Blade upgrade recommendation

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Hi Everyone!

Long time lurker first time poster.

Just looking to get some thoughts and advice on a new blade purchase. A bit of background info, I'd consider myself still a low - intermediateish local league player and have been playing roughly 4-6 hours per week including group coaching and league matches. Been playing about 3 years now and I'm currently using the Donic Appelgren Allplay which has served me pretty well the last few years learning the game. I'm getting to the point now in higher sections of league play where when I'm playing a bit further away from the table and am looking for my next long time Blade I can grow with. Current rubbers are Rasanter47 on the FH and Xiom Vega Euro on the BH.

I've really only ever played with all wood blades in my matches however i have used carbon blades before and am a little lost as to what I prefer and also what would be a good choice for the long run. Was thinking about something in the 7 ply OFF range but am bamboozled by all the selection.

Any tips/advice appreciated.
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says MIA
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Hi Everyone!Long time lurker first time poster.Just looking to get some thoughts and advice on a new blade purchase. A bit of background info, I'd consider myself still a low - intermediateish local league player and have been playing roughly 4-6 hours per week including group coaching and league matches. Been playing about 3 years now and I'm currently using the Donic Appelgren Allplay which has served me pretty well the last few years learning the game. I'm getting to the point now in higher sections of league play where when I'm playing a bit further away from the table and am looking for my next long time Blade I can grow with. Current rubbers are Rasanter47 on the FH and Xiom Vega Euro on the BH.I've really only ever played with all wood blades in my matches however i have used carbon blades before and am a little lost as to what I prefer and also what would be a good choice for the long run. Was thinking about something in the 7 ply OFF range but am bamboozled by all the selection.Any tips/advice appreciated.
Hey J Bus,

Welcome to the talk/posting!

Thanks for the helpful background info which will make it easier to assist you. You forgot to tell us what you're primarily looking for in your next blade. A bit more speed I suppose? It'd make sense if you like to play further away from the table.

Since you're still a developing player in the early stages and you've liked your Appelgren Allplay, I suggest you stay with a 5-ply all-wood blade that will continue to give you good control and flexibility to further develop your touch and spin, but to go from your ALL blade to an OFF- one that will give you a bit more spin and kick which will be especially useful further away from the table. Blades like the Butterfly Korbel, Xiom Offensive S, Stiga Azalea OFF, Nittaku Acoustic or OSP Virtuoso OFF- are all great blades that would be the next step up and fit the bill paired with the rubbers you're currently using.

7-ply blades tend to be hard and stiff and are harder to develop feel and topspin with, they're also very fast and not as controllable for inverted rubbers.

 
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I guess the Donic Waldner Senso Carbon would be ideal: it's a 7 ply (5 wood + 2 carbon) inner carbon blade, means the carbon layers are inserted just on the ayous core wood layer, and the wood composition is based on the Allplay, the extra carbon layers would definitely help you get that extra power away from the table when activated with stronger strokes. An inner carbon blade retains the all wood kind of feeling for the short game, means you could still preserve the control you need. If not sufficient, then go for the Waldner Senso Ultra Carbon.
 
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Thanks for all the suggestions guys and I'm currently looking into all the blades that have been suggested so far. Do other club players make it a habit of trying other peoples setups to see what they prefer? Seeing as blades can last a while I'd be a bit bummed if I ended up getting something i didn't like playing with.

How many blades do you reckon the average serious club player would normally have?
 
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I would just like to chip in the Allplay is an excellent blade and if you like the handle and general feeling of it then my advice would always be to keep the blade and get some different rubbers instead. Maybe try out a Tenergy 05 on the FH or get a thicker sponge of the rubber you already have.

That way you should keep the control and feeling, especially in the short game, whilst being able to get a bit more power away from the table.

From my experience, whenever I change blade, especially to something of a different composition, everything feels alien. However, when I just change rubbers I can appreciate the extra kick but don't feel like I'm playing like a beginner again.
 
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Thanks for all the suggestions guys and I'm currently looking into all the blades that have been suggested so far. Do other club players make it a habit of trying other peoples setups to see what they prefer? Seeing as blades can last a while I'd be a bit bummed if I ended up getting something like playing with.

How many blades do you reckon the average serious club player would normally have?


As a musician I'm pretty conservative: when you feel safe and in a comfort zone doing all you want to do on a single, or 2 instruments maximum, it's all good.

Now, of course, it took me years to get to that point that I'm ok with that minimal rig. Same goes for TT as it is based on the same sense of touch to me: before my 15 years hiatus in 2005, I was really confident with only one blade, so I bought the same one as a spare in case of breakage.

Now that I'm back, I'm in the holistic approach again, so yeah I've got to try some other blades, but covid does not help: it's strictly forbidden in France to share rackets between club mates, so not easy.

 
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7 ply all wood like clipper wood or extreme s as well are both enough with fast rubbers.
I wouldn't directly switch from a slow, flexible Appelgren Allplay to a fast, stiff blade like the Clipper.
In between are a couple of good options like the mentioned Stratus Power Wood (or Bty Korbel or the slower Primorac) which should be quite similar but faster or something like the Donic Persson Powerplay which has the same inner structure (3x Ayous) as a Clipper but is more flexible and 5-ply like.
Some softer inner carbon blades like the Yasaka Ma Lin Soft Carbon could also work.

Another thing to consider is blade weight: Clippers can weight depending on the variant anything between 80g and >100g, same for Persson Powerplay or Korbel/Primorac.
 
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says MIA
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I would just like to chip in the Allplay is an excellent blade and if you like the handle and general feeling of it then my advice would always be to keep the blade and get some different rubbers instead. Maybe try out a Tenergy 05 on the FH or get a thicker sponge of the rubber you already have.

That way you should keep the control and feeling, especially in the short game, whilst being able to get a bit more power away from the table.

From my experience, whenever I change blade, especially to something of a different composition, everything feels alien. However, when I just change rubbers I can appreciate the extra kick but don't feel like I'm playing like a beginner again.
Keep in mind that OP said his level is low to intermediate and he has played less than 3 years (and not too many hours per week). So a beast like Tenergy especially 05 is going to be very bouncy especially on his ALL blade, and therefore be too uncontrollable and still too fast at his level. That's why most of us suggested an upgrade to a 5-ply OFF- all-wood blade with roughly if not the same composition as what he uses now only a bit thicker.

On the other hand, keeping his same rubbers but going up in thickness is good advice.

 
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I wouldn't directly switch from a slow, flexible Appelgren Allplay to a fast, stiff blade like the Clipper.
In between are a couple of good options like the mentioned Stratus Power Wood (or Bty Korbel or the slower Primorac) which should be quite similar but faster or something like the Donic Persson Powerplay which has the same inner structure (3x Ayous) as a Clipper but is more flexible and 5-ply like.
Some softer inner carbon blades like the Yasaka Ma Lin Soft Carbon could also work.

Another thing to consider is blade weight: Clippers can weight depending on the variant anything between 80g and >100g, same for Persson Powerplay or Korbel/Primorac.
Also agree that the Stiga Clipper or Xiom Extreme S would be too, well, extreme...

 
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Do any of you guys change your grip when switching from FH to BH or vice versa because I've only ever played with a flared handle but because I change grip slightly I've thought that a straight handle might work better?

Does anyone have any experience with handle grips? I have probably slightly bigger hands and would like a slightly thicker handle so my fingers don't wrap around the handle as much but don't know if this will be annoying when I change grip slightly.
 
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A extremly great offensive all wood blade is the ma lin extra offensive. It's a fast and hard wood blade wich is best suited looping play but it still has lots of Control. I played with it two years befor switching to timo boll alc and i absolutely loved it. The ma lin extra offensive helped me develop my topspin game. Some other good wood blades i would recommend is stiga clipper wood and stiga nct offensive. If you feel ready to try a carbon blade i think harimoto innerforce alc would be great.
 
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I wouldn't directly switch from a slow, flexible Appelgren Allplay to a fast, stiff blade like the Clipper.
In between are a couple of good options like the mentioned Stratus Power Wood (or Bty Korbel or the slower Primorac) which should be quite similar but faster or something like the Donic Persson Powerplay which has the same inner structure (3x Ayous) as a Clipper but is more flexible and 5-ply like.
Some softer inner carbon blades like the Yasaka Ma Lin Soft Carbon could also work.

Another thing to consider is blade weight: Clippers can weight depending on the variant anything between 80g and >100g, same for Persson Powerplay or Korbel/Primorac.
7 ply blades are fine by themselves coming from an applegren blade. It is the rubber the combination that really matters. SPW and clippers do not have too much speed difference only the clipper is more stiff but with the lots of variations today the difference is manageable. My point is a 7 ply all wood blade is always a good option. You should also consider the speed of the Clipper the moment the ball size changed from 38 to now polyball. It is not true that the way clipper works before is harder than now because the ball is slower.

 
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Also try Vega Japan 2.0mm fh and keep vega Europe 2.0mm for bh if ever you have decided to buy a clipper or extreme s. I would favor the Xiom Solo though for more control.

Interesting you say this because I was thinking of swapping the r47 on the FH to the 48 because apparently its spinner and has a softer feel. Was tossing up between that and the Xiom omega 7 pro because the r47 doesn't seem very durable at all. My BH Xiom Euro always seems to last way longer and I'd say I'm a slightly BH oriented player.

As far as blades go guys I probably going to go with a solid 5 play OFF blade because I feel no matter how fast or slow the blade is with my current standard I'm still hitting balls long due to bad footwork/technique :D (had a rough night of league matches :'( )

 
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says toooooo much choice!!
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Nittaku Acoustic or even the Acoustic Inner Carbon may be a good option, the Acoustic is fast enough and has great feel, the Inner Carbon version is a little quicker but still retains that ‘woody’ feel. There is also the option for std FL handle or Large FL handle depending on your hand size, the std handle may suit better for slight grip changes if it’s not to thin/small for you.
 
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5 ply all wood blades at off speed are fine nothing to fuss about it. It is just that you wanted a blade that you can grow with for a few years and that is why i suggested going 7 ply now and just adjust along the way.
 
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