BTY ALC Blade Differences IMO: Share your thoughts!

[Kobehan27]

Been on a rampage and bought 3 Butterfly ALC blades this summer 😅 After 2 years of trying different blades from Andro, Xiom and DHS- I’ve come back to my first love- the Viscaria… which led me to FZD and ZJK ALC lol

Bought the FZD bc I noticed the weight is so well balanced between the head and handle. Bought the ZJK because I fomo’d and saw it was quickly selling out everywhere due to the discontinued production.

What I noticed between these 3 ALC blades (all blades with rubbers weight between 189-190g):

Viscaria (87g/189g): D09c light boost on both sides; handle is the thinnest of the 3 but fits perfectly (I have small hands). I think I used the most glue on this one. Edge taped half the blade.

FZD (90g/190g): D09c light boost on both sides; handle is thicker than Viscaria but ever so slightly. Edge taped half the blade. The best weight distribution and feels by far the lightest. Had my wife blind test holding this with protective sheets (200g) compared to the ZJK without protective sheets (189g) and she said FZD felt lighter!!! This is my most favorite blade and then the Viscaria.

ZJK (89g/189g): T05h/T05. Handle feels similar to FZD. Edge taped full on. The most head heavy compared to FZD and Viscaria and felt the heaviest. Baffles me because I put the least amount of glue, only one layer on sheet and blade and the rubbers should feel light compared to the 09c. I know T05h is as heavy as the D09c but the T05 is about 3-4 grams lighter!! This was my latest purchase and like it the least. It feels so dull and feels the heaviest. I think I need to give it time to break in. Will keep this as a collectors item. eBay selling for so much lol.

I’m far from reaching the intermediate/advanced level and I know that the equipment doesn’t make a players skill level but idc! I love being an EJ and the process of researching and scouring the internet watching videos and reading other people’s thoughts.

Fellow EJs, Please feel free to share your thoughts! 😁

 

[Yurifi]

which Xiom blades did you have? because I've been tempted by Viscaria or FZD ALC, they are basically the same, but as you said, FZD is supposed to have better balance and I do play with heavy rubbers (FH is usually ESN50deg+ lately), but am just afraid it would simply be too fast ...

currently, I am playing with Xiom Icecream AZXi and before that I played with Xiom AJH TMXi.

 

[Yurifi]

which Xiom blades did you have? because I've been tempted by Viscaria or FZD ALC, they are basically the same, but as you said, FZD is supposed to have better balance and I do play with heavy rubbers (FH is usually ESN50deg+ lately), but am just afraid it would simply be too fast ...

currently, I am playing with Xiom Icecream AZXi and before that I played with Xiom AJH TMXi.

 

[Kobehan27]

which Xiom blades did you have? because I've been tempted by Viscaria or FZD ALC, they are basically the same, but as you said, FZD is supposed to have better balance and I do play with heavy rubbers (FH is usually ESN50deg+ lately), but am just afraid it would simply be too fast ...

currently, I am playing with Xiom Icecream AZXi and before that I played with Xiom AJH TMXi.

I had the AZXi regular and pro version lol. The regular AZXi was really head heavy with Xiom C55 max rubbers both sides and also with D09c both sides. I tried the TMXi pro from a friend of mine and that was so good but too heavy for my liking. AZXi pro also was so heavy even with tenergy rubbers (196 gram with T05H and T05, light glue with no edge tape).

Highly suggest the FZD as I think Butterfly anticipated players to glue Chinese rubbers on FH at least and distributed the weight more towards the handle to balance out the heavy rubbers. I think you should get at least 88-90 gram for the FZD ALC if you want that nice balance. Putting tacky rubbers on the FZD seems the cancel out the speed for me btw.

 

[Tyce]

So FZD is even more handle balanced than Viscaria?

 

[Kobehan27]

So FZD is even more handle balanced than Viscaria?

Handle balanced as in weight distribution in FZD? In that case and in my opinion, I believe so. Handle comfort I like the Viscaria better as I have medium/small hands. I think those with bigger hands may like the FZD more

 

[Angerer]

I have big arms and relatively heavy hybrids (MK Pro) on both wings. My FZD (91g) seems nicely balanced in the middle of a racket with about 191 grams. I guess, having a lighter FZD or lighter tensors would shift the balance to the handle.
Imo, I couldn't spot any difference with Viscaria, maybe it's ever so slightly more balanced to the head, but they're virtually similar. Handle-wise, both FZD and Viscaria feel thick, maybe the difference is a slightly boxier shape of Viscaria, but both are excellnt for big arms, imo.

 

[WadaWada]

it's all the same no blade will be made to exact specifics unless u are a pro, it's just a matter of finding the right head weight, handle weight, thickness, age of wood, density of wood, amount of glue, amount of cure time, so many factors out of your control

 

[John_]

Playing with viscaria for a couple of years now, and tried zjk alc some time ago. They felt identical, couldn't notice a difference other than that the zjk felt more dry.