My 40+ Balls and Gears

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Play with Palio 3 star and DHS 1 star yesterday for a total of 2.5 hours. They survived the day. No hard hitter and smasher this time. All loops, block and chop. I plan to kill all the DHS 1 star before going back to 3 star. $2 a piece is a painful lot for merely an hour of play.

The easy to play Palio is so obvious in comparison. The high bounce gave me plenty of time to think and react. On the other hand the DHS 1 star is making life hard. The fast drop and low bounce meant I have to get into position much faster and giving me less time to react so it is indeed harder to play than celluloid even people claim there are less spin and speed.

After watching the few days of CTTSL with the new DHS 2 toned balls, I see no less serve receive error or even service error for that matter comparing to celluloid. Also there is no long rally as predicted by reduction of spin and speed. It looks to me that all players are working harder than before and never easier. Personally I felt so exhausted after 2.5 hours of play with poly balls exclusively. Something I didn't fell even with 4 hours with celluloid.

I don't know. May be if the pro use seamless balls the game will be more interesting to watch. Less service error and longer rally for sure. That is not a bad thing.

Palio ball has that infamous cracking sound, but I find that the Palio 40+ carbon blade and rubber strike with a loud "Bong" which is pretty sweet pairing with the sound of seamless ball. Something not the Stiga Intensity Carbon and Airoc/BF can match.

poly ballb.jpg
 
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XSF ball.jpg

Finally get to play the XSF 3 star today. It really is pretty neat as many have said. Bounce and speed may still be little off comparing to celluloid, but no surprise there and adjustment is minimum. Too bad XSF does not have the power to compete with the giant DHS, so if DHS go seamed and the market has no choice but follow. Seamless won't be able to survive much longer I am afraid. But if it is just me than I will pick XSF any day.
 
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I'm looking forward to getting my XSF balls to try. (I had tried an earlier non-approved version and thought it was bad), but you are not the only one who has reported liking this approved version. Your comment reinforces my suspicion that the most annoying thing about Chinese seamed balls is the weird bounce. The one time I played with a Nittaku Japan plastic ball I liked it a lot better, and it's bounce is the same as celluloid. Obviously the increase in size matters some, but my guess is that will in the end bother me less.
 
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I'm looking forward to getting my XSF balls to try. (I had tried an earlier non-approved version and thought it was bad), but you are not the only one who has reported liking this approved version. Your comment reinforces my suspicion that the most annoying thing about Chinese seamed balls is the weird bounce. The one time I played with a Nittaku Japan plastic ball I liked it a lot better, and it's bounce is the same as celluloid. Obviously the increase in size matters some, but my guess is that will in the end bother me less.

Hope you also like the XSF balls when you get it. I played exclusively with DF yesterday because it did not break through out the day (about 2 hours). I am impressed. :eek:
 
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I have a question. Anyone find DHS 1 star more durable than 3 star? Is there any difference in material and process of making? I have played with a 1 star DHS several times and it is still in one piece. I wish my 3 star can last that long.

Play with a division A player today with the 1 star. Did not tell him the ball is new material. I think he did not notice anything because he did not say a word. He misjudged a few shots and miss the table so I managed to take one game off him. That is a first. :)

To be honest I see no reduction of spin or speed on his hand. I still have major trouble returning his serves, smash and counter loop. All are equally fast and spiny. And I must say he did go easy on me most of the time. :eek:
 
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Just bought more 40+ equipements.

Yasaka Rakza X on Silver 9. My new favourite.
Xiom OV Europe and OV Tour on ZXi.
Butterfly T64 on Jun SZLC. (The blade was released on July so I would treat it as 40+ compatible :))
Donic JP01 Turbo on World Champ 89 Persson. (40+ or not this is definitely the best from Donic)
Stiga Emerald with Andro Rasant PG and Grip. So far I play my best with it.
Stiga Intensity Carbon with Donic JP01 Turbo and Stiga Airoc M.
DHS Hurricane Long 5 with TinArc 5.

And more balls from Stiga, Nittaku SHA, Andro, Tibhar.

Stiga front blue.jpgHL5 back.jpgXiom front.jpgJSZLC front.jpgRubbers 1.jpgStiga front.jpgYasaka front.jpgJSZLC back.jpgDonic Persson 89.jpgStiga back.jpgYasaka back.jpgXiom back.jpgDonic back.jpgBalls.jpg

I always thought the green sponge of Andro Rasant series will not look good on any blade but they match perfectly with the new tone of Stiga Emerald and the new Stiga case in green.
 
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I also have some Donic balls that are already used in WSA for practice. I don't like them so much but it's not hard to adjust to it, it will not be any problem. But there are already reviews of the balls and I agree with all. We are all now waiting for new rubbers and blades reviews with new balls:)

I have also tried the new Donic balls, for me it had a tendency to easily break. Did you have the same problem?
 
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how does the airoc play with the celluloid ball?
Is it comparable to tenergy?
Speed,spin,control etc?
I might consider it as a bh rubber.

I play with Airoc M on both fh and bh and I think it's very good. According to Stiga Airoc is made for the polyball but i think it works great with the celluloid ball to. Yogi_bear have made a great review on Airoc M check it out to get some good answer on your other questions.
 
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Hope you also like the XSF balls when you get it. I played exclusively with DF yesterday because it did not break through out the day (about 2 hours). I am impressed. :eek:

You are absolutely correct. There is no comparison. The XSF ball is an absolutely superior product in every way -- roundness, bounce, durability. The difference is very noticeable and it has been consistent for the last month that I have been using these balls. The only seamed ball I have tried in the same league is a single Nittaku Japan 40+ ball that Jim Butler had (and he only had the one ball). All of the other seamed balls I have tried are just bad in comparison -- DHS, DF, Nittaku SHA, Joola, TSP, Stiga, Donic. The thing they all have that I really dislike is a very low bounce and terrible durability. All of them. They are all made by the same process it seems (only two factories_, and I have found no consistent difference among them, although other people do. (All of the ones I have been able to try were made in June based on the code on the box). The ones I have seen the most are from DHS, Joola and DF. Nobody in my club much likes them and this comprises a range of levels from about 1500 to 2600, and the better the players are, the more they dislike them.

Among polyballs, only XSF bounces like celluloid, and that has been true with boxes made in March, April and June. And so that makes an easy adjustment. Like I said, vastly superior. So far everybody who has tried them at my club has liked them. Some of the guys who play a lot of tournaments don't want to use them because they say they will like them too much and they need to train with the balls they will actually be seeing in competition. That is really unfortunate.
 
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I bought the whole series of six Palio Energy 40+ blades
Hi, I'm new here. Could you please review/compare about the sound on Energy03 vs Energy06 vs ZXi? Which one sound most solid 'tick tick tick' (like throwing ping pong ball on wall or floor) or most empty 'tong tong tong' (like cheap carbon blade eg Yinhe T6). If you happen to have Palio TCT as well, kindly include it in comparison.

Thank so so much.
 
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Hi, I'm new here. Could you please review/compare about the sound on Energy03 vs Energy06 vs ZXi? Which one sound most solid 'tick tick tick' (like throwing ping pong ball on wall or floor) or most empty 'tong tong tong' (like cheap carbon blade eg Yinhe T6). If you happen to have Palio TCT as well, kindly include it in comparison.

Thank so so much.

You are welcome! As I have cheap training Palio rubbers (around USD2 each) on all Palio blades except E06 Cpen with Amigo 40+ so it is hard to compare directly with ZXi and Omega 5. Still the E06 is simply the best among the series. Sound metallic (pong) with nice bounce. E03 is quite ordinary in sound (tak) and bounce. Both are hard and thick with no vibration. I would say the 3 ply all wood E01 feels hollow with strong vibration. ZXi is soft and bouncy with right touch of vibration. I never use TCT so can't comment on it.
 
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Seamed Poly Balls perform WORSE than crappy ONE STAR Celluloid Training Balls. The current crop of seamed Poly Balls (except Nittaku Premium 40+ which is a true bouncing ball) should be decertified for competition IMMEDIATELY and relegated to training balls, and even then that is too good for these balls.

Not enough people are demanding a better performing ball. Not enough people are rufusing to play in a tourney using these seamed poly balls.

Boston TTC people might hate on me for insisting to use a seamless Poly Ball if I ever make it back there anytime soon. (I would not require the opponent to provide the ball, that would be MY responsibility for insisting) but whatever, they will cheer up with the free Pizza or fruit I bring Korean style.
 
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I have been playing exclusively with 40+ balls since late last spring. I have tried nearly every brand made and continue to try them, keeping track of when they are made based on date stamps on the boxes.

Your best bet remains seamless -- marketed by several companies, but the balls are the same as long as they are ITTF approved. These include XSF, Yinhe, Stag, Nexy, Palio, others. They are superior for roundness, consistency and height of bounce, durability, and price. They are easy to adjust to, but of course their size means they are a little different from celluloid. They meet January 2016 standards now.

Nittaku Japan (not the same as Nittaku SHA) plays nicely. It is lighter and faster. It is the most expensive, has some durability issues, and is basically impossible to buy anyway. Availability continues to be a big problem. These IMHO are the closest to celluloid in terms of how they play. Good luck buying them.

Seamed Chinese-made balls (DHS, DOuble Fish, all European brands, TSP, Butterfly and Nittaku SHA) have been highly problematic owing to major problems with low bounce, deviations from roundness both before you play with them and which emerge after a few hard slams, high breakage. The low bounce is a deal killer for most people. They are also quite heavy, which I don't mind, but which will have to change between now and January. MOst people think the Double Fish versions are a bit better which based on a Butterfly ball I am starting to believe.

The encouraging news is that last week I played with some Butterfly seamed Chinese balls manufactured in February of 2015, and they were playing a more acceptably. Most people suspect these are made by Double Fish. There were still too many that were deviating from roundness right out of the box (based on spin tests on the table), but once you selected round ones they were playing better. They will have to improve because by January of 2016 there will be strict standards in place that most of the seamed balls I have sampled would not meet now.
 
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