says
On a never ending EJ journey
says
On a never ending EJ journey
Member
Hi all,
Decided to write a review on another hidden gem. This time, it’s the Loki Honor ALC. The other thread about Loki rubbers and equipment got me curious so I decided to buy the most expensive blade that Loki offers on their Aliexpress store front to give it a try. It was about $130ish and I was really curious to see what $130 would get me from a brand that’s been typically known to produce cheap products.
Blade stats:
90g FL
FH: Yasaka Rakza Z Max
BH: Nittaku Fastarc G1 Max
For some background, Loki is not a well-known Chinese brand, even among the many cheap Chinese companies. Yinhe, Friendship, Sanwei are probably better-known Chinese brands. They have some relationship with Wang Hao, not sure if he’s part owner or just a sponsored celebrity. There’s also been some posts recently on TTD about their rubbers, namely the Rxton 1, 3, 5 and their Arthur series. Seeing as their general audience is for budget-minded players, I was surprised to see a $130ish blade on their site. That’s a price point that rivals a lot of other well-known brands. Surely, an expensive-ish blade from a “cheap” company must be amazing then, right?
It actually is amazing. This blade is an oversized inner carbon blade with yellow ALC (can someone explain if there’s any differences between the different ALC colors – red, blue, green, yellow, etc.). According to this video -
, blue ALC is meant more for spin (why it’s on the outer layer) while yellow ALC is more for power and speed (why it’s on the inside layer).
The website says the blade is a Limba outer with an Ayous inner. My blade, however, looks like it has a Koto outer layer and it plays like one too. The feeling is very crisp and direct while giving more than enough dwell time for loops. It feels similar to my Nittaku Hina Hayata H2 on medium to high power shots but doesn’t engage the carbon as early on lower power shots. The blade is faster than W968 and slower than Viscaria. It’s also a lot easier to control and use compared to those blades as well. For $130, this is probably one of the best blades you can buy in this price range. FH loops are very easy to execute. BH feels good due to the stiff/crisp nature of this blade.
The bad:
The build quality is somewhat left to be desired. There were some stray ALC fibers and sort of reminded me of DHS build quality.
Other notes:
The handle was smooth and felt comfortable. It come in a nice decorative case/box.
Decided to write a review on another hidden gem. This time, it’s the Loki Honor ALC. The other thread about Loki rubbers and equipment got me curious so I decided to buy the most expensive blade that Loki offers on their Aliexpress store front to give it a try. It was about $130ish and I was really curious to see what $130 would get me from a brand that’s been typically known to produce cheap products.
Blade stats:
90g FL
FH: Yasaka Rakza Z Max
BH: Nittaku Fastarc G1 Max
For some background, Loki is not a well-known Chinese brand, even among the many cheap Chinese companies. Yinhe, Friendship, Sanwei are probably better-known Chinese brands. They have some relationship with Wang Hao, not sure if he’s part owner or just a sponsored celebrity. There’s also been some posts recently on TTD about their rubbers, namely the Rxton 1, 3, 5 and their Arthur series. Seeing as their general audience is for budget-minded players, I was surprised to see a $130ish blade on their site. That’s a price point that rivals a lot of other well-known brands. Surely, an expensive-ish blade from a “cheap” company must be amazing then, right?
It actually is amazing. This blade is an oversized inner carbon blade with yellow ALC (can someone explain if there’s any differences between the different ALC colors – red, blue, green, yellow, etc.). According to this video -
The website says the blade is a Limba outer with an Ayous inner. My blade, however, looks like it has a Koto outer layer and it plays like one too. The feeling is very crisp and direct while giving more than enough dwell time for loops. It feels similar to my Nittaku Hina Hayata H2 on medium to high power shots but doesn’t engage the carbon as early on lower power shots. The blade is faster than W968 and slower than Viscaria. It’s also a lot easier to control and use compared to those blades as well. For $130, this is probably one of the best blades you can buy in this price range. FH loops are very easy to execute. BH feels good due to the stiff/crisp nature of this blade.
The bad:
The build quality is somewhat left to be desired. There were some stray ALC fibers and sort of reminded me of DHS build quality.
Other notes:
The handle was smooth and felt comfortable. It come in a nice decorative case/box.
