I own a Fang Bo B2X, ask me anything.

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It seems like the Fang Bo B2X is a heavily talked about blade and has been a hot topic for many people in the past couple of times I've visited the site, I'm here to answer all the questions people have regarding this blade.

Some blades I have tried:
Viscaria
Hurricane Long V (commercial)
Ma Lin EO
Ma Lin Carbon
Ma Lin Soft Carbon
Hurricane Hao II
Air Hinoki Carbon MambaS
Yinhe 896

I use Hurricane 8 Mid-Hard on forehand, and Skyline 3-60 Medium Soft on bh.
I can compare it with hurricane 3 on forehand for all blades, however my backhand rubber has been experimental so I won't be able to give a more in depth comparison.
 
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I just ordered a Bo2, so i'm looking forward to getting it.

How would you rate the top speed for Ma Lin EO, VIS, B2x, and HL5? from 1-10 I guess.

Does the B2X still maintain the high flex that HL5 is famous for? Or does the X make it much stiffer.
 
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I just ordered a Bo2, so i'm looking forward to getting it.

How would you rate the top speed for Ma Lin EO, VIS, B2x, and HL5? from 1-10 I guess.

Does the B2X still maintain the high flex that HL5 is famous for? Or does the X make it much stiffer.

I want to preface that the Long V that I had hit with had been 10 years old but with fresh DHS H3 provincial.

The B2X is for sure stiffer than the regular HL5. Since it's stiffer it feels more crisp and less muted carbon vibrations than the HL5 in my opinion. I felt that it was easier to get the carbon layer to activate with B2X than with HL5. I think because the carbon is a little bit further out compared to HL5 due to the thicker core, but I could be wrong with my analysis. I think that I initially had a hard time getting it to flex, but I've adjusted.

Ma Lin EO is similar feeling in speed. Similar stiffness and feeling before you get to the carbon gear.
Viscaria I feel is more direct and less arc. Within the context of H3 they are about the same speed, maybe the B2X is a slower by a smidge.

It's hard for me to compare pure speed, because if you hit hard, all these blades will send the ball quickly without issue. I feel Viscaria is naturally the fastest, followed by B2X, then HL5, and MLEO.

B2X is faster in the wood gear, but is the same speed as HL5 if flexed. I think that since HL5 is more flexy, it can be faster with top end speed, but it's all relative.
I would assume if B2 is a little less stiff then it might be easier to use. It is said that the B2 is stiffer than HL5 even though they are the same wood, but I do not have a B2.

 
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https://blog.tabletennis11.com/review-dhs-fang-bo-b2-and-b2x-composite-blades

What do you think about this review? He makes a number of statements that feel inconsistent with everything ive read and heard.

He says b2 is stiff and has low dwell time. But the whole point of the inner alc limba structure is to have more flex and dwell time.

He says he cant generate much spin. But everything i heard is that b2 and hl5 are designed for high spin.

He calls the blade low Off but its supposed to be off+ for topspeed. And when talking speed, the whole point is your high end loop speed.

He says the b2x has higher arc, but that seems strange. B2x is thicker and stiffer, so it should have lower arc, right?
 
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It seems like the Fang Bo B2X is a heavily talked about blade and has been a hot topic for many people in the past couple of times I've visited the site, I'm here to answer all the questions people have regarding this blade.

Some blades I have tried:
Viscaria
Hurricane Long V (commercial)
Ma Lin EO
Ma Lin Carbon
Ma Lin Soft Carbon
Hurricane Hao II
Air Hinoki Carbon MambaS
Yinhe 896

I use Hurricane 8 Mid-Hard on forehand, and Skyline 3-60 Medium Soft on bh.
I can compare it with hurricane 3 on forehand for all blades, however my backhand rubber has been experimental so I won't be able to give a more in depth comparison.

""""""" Fang Bo B2X is a heavily talked about blade """""" .............................................never heard of it ! 🤣

 
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Also, ive read different sources that say HL5 is limba-limba outer 2 layers. Some say its limba-ayous. Which is it?

What about b2?
 
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https://blog.tabletennis11.com/review-dhs-fang-bo-b2-and-b2x-composite-blades

What do you think about this review? He makes a number of statements that feel inconsistent with everything ive read and heard.

He says b2 is stiff and has low dwell time. But the whole point of the inner alc limba structure is to have more flex and dwell time.

He says he cant generate much spin. But everything i heard is that b2 and hl5 are designed for high spin.

He calls the blade low Off but its supposed to be off+ for topspeed. And when talking speed, the whole point is your high end loop speed.

He says the b2x has higher arc, but that seems strange. B2x is thicker and stiffer, so it should have lower arc, right?

What Patrick says is completely right. Although I think he may have switched up his words for his conclusion of the " In my opinion, the DHS Fang Bo B2 blade is a composite blade that is best suited for two-winged loopers, who prefer lower throwing blades and emphasize spin over speed". I think he meant to put spin over speed given this comment, "My third-ball FH attacks with the B2 worked best when I focused on speed over spin, but this is a riskier style.". Again even though it's the same construction as HL5, it's stiffer. I actually said it was stiff too. Spin levels aren't crazy like what he says, and it doesn't hold the ball as long YEO/MLEO.

DHS over exaggerates their ratings, but mid off is something I agree with. In terms of higher arc, it could be just variation between blades.


About high end loop speed, I think that it's all relative. Trying to compare what is the fastest depends on your swing. If you swing hard, and have impact behind the ball any the blade can send the ball fast. To me, it doesn't make sense to compare top end speed because they're kind of all the same for OFF blades, but with slight variation- if it's all wood or carbon. To me, I see it as that the blades listed above reach the same top end speed, maybe the carbons a little bit more faster, but biggest difference in speed is more felt in low/medium power shots.

I don't know the extreme differences in composition (ayous or limba), nor do I care not to know because to me that information doesn't bear any meaning. Not as much as oh, it's innerlayer carbon with a similar structure to hl5.

 
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What is the main big difference between Long 5 commercial and Fang Bo B2X ?
Which one had better control ?
Which one had better speed ?

Thank you sir
 
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Rico you should get a Sanwei CC for $12 to compare. I have one and its an amazing blade. It's rated as Off+ and I certainly do find that it is faster.

I have a MLEO too, I love the blade. But I don't think its all that flexy or that it has great dwell time. It still gives good speed though for a wood blade.

I have a V14 Pro, which is similar to BTY ALC blades. People say its actually faster than the Viscaria. I actually think the CC is faster and easier to flex as well.

I actually ordered the B2 for 2 reasons. 1. When I tried other people's HL5, I was impressed by the high speed and the strong spin. (but we had very different rubbers, so that might have influenced my perception) 2. I bought the $12 CC just to test out their Off+ claim and the inner carbon construction and it worked like a miracle. So I bought the B2 hoping it would be a higher quality version of the CC and also be a near clone to the HL5.

Anyway, the common theme of all my blades is that I'm looking for underrated quality and high performance-cost ratio.
 
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Rico you should get a Sanwei CC for $12 to compare. I have one and its an amazing blade. It's rated as Off+ and I certainly do find that it is faster.

I have a MLEO too, I love the blade. But I don't think its all that flexy or that it has great dwell time. It still gives good speed though for a wood blade.

I have a V14 Pro, which is similar to BTY ALC blades. People say its actually faster than the Viscaria. I actually think the CC is faster and easier to flex as well.

I actually ordered the B2 for 2 reasons. 1. When I tried other people's HL5, I was impressed by the high speed and the strong spin. (but we had very different rubbers, so that might have influenced my perception) 2. I bought the $12 CC just to test out their Off+ claim and the inner carbon construction and it worked like a miracle. So I bought the B2 hoping it would be a higher quality version of the CC and also be a near clone to the HL5.

Anyway, the common theme of all my blades is that I'm looking for underrated quality and high performance-cost ratio.

all the blades that I have talked about have been in the context of Chinese Rubbers (Hurricane 3, Hurricane 8)
I think YEO holds the ball well depending on your rubbers. It definitely holds it a lot more than B2X for sure and it can be felt. MLEO in my opinion is the easiest of the blades to flex that you asked me to compare.

I think that B2 should play like a stiffer HL5 with maybe less lower gears than it judging by how the B2X version plays.

Again to reiterate while they are the same composition, they feel different.

 
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What is the main big difference between Long 5 commercial and Fang Bo B2X ?
Which one had better control ?
Which one had better speed ?

Thank you sir
The vibration and feeling is a lot different from the two blades. When I tried HL5 it felt like it had a lot of dwell and would play like a 5 ply on low to medium impact shots. It had a muted carbon feel/vibration that I didn’t like.


B2X is stiffer and crisper than HL5 by a bit. It feels more like an outer carbon than inner in terms of vibration. With B2X it felt like a more traditional carbon blade but you can still discern it is an inner carbon blade.

B2X is faster than HL5 in low impact and medium impact shots. They have more or less the same speed at the top end.

 
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Rico you should get a Sanwei CC for $12 to compare. I have one and its an amazing blade. It's rated as Off+ and I certainly do find that it is faster.

I have a MLEO too, I love the blade. But I don't think its all that flexy or that it has great dwell time. It still gives good speed though for a wood blade.

I have a V14 Pro, which is similar to BTY ALC blades. People say its actually faster than the Viscaria. I actually think the CC is faster and easier to flex as well.

I actually ordered the B2 for 2 reasons. 1. When I tried other people's HL5, I was impressed by the high speed and the strong spin. (but we had very different rubbers, so that might have influenced my perception) 2. I bought the $12 CC just to test out their Off+ claim and the inner carbon construction and it worked like a miracle. So I bought the B2 hoping it would be a higher quality version of the CC and also be a near clone to the HL5.

Anyway, the common theme of all my blades is that I'm looking for underrated quality and high performance-cost ratio.
Also I would say that while clones are good, they are nowhere near what they should be. Different feeling and vibrations in the hands. I tried out a friend of mines garadyia clone against a real one, and the real garadyia clone felt a lot better. In my opinion the extra money you spend on the real thing is worth it in my opinion.

that being said, no harm in playing with copies either. But also, your mileage may vary depending on who makes the clone.

 
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It's been a while since I played with the HL5, but I hit with one today with Dignics 09c.

It was stiffer and less flexy than I remember. And it was harder to get speed with it than I remember as well. I had to swing a lot harder than I remember to get high speed/spin.

I think the last time I hit with HL5, it had a ESN rubber like MXP on it. So that may have played a part.

After hitting with the HL5, I picked up my MLEO(big dipper on FH) and it felt so easy and fast compared to the HL5.
 
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It's been a while since I played with the HL5, but I hit with one today with Dignics 09c.

It was stiffer and less flexy than I remember. And it was harder to get speed with it than I remember as well. I had to swing a lot harder than I remember to get high speed/spin.

I think the last time I hit with HL5, it had a ESN rubber like MXP on it. So that may have played a part.

After hitting with the HL5, I picked up my MLEO(big dipper on FH) and it felt so easy and fast compared to the HL5.

I play with an HL5x with 09c (Fh) and 05 and find it to have great feel, high dwell and a range of gears that offers a lovely touch game allied with a very high speed when I engage the carbon.

 
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The vibration and feeling is a lot different from the two blades. When I tried HL5 it felt like it had a lot of dwell and would play like a 5 ply on low to medium impact shots. It had a muted carbon feel/vibration that I didn’t like.


B2X is stiffer and crisper than HL5 by a bit. It feels more like an outer carbon than inner in terms of vibration. With B2X it felt like a more traditional carbon blade but you can still discern it is an inner carbon blade.

B2X is faster than HL5 in low impact and medium impact shots. They have more or less the same speed at the top end.

I can’t compare my HL5x with a FB as I don’t have one, but your description of how the HK5 feels and plays are spot on to my my mind.

 
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It's been a while since I played with the HL5, but I hit with one today with Dignics 09c.

It was stiffer and less flexy than I remember. And it was harder to get speed with it than I remember as well. I had to swing a lot harder than I remember to get high speed/spin.

I think the last time I hit with HL5, it had a ESN rubber like MXP on it. So that may have played a part.

After hitting with the HL5, I picked up my MLEO(big dipper on FH) and it felt so easy and fast compared to the HL5.
I recently picked up my YEO as well. Faster than what I remembered. I would go as far as to say that on drives and blocks it’s surprisingly fast than what I remembered. As fast as my B2X, on drives. I feel that it holds the ball extremely well during service and touch. I can really feel it grab the ball during open ups against under. The feeling is nice crisp, b2x and hl 5 is comparable. I would say those two carbons have more dwell, my guess due to the top ply.

 
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