Changing from a Nittaku Acoustic outter carbon to a Hurricane Long 5x

[MORV]

Hi there, i've got a question, i came back from and injury and now i've been training for almost a year. Im currently using a Nittaku Acoustic outter carbon blade paired with longarc on the forehand and a dhs skyline tg2 (commercial version) on bh. Some coaches that have seen my game told me i have improove a lot, so im really encouraged and want to try returning to my countrys national team.

That's why I want to improve and I was thinking of buying a hurricane long 5x. I would like to know if any of you have made this change and what I could expect from it. Is there a big difference? I would use this new blade with Chinese rubber bands on both sides. What I am looking for is to have a better forehand topspin, in my club it is one of the best but I would like to improve it even more.

I'll be very grateful if someone can give me some feedback.

 

[KM1976]

I believe that you should try this new blade if any of your team mates or club mates are using it already. The only caveat here is that it may or may not have the same rubbers which you are planning to use.
There are so many variables involved that it is very difficult to describe how the blade plays. First and foremost is the matter of how it feels, and that is completely personal. For example, if someone is using Stiga Classic Allround and now wants to play with Long 5 then it is a sea of a change. Even when moving between different carbon blades, be it inner or outer, the feeling differs a lot.
Now, the feeling itself is not dictated by blade itself but the rubbers which you put on it and the layers of the glues involved. 😀
I am writing this all because I just wanted to share how the feeling of the blade differs and it is such a subjective question to answer.
So in short, try borrowing it and using it. If that is not the option then it is a gamble which you need to take.

 

[MORV]

I believe that you should try this new blade if any of your team mates or club mates are using it already. The only caveat here is that it may or may not have the same rubbers which you are planning to use.
There are so many variables involved that it is very difficult to describe how the blade plays. First and foremost is the matter of how it feels, and that is completely personal. For example, if someone is using Stiga Classic Allround and now wants to play with Long 5 then it is a sea of a change. Even when moving between different carbon blades, be it inner or outer, the feeling differs a lot.
Now, the feeling itself is not dictated by blade itself but the rubbers which you put on it and the layers of the glues involved. 😀
I am writing this all because I just wanted to share how the feeling of the blade differs and it is such a subjective question to answer.
So in short, try borrowing it and using it. If that is not the option then it is a gamble which you need to take.

Thanks for the advice, believe it or not, at least in my club or the people i know dont use chinese stuff, they all preffer European stuff or japanese.. So most of them are using butterfly blades and cant give me more ideas or some advice.

 

[Wrighty67]

I can offer limited thoughts - I have played an Acoustic 5 ply and also have an HL5 and a 5x.

I generally play outer carbon (Viscaria)

The 5x is pretty fast - faster than HL5 and faster than the Viscaria too in my view. I very much like the HL5 for its control and touch, whilst also being quick enough. It’s at its best with loop/topspin on either side.

I'm not good enough to manage the 5x but you might be.

I’m always torn between the spin of the HL5 and the linearity and crispness of the Viscaria - I like both. My Viscaria generally has D09c/T05x and my HL5 has Dragon grip/G8-80.

I hope this helps some!

 

[Comodoensis]

Hi there, i've got a question, i came back from and injury and now i've been training for almost a year. Im currently using a Nittaku Acoustic outter carbon blade paired with longarc on the forehand and a dhs skyline tg2 (commercial version) on bh. Some coaches that have seen my game told me i have improove a lot, so im really encouraged and want to try returning to my countrys national team.

That's why I want to improve and I was thinking of buying a hurricane long 5x. I would like to know if any of you have made this change and what I could expect from it. Is there a big difference? I would use this new blade with Chinese rubber bands on both sides. What I am looking for is to have a better forehand topspin, in my club it is one of the best but I would like to improve it even more.

I'll be very grateful if someone can give me some feedback.

Comparing to acoustic carbon outer :

1. Long 5x definitely has more upper gear limit
2. Long 5x might be more head heavy due to big head size and notorious for small diameter in middle section at the handle
3. Feel wise, perhaps we can say less woody than acoustic series
4. And yes, for most people with forehand-dominant tendency, and have blazing fast footwork to work every corner with forehand, it will benefit well. Not saying long 5/5x/w968 is bad for backhand, it's just that not as crisp and stable as the other favoured counterpart (koto-outer composite)

For chinese rubbers both wings, perhaps it will go well. I found most DHS blades feel better if paired at least with medium hardness, and somehow feels great with harder one (make sure not going too hard where one might have to use excessive effort on offensive strokes. Try to find the 'happy medium'; Every person have their own)