Help on a new cpen setup

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Hi, I have been playing with my current setup of Neo skyline 2 on the forehand, friendship focus 3 snipe on a Dhs power g3 for 8 months now and am looking to replace my setup. At the moment, I am thinking of getting Yasaka extra offensive ,dhs hurricane 3 Neo or dhs skyline 3 Neo on the forehand and Xiom vega Europe , Butterfly Roundell soft or Stiga calibra tour S. I am however yet to decide what to get so some help from you guys would be great. I am visiting Japan and Hong Kong soon to buy the equipment so the sooner the feedback the better.
 
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Jan 2013
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Kind of hard to recommend without knowing your play style and level first. Do you topspin both sides with RPB or more traditional FH hit and BH block/push? Close to table short game with third ball attack or mid distance topspin loop rally?

What area you want to achieve with your new setup? More speed? More Spin? Or more control to slow your game down? Anything you find lacking with your current setup? Or simply want something new and fancy?

I found buying from shops in HK quite expensive compare to ordering online (like 25% or more). Only thing is that you can touch and pick what you buy. Don't think Cpen is popular in Japan so choice could be limited and hard to find real bargain.







 
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I play an offensive close to the table style and I frequently loop but I also block often too on both my forehand and my backhand. My backhand rpb is around the same style as Wang Hao's but I also mix in some traditional backhand. The main reason that I want to change setup is I want more speed in my setup but do not want to sacrifice control ,also I would like my new setup to be lighter than my current one. Thanks for the feedback
 
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Jan 2013
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For close to table play I would suggest a more classic/less bouncy non tensor type of rubber for RPB. Something not too high or low throw to help keeping the ball on the table. If you have already master your RPB strokes and BH loop a lot mid distance then a high bounce/tensor type of rubber is fine. Looks like you want to try something non-Chinese. For that Xiom Vega Asia is a popular choice.

YEO and H3/Skyline 3 may not give you much speed gain comparing to your current setup. I have YEO with Mark V FH and R7 BH. It is 180g but I found killing power is somehow lacking. It feels kind of hollow and miss the solidness of say Rosewood 5 or Hurricane Hao 2 (both heavily overpriced). I also have the same R7 on Rosewood 5 and I can certainly feel the power difference of my RPB strokes. YEO is a nice classic blade but just don't expect a jump in performance using it.

If you want more speed and stay with all wood with YEO price then a 7-ply Clipper Wood is worth considering.
 
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