Miguel! I have a new blade for you.
Haha! Miguel will love this blade!
Hey Dan,
Out of all the blades that you and your hitting buddy have reviewed and owned,
which is your favorite and why? Is there a clear personal best?
Good question! I will put some of my favorite blades from a few brands because the thing is theres not one complete clear personal best as I feel each brand nowadays has a really good blade.
From Butterfly I really like the blades that use Koto on the outer edge like the Zhang Jike ALC, or Boll ALC blades. I like how I can get a lot of power in those blades whilst maintaining the control. Of course the Tiago is a new composition of wood to what I have reviewed before and was really impressed with how much control I had with this blade. Its not as fast as a koto carbon blade however has enough speed to still put a lot of pace on the ball.
I'm I was a big fan of the Zhang Jike Super ZLC due to its sheer speed and was fun to play with but very fast. I really liked the Stiga Carbonado 145 as it has that controlled wood feel yet you can still generate a lot of speed on the ball.
Other blades I like are the Xiom Vega Tour which I will release a review on soon. Thats a good blade. I think everyone has unique opinions on blades due to personal preference and style. The type of blades I like are Carbon blades that are not super fast which have good control.
I would say that if you have used the original Innerforce ZLC and liked it, don't assume you are getting the same thing. Treat the new blade as a new thing in terms of balance and play and see whether you enjoy it.
Good tip Next Level, how similar they are its hard to tell. Its like a Boll ALC and a Jike ALC.
Thanks for the video review Dan. By the way is this a new practice facility?
Hi Jaffar, this is the facility Tiago practices at in Saarbrucken, Germany. The training facility of the Saarbrucken Team
Nice video.
I am getting confused with all the blades named after different players in Butterfly, and would appreciate if someone can clarify few things for me:
I can see the difference between Zhang Jike ZLC and the Apolonia ZLC, but what is the difference between these blades and Jun Mizutani ZLC?
In terms of this blade having more feel, how does this blade compare with other carbon blades like carbonado 145?
Good question. In the intro of the review below I explain the differences between the Mizutani ZLC and Zhang Jike ZLC. The outer layers of wood tend to be different. The Mizutani Super ZLC is more similar to the Apolonia ZLC in terms of composition than the Zhang Jike ZLC as the Mizutani is using limba on the outer wood which is the same outer wood as apolonia. The weight of the Mizutani is heaver than Apolonia.
Playing with all these pros is making you better, Dan.
Haha I wish!
Hi Dan,
I was wondering about the new Tiago Apolonia ZLC. Great review!! How is it compared to the Timo boll spirit? Speed, control, short game and does the ball stay longer on the racket?
Best regards
Tomas
Hey Tomas,
Thank you
I think the Timo Boll Spirit is more direct and faster. I think the ball stays on the bat longer on the Apolonia and absorbs more of the balls energy and in return can produce more spin. The Boll Spirit shoots the ball of the bat quicker which is not surprising as the carbon layer is close to the outer layer. The outer layer of the Boll Spirit is a hard layer using Koto. I think in the short game it depends on your style of touch. If you like doing sharp, quick touches the Boll Spirit will be of good choice. If you take your time a little more an Apolonia would suit the touch. The Boll is a more aggressive blade, the Tiago is more for spin and variation with control type of blade.
For example a player with the style like Zhang Jike would use a Koto carbon blade like the Viscaria whereas Samsonov, Tiago and others with this style would more opt to controlled, fast type of blades (generally).