Is Ovtcharov blade good? Comparisons and reviews

[GOAT 🐐]

@Louisgenius

You are a former Chinese provincial team member but in November 2023 you were around 1900 USATT. That must be the lowest level Chinese provincial team player I've ever seen in my life and I know a lot of them. And incredibly, a year later you were 2350 USATT. Let me guess, you were out of practice from your Chinese provincial team days in 2023 and then got your level back in 2024?

What is your goal in lying so much and so consistently about your playing level? You do realize that it won't help you get useful recommendations if you are blatantly exaggerating your level and capability, right? Nor will it help you get better at table tennis.

You aren't a Chinese provincial team player. You don't have a CNT player head coach. You aren't 2350 USATT. You don't go to Cornell University or play for their NCTTA team. Cut the bullshit and stop wasting people's time.

That was me speaking as my student who‘s 1900 usatt. You can do all you want and call me a liar because I know who I am and don’t really care about your opinions.

 

[latej]

I don't know whether LG's claims are correct or not, I simply have no information, and in such situations I tend to believe, I mean I tend to not suspect lying.

But I think trying to call someone's lie, if you think there is reason for it, is really a good thing, because the intention is right, even if it should show, that your calling was incorrect. People who do this need to invest energy to do it (even if it doesn't look like so), and are capable of admitting if they were wrong, and, it increases the quality here...

A little intermezzo ;-) (Actually I read this because I was interested about the blade ;-))

 

[NDH]

I don't agree that the Ovtcharov is slow either but Gan is a former Chinese provincial player who has very trusted reviews on equipment.

I'll take your word for it, and I agree that different players of all abilities can feel differently about the equipment.

The Butterfly blade matrix is a pretty good tool in these situations - It takes the "player" out of it, and you'd hope that Butterfly measure the blades to the same standard each time.

I recently messaged xiao gan ge asking about performanice of Ovtcharov alc and he said it’s thick, heavy, hard, barely anyone plays with it. Is it really bad? i was about to get one. how does it compare to W968, viscaria.
thanks

To go back to this..... And I'll just take all of the comments about your level with a slight pinch of salt...... But the harsh reality is that the differences for a very good player will be negligible at best.

I've played to the same standard using....

Time Boll ALC
Ovtcharov ALC
Tibhar VS Unlimited
Harimoto ALC
Custom SDC BEAUTY (that I asked to be as close to the Ovtcharov ALC as possible).

That was across the span of about 7 seasons, and included switching rubbers from Tibhar MX-P/MX-S to Tenergy 05 and then Dignics 05/09C (and finally Dignics 09C on both sides).

Whilst there may have been a very small adjustment needed in each switch, that adjustment was taken care of within the first 10 minutes of knocking.

My point is..... At the level you are suggesting you are, you'll be absolutely fine with 95% of blade and rubber combinations.

Hurricane on a Ovtcharov will be absolutely fine.

 

[NetProphet]

I recently messaged xiao gan ge asking about performanice of Ovtcharov alc and he said it’s thick, heavy, hard, barely anyone plays with it. Is it really bad? i was about to get one. how does it compare to W968, viscaria.
thanks

It's a Butterfly Innerforce ALC blade, for sure it's good.
As for how many people use it I don't think there's any way your analyst can know that, I know absolutely nobody that plays it but Butterfly have probably sold 1000s of them!

But what was is about the blade that drew you to it in the first place? That should be enough.

You were about to get one and changed your mind because someone else doesn't like it - that makes no sense to me.
Unless that person is an absolute guru and is also recommending something else that's actually better then ignore them.

I had exactly zero people talk me into my Innerforce ALC. I just knew the FZD ALC was a bit too much for me and I didn't love my Nittaku Acoustic and that was enough.
So my advice is just get it and then tell us all about it in a few months.

 

[banbekas]

Just get the blade, my friend. There's no point in following others' experience with the blade, not even Ma Long or Gan. It's all personal preference.

 

[latej]

Ovtcharov ALC
Tibhar VS Unlimited
Harimoto ALC
Custom SDC BEAUTY (that I asked to be as close to the Ovtcharov ALC as possible).

I must try all of them in summer ;-) Esp. the last one...

 

[NDH]

I must try all of them in summer ;-) Esp. the last one...

We are just in discussions on that point....

I'll message you soon!

 

[TTPassion]

I recently messaged xiao gan ge asking about performanice of Ovtcharov alc and he said it’s thick, heavy, hard, barely anyone plays with it. Is it really bad? i was about to get one. how does it compare to W968, viscaria.
thanks

Best blade I’ve ever used. Feels similar to the Timo Boll ALC with better control in blocks and touch play

 

[ThePongCommenter]

They all use Viscarias or W968. I want to try something different. Also I do play for Cornell team for nctta, but it’s “unrated”. So I don’t have official rating

I’ve had another practice session with it on Friday and played the Wstchester Table Tennis January Open on Saturday and Sunday with it and it feels amazing. The rubber feels a little more lively than before and it was a spin-monster. Although my backspin loops weren’t as fast, it was much more safe/easier to execute than with my Dignics 09c. Overall, I think that the hurricane 3 suits my Chinese looping style well since I train with a Chinese National Team coach.

Hey bro that's weird. I thought you didn't have a rating? Or were you "writing as your student" again in this post?

 

[mamedium]

Hey bro that's weird. I thought you didn't have a rating? Or were you "writing as your student" again in this post?

I find it weird for a 2300 ex provincial player FROM CHINA asking amateurs on a forum about equipment. usually at that level they would know what equipment works best for their level

provincial player that i know of (i know 3 of them - including my coach - all are 2500s), select their equipment based on their feelings and don't care much about brand or price (shocker!!). my coach uses a chinese wood blade with a chinese rubber that i rarely see in the market. he said this combination is solid enough to create quality ball.

i asked him about my Ovt and he said it's so so. Good enough but too slow for him. then he whipped out a crazy FH using my Ovt to demonstrate how bad i am....

 

[ThePongCommenter]

I find it weird for a 2300 ex provincial player FROM CHINA asking amateurs on a forum about equipment. usually at that level they would know what equipment works best for their level

provincial player that i know of (i know 3 of them - including my coach - all are 2500s), select their equipment based on their feelings and don't care much about brand or price (shocker!!). my coach uses a chinese wood blade with a chinese rubber that i rarely see in the market. he said this combination is solid enough to create quality ball.

i asked him about my Ovt and he said it's so so. Good enough but too slow for him. then he whipped out a crazy FH using my Ovt to demonstrate how bad i am....

You find it weird because it doesn't happen. Louisgenius continues to insist on pretending to be a 2350 former provincial player for whatever reason. I'll leave that up to him. Players who reach the provincial level (generally 2400 at a minimum), like you said, pick their equipment off feeling and some period of experimentation. Once you have played that long, you know you just need to experience it for yourself to come to your own conclusions, and you know that other people's experience and feeling might not be your own. And you know what strengths and weaknesses suit your game best.

 

[mamedium]

You find it weird because it doesn't happen. Louisgenius continues to insist on pretending to be a 2350 former provincial player for whatever reason. I'll leave that up to him. Players who reach the provincial level (generally 2400 at a minimum), like you said, pick their equipment off feeling and some period of experimentation. Once you have played that long, you know you just need to experience it for yourself to come to your own conclusions, and you know that other people's experience and feeling might not be your own. And you know what strengths and weaknesses suit your game best.

lets wait and see if Louis the Genius tries the Ovt then comes back with reviews

it’s too early to call BS - you know what they say” don’t you know a genius when you see one”

maybe we’re not good enough!

 

[ThePongCommenter]

lets wait and see if Louis the Genius tries the Ovt then comes back with reviews

it’s too early to call BS - you know what they say” don’t you know a genius when you see one”

maybe we’re not good enough!

Reviews are useless when they are coming from 1350 players pretending to be 2350 former Chinese players. Both for the reviewer and for those trying to gain insights from it.

It appears he has now deleted his post saying he played a Westchester Open (which would have given him a USATT rating) - after saying repeatedly he doesn't have any sort of a rating in the US, NCTTA or USATT.

 

[mamedium]

Reviews are useless when they are coming from 1350 players pretending to be 2350 former Chinese players. Both for the reviewer and for those trying to gain insights from it.

It appears he has now deleted his post saying he played a Westchester Open (which would have given him a USATT rating) - after saying repeatedly he doesn't have any sort of a rating in the US, NCTTA or USATT.

man you scared him off! not cool! bad member! go to your room!

 

[Robin0910]

What a liar, man 🤥. There’s no point lying about your level when asking about equipment.
If anything, it just makes it harder to recommend any equipment to you.

 

[codebop]

I used to have one with the flared handle and the handle was too big for my hand. The big handle combined with the head heaviness made it hard to hold for me. Nice blade otherwise. Thick core and very powerful.

 

[sebi]

has somebody tested the donic no 1 senso. Should be the predecessor of the butterfly ovtcharov, and can compare the two.

 

[deepanmania]

Apologies, but is this someone who is supposed to know a lot about blades?

The Ovtcharov ALC is a great blade in my experience.

The one thing I would never call it is "slow".

It's quicker than any inner carbon blade I've played with, and incredibly similar in speed to the likes of Viscaria/TB ALC.

It's noticeably faster than something like the Harimoto Innerfoce ALC.

It has a bigger head, so it'll be heavier, and if you use heavy rubbers, that will be amplified.

I agree with this. I have both FZD ALC (D09c and D05) and Ovt Innerforce ALC (D09c and Stiga Platinum H). I'd never say Ovt Innerforce Alc is slower than FZD Alc. Although for blocking Ovt Innerforce ALC is more controlled, and the feeling in Ovt ALC is good. The only issue with Ovt ALC is that it feels heavier coz of the larger head than FZD ALC, although the FZD ALC is the actual heavy one.
And for sure, Ovt Alc feels stiffer.