How stiff is Viscaria actually?

[TensorBackhand]

I haven't hit with a Viscaria in a really long time. I kinda remember it being somewhat stiff and snappy and I guess fast.

Today I hit with a mate's paddle which was Viscaria with D09c/D05. To my surprise, I found that it was quite flexy and soft. By no means did I find it stiffer than my Inner fibre blades. It was definitely softer and flexier than my Atletico Power, for example.

Do Viscarias just have a lot of variation and I happened to stumble on a flexy one? Or how stiff is Viscaria actually?

 

[JJ Ng]

Viscaria is stiff. I wonder if your clubmates' Viscaria has been "broken into" so it feels softer.

I also remember someone saying that the older Viscaria (from previous years or even many many years ago) tend to have more feeling and softer. Not sure if that's true for not.

Don't you have Stuor Viscaria clones? I have a Viscaria straight handle I bought for collection purpose so it is still in the original box and I don't plan to put rubbers on them. I have like three Stuor Viscaria clones and I find them to play just fine. Definitely faster than my current blade but still usable. I just put soft slower rubber on the backhand side (i.e. Xiom Vega Europe) to compensate for how stiff and how fast the blade is.

 

[Wrighty67]

My two are both fairly stiff, crisp and direct - the older 2013 one a little less so but both significantly more so than my 968 or other innners.

 

[PaddyPolar]

I have a similar experience with TB, when I was buying my Ovtcharov ALC, i compared it with a Viscaria and it felt very similiar.

 

[lodro]

I just put soft slower rubber on the backhand side (i.e. Xiom Vega Europe) to compensate for how stiff and how fast the blade is.

.........and when you do that, how is the blocking going on the BH ?????

 

[JJ Ng]

.........and when you do that, how is the blocking going on the BH ?????

Blocking is fine. I am used to rubbers that are a tad harder than Xiom Vega Europe, such as C-1, Acuda S-2, Xiom Vega Japan/Asia.

 

[OSA]

It is stiff and crisp. Maybe the feeling a little changes with the weight of the blade.

 

[Amayzde]

In general Viscaria is considered to be a stiff and fast blade. But depending on what you are used to, you might feel different.

Yasaka Atletico Power is for example even harder and stiffer then Viscaria, so no surprise it feels softer to you. Someone coming from a 5 ply allwood blade is gonna find it very stiff and fast.

This feel mainly has to do with the handle thickness and wings of the blade. Viscaria has a thicker handle and bigger wing area then for example a Timo Boll ALC. even though the composition is (nearly) identical, this difference in the handle gives the Viscaria a softer feedback then other outer-ALC blades.

You can see the differences here. Allthough we are talking about millimeters here, its enough for someone to notice a difference.

 

[TensorBackhand]

In general Viscaria is considered to be a stiff and fast blade. But depending on what you are used to, you might feel different.

Yasaka Atletico Power is for example even harder and stiffer then Viscaria, so no surprise it feels softer to you. Someone coming from a 5 ply allwood blade is gonna find it very stiff and fast.

This feel mainly has to do with the handle thickness and wings of the blade. Viscaria has a thicker handle and bigger wing area then for example a Timo Boll ALC. even though the composition is (nearly) identical, this difference in the handle gives the Viscaria a softer feedback then other outer-ALC blades.

You can see the differences here. Allthough we are talking about millimeters here, its enough for someone to notice a difference.
View attachment 31377

So why do you think my friend's blade felt so soft? I would say it felt much closer to Long 5 than to Atletico Power.

 

[NextLevel]

Would like to add a couple of comments:

1) It is very important to measure the weight and frequency of the specific Viscaria. Viscarias have evolved over the years even in how they are designed to play, with other versions being a bit less stiff and newer versions being a bit stiffer for the plastic ball.

Butterfly Viscaria (Current Model) [Photos & Information]

Butterfly ‘Viscaria’ which is the best seller of Butterfly is the representative of the ‘outer-fiber’ blade. And, it is also the representative of all fiber blades. ‘V…

ttgearlab.com

2) ALC has always been a relatively soft material, the main thing about the Viscaria is whether you like Koto as an outer ply vs say Limba. If you like Koto as an outer ply, you will find the Viscaria a relatively soft blade. With the modern ball, it is reasonably all round solidly offensive not high power smashing offensive.