DHS Hurricane Long 5 vs Butterfly Harimoto Innerforce ALC

says Glory to Ukraine 🇺🇦
Multiple?! That's really impressive. Would you mind sharing which one you participated in?
I have competed in several sports since very young age - football, kickboxing, bjj, mma and bodybuilding. The most successful i was in bjj and mma - 2nd in my weight category at nationals, and in bodybuilding two time silver medalist on nationals, and 4d on Europe championships. I have also trained people in this sports for more than 10 years, and have national winners students, and Europe medalists. I worked in fitness industry for 10+ years. Working for a gym, renting my own gym. For now I'm doing restaurant business, and focusing more on TT, since full time job as a coach and a fighter didn't give me as much finance income that I wanted to
 
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says Glory to Ukraine 🇺🇦
Thank you! 😃



I've always used dots - Bad habit perhaps, but I've never considered them to mean anything other than what they are (dots!)



Don't knock us average league players! 😅

We are out here trying our best.

I'm not sure where I've *not* been humble here? Perhaps something was lost in translation, so enlighten me if you would be so kind?



You are right. I haven't seen you play.

But I have seen thousands of people playing at all levels for the last 20 years, and none of them would dream to give advice on things they don't really know, or haven't used extensively.

There is quite a big learning curve with Table Tennis, that only comes from experience (reading/theory isn't going to help).

I'm sure you are a much better player than me, and I'm sure your video will prove that.

You've obviously taken it personally, and it absolutely wasn't my intention for that to happen, so I apologize!

I'm really keen to see you play, as it'll add a huge amount to the forum and it's users.

As I said previously, an adult who can achieve a very high level in a very short space of time can hopefully pass on a lot of great advice to others on here
Thank you! 😃



I've always used dots - Bad habit perhaps, but I've never considered them to mean anything other than what they are (dots!)



Don't knock us average league players! 😅

We are out here trying our best.

I'm not sure where I've *not* been humble here? Perhaps something was lost in translation, so enlighten me if you would be so kind?



You are right. I haven't seen you play.

But I have seen thousands of people playing at all levels for the last 20 years, and none of them would dream to give advice on things they don't really know, or haven't used extensively.

There is quite a big learning curve with Table Tennis, that only comes from experience (reading/theory isn't going to help).

I'm sure you are a much better player than me, and I'm sure your video will prove that.

You've obviously taken it personally, and it absolutely wasn't my intention for that to happen, so I apologize!

I'm really keen to see you play, as it'll add a huge amount to the forum and it's users.

As I said previously, an adult who can achieve a very high level in a very short space of time can hopefully pass on a lot of great advice to others on here!
I have talking and playing with pro players, with the guys from a youth national team and their are much more calm and humble than you. Maybe its the internet that gives people like you, some reasons to behave like that. But its boring, and not fun. Do you win something on a national or Europe level? Maybe your students was on that spot? If not, please just comment like everyone else, without that grain of salt and toxicity that you always do.

I hope you enjoying urself and your super unachievable level of a play in 3d league or whatever you play. The more you know - the less you know, smart people saying. But as i see, that's not your story. Here in the forum, you better than most 1800 level players, so you acting arrogant and pointing on everyones levels besides your own, that not so high really. But anyway, for me its enough. There is a lot shit happens in my country right now, so i didn't have resources to talk about it over and over again. Have a nice day and good luck 🤞
 

NDH

says Spin to win!
I have talking and playing with pro players, with the guys from a youth national team and their are much more calm and humble than you. Maybe its the internet that gives people like you, some reasons to behave like that. But its boring, and not fun. Do you win something on a national or Europe level? Maybe your students was on that spot? If not, please just comment like everyone else, without that grain of salt and toxicity that you always do.

I hope you enjoying urself and your super unachievable level of a play in 3d league or whatever you play. The more you know - the less you know, smart people saying. But as i see, that's not your story. Here in the forum, you better than most 1800 level players, so you acting arrogant and pointing on everyones levels besides your own, that not so high really. But anyway, for me its enough. There is a lot shit happens in my country right now, so i didn't have resources to talk about it over and over again. Have a nice day and good luck 🤞

I find it interesting that all of your anger is aimed at me for suggesting you put a video for others to see your level - I'm not sure how that makes me toxic or salty, but there you go!

You've clearly had an amazing sporting career already, and you sound like you are one of the better table tennis players here on the forum with lots of advice to offer - As I've repeatedly said, it would help loads of people to see your style of play, but if you don't want to, that's absolutely fine (no one is forcing you to do anything).

Either way, good luck with whatever you decide to do!
Can we stop arguing? I mean, we all love table tennis here, and it's really not worth it to get worked up over equipment advice topic. I'd rather prefer we all stay friendly and share experiences about the abovementioned blades and such, rather than pick on something in each other's posts.
Back to the blades, I'm contacting both sellers and waiting, while also trying to lower the price a bit on Long V. Truth be told, I'm leaning towards Harimoto ALC right now, but with the right price I just may be able to get both blades, play-test them, and keep the one I like, while selling the spare to recover some monetary loss incurred. Would that idea work?

You'll almost certainly make your money back as long as you don't overpay (or damage the blades).

If you can't try them, it's not a bad option.

Even if you lose a little bit, it's worth it so you can be 100% sure what you like.
 
says Glory to Ukraine 🇺🇦
I find it interesting that all of your anger is aimed at me for suggesting you put a video for others to see your level - I'm not sure how that makes me toxic or salty, but there you go!

You've clearly had an amazing sporting career already, and you sound like you are one of the better table tennis players here on the forum with lots of advice to offer - As I've repeatedly said, it would help loads of people to see your style of play, but if you don't want to, that's absolutely fine (no one is forcing you to do anything).
Your toxicity and saltines including judgment of my level, when you have absolutely no clue what are you talking about. That's what i dislike about you. Not the suggestion, to put a video - i will do it, already told it, and i have no problem with that.

Im not giving advices to anyone if i have no clue what im saying, but you are. I also have never told to anyone, that im the best player here - again some kind of meaningless point from your imagination. I played about 3 moths with Harimoto and regularly played with hl5 - just to compare and for pure interest. So i can give some kind of an opinion on this two blades, people might listen to it, might just go over. Im not pushing no one to buy something.

When i upload the video it doesn't help to anyone, because i didn't did some kind of a secret method training. Just trained for 3-4 hours 6 days a week with a coach + hour of serving practice + regular sparring and a tourneys for a year. Please tell me, how it can be helpful for "loads of people", when in reality most people didn't have opportunity to train like that?
 

NDH

says Spin to win!
Your toxicity and saltines including judgment of my level, when you have absolutely no clue what are you talking about. That's what i dislike about you. Not the suggestion, to put a video - i will do it, already told it, and i have no problem with that.

Im not giving advices to anyone if i have no clue what im saying, but you are. I also have never told to anyone, that im the best player here - again some kind of meaningless point from your imagination. I played about 3 moths with Harimoto and regularly played with hl5 - just to compare and for pure interest. So i can give some kind of an opinion on this two blades, people might listen to it, might just go over. Im not pushing no one to buy something.

For clarification, I've never once judged your level.

Perhaps I'm on my own here, but when someone new comes online and says they've done things that very few people have ever managed to do, it creates an element of excitement and scepticism (this is the internet after all, where being sceptic of random people online is standard practice! 😅)

I've been around this forum long enough to see a lot of people who are full of it, and they inevitably disappear after a while because people see through them, and they end up being ignored (essentially, they are just trolling!)

I don't think it's unreasonable to see why people (even if it's just little old me who has no power, influence or say on anything), asks for a video of your current level - Just to be able to put into context what you are saying.

I'll try and give an example of 2 scenarios to explain what I mean when I say "in context".

Scenario 1 - You are every bit as good as you say you are.

Your words suddenly become more impactful and credible, because people can see the real person (and level) behind the person saying them.

It helps you, them, and everyone reading (win win all around!)

When you comment on equipment, people know you are commenting at a higher level than they are, so your words are actually really useful.

Scenario 2 - You aren't as good as you claim to be.

I'm sure this isn't the case (because you just wouldn't upload video in this instance), but if you did, and your shots were very poor, then it still adds context, credibility and gives people a chance to see the real grandMast3r!

There will inevitably be lots of people at whatever level you are (good or bad), and those people who are at a similar level will be very thankful you can comment on different blades/training techniques etc, as they might not have the opportunity to do so.

When i upload the video it doesn't help to anyone, because i didn't did some kind of a secret method training. Just trained for 3-4 hours 6 days a week with a coach + hour of serving practice + regular sparring and a tourneys for a year. Please tell me, how it can be helpful for "loads of people", when in reality most people didn't have opportunity to train like that?

I personally think it does help.

Whilst many people won't have the same facilities you've had, it shows people just what is possible in the right situation with the right dedication and focus.

I mean, it would have been great to have seen your progress from Day 1 and put it all in a Rocky type montage..... But we can't have everything, right? 😂

I've been an advocate for people to put videos up from the minute I joined this forum and realized how useful it was.

Please do not think this is personal towards you - It absolutely isn't, and I'm not sure where the animosity has come from if truth be told.

Perhaps there is an element getting lost in translation, or maybe you just really hate my dots!...... 😂

I feel you've said too much (good stuff) for it *not* to be true, so I'm really looking forward to seeing the video whenever you get a chance to do it.

I also need a new player for next season, so you can come and join us in the UK league! 😃
 
says Glory to Ukraine 🇺🇦
For clarification, I've never once judged your level.

Perhaps I'm on my own here, but when someone new comes online and says they've done things that very few people have ever managed to do, it creates an element of excitement and scepticism (this is the internet after all, where being sceptic of random people online is standard practice! 😅)

I've been around this forum long enough to see a lot of people who are full of it, and they inevitably disappear after a while because people see through them, and they end up being ignored (essentially, they are just trolling!)

I don't think it's unreasonable to see why people (even if it's just little old me who has no power, influence or say on anything), asks for a video of your current level - Just to be able to put into context what you are saying.

I'll try and give an example of 2 scenarios to explain what I mean when I say "in context".

Scenario 1 - You are every bit as good as you say you are.

Your words suddenly become more impactful and credible, because people can see the real person (and level) behind the person saying them.

It helps you, them, and everyone reading (win win all around!)

When you comment on equipment, people know you are commenting at a higher level than they are, so your words are actually really useful.

Scenario 2 - You aren't as good as you claim to be.

I'm sure this isn't the case (because you just wouldn't upload video in this instance), but if you did, and your shots were very poor, then it still adds context, credibility and gives people a chance to see the real grandMast3r!

There will inevitably be lots of people at whatever level you are (good or bad), and those people who are at a similar level will be very thankful you can comment on different blades/training techniques etc, as they might not have the opportunity to do so.



I personally think it does help.

Whilst many people won't have the same facilities you've had, it shows people just what is possible in the right situation with the right dedication and focus.

I mean, it would have been great to have seen your progress from Day 1 and put it all in a Rocky type montage..... But we can't have everything, right? 😂

I've been an advocate for people to put videos up from the minute I joined this forum and realized how useful it was.

Please do not think this is personal towards you - It absolutely isn't, and I'm not sure where the animosity has come from if truth be told.

Perhaps there is an element getting lost in translation, or maybe you just really hate my dots!...... 😂

I feel you've said too much (good stuff) for it *not* to be true, so I'm really looking forward to seeing the video whenever you get a chance to do it.

I also need a new player for next season, so you can come and join us in the UK league! 😃
That’s your point of view, but never in my life i did something that i was not interesting in.

I’m not the type of a person that recording every step of their life, including sport carrier, even when i did it in different sports. And i doubt it changing in near future. So it’s very unlikely you will see “like a rocky TT story” by me, recording all on video. So it takes me to go out of my comfort zone - for not super clear reasons.

I’m not here to inspire people or something, even the opposite i think the one who needs a lot of inspiration to do something - those are lazy people that are never achieve high results.

My goal is to overall progress on the table, and a club tourney, and not to became more favorable and known member of the forum. So things that are helping me with my goals i will do with 150%, if it’s not about it - then i will do it with a less of an effort.

I have asked my coach, does it be useful to record training and games - and he said, yes, but not too often, don’t get into recording every match or training - that’s how i will do it. One day i will take that tripod and record some, will see how it goes, i got nothing to hide really

We have a war in our country, so mens are not allowed to leave it, even if we do, I’d never leave it, besides of vacation. But thanks for an league purpose, and thank you for holding off those dots under your control
 
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NDH

says Spin to win!
That’s your point of view, but never in my life i did something that i was not interesting in.

I’m not the type of a person that recording every step of their life, including sport carrier, even when i did it in different sports. And i doubt it changing in near future. So it’s very unlikely you will see “like a rocky TT story” by me, recording all on video. So it takes me to go out of my comfort zone - for not super clear reasons.

I’m not here to inspire people or something, even the opposite i think the one who needs a lot of inspiration to do something - those are lazy people that are never achieve high results.

My goal is to overall progress on the table, and a club tourney, and not to became more favorable and known member of the forum. So things that are helping me with my goals i will do with 150%, if it’s not about it - then i will do it with a less of an effort.

I have asked my coach, does it be useful to record training and games - and he said, yes, but not too often, don’t get into recording every match or training - that’s how i will do it. One day i will take that tripod and record some, will see how it goes, i got nothing to hide really

We have a war in our country, so mens are not allowed to leave it, even if we do, I’d never leave it, besides of vacation. But thanks for an league purpose, and thank you for holding off those dots under your control
Sorry, my very poor English humour doesn’t come across very well on a multi national forum (I definitely wasn’t really expecting a Rocky style montage!) 😃

Hopefully we’ve cleared this all up!

This sport is too small to make online enemies, especially with everything else going on in the world!

I’m off to play another league match (different league).

If I’d followed your training routine, I probably wouldn’t feel like such an old man right now! 😂
 
says Glory to Ukraine 🇺🇦
Sorry, my very poor English humour doesn’t come across very well on a multi national forum (I definitely wasn’t really expecting a Rocky style montage!) 😃

Hopefully we’ve cleared this all up!

This sport is too small to make online enemies, especially with everything else going on in the world!

I’m off to play another league match (different league).

If I’d followed your training routine, I probably wouldn’t feel like such an old man right now! 😂
Sorry, if i was misunderstanding you in some points.

We've cleared things up, and i propose to shake hands and be cool about it.

Good luck on your matches, in how many leagues you playing?

It was first year of such an hardcore, when i was mastering the basics, plus all the guys in the group was from 3-4 year of training minimum to 10+, so i have to training like that to be capable to keep up with them. I have known, that i didn't want to spent three years plus by doing TT three times a week.

For now my weekly routine looks like - 3 or 4 trainings with coach about 2-3 hours, 3 or 4 serving practice for 30 min to one hour, one tourney, and two strength trainings. I have feeling myself more energised in the day of the tourney and able to show better results, because of a better recovery and i guess overall experience.

That's why its hard to master TT as adult since process of recovery are slowing down, and you can't train as much. One point how i able to keep such training volumes is heart rate monitor, understanding of intensities and how to recover after each level of them. All my trainings i do with a monitor and I'm not using it only while playing tourney. Super useful thing, especially when you get older, here again my overall fitness experience is helping me :)
 
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I have little story to share. Hopefully some of us will not find it too boring. A few years ago I had the good fortune to dine in some fancy sushi restaurant where the chef himself is also the owner. I sat at the main counter ( not table ) and watched him prepare his craft and the enjoyed the meal. All the while I was admiring his tool, i.e., his chef / sushi knives.

Later, when he is less busy I struck up a friendly conversation with him about his knives. He must be also ecstatic to find another patron who share a similar interest in kitchen knives. Thereafter he proceeded to bring out some of his special friends. He explained further that some of his special friends are custom made and ordered from Japan and it took around 3 - 6 mths to arrive. The cost are around USD 5,000.00 for a piece of kitchen knife.

He even allowed me to touch them and feel them. Truth be told, to me, a totally noob, I could not tell the difference between a USD 5,000.00 piece of kitchen knife to a USD 5.00 one from Walmart. But I am sure he can as his livelihood depends on it.

This brings us back to the topic of TT equipment. Whether one uses a Harimoto Super ZLC or W968, at our amateur level, most likely we cannot tell the difference to say a regular Primorac or Innerforce. But does that mean we must not buy Harimoto Super ZLC?

I had some conversation with some parties and I had come to a conclusion as follows:

1. I am a hobbyist, I do not earn my income from doing TT. My main motivation is fun.
2. There is nothing wrong to want to use an equipment that is associated with our TT idol, whoever it may be.
3. So, go ahead and use whatever you feel like it if you are an amateur / hobbyist. The counter argument is fast pro equipment will hurt your development. I say to H3LL with it, you are not gonna be depending on TT to finance your living expenses. However, I'll add a caveat, getting a proper coach does help a lot, irrespective of what you use.
 
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Sorry, if i was misunderstanding you in some points.

We've cleared things up, and i propose to shake hands and be cool about it.

Good luck on your matches, in how many leagues you playing?

It was first year of such an hardcore, when i was mastering the basics, plus all the guys in the group was from 3-4 year of training minimum to 10+, so i have to training like that to be capable to keep up with them. I have known, that i didn't want to spent three years plus by doing TT three times a week.

For now my weekly routine looks like - 3 or 4 trainings with coach about 2-3 hours, 3 or 4 serving practice for 30 min to one hour, one tourney, and two strength trainings. I have feeling myself more energised in the day of the tourney and able to show better results, because of a better recovery and i guess overall experience.

That's why its hard to master TT as adult since process of recovery are slowing down, and you can't train as much. One point how i able to keep such training volumes is heart rate monitor, understanding of intensities and how to recover after each level of them. All my trainings i do with a monitor and I'm not using it only while playing tourney. Super useful thing, especially when you get older, here again my overall fitness experience is helping me :)
You definitely were misunderstanding him on some points, but it is okay, glad to see it is all over.
 
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I have little story to share. Hopefully some of us will not find it too boring. A few years ago I had the good fortune to dine in some fancy sushi restaurant where the chef himself is also the owner. I sat at the main counter ( not table ) and watched him prepare his craft and the enjoyed the meal. All the while I was admiring his tool, i.e., his chef / sushi knives.

Later, when he is less busy I struck up a friendly conversation with him about his knives. He must be also ecstatic to find another patron who share a similar interest in kitchen knives. Thereafter he proceeded to bring out some of his special friends. He explained further that some of his special friends are custom made and ordered from Japan and it took around 3 - 6 mths to arrive. The cost are around USD 5,000.00 for a piece of kitchen knife.

He even allowed me to touch them and feel them. Truth be told, to me, a totally noob, I could not tell the difference between a USD 5,000.00 piece of kitchen knife to a USD 5.00 one from Walmart. But I am sure he can as his livelihood depends on it.

This brings us back to the topic of TT equipment. Whether one uses a Harimoto Super ZLC or W968, at our amateur level, most likely we cannot tell the difference to say a regular Primorac or Innerforce. But does that mean we must not buy Harimoto Super ZLC?

I had some conversation with some parties and I had come to a conclusion as follows:

1. I am a hobbyist, I do not earn my income from doing TT. My main motivation is fun.
2. There is nothing wrong to want to use an equipment that is associated with our TT idol, whoever it may be.
3. So, go ahead and use whatever you feel like it if you are an amateur / hobbyist. The counter argument is fast pro equipment will hurt your development. I say to H3LL with it, you are not gonna be depending on TT to finance your living expenses. However, I'll add a caveat, getting a proper coach does help a lot, irrespective of what you use.
So Gozo's post is precisely the kind of post that makes me happy we have video of him play so we can put his statements in context. Because the same way getting a proper coach helps, irrespective of what you use, I can say that equipment that is too fast (very stiff blade with high rebound) hurts your ability to learn looping and encourages hitting, no matter how much coaching you get. That said, Gozo is working on fixing the problem and he will be a good test case for the ability of a player to use really fast equipment to develop a high level game and prove beyond reasonable doubt that equipment doesn't matter anymore because of the plastic ball.

This is from NL, the nut who recommended Mazunovs to lower intermediates because of the plastic ball.
 
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So Gozo's post is precisely the kind of post that makes me happy we have video of him play so we can put his statements in context. Because the same way getting a proper coach helps, irrespective of what you use, I can say that equipment that is too fast (very stiff blade with high rebound) hurts your ability to learn looping and encourages hitting, no matter how much coaching you get. That said, Gozo is working on fixing the problem and he will be a good test case for the ability of a player to use really fast equipment to develop a high level game and prove beyond reasonable doubt that equipment doesn't matter anymore because of the plastic ball.

This is from NL, the nut who recommended Mazunovs to lower intermediates because of the plastic ball.
Challenge accepted. Show & tell again in Jul-23 where I'll play in a major amateur tourney. I'll only show the singles footage.

P/s there are no league in my country. Here it is only winner takes all, losers go home all the way! Hurrah!

9AD51319-7DF8-47EE-9D3D-B34D336A7E1B.jpeg
 
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Sorry, if i was misunderstanding you in some points.

We've cleared things up, and i propose to shake hands and be cool about it.

Good luck on your matches, in how many leagues you playing?

It was first year of such an hardcore, when i was mastering the basics, plus all the guys in the group was from 3-4 year of training minimum to 10+, so i have to training like that to be capable to keep up with them. I have known, that i didn't want to spent three years plus by doing TT three times a week.

For now my weekly routine looks like - 3 or 4 trainings with coach about 2-3 hours, 3 or 4 serving practice for 30 min to one hour, one tourney, and two strength trainings. I have feeling myself more energised in the day of the tourney and able to show better results, because of a better recovery and i guess overall experience.

That's why its hard to master TT as adult since process of recovery are slowing down, and you can't train as much. One point how i able to keep such training volumes is heart rate monitor, understanding of intensities and how to recover after each level of them. All my trainings i do with a monitor and I'm not using it only while playing tourney. Super useful thing, especially when you get older, here again my overall fitness experience is helping me :)
Yea tell me about it! I did a relatively intense training session on Wednesday before playing tourney on Thursday. I usually have a light training on Wednesday, but I figured with soccer season starting soon and it being on the same night as tourneys, I'll soon be playing less TT so let me just play/train as much as possible.

Boy was I tired by the last (5th) match! Stamina is usually not an issue for me for match play, but yesterday was rough! It doesn't help that 3 of the first 4 matches went to 5 sets with many deuces, and the only one that didn't had 2 sets of like 19-17 and 15-13. I thought with a good night's rest it would be enough recovery, but I ain't no spring chicken no more 😆 When I was a kid I was doing 3 hours a day, 6 days a week of track training and it felt fine, but now just 3 hours of moderate intensity TT training gets me pooped the next day. Aging does do a number on you!
 
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Back to the blades...
Recovering this post from the kidnapping..
. Which blade did you get? If you are still in the *loop* (haha get it?) To decide which one I can share my experience with my new Ovtcharov No.1 Senso which is most likely a HL5 with a different handle. I have H3 40 Orange Provincial on the FH and Tibhar Hybrid MK on BH and can say that it is an absolute joy to play with on both wings. I'd say that its biggest strength is the touch, you can feel absolutely everything while not having the weird vibrations from harder top ply blades, and the flexibility which just makes it a joy to counter things. It also combines perfectly with chinese tacky rubbers with huge dwell time. Loops are mega spinny, counters are easy and explosive, and serves and touch are super spinny. As for the BH I have had no problems at all, and actually have improved, but that is mainly due to changing from EL-P to Hybrid MK.

When analyzing the composition, Harimoto and HL5 should be equally soft and the feeling very similar, but with the difference in layer thicknesses, Harimoto should be marginally (and I mean very marginally) less flexible than the HL5. Both rackets are spin oriented due to the inner carbon composition, but the Harimoto would be just very slightly less spinny but very slightly better to block and drive. With more flexiness the HL5 should be very slightly better for full FH swings with chinese rubbers.

Just as my 2 cents, you should see the kind of rubbers that pro players are using with these types of blades. From the pros, I'd think the Harimoto would pair better with your Dignics and the HL5 with your H3. So if your aim is to get the highest potential out of your FH I would get the HL5 and for the BH the Harimoto. However as some people have said before in this thread, the differences would be noticeable but very slight. I personally don't see any drawbacks with either choice, both are great blades and support similar playstyles.
 
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I like how you using a lot of dots……
Punctuation: "Ellipsis, a three-dot punctuation mark (...)".

This kind of punctuation (.....) a series of dots can also be used to indicate a pause, like a comma or a period.....but longer....so.....a pregnant pause.

Nothing wrong with using actual existing punctuation how it was meant to be used.
 
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Recovering this post from the kidnapping..
. Which blade did you get? If you are still in the *loop* (haha get it?) To decide which one I can share my experience with my new Ovtcharov No.1 Senso which is most likely a HL5 with a different handle. I have H3 40 Orange Provincial on the FH and Tibhar Hybrid MK on BH and can say that it is an absolute joy to play with on both wings. I'd say that its biggest strength is the touch, you can feel absolutely everything while not having the weird vibrations from harder top ply blades, and the flexibility which just makes it a joy to counter things. It also combines perfectly with chinese tacky rubbers with huge dwell time. Loops are mega spinny, counters are easy and explosive, and serves and touch are super spinny. As for the BH I have had no problems at all, and actually have improved, but that is mainly due to changing from EL-P to Hybrid MK.

When analyzing the composition, Harimoto and HL5 should be equally soft and the feeling very similar, but with the difference in layer thicknesses, Harimoto should be marginally (and I mean very marginally) less flexible than the HL5. Both rackets are spin oriented due to the inner carbon composition, but the Harimoto would be just very slightly less spinny but very slightly better to block and drive. With more flexiness the HL5 should be very slightly better for full FH swings with chinese rubbers.

Just as my 2 cents, you should see the kind of rubbers that pro players are using with these types of blades. From the pros, I'd think the Harimoto would pair better with your Dignics and the HL5 with your H3. So if your aim is to get the highest potential out of your FH I would get the HL5 and for the BH the Harimoto. However as some people have said before in this thread, the differences would be noticeable but very slight. I personally don't see any drawbacks with either choice, both are great blades and support similar playstyles.
I ended up ordering Harimoto ALC from Japan.
It came about 88 grams, wood was of somewhat darker color than regular cream-y color of Harimoto on catalogue.
Paired it with Dignics 09C on Forehand and Dignics 05 on backhand.
What I like is the amount of spin the blade produces. Everyone who I've played against said that it's become frustrating to counter-loop me when I'm hitting on forehand, the ball is almost "diving" after the first bounce. Blade is very precise, both on forehand and backhand, with crisp and clear feeling, and I'm confident in every action that I make. Backhand is also very comfortable, as I can flick and a wide range of shots coming my way.
If I had to pick a disadvantage, then it would be a lack of power when I'm far behind the table. But I understand that the blade was not made to loop far from the table, it's more or less "on the table" type of blade that shines more the closer you are to the table.
In conclusion, do I regret going Harimoto over Long? I don't think so. It's a very, very good blade and I'm enjoying it a lot more than other blades I've tried in the past. It has good control, enough speed when close to the table and it's strongest point is how it allows me to generate spin on my loops, both forehand and backhand. Yeah, Long 5 is a great blade, but, should the opportunity present itself, I'm going to try W968 version of said blade, and that is a whole other deal, both in price and the feeling.
 
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I ended up ordering Harimoto ALC from Japan.
It came about 88 grams, wood was of somewhat darker color than regular cream-y color of Harimoto on catalogue.
Paired it with Dignics 09C on Forehand and Dignics 05 on backhand.
What I like is the amount of spin the blade produces. Everyone who I've played against said that it's become frustrating to counter-loop me when I'm hitting on forehand, the ball is almost "diving" after the first bounce. Blade is very precise, both on forehand and backhand, with crisp and clear feeling, and I'm confident in every action that I make. Backhand is also very comfortable, as I can flick and a wide range of shots coming my way.
If I had to pick a disadvantage, then it would be a lack of power when I'm far behind the table. But I understand that the blade was not made to loop far from the table, it's more or less "on the table" type of blade that shines more the closer you are to the table.
In conclusion, do I regret going Harimoto over Long? I don't think so. It's a very, very good blade and I'm enjoying it a lot more than other blades I've tried in the past. It has good control, enough speed when close to the table and it's strongest point is how it allows me to generate spin on my loops, both forehand and backhand. Yeah, Long 5 is a great blade, but, should the opportunity present itself, I'm going to try W968 version of said blade, and that is a whole other deal, both in price and the feeling.
Hi noctis,
Do u have chance to compare it Viscaria blade in terms of speed and spin ?
 
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I ended up ordering Harimoto ALC from Japan...
...In conclusion, do I regret going Harimoto over Long? I don't think so...
Great!!! That's really good to hear. The Harimoto is definitely the best choice among inner carbon rackets for double tensor setups, while the W968 should be the best for chinese rubbers. Of course, with the price of the 968 you could buy a FZD, a Felix Lebrun, and an Alexis Lebrun to compare both inner and outer carbon rackets from Butterfly and Tibhar.
 
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