: Table Tennis Gan made a brief review on the Hovering Dragon and my findings were similar to his, the topspin on the Hovering Dragon was spectacular however, the optimal angle for forehands against underspin was very small, too closed and it would go into the net, too opened and it would fly off the table. However, the beauty of the Hovering Dragon is that if you are more of a Chinese style player, and was looking for a less demanding rubber, then the Hovering Dragon would suit you, because the technique for the Hovering Dragon is very similar to Hurricane 3. In comparison, something like the D09C required me to change my technique quite a bit in order to get the most out of the rubber. And although the margin of error is a bit higher than most other rubbers, I found that when the ball did land on the table, there was much more spin than I or my opponent anticipated. All in all, forehand against underspin was a bit difficult but that probably had much to do with the Hovering Dragon that I was using. One thing to add if someone was thinking about getting the Hovering Dragon is that the topsheet is very fragile. The corner of the topsheet started separating from the sponge two or three sessions in, and even after gluing it back on to the sponge, the sponge itself also started to separate.
Forehand Counter/Mid Table: I think this is where the OSP Martin really shined, the medium arc and the large sweet spot made it really forgiving when engaging a forehand counter. Even if you miss hit or mistime the OSP Martin, it's almost as if the blade would find its way to keep the ball on the table. I specifically remembered when I mishit the ball three times in a row, yet every single ball still landed on the table with pace. The best way to put it is: Using the OSP Martin is playing table tennis on easy difficulty, it is almost criminal how easy it is to get a quality shot using the blade.
Backhand topspin: This was arguably the worst part of my game, and probably still is, however, the combination of OSP Martin's large sweet spot and Xiom Euro's forgiving nature made Backhand topspins really enjoyable to play. It gave me more confidence on my backhand than any other blade/rubber combination, and also allowed me to explore other possibilities in a rally such as going fast down the line, or a mid range counter attack. Overall, it has been a blast to finally have a backhand. XD
Backhand against underspin: Ridiculous amount of spin, overall no complaints on this department other than maybe not as fast as a D80 or a D05, but the open ups are absolutely loaded.
Backhand Counter/Mid Table: Backhand Counters took a bit of adjusting, a finer brushing stroke was required to arc the ball on the table otherwise it tended to go long. However, Backhand counter with a change in direction was disgustingly easy. Overall, it enabled me to confidently attack incoming balls although the backhand counters did require a bit of attention to get on the table.
Touch: Pushes seemed to pop a little higher than I am used to especially the Hovering Dragon. Hurricane 3 was definitely better in this department if anyone was looking to switch. Maybe it is due to the soft outer ply wood but if you do not put a little bit into the pushes the ball would just dump into the net, otherwise it isn't too terrible.
Conclusion: The OSP Martin in its large head size is really suited for mid table loopers looking for a deadly loop drive finish. The large sweet spot and soft touch despite being an outer carbon blade sets it apart from all the other carbon blades out there.
Initial impressions: As expected from a blade made by Mr. Palatinus, the finish and craftmanship of the blade is spectacular. The FL handle was comfortable in the hand and the design of the blade was simple yet elegant. The first things that come to mind, doing forehand to forehand, was the enormous sweet spot on the blade. It literally felt like the sweet spot covered the entire blade.
Forehand topspin: The blade had a medium throw angle, the forehand shots did not feel as fast as a BTY Viscaria, nor did it have an extreme kick effect like the Long 5X, but it did have surprisingly good dwell time for an outer carbon blade, and paired with the large sweet spot it almost felt like you simply could not miss when using the blade. However, I did find that there was a general lack of spin when going for a loop drive. But overall, it was extreme consistent and forgiving.
Forehand against underspin: Table Tennis Gan made a brief review on the Hovering Dragon and my findings were similar to his, the topspin on the Hovering Dragon was spectacular however, the optimal angle for forehands against underspin was very small, too closed and it would go into the net, too opened and it would fly off the table. However, the beauty of the Hovering Dragon is that if you are more of a Chinese style player, and was looking for a less demanding rubber, then the Hovering Dragon would suit you, because the technique for the Hovering Dragon is very similar to Hurricane 3. In comparison, something like the D09C required me to change my technique quite a bit in order to get the most out of the rubber. And although the margin of error is a bit higher than most other rubbers, I found that when the ball did land on the table, there was much more spin than I or my opponent anticipated. All in all, forehand against underspin was a bit difficult but that probably had much to do with the Hovering Dragon that I was using. One thing to add if someone was thinking about getting the Hovering Dragon is that the topsheet is very fragile. The corner of the topsheet started separating from the sponge two or three sessions in, and even after gluing it back on to the sponge, the sponge itself also started to separate.
Forehand Counter/Mid Table: I think this is where the OSP Martin really shined, the medium arc and the large sweet spot made it really forgiving when engaging a forehand counter. Even if you miss hit or mistime the OSP Martin, it's almost as if the blade would find its way to keep the ball on the table. I specifically remembered when I mishit the ball three times in a row, yet every single ball still landed on the table with pace. The best way to put it is: Using the OSP Martin is playing table tennis on easy difficulty, it is almost criminal how easy it is to get a quality shot using the blade.
Backhand topspin: This was arguably the worst part of my game, and probably still is, however, the combination of OSP Martin's large sweet spot and Xiom Euro's forgiving nature made Backhand topspins really enjoyable to play. It gave me more confidence on my backhand than any other blade/rubber combination, and also allowed me to explore other possibilities in a rally such as going fast down the line, or a mid range counter attack. Overall, it has been a blast to finally have a backhand. XD
Backhand against underspin: Ridiculous amount of spin, overall no complaints on this department other than maybe not as fast as a D80 or a D05, but the open ups are absolutely loaded.
Backhand Counter/Mid Table: Backhand Counters took a bit of adjusting, a finer brushing stroke was required to arc the ball on the table otherwise it tended to go long. However, Backhand counter with a change in direction was disgustingly easy. Overall, it enabled me to confidently attack incoming balls although the backhand counters did require a bit of attention to get on the table.
Touch: Pushes seemed to pop a little higher than I am used to especially the Hovering Dragon. Hurricane 3 was definitely better in this department if anyone was looking to switch. Maybe it is due to the soft outer ply wood but if you do not put a little bit into the pushes the ball would just dump into the net, otherwise it isn't too terrible.
Conclusion: The OSP Martin in its large head size is really suited for mid table loopers looking for a deadly loop drive finish. The large sweet spot and soft touch despite being an outer carbon blade sets it apart from all the other carbon blades out there.
