says
Looking for a bat that makes me faster
says
Looking for a bat that makes me faster
Active Member
Dear all, I need your help to decide which blade should I get next.
My level & style: Penholder with Full RPB, plays in local leagues in UK - not the first division. Forehand is decent for someone without regular coaching, backhand is a weakness that I sometimes get away with if my opponent doesn't realise I am left-handed. Physically not fast or powerful, but willing to run around with above average tenacity. Big swings in general, prefers to hit the ball late rather than early, topspin rather than flat hit (unless I panicked). Try to become a mid-table two-wing looper in the long run.
My current setups:
- Nittaku Rutis Revo - Sieger PK50 - Fastarc G1: feels hard but acceptable, sufficient speed, feels good with the backhand. My biggest problem with this blade is that its head size is quite small (157*150 mm), and it is not forgiving, I miss my FH topspin more often than I wanted, especially when I am out of position. It feels slightly better if I shorten my swings. Its arc also seems relatively short, I struggle to push my opponent back when I am forced to mid-table. I think this is more suitable for a fast-paced close-to-the-table style, but I don't have the reaction for such a style.
- Sword Star Diamond Forest - Razka Z extra hard - AK47 Red: feels softer than Rutis Revo (which I like), but slow. Even with ESN hybrids, my forehand isn't blowing anyone away if I hit it right at them. It is forgiving and I can prolong the rallies, but it is just a slower death.
Last time I had a coaching session I asked my coach to try my setups. He said the Star Diamond Forest is way too slow, the Rutis Revo is just fast enough that I can work on generating my own power. He said I could try faster setups, just not the super-fast one that would affect my strokes and timings. Last week I borrowed two blades from my friend for testing, and my feelings about them:
- Dynasty Carbon Xu Xin Edition - Skyline 2 - Hurricane 3 37: It is slower than the Rutis Revo (obviously the rubbers are very different). Forehand topspin feels great with lots of spin, but I have to swing big to activate the bat. Once I managed that the arc is great. I can force my opponent to keep blocking. Sweetspot is super big, I can really let myself go and just swing as hard as I can on my forehand. On the other hand, backhand is quite demanding. Feels weird if I play passively. Drastic change in feel and behaviour once I start swinging with moderate power. In a game, I can't swing well enough to attack with my backhand with this setup, I kept blocking all the time. Short game is very good - my serves were too short a few times. The whole setup is slightly heavy, but I think most problems could be solved by changing the rubbers (any boosters in those rubbers would have been gone already).
- Zhang Jike ALC - Hybrid K2 - Tenergy 05: The K2 was pretty worn out so I tested this bat with the T05 side on both wings. Backhand plays like a dream, feels pretty automatic. Forehand feels surprisingly soft and controlled compare to my Rutis Revo. However, I am devoted to not buy anything Butterfly.
I am currently considering between the following two blades, will be bought from Japan:
- Dynasty Carbon (Normal edition): based on internet search, the normal edition is slightly harder than the XX edition, which I hope to make it better on the backhand side and I won't need such a big swing on the forehand. It would be around 20000 Yen (~140 USD). My main worry is issue with splintering and QC - it was said to have a rough finish. Also it may not be very easy to use for the backhand, although technique is the biggest problem there.
- Shang Kun AC: Felix Lebrun reportedly used this before having his own blade. Personally I can't convince myself to buy Felix's blade because of the handle design (nothing against the French, but I am not French). I have seen reviews saying this blade is one of the faster inner-fibre blade, so I expect it would be a bit similar to the ZJK ALC and be more balanced between forehand and backhand than the Dynasty Carbon. It would be around 12000 Yen (~85 USD). However, I have never tested this blade myself, so there is more uncertainty about how it may perform. Some online reviews say it is faster but less spinny than other inner-fibre blade like Hurricane Long 5, others say it is very spinny and controlled but lack the top gears.
Whilst I can afford to buy both, I am not very keen on that because I will sand my blade, and as a left-handed penholder I would have zero chance to resell it. Even if I buy both, I still need to decide which one to test first. I know my technique is far from good, I will keep practising, but I won't be getting 1-on-1 coaching every other week, so I would like to get something that is easy to use, not as demanding as the Rutis Revo, and will allow me to grow into the player I want to be. I am most likely to use ESN hybrid on the forehand and ESN non-tacky rubber on the backhand, if this is relevant. Please help me out!
My level & style: Penholder with Full RPB, plays in local leagues in UK - not the first division. Forehand is decent for someone without regular coaching, backhand is a weakness that I sometimes get away with if my opponent doesn't realise I am left-handed. Physically not fast or powerful, but willing to run around with above average tenacity. Big swings in general, prefers to hit the ball late rather than early, topspin rather than flat hit (unless I panicked). Try to become a mid-table two-wing looper in the long run.
My current setups:
- Nittaku Rutis Revo - Sieger PK50 - Fastarc G1: feels hard but acceptable, sufficient speed, feels good with the backhand. My biggest problem with this blade is that its head size is quite small (157*150 mm), and it is not forgiving, I miss my FH topspin more often than I wanted, especially when I am out of position. It feels slightly better if I shorten my swings. Its arc also seems relatively short, I struggle to push my opponent back when I am forced to mid-table. I think this is more suitable for a fast-paced close-to-the-table style, but I don't have the reaction for such a style.
- Sword Star Diamond Forest - Razka Z extra hard - AK47 Red: feels softer than Rutis Revo (which I like), but slow. Even with ESN hybrids, my forehand isn't blowing anyone away if I hit it right at them. It is forgiving and I can prolong the rallies, but it is just a slower death.
Last time I had a coaching session I asked my coach to try my setups. He said the Star Diamond Forest is way too slow, the Rutis Revo is just fast enough that I can work on generating my own power. He said I could try faster setups, just not the super-fast one that would affect my strokes and timings. Last week I borrowed two blades from my friend for testing, and my feelings about them:
- Dynasty Carbon Xu Xin Edition - Skyline 2 - Hurricane 3 37: It is slower than the Rutis Revo (obviously the rubbers are very different). Forehand topspin feels great with lots of spin, but I have to swing big to activate the bat. Once I managed that the arc is great. I can force my opponent to keep blocking. Sweetspot is super big, I can really let myself go and just swing as hard as I can on my forehand. On the other hand, backhand is quite demanding. Feels weird if I play passively. Drastic change in feel and behaviour once I start swinging with moderate power. In a game, I can't swing well enough to attack with my backhand with this setup, I kept blocking all the time. Short game is very good - my serves were too short a few times. The whole setup is slightly heavy, but I think most problems could be solved by changing the rubbers (any boosters in those rubbers would have been gone already).
- Zhang Jike ALC - Hybrid K2 - Tenergy 05: The K2 was pretty worn out so I tested this bat with the T05 side on both wings. Backhand plays like a dream, feels pretty automatic. Forehand feels surprisingly soft and controlled compare to my Rutis Revo. However, I am devoted to not buy anything Butterfly.
I am currently considering between the following two blades, will be bought from Japan:
- Dynasty Carbon (Normal edition): based on internet search, the normal edition is slightly harder than the XX edition, which I hope to make it better on the backhand side and I won't need such a big swing on the forehand. It would be around 20000 Yen (~140 USD). My main worry is issue with splintering and QC - it was said to have a rough finish. Also it may not be very easy to use for the backhand, although technique is the biggest problem there.
- Shang Kun AC: Felix Lebrun reportedly used this before having his own blade. Personally I can't convince myself to buy Felix's blade because of the handle design (nothing against the French, but I am not French). I have seen reviews saying this blade is one of the faster inner-fibre blade, so I expect it would be a bit similar to the ZJK ALC and be more balanced between forehand and backhand than the Dynasty Carbon. It would be around 12000 Yen (~85 USD). However, I have never tested this blade myself, so there is more uncertainty about how it may perform. Some online reviews say it is faster but less spinny than other inner-fibre blade like Hurricane Long 5, others say it is very spinny and controlled but lack the top gears.
Whilst I can afford to buy both, I am not very keen on that because I will sand my blade, and as a left-handed penholder I would have zero chance to resell it. Even if I buy both, I still need to decide which one to test first. I know my technique is far from good, I will keep practising, but I won't be getting 1-on-1 coaching every other week, so I would like to get something that is easy to use, not as demanding as the Rutis Revo, and will allow me to grow into the player I want to be. I am most likely to use ESN hybrid on the forehand and ESN non-tacky rubber on the backhand, if this is relevant. Please help me out!
