Got this zlc blade on aliexpress for $20

This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Aug 2021
1,956
347
2,319
I got this for $20 after coupons. But my friend said it might be fake, so I am worried. Do you think it is?
Just kidding, obviously for $20 its fake. I just couldnt resist trying it out.Â

You can see the carbon layers, but i dont know if its real zylon.Â




Â
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Member
Jan 2021
331
126
480
Read 1 reviews
Nope... It 100% Original ..

Due to the economic down-turn caused by the COVID SCAMDEMIC, Butterfly, in collaboration with AliExpress, launched their B3 (Butterfly's Blades of Benevolence) initiative, in early 2021, with the aim to make their $300+ blades, more accessible to the privileged, with discounts of well-over 90% ...

Plus, it's common knowledge that the Chinese never ever make or sell fake products ..
 
says Spin and more spin.
says Spin and more spin.
Well-Known Member
Super Moderator
Dec 2010
16,146
17,685
54,747
Read 11 reviews
Sometimes those Counterfeit blades play decently. But something it is worth understanding: paying for and buying a blade from a criminal enterprise that makes counterfeit products, is giving money to a criminal enterprise.
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Aug 2021
1,956
347
2,319
Sometimes those Counterfeit blades play decently. But something it is worth understanding: paying for and buying a blade from a criminal enterprise that makes counterfeit products, is giving money to a criminal enterprise.

Whichever country you live in, you pay taxes to a criminal enterprise with crimes and sins on their hand, so we are all part of the hypocrisy. I dont think too deep, im just curious how well these cloners have learnt to make a blade.

 
  • Like
Reactions: ttarc
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Aug 2021
1,956
347
2,319
Please give updates on how this 100% not fake blade plays, I would love to hear more

I wont get a chance to play with it until Monday, but will let you know. Just from bouncing the ball, i can see that the sweet spot feels large. It has a high pitch sound on the bounce. And it feels fast and bouncy. So it probably is a OFF blade. The blade is thin, so its probably not too stiff feeling either. It actually seems to have a nice vibration.

 
This user has no status.
Next time

I wont get a chance to play with it until Monday, but will let you know. Just from bouncing the ball, i can see that the sweet spot feels large. It has a high pitch sound on the bounce. And it feels fast and bouncy. So it probably is a OFF blade. The blade is thin, so its probably not too stiff feeling either. It actually seems to have a nice vibration.


Next time, I suggest you buy a blade from a cheap Chinese brand which has the description and specs you want (e.g., Limba ZLC ...). Ethical considerations aside, the quality should be both better and more consistent than the counterfeit blade, since cheap brands count on long-term customers.
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Aug 2021
1,956
347
2,319
as long as you do not try to compare the playing characteristics of this bargain blade to those of the "real thing", you will be surprised just
what a great blade this is.
What rubbers will you fit ?
Â

Yeah, I have never found there to be such a dramatic difference in performance between high end blades and cheap ones. I have a Timo Boll ALC, Yasaka Ma Lin, Stiga Offensive Classic, Yinhe V14 Pro. Then I have a bunch of cheap $10 or $20 Chinese blades from Dawei or Sword, and I often times find myself playing with the cheap ones just because they feel good to me.Â

I will probably put H3Neo or Tornado v5 on it to test it out.Â
Â

 
says Table tennis clown
says Table tennis clown
Well-Known Member
Apr 2020
3,315
1,762
7,132
Â

Yeah, I have never found there to be such a dramatic difference in performance between high end blades and cheap ones. I have a Timo Boll ALC, Yasaka Ma Lin, Stiga Offensive Classic, Yinhe V14 Pro. Then I have a bunch of cheap $10 or $20 Chinese blades from Dawei or Sword, and I often times find myself playing with the cheap ones just because they feel good to me.Â

I will probably put H3Neo or Tornado v5 on it to test it out.Â
Â


i sure know how you feel. Same here, i find myself playin more with cheap blades than with expensive ones.

Re. criminal activities : I know everybody is pinching of everybody and I have long accepted that.
I do wish though that when someone makes a clone they would stand by it.
I don't mind them declaring : ""This is a perfect clone of XYZ """ but trying to sell it as "The REAL THING""" goes abit far.

 
  • Like
Reactions: UpSideDownCarl
says Table tennis clown
says Table tennis clown
Well-Known Member
Apr 2020
3,315
1,762
7,132
Â

Yeah, I have never found there to be such a dramatic difference in performance between high end blades and cheap ones. I have a Timo Boll ALC, Yasaka Ma Lin, Stiga Offensive Classic, Yinhe V14 Pro. Then I have a bunch of cheap $10 or $20 Chinese blades from Dawei or Sword, and I often times find myself playing with the cheap ones just because they feel good to me.Â

I will probably put H3Neo or Tornado v5 on it to test it out.Â
Â


i sure know how you feel. Same here, i find myself playin more with cheap blades than with expensive ones.

Re. criminal activities : I know everybody is pinching of everybody and I have long accepted that.
I do wish though that when someone makes a clone they would stand by it.
I don't mind them declaring : ""This is a perfect clone of XYZ """ but trying to sell it as "The REAL THING""" goes abit far.😁

 
says Spin and more spin.
says Spin and more spin.
Well-Known Member
Super Moderator
Dec 2010
16,146
17,685
54,747
Read 11 reviews


i sure know how you feel. Same here, i find myself playin more with cheap blades than with expensive ones.

Re. criminal activities : I know everybody is pinching of everybody and I have long accepted that.
I do wish though that when someone makes a clone they would stand by it.
I don't mind them declaring : ""This is a perfect clone of XYZ """ but trying to sell it as "The REAL THING""" goes abit far.😁

I think this hits close to one of the important issues. The company that makes the blade is untraceable and hiding, while the blade is being presented as being made by another company. Then, if something happened and you were trying to get in touch with the actual company that made the blade, you cannot.

--

I guess, everyone can have the right to feel differently about this kind of thing, but I wonder how any of us would feel if we made a certain product and there was someone selling a cheap imitation of it and giving a bad reputation to the company and product we worked hard to get to a high quality standard. If you were in that boat, how would you feel, knowing there are people out there who know better but are ignoring the issue and supporting the company counterfeiting your product?

 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: wheelbuilder
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Aug 2021
1,956
347
2,319
I think this hits close to one of the important issues. The company that makes the blade is untraceable and hiding, while the blade is being presented as being made by another company. Then, if something happened and you were trying to get in touch with the actual company that made the blade, you cannot.

--

I guess, everyone can have the right to feel differently about this kind of thing, but I wonder how any of us would feel if we made a certain product and there was someone selling a cheap imitation of it and giving a bad reputation to the company and product we worked hard to get to a high quality standard. If you were in that boat, how would you feel, knowing there are people out there who know better but are ignoring the issue and supporting the company counterfeiting your product?

Im not saying its the most honorable way to do business, but surely there are bigger problems in the world and in your community that fake table tennis blades? I bet there are tens of thousands of people who dont declare their AirBNB revenue on their taxes. The list would be unending. For me, its just an interesting curiosity. And Butterfly probably overcharges for their blades anyway, $400? I was curious so I tried to find Butterfly's gross margins, but its a private company and I coudlnt find the data. But im guessing they are running 90 to 95% gross margins. So, basically drug dealer level margins.

 
Last edited:
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Aug 2021
1,956
347
2,319


i sure know how you feel. Same here, i find myself playin more with cheap blades than with expensive ones.

Re. criminal activities : I know everybody is pinching of everybody and I have long accepted that.
I do wish though that when someone makes a clone they would stand by it.
I don't mind them declaring : ""This is a perfect clone of XYZ """ but trying to sell it as "The REAL THING""" goes abit far.😁

That is interesting you have similar experience as me. Which cheap and expensive blades do you have?

 
says Spin and more spin.
says Spin and more spin.
Well-Known Member
Super Moderator
Dec 2010
16,146
17,685
54,747
Read 11 reviews

Im not saying its the most honorable way to do business, but surely there are bigger problems in the world and in your community that fake table tennis blades? I bet there are tens of thousands of people who dont declare their AirBNB revenue on their taxes. The list would be unending. For me, its just an interesting curiosity. And Butterfly probably overcharges for their blades anyway, $400? I was curious so I tried to find Butterfly's gross margins, but its a private company and I coudlnt find the data. But im guessing they are running 90 to 95% gross margins. So, basically drug dealer level margins.

I agree with a lot of what you are saying. I don't love Butterfly. I think their rubbers are good. I think a few of their blades are quite good. But all of their equipment is more expensive than I think it should be. But on Table Tennis Daily, we do try to do our best not to promote counterfeit TT products.

As a question of ethics and degree, I am not going to argue with you. You are right that there are a lot of things way worse in the world. I also don't have any disagreements with what you have said about pretty much all governments on the planet. Probably all humans have done things in their life that are messed up in many different ways.

So, digree of malignant behavior not withstanding, there is a reason why, as one of the moderators for the site, I am actually performing part of my function in noting that it is really worth not supporting the hidden companies that make these products.

Yinhe/Galaxy, Dawei, Friendship 729, Globe, Gambler, DHS, Sanwei....too many names to mention....all make excellent products that are very inexpensive. Some of those companies make a few things that are also not so inexpensive. My experience is also that sometimes the bargains are quite good, perhaps even better than the expensive items. So, I would much rather promote the products of a company that does make some inexpensive blades and rubbers that are nevertheless quite good.

BTW: I do get why you may want to try one of those counterfeits. I think I said in my first post that some of them play better than you might expect based on the price. I wouldn't be able to say that if I had not tired one way back. But, I also did not have to buy one to try one. :)

 
  • Like
Reactions: wheelbuilder
says Spin and more spin.
says Spin and more spin.
Well-Known Member
Super Moderator
Dec 2010
16,146
17,685
54,747
Read 11 reviews
BTW: I am not sure about these days. But I know that Butterfly has outsourced the making of many of their products, including blades, sneakers, clothing.

There was this company (maybe they still exist) called Double Day Valiant (or maybe it was Valiant Double Day) that made some really nice blades:

Thread about an ALC blade called Loop King:

http://mytabletennis.net/forum/double-day-valiant-loop-king-review_topic71755.html

Thread about a blade with one side ZLC and the other side ALC called Terminator:

http://mytabletennis.net/forum/double-day-terminator-zlc-alc-review_topic72177.html

This company was the company that Butterfly had been using to make all their old Black Tag blades before Butterfly switched to a different company to outsource their Silver Tag blades to.

That company made some really good blades that were much more reasonably priced than the blades that they made for Butterfly that Butterfly sold with their brand name on them. But this was information that was not secret if you knew how to research things.

And it is possible that Butterfly makes everything now. I just doubt it. And I am not interested in researching if Aesics is still making their shoes. :)
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Aug 2021
1,956
347
2,319
Actually interesting that you bring up the company in hiding. I had a theory that the fake butterfly blades are made by the same factory as Stuor or Lemuria. You see lots of unbranded, unpainted Stuor clones of butterfly blades, such as the ZJK zlc. I thought maybe they just make a painted version and unpainted version.

One seller who stocks the stuor brand and fake butterfly said they are from same factory, but there was a lot of language barrier, so i still dont really know.

Im also curious just how well the stuor blades play.
 
  • Like
Reactions: UpSideDownCarl
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Active Member
Sep 2017
750
245
1,155
Read 1 reviews
Actually interesting that you bring up the company in hiding. I had a theory that the fake butterfly blades are made by the same factory as Stuor or Lemuria. You see lots of unbranded, unpainted Stuor clones of butterfly blades, such as the ZJK zlc. I thought maybe they just make a painted version and unpainted version.

One seller who stocks the stuor brand and fake butterfly said they are from same factory, but there was a lot of language barrier, so i still dont really know.

Im also curious just how well the stuor blades play.

I had Stuor Long 5 blade witch is clone of Hurricane Long 5. I found it only looks same but play totally different. Didn't like it

 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Active Member
Sep 2017
750
245
1,155
Read 1 reviews
BTW: I am not sure about these days. But I know that Butterfly has outsourced the making of many of their products, including blades, sneakers, clothing.

There was this company (maybe they still exist) called Double Day Valiant (or maybe it was Valiant Double Day) that made some really nice blades:

Thread about an ALC blade called Loop King:

http://mytabletennis.net/forum/double-day-valiant-loop-king-review_topic71755.html

Thread about a blade with one side ZLC and the other side ALC called Terminator:

http://mytabletennis.net/forum/double-day-terminator-zlc-alc-review_topic72177.html

This company was the company that Butterfly had been using to make all their old Black Tag blades before Butterfly switched to a different company to outsource their Silver Tag blades to.

That company made some really good blades that were much more reasonably priced than the blades that they made for Butterfly that Butterfly sold with their brand name on them. But this was information that was not secret if you knew how to research things.

And it is possible that Butterfly makes everything now. I just doubt it. And I am not interested in researching if Aesics is still making their shoes. :)



They still exist
http://ww3.ping-pong.tw/product_info.php?products_id=4068

 
  • Like
Reactions: UpSideDownCarl
Top