choosing a new allwood blade

Anton Chua · Nov 2, 2021

im a developing player who is forehand based but has a weak backhand. i know how to spin and loop a ball and a lot of times i block too. im currently using a dhs power g5 with rakza7 on fh and rakza7 soft on bh. however i feel like i have no control and i tend to have my shots fly over the table when i go for more strength behind my shots. im thinking of changing to an allwood blade with a budget. please recommend whether tibhar stratus powerwood, yasaka sweden extra, or yasaka ma lin extra offensive would suit me. i’m planning on using palio ak47 for both fh and bh as i’m on a budget

Lazer · Nov 2, 2021

Stay away from Yasaka Ma Lin extra offensive for now.
Yasaka Sweden or Sweden extra is probably OK. You should be able to stay with Your Rakza 7 rubbers if You select an all to all+ blade.

Cheers
L-zr

P1ngP0ng3r · Nov 2, 2021

Lazer said:
Stay away from Yasaka Ma Lin extra offensive for now.
Yasaka Sweden or Sweden extra is probably OK. You should be able to stay with Your Rakza 7 rubbers if You select an all to all+ blade.

Cheers
L-zr

+1

YEO is a hard blade (walnut outer) and pretty fast with low trajectory. Yasaka Sweden Extra is a great 5 ply blade, offering lot's of control at a decent speed.

UpSideDownCarl · Nov 2, 2021

Yeah. I agree with Lazer and P1ngP0ng3r about the YEO. I also think, if the PG5 is too fast for you, likely the Tibhar Stratus Power Wood is probably a little faster than you want. Yasaka Sweden Extra would likely be a good choice. So would:

Butterfly Primorac Off-
Stiga Allround Evolution

Or, if you are really on a budget:

Yinhe Galaxy 896 blade (it can be found for $16.00 and it is still a pretty acceptable blade, especially for that price).

bzing · Nov 2, 2021

Stiga Banda Allround.

Manto76 · Nov 2, 2021

Good call on switching to a 5-ply allwood!

Of the three options you've listed the Yasaka Sweden Extra is probably the best shout for (as you describe yourself) a developing player with a weak backhand. Another option you might want to consider is the Tibhar Lebesson. It's slightly different to many other 5-ply allwoods in that it has mahogany medial plies which give it a very nice feel. Don't worry that it might be too stiff - it isn't - it's quite a thin blade so still has some flex. Another feature of the Lebesson is that it has a slightly smaller than average head, which keeps the head a bit lighter than most blades and might help you with your transitions from FH to BH.

Also, for the signature blade of a top international player, it's super value for money.

Gozo Aruna · Nov 2, 2021

Anton Chua said:
im a developing player who is forehand based but has a weak backhand. i know how to spin and loop a ball and a lot of times i block too. im currently using a dhs power g5 with rakza7 on fh and rakza7 soft on bh. however i feel like i have no control and i tend to have my shots fly over the table when i go for more strength behind my shots. im thinking of changing to an allwood blade with a budget. please recommend whether tibhar stratus powerwood, yasaka sweden extra, or yasaka ma lin extra offensive would suit me. i’m planning on using palio ak47 for both fh and bh as i’m on a budget

I have a Tibhar Stratus Powerwood. It is a good blade for beginner. I put Donic Baracuda on both FH & BH. It was a very nice set-up to learn the modern looping game because the spin on Baracuda is crazy. I highly recommend it if offensive looping is what you desire to master. This is the right set-up.

On the other hand, Yasaka Classic is a flexy blade and this type of blade will pair well with Hard Chinese tacky rubber. I am saying this because I have experience with another flexy blade set-up, i.e. Stiga All-round with H3 hard and soft on FH & BH respectively. This set-up is workable is you have a coach that can teach you chinese looping style.

Yasaka Ma Lin is harder and more offensive. If you are new to the game and is still developing your stroke, go for the two above first.

ttarc · Nov 2, 2021

Two other quite inexpensive options are the Donic Persson Powerplay and the TSP/Victas Swat (TSP Swat still on sale here in Germany for around €40 vs €60 for the Victas Swat). Probably the Yinhe Earth 3 or Yinhe Earth 1 are even less expensive (but not by much on Aliexpress, just 2 to 4 Euros compared to Persson Powerplays on sale)

Kuba Hajto · Nov 2, 2021

ttarc said:
Two other quite inexpensive options are the Donic Persson Powerplay and the TSP/Victas Swat (TSP Swat still on sale here in Germany for around €40 vs €60 for the Victas Swat). Probably the Yinhe Earth 3 or Yinhe Earth 1 are even less expensive (but not by much on Aliexpress, just 2 to 4 Euros compared to Persson Powerplays on sale)

+1 to that. DPP and SWAT are one of the best blades ever. I don't like that 5plies that much. Thin 7 and whatever DPP magic uses is very nice.

Anton Chua · Nov 2, 2021

Kuba Hajto said:
+1 to that. DPP and SWAT are one of the best blades ever. I don't like that 5plies that much. Thin 7 and whatever DPP magic uses is very nice.

Â

why don’t you like 5 plies? what’s the difference between 5 ply and 7 plies wood blade?

Kuba Hajto · Nov 3, 2021

Anton Chua said:
Â
why don’t you like 5 plies? what’s the difference between 5 ply and 7 plies wood blade?

Sorry for the delayed response, but based on what I experienced is that 7 plies are usually stiffer, and easier to hit with.

5 ply blades tend to be flexy and it is harder to generate power with them. The 7 plies have an opposite property, they are a bit stiffer and it is very easy to hit through the ball, but it is a bit harder to loop the ball. Thin 7 plies hit a sweet spot for me where I can play very very spiny loops without any issues whatsoever and be able to block easily and smash effectively... I have Virtuoso Off- for a year or so and I still have some issues with that blade, and it is supposed to be as good 5ply as it gets.

On a daily basis, I play with Donic Ovtcharov No.1 Senso, which is very similar to your PG5. I like it very much because it can be flexy when you brush, but it is quite stiff when you hit through the ball. I think that your issue might come from the fact that your contact is wrong. Changing the gear won't do you any good if you won't be conscious about how you contact the ball through your stroke. I highly suggest learning to loop as softly as possible to make sure that your contact is right. If your contact is wrong and you hit hard enough you will get the ball on the other side of the table sometimes, but not all the time. If you hit gently and your contact is wrong, you will not generate the curve needed to make to ball pass to the other side.

If you post a video of you playing than we might be able to give you some more info.

ttarc · Nov 3, 2021

In general I would describe the differences between 5-ply and 7-ply similar: 5-ply blades are on average thinner, more flexible, slower. 7-ply blades usually thicker, stiffer, less flexible and faster. Although some 5-ply blades like the Yasaka Extra Offensive are fast and quite stiff. What I feel especially with the plastic ball is that 5-ply blades lack a bit of stability when blocking or hard looping but as Kuba Hajto said (normal = thick) 7-ply blades are harder to loop/generate spin with. The Persson Powerplay and the Swat are somewhere in between: not as thick and still a little bit of flex but stable. Some 5+2 blades also have these properties but these are usually faster and lack (a bit) feel/feedback.

Speedwise I would rank the mentioned blades like this:
Yasaka Extra Offensive > Swat >= Persson Powerplay > Sweden Extra >= Lebesson >= Primorac
Some differences are not that clear i.e. the YEO is comparably slow and has very good control in the short game but can be much faster on power shots than the Swat or Powerplay. Also weight makes a difference (in feel and speed): the Lebesson can weigh below 80 g and a Powerplay more than 95 g. So I would get an average blade somewhere around 85g

Anton Chua · Nov 3, 2021

ttarc said:
In general I would describe the differences between 5-ply and 7-ply similar: 5-ply blades are on average thinner, more flexible, slower. 7-ply blades usually thicker, stiffer, less flexible and faster. Although some 5-ply blades like the Yasaka Extra Offensive are fast and quite stiff. What I feel especially with the plastic ball is that 5-ply blades lack a bit of stability when blocking or hard looping but as Kuba Hajto said (normal = thick) 7-ply blades are harder to loop/generate spin with. The Persson Powerplay and the Swat are somewhere in between: not as thick and still a little bit of flex but stable. Some 5+2 blades also have these properties but these are usually faster and lack (a bit) feel/feedback.

Speedwise I would rank the mentioned blades like this:
Yasaka Extra Offensive > Swat >= Persson Powerplay > Sweden Extra >= Lebesson >= Primorac
Some differences are not that clear i.e. the YEO is comparably slow and has very good control in the short game but can be much faster on power shots than the Swat or Powerplay. Also weight makes a difference (in feel and speed): the Lebesson can weigh below 80 g and a Powerplay more than 95 g. So I would get an average blade somewhere around 85g

as i’ve stressed control and confidence a lot do u think going with yasaka sweden extra is a good choice? i tend to block close to the table then play mid distance in looping. but with my current blade i just do not have to confidence to do a full swing to finish. what is the general playstyle of a flexy blade like sweden extra? close to the table? looping?

Kuba Hajto · Nov 3, 2021

Anton Chua said:
as i’ve stressed control and confidence a lot do u think going with yasaka sweden extra is a good choice? i tend to block close to the table then play mid distance in looping. but with my current blade i just do not have to confidence to do a full swing to finish. what is the general playstyle of a flexy blade like sweden extra? close to the table? looping?

I highly suggest trying to practice what I mentioned in my previous post before pulling the trigger. It is very hard to do the full swing reliably. When I do it, I basically swing tangential to the preferred ball directory.

Anton Chua · Nov 3, 2021

Kuba Hajto said:
I highly suggest trying to practice what I mentioned in my previous post before pulling the trigger. It is very hard to do the full swing reliably. When I do it, I basically swing tangential to the preferred ball directory.

i definitely will give it a try before buying the new setup i have in mind. but i would still like to find out how 5ply and 7ply is mostly played, because i still do not know my actual playstyle and just wanna see which type of blade i should look into more to pair it with how i play. i actually asked this already in my other thread, but can we be friends?

UpSideDownCarl · Nov 3, 2021

One detail that should be noted with fewer plies or more plies, usually, contrary to what people actually think, fewer plies would translate into a faster blade if weight and wood choices are the same. But the reason, what most people think is true about 7 plies is basically accurate is, 7 plies are generally made to be thicker than 5 plies. The extra 2 plies does add stiffness because you have more wood plies going in different directions (ie top plies grains are vertical which means it can flex side to side much easer than tip to handle, next ply is horizontal which means the flex is tip to handle....etc....this makes the blade have less flex because of the change in directions of the wood grain).
.....
But, if you had:
.......
1) 7 ply Clipper (Limba-Ayous-Ayous-Ayous-Ayous-Ayous-Limba) 7mm thick, 93 grams
2) 5 ply (Limba-Ayous-Ayous-Ayous-Limba) 7mm thick, 93 grams
3) 3 ply, (Limba-Ayous-Limba) 7mm thick, 93 grams
......
And the top ply an all was the same thickness:
.....
Most likely the 3 ply would be fastest, the 5 ply would be next, and the 7 ply would be slowest.
.....
The 3 ply would also have the most flex, the 7 ply the least.
.....
This is also why one ply Hinoki blades are so freaking fast and feel so good at the same time. They just are not practical to play with for a lot of people.
.....
Anyway, from a practical standpoint, what everyone is saying about 5 ply and 7 ply blades is still accurate because TT manufacturers generally make 5 ply blades thinner and 7 ply blades thicker.

Anton Chua · Nov 3, 2021

UpSideDownCarl said:
One detail that should be noted with fewer plies or more plies, usually, contrary to what people actually think, fewer plies would translate into a faster blade if weight and wood choices are the same. But the reason, what most people think is true about 7 plies is basically accurate is, 7 plies are generally made to be thicker than 5 plies. The extra 2 plies does add stiffness because you have more wood plies going in different directions (ie top plies grains are vertical which means it can flex side to side much easer than tip to handle, next ply is horizontal which means the flex is tip to handle....etc....this makes the blade have less flex because of the change in directions of the wood grain).
.....
But, if you had:
.......
1) 7 ply Clipper (Limba-Ayous-Ayous-Ayous-Ayous-Ayous-Limba) 7mm thick, 93 grams
2) 5 ply (Limba-Ayous-Ayous-Ayous-Limba) 7mm thick, 93 grams
3) 3 ply, (Limba-Ayous-Limba) 7mm thick, 93 grams
.....
Most likely the 3 ply would be fastest, the 5 ply would be next, and the 7 ply would be slowest.
.....
The 3 ply would also have the most flex, the 7 ply the least.
.....
This is also why one ply Hinoki blades are so freaking fast and feel so good at the same time. They just are not practical to play with for a lot of people.
.....
Anyway, from a practical standpoint, what everyone is saying about 5 ply and 7 ply blades is still accurate because TT manufacturers generally make 5 ply blades thinner and 7 ply blades thicker.

carl, can i add you as a friend and dm you a few things?

P1ngP0ng3r · Nov 3, 2021

UpSideDownCarl said:
Anyway, from a practical standpoint, what everyone is saying about 5 ply and 7 ply blades is still accurate because TT manufacturers generally make 5 ply blades thinner and 7 ply blades thicker.

True. There are exceptions, like Joola Xylo for example. Xylo 5 = 6.9/7.0mm vs Xylo 7 = 6.6/6.7mm. The Xylo 5 uses a thicker core. (source: yogi_bear review)

Kuba Hajto · Nov 3, 2021

Anton Chua said:
i definitely will give it a try before buying the new setup i have in mind. but i would still like to find out how 5ply and 7ply is mostly played, because i still do not know my actual playstyle and just wanna see which type of blade i should look into more to pair it with how i play. i actually asked this already in my other thread, but can we be friends?

Sure. I already accepted your invite. BTW you don't have to add someone to friends on the site to pm them. You can just click the name next to post and click private message.

choosing a new allwood blade

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