DHS 301x and Fang Bo B2X compared to Viscaria

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Currently I play with a Viscaria and T05 and I am considering 301x and Fang Bo B2x as a viscaria alternative with more control in short play without sacrificing too much speed. Can anyone compare the Viscaria to those two blades in terms of throw angle, spin, suitability for short or long strokes, backhand or forehand emphasis?
 
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Hi
Currently I play with a Viscaria and T05 and I am considering 301x and Fang Bo B2x as a viscaria alternative with more control in short play without sacrificing too much speed. Can anyone compare the Viscaria to those two blades in terms of throw angle, spin, suitability for short or long strokes, backhand or forehand emphasis?
You've got the right idea with these 2 blades if you're looking for a slightly more controlled less fast alternative to Viscaria. That would be even more the case if you considered the non-X versions of these blades which are less hard and have more flex. Throw angle and spin are not going to change much on these compared to Viscaria, just the feel and more control in general and especially in the short game. The 301 is a koto outer and same thickness as Viscaria with inner carbon, the Fang Bo Carbon (Hurricane Long 5 clone) is limba outer, inner carbon, 0.1mm thicker. If I'm not mistaken, the FBC is more FH oriented, and the 301 BH oriented, but like the Viscaria, they're good at both.

 
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You've got the right idea with these 2 blades if you're looking for a slightly more controlled less fast alternative to Viscaria. That would be even more the case if you considered the non-X versions of these blades which are less hard and have more flex. Throw angle and spin are not going to change much on these compared to Viscaria, just the feel and more control in general and especially in the short game. The 301 is a koto outer and same thickness as Viscaria with inner carbon, the Fang Bo Carbon (Hurricane Long 5 clone) is limba outer, inner carbon, 0.1mm thicker. If I'm not mistaken, the FBC is more FH oriented, and the 301 BH oriented, but like the Viscaria, they're good at both.

Can you explain what makes a blade more FH oriented vs BH oriented?

 
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Can you explain what makes a blade more FH oriented vs BH oriented?

I'd say it's the feeling / power you get on one wing rather than the other.

For exemple, for me, a Viscaria is more FH oriented, and a Harimoto ALC is more BH oriented. ALC is more FH oriented, ZLC BH oriented. Some blades don't seem to have a stronger orientation one way or another. I also think it's a feeling, therefore personal and subjective.

I love my Innerforce ZLC because of the feeling it gives me on the BH, but I also quite like it on the FH, so...

 
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Hi
Currently I play with a Viscaria and T05 and I am considering 301x and Fang Bo B2x as a viscaria alternative with more control in short play without sacrificing too much speed. Can anyone compare the Viscaria to those two blades in terms of throw angle, spin, suitability for short or long strokes, backhand or forehand emphasis?

While it is true that H301x or Bo2x have got more control factor in shorter play, they are not exactly "Viscaria alternative", since the compositions are different (301/Bo2 series have inner-carbon style and Viscaria is outer-carbon). That being said, an inner-carbon style blade will generally require a fuller effort in your strokes especially on loops to bring out the maximum potential (i.e. carbon activation) of the blade. You can't be too passive about it (otherwise blocks and half-assed strokes will sink into the net more often than not).

That being said, I used to play with an outer-carbon Donic blade, which I felt horrible in controlling because it's too lightweight and very fast (OFF++ maybe), then ditched it for a 301 (not X) and while while there is a substantial decrease in speed when performing normal strokes, I saw my control improved a lot. Serves and serve-returns are also very good compared to using an outer-carbon blade. It certainly helped me in my overall feeling before stepping up again to an OFF blade.

Generally speaking flexier blades like the 301/Bo2 series should have higher maximum spin potential/cap. 301x will trade off a little bit of that cap for slightly more power/speed I reckon.
As for the throw angle I think it is a factor that is more dependent on the rubber you're using.
729 Battle 2 PBS has a medium to low, almost straight line arc when I used it on my 301. Loop-killing is perfect with it.

As for Bo2, which I've only known to 'have more power than 301', I've never used it because of the PINK HANDLE. Big no no for me lol.

 
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I actually put the 301(x) aside because they feel completely different in my hand. Their weight is too much around the head, and not in my hand (though might be a problem because of my small hands^^).

The Fang Bo blades feel more alike. The x version is slightly faster. The Fang Bo Carbon is close to the Viscaria.

In the end i decided to go with the DHS TG 506x which is openly a Viscaria clone (smaller handle though). So here you have another alternative.

If you want a similar handle and have some more dollars/euros to spare you could think about the Yinhe pro 01. Another viscaria clone but this handle is bigger and is really well made. Even close to a viscaria in terms of on-hand feeling.
 
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I actually put the 301(x) aside because they feel completely different in my hand. Their weight is too much around the head, and not in my hand (though might be a problem because of my small hands^^).

The Fang Bo blades feel more alike. The x version is slightly faster. The Fang Bo Carbon is close to the Viscaria.

In the end i decided to go with the DHS TG 506x which is openly a Viscaria clone (smaller handle though). So here you have another alternative.

If you want a similar handle and have some more dollars/euros to spare you could think about the Yinhe pro 01. Another viscaria clone but this handle is bigger and is really well made. Even close to a viscaria in terms of on-hand feeling.

You say Fang Bo Carbon is close to Viscaria, but isn't it supposed to be a clone of HL5?

 
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I guess there are a lot of people that would argument the opposite way:
in modern close to the table game, bh is mainly done by the wrist and fh still has a little bigger motion. Therefore quick and direct blades like Viscaria are a perfect fit for bh oriented players like fzd and Innerforce blades like hl 5 are made for fh oriented players like Ma Long.

 
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You say Fang Bo Carbon is close to Viscaria, but isn't it supposed to be a clone of HL5?

Funny you mention that, because "it is said" that the Fang Bo series gets close to the Hurricane Long series, though the series differs tremendously. The HL5 is overall way faster feels different.
Several people compare this blade to a Viscaria as a more controlled and little slower version.
But i must admit i dont feel comfortable to say anything more detailed because these are just my feelings coming from little time playing (just several trainingsession as test) and not from years of experience.
I played the other mentioned blades for way longer, especially my current setup.

 
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I guess there are a lot of people that would argument the opposite way:
in modern close to the table game, bh is mainly done by the wrist and fh still has a little bigger motion. Therefore quick and direct blades like Viscaria are a perfect fit for bh oriented players like fzd and Innerforce blades like hl 5 are made for fh oriented players like Ma Long.

Why haven't they switched over to the Outer BH and Inner FH?

 
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Sounds just like the Yinhe Pro 13S I just received a few weeks ago (outer ALC on the backhand side and inner KLC on the forehand side)

How is it?

Sounds like it could work well for FZD and ML. The direct backhand with the loopy forehand.

 
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Hypnotic might give it a better call, but generally speaking a blade is always one unit, unless both sides are extremly Different. This is because the stiffness of e.g. the bh also influences the stiffness on the other side. So you will never achieve a blade that has Viscaria on bh and hl 5 on fh. A combination would end in a stiffer HL5 side and a softer Viscaria side… in addition to the fact that even the core (which both sides share) is different (Viscaria kiri and ayous HL5)
 
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I'm still adjusting to it, but I like it. Backhand side feels close to my Yinhe V14 Pro and the forehand feels closer to my Sanwei V5 Pro (Clipper clone-ish).

The whole idea behind having different compositions on the forehand and backhand sides makes sense to me. Same rationale for people using different rubbers for their backhand and forehand.
 
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I guess there are a lot of people that would argument the opposite way:
in modern close to the table game, bh is mainly done by the wrist and fh still has a little bigger motion. Therefore quick and direct blades like Viscaria are a perfect fit for bh oriented players like fzd and Innerforce blades like hl 5 are made for fh oriented players like Ma Long.

I was not saying that as an absolute, just what the orientation is for me with these blades.

Clearly, as exemplified by top players, Viscaria has proven to be used by strong BH players such as ZJK, FZD, Liam Pitchford... and HL5 by strong FH players like ML, Falck... There are also examples of the other way around.

 
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Hypnotic might give it a better call, but generally speaking a blade is always one unit, unless both sides are extremly Different. This is because the stiffness of e.g. the bh also influences the stiffness on the other side. So you will never achieve a blade that has Viscaria on bh and hl 5 on fh. A combination would end in a stiffer HL5 side and a softer Viscaria side… in addition to the fact that even the core (which both sides share) is different (Viscaria kiri and ayous HL5)
I was going to say something along these lines but you explained it perfectly !

 
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Why haven't they switched over to the Outer BH and Inner FH?

Even though some players are especially known to have great FH's or BH's doesn't mean they're not also great on the other wing, it's a misconception, it's just that one wing just stands out like wow. A blade is one unit and most players prefer to have the same feel and predictability on both wings when it comes to the base (blade) and make whatever adjustment necessary with the rubbers (different rubbers or same on both sides).

Personally, it never mattered too much what blade I used on my FH as it was my stronger wing, but it mattered a lot for my BH for some reason. So when I switched to the IF ZLC, I immediately loved the feel of it on my BH and not as much on my FH at first compared to an ALC blade. My BH improved tremendously thanks to the feel and confidence the blade gave me, and of course, lots of training, to the point where my BH got as good (some say better) than my FH. My FH got used to the blade quickly, it didn't get worse, in fact it got better too (especially switching from loops to flat hits), it's just that my BH got exponentially better in comparison.

To conclude, the specs of a blade or a rubber don't matter until you've tried it for yourself over a good amount of time, what matters is feel, how you connect with it, it's personal, everyone is different, for some it doesn't matter much, for some it makes a big difference. Go with what feels good, not what other people tell you or what conceptions you think you have. I've liked some setups before, but never as much as the one I've been using for the past year. I still try blades and rubbers here and there, not to find the next best thing, just to try and gain knowledge, because they only prove that I like my setup a ton more and there's no immediate need for me to change. If something feels right/works for you, don't change it, don't hurt your head and spend all this time trying to find the next best thing, use that energy training instead!

 
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Sounds just like the Yinhe Pro 13S I just received a few weeks ago (outer ALC on the backhand side and inner KLC on the forehand side)

Hi JRW911,

Have you ever play with Yinhe Pro-12S blade [ One side Viscaria clone and one side Hurricane Long 5 clone] ?

 
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