Best cheap defensive blade?

[h3llary]

I don't think 980 is soft, yes it is flexy. But you have to agree to this; Donic DefPlay Senso has lovers and haters So any def player should try it, might suit him very much, or not

The good thing is that with 30 up to 50 USD/EURO you can easily find a good def blade.

I guess it depends what you compare the 980 to. 980 was the softest compared to all the ones I've mentioned above, it was flexible and soft which can be harder to control. There are few different DefPlays, I was talking about V3 specifically, that one is amazing, can't say anything about classic or just regular senso. I gave this blade to a guy with a very specific technique, his forehand movement is wide, long and fast, much like Chinese players, and it was paired with H3 neo commercial, his forehand loops were a lot faster and spinnier and harder to block, compared to his regular blade timo boll zlc + victas v15.

 

[Koichi]

980 is a very soft blade, too soft to my taste. Koji Matsushita is a lot harder but I hate the handle, it's too slim and slippery

that's only the case for the ST handle tho. If you get the flared one you're fine

 

[Koichi]

I found this to be a decent option.
Very slightly larger head.
Light weight with short pips on backhand.
Not too fast for chopping, good control and enough power for attacking.
A bit stiff, not flexible like other similar blades.

Yang Wang also uses Harimoto ALC for chopping, although his chops are not the "best" per se.

https://a.aliexpress.com/_EJbHjH7

do you have proof of Wang Yang playing the Harimoto ALC?

 

[piligrim]

that's only the case for the ST handle tho. If you get the flared one you're fine

No. Flared also not comfortable