Tried my Donic Appelgren All+ today

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Well, I had an opportunity to finally test my new blade with T05 on f/hand and Donic Barracuda on the b/hand. My normal setup is a very old Stiga OC CR with Rozena and Barracuda. The blade is finished very well with a smooth handle and no rough or sharp edges I could notice. I played with the Appelgren for 2 hours today and it is a blade that felt easy to use with little learning curve. There is more speed and less vibration than my Stiga but control is still Ok. T05 is very nice on this blade. There is nothing super outstanding about the blade but it feels a nice step up from my old 5 ply wood blades. I also have a Butterfly Viscaria with T05 both sides but that feels like a blade for a higher level player than myself and I had trouble using it effectively. The Appelgren fits a space between these two blades for me. I can post more info after a few weeks of play but for now I seem confident in this blade. The Barracuda is noticeably slower and less precise than the T05 but i like it on the b/hand for slow controlled brush loops and spiny serves.
 
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haha, you are basically the only one on this forum that is wise enough to use a little slower equipment! That is great! Feel like the majority somewhat overestimate their ability and use to fast equipment.
 
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Yeah, seems like everyone is an equipment junkie these days, better to improve your strokes / footwork etc. I know a guy with over 30 blades and he keeps switching between this and that - seems like he gets confused about which one to use. Have to admit though, I may have been bitten by the equipment bug!!
 
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haha, you are basically the only one on this forum that is wise enough to use a little slower equipment! That is great! Feel like the majority somewhat overestimate their ability and use to fast equipment.
I have following blades from slowest to fastest:
- Yasaka Sweden. (all)
- Stiga evolution allround. (all+)
- Butterfly inner force alc.s. (off-)
- Tibhar.Akkad. (off)
- Stiga exclusive off. (off)
- Tibhar. 3-9. (off or off+)
- Primorac Carbon. (off+)
- Yasaka silver 9. (off+) (To me this one is faster than the Primo).

I can make them play at basically the same speed by using appropriate rubber. This works if your strokes are moderately hard. Due to this I prefer a fast blade and a slow rubber because then I feel I get.more gears.

Cheers
L-zr
 
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Yes! Agree that the rubbers play a part too! How do you like the Akkad?

 
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Yes! Agree that the rubbers play a part too! How do you like the Akkad?

The best part is the handle, but I think it’s a bit stiff and dead. Right now I’m using FX-S maybe the rubber is bit soft but the speed seems OK. I would like a bit more catapult, I actually prefer my two slowest blades before the Akkad.

The Primo is a lot livelier and is my no: 1 favorite right now. The Yasaka silver 9 I haven’t been able to quite tame yet. That one is a real beast...

Cheers

 
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says toooooo much choice!!
says toooooo much choice!!
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Nice to see that you’re using an All+ blade!! I have a couple of Donic Appelgren Dotec Control blades which are rated as All, they have the ergonomic handle but I think they would play pretty similar to your Appelgren.
great feel and touch, good control and enough speed.

I also have quite a few other blades!! But mostly all wood, recently got a couple of carbon blades, Viscaria’s and a Zhang Jike ALC which is basically very similar to a Viscaria.
I can play with these but prefer something slower, softer. I really bought them so I can test rubbers on different blade types.
So I’m now basically set for testing, 2 Appelgren Dotec Control, 2 Primorac’s and 2 Viscaria’s!!!

For actual play I’ll be using Nittaku Acoustic, or Acoustic inner. If I wasn’t going to use those, then the Dotec Appelgren’s would be next choice!!!

Keep us updated on how you get on 😀!!
 
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Good choice! 5-ply all wood blades are my favourite blades, too. I've tested quite a few and also very different ones. My three favourites are 1: Darker 5p-2a, 2. Stiga Maplewood V and 3. Butterfly Korbel. I also like the stiff Yasaka Goiabao 5. It's a tad faster than the other blades, but great for blocking and quick attack. I don't like carbon blades at all, especially "outer" ones. I feel disconnected when I play with them. I really need vibration on ball impact when I play. I my club there are a lot of people who play with super fast set ups, I think that's a very common mistake. Somehow "fast blade" equals "good blade" for many players. But honestly, not often does one lose a point because the racket was too slow. You lose points and matches due to lack of control and consistency.
 
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Played some more with the Appelgren today and I really like this blade and rubber combo. The blade is lovely to use, has great control and awesome speed if you hit well. There is just something nice about the feel of this blade which I really like. It fits a niche between the harder to control carbon blades and the 5 ply all wood blades. The handle feels nice to hold and there are no sharp edges. It's a blade that requires very little to no learning curve. The Barracuda rubber is really nice on the Apllegren, I have it on the BH and Tenergy 05 on the FH but both rubbers play well. The 05 has more catapult but the Barracuda is more forgiving. I think a large range of rubber would suit this type of blade though. No doubt at all this blade has improved my game a LOT. I was beating players a grade higher in practice and I know the blade has helped me do that. It's a far superior blade than my old Stiga OC CR and is perfect for a medium level player like myself. It also seems quite light which is good if you have injuries like i do. I'll be gluing up a new Stiga clipper with Barracuda and Rozena rubbers so will report back how this plays compared to the Donic.
 
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says toooooo much choice!!
says toooooo much choice!!
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Played some more with the Appelgren today and I really like this blade and rubber combo. The blade is lovely to use, has great control and awesome speed if you hit well. There is just something nice about the feel of this blade which I really like. It fits a niche between the harder to control carbon blades and the 5 ply all wood blades. The handle feels nice to hold and there are no sharp edges. It's a blade that requires very little to no learning curve. The Barracuda rubber is really nice on the Apllegren, I have it on the BH and Tenergy 05 on the FH but both rubbers play well. The 05 has more catapult but the Barracuda is more forgiving. I think a large range of rubber would suit this type of blade though. No doubt at all this blade has improved my game a LOT. I was beating players a grade higher in practice and I know the blade has helped me do that. It's a far superior blade than my old Stiga OC CR and is perfect for a medium level player like myself. It also seems quite light which is good if you have injuries like i do. I'll be gluing up a new Stiga clipper with Barracuda and Rozena rubbers so will report back how this plays compared to the Donic.

Great to see you are getting on well with your Appelgren!!
I’m about to take T05 and T19 off of a Viscaria and put them on an All-round blade, to see how they play.

 
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Not sure what level your at IB66 but they should play well on an ALL blade. I find Viscaria too fast with T05 but that's just me. Others love it but I don't think it has the versatility I need as I play a lot of fine touch shots as well as drive loops.

 
says toooooo much choice!!
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Not sure what level your at IB66 but they should play well on an ALL blade. I find Viscaria too fast with T05 but that's just me. Others love it but I don't think it has the versatility I need as I play a lot of fine touch shots as well as drive loops.

Hi, my level of play at best is intermediate!!
I quite like the Viscaria(x2) / Zhang Jike ALC (x1) blades, I generally used all wood blades.
During the various COVID lockdowns to help keep playing I’ve been trying quite a few rubbers and blades, but only recently bought the Viscaria’s and the ZJ ALC so that I can get a better reference of how rubbers play on a variety of blades. (Possibly a little OTT!!!)
Testing against a robot is one thing, using in match situations is another!!"
I’d be happy to use a defensive blade, all round blade, offensive all wood or offensive Carbon. ‘Happy to use’ doesn’t mean a certain blade is ‘better’ for me though!!

When things move back to normal (ish) and local leagues start up again I’ll be using an all wood blade either Acoustic / Appelgren Dotec (yeah this has Dotec fibres but it’s All+) or Primorac, (possibly an Acoustic inner, speed difference between Acoustic and Acoustic Inner is not largely great and they feel similar).

I’m actually going to play against my coach on Tuesday for an hour!!! First Human opposition in ages!!
Primorac with Tau II and/or Acoustic inner with Rakza Z will be being used!!
 
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says toooooo much choice!!
says toooooo much choice!!
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After practicing this afternoon, I couldn’t bring myself to take off the T05/19 from the Viscaria until I’ve given it a go with my coach on Tuesday!! So it’s going to be Acoustic inner Rakza Z and the T05/19 Viscaria!!
Got pre-conceived ideas what will happen, but who knows!! Still think Viscaria will be beyond my skill capabilities!! Let’s see what happens!!!! Could be 😭 or 😀!!
 
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So, as an update,

I played on Tuesday evening and used one set up which was the Primorac (all wood) with the Tau 2.
I practiced some more with the Viscaria T05/19 at home and decided to swap the rubbers
T05/19 is now on my 30+yr old Grubba blade!!
One thing that really jumped out regarding this change was the sweet spot of the Viscaria compared to the Grubba, - Viscaria sweet spot is larger and gives the blade a very consistent feel.
I’ll finish this post on another thread - Tau 2, because it’s more relevant to specifically the Tau 2.
 
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Played comp and practice a few times now on the Appelgren, can't really fault it at my level of play. It has a lovely feel to the blade which is better than all wood and better than hard carbon blades. It's a strange blade to describe because it doesn't have that woody feel nor the fast carbon feel - it's something in between and possibly better than both for my style of play. I have tried a lot of other players blades but this one feels different and quite lovely to play with. I did try a few balsa blades which had great touch and awesome looping, but couldn't get used to the lack of linear speed when you hit harder. Will play out this season with the Appelgren and see how it goes but so far very nice. Would recommend for mid level players for sure.
 
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Played comp and practice a few times now on the Appelgren, can't really fault it at my level of play. It has a lovely feel to the blade which is better than all wood and better than hard carbon blades. It's a strange blade to describe because it doesn't have that woody feel nor the fast carbon feel - it's something in between and possibly better than both for my style of play. I have tried a lot of other players blades but this one feels different and quite lovely to play with. I did try a few balsa blades which had great touch and awesome looping, but couldn't get used to the lack of linear speed when you hit harder. Will play out this season with the Appelgren and see how it goes but so far very nice. Would recommend for mid level players for sure.

Hi @howmanyru – Is it a new Appelgren or an old one?

 
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So, as an update,

I played on Tuesday evening and used one set up which was the Primorac (all wood) with the Tau 2.
I practiced some more with the Viscaria T05/19 at home and decided to swap the rubbers
T05/19 is now on my 30+yr old Grubba blade!!
One thing that really jumped out regarding this change was the sweet spot of the Viscaria compared to the Grubba, - Viscaria sweet spot is larger and gives the blade a very consistent feel.
I’ll finish this post on another thread - Tau 2, because it’s more relevant to specifically the Tau 2.

I have an old Primorac metal tag and its really similar, i like playing with it but the sweetspot seems so small!

 
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