Opinions on the Hurricane Long 5 Blades

[SenseiJM]

Hello everyone,
I'm planning on buying a DHS Hurricane Long 5 blade, but I don't know which to choose. I really want to test it out and wanted to know the differences and opinions between the Long 5, the Long 5X and the W968. What makes them differ from one another ?
How do the differences between the blades show themselves in the game ?
Thanks in advance !

 

[ricospin]

in my opinion 5x will be too fast and unstable. HL5 is fast enough and it’s a lot safer to use.

W968 is a completely different thing on its own

 

[TensorBackhand]

Well if you don't mind paying the higher cost, it seems the consensus is that w968 is a better blade than both HL5 and HL5x. So since you're asking between these 3, get the 968.

 

[Shifu]

W968 fantastic, Long 5 meh

 

[jk1980]

I do like my DHS Long 5 because it is controlled enough in the short game while retaining good power away from the table.
5x would probably be too fast for you. W968 is just a way better quality controlled HL5

 

[NextLevel]

Long 5 blade is barely better than a wooden blade. Get the W968 instead if you can get to that.

 

[Jackcerry_]

Where is possibile to buy a real W968? Without spending 1500$ maybe?

 

[DukeGaGa]

The new Joola Tezzo Warrior has some very nice reviews. And I just bought one as well.

 

[DukeGaGa]

Where is possibile to buy a real W968? Without spending 1500$ maybe?

I have two No.1 W968 national/numbers edition for $1000 each

 

[jk1980]

Long 5 blade is barely better than a wooden blade. Get the W968 instead if you can get to that.

what leads you to this verdict ? I have not seen a review comparing those two that would say something like this.

better selected material make the very same wood composition not magically classes better, especially not for a regular non pro player

 

[SFF_lib]

I’ve owned and played with all three blades you mentioned. What’s your play style? What rubbers are you used to? Do you play close to table or from mid distance?

 

[SenseiJM]

I’ve owned and played with all three blades you mentioned. What’s your play style? What rubbers are you used to? Do you play close to table or from mid distance?

I'm an allround player based on spinny shots, but more focused on attack than defence. I usually play with Rakza 7 and 7 Soft on an Allround blade (Tibhar Samsonov Techno Power Contact). I play mostly at mid-distance, but I know I should get more inside the table to get better. I'm pretty bad at putting power through my shots.
I'm not looking to buy this blade to improve my game. I just like to experiment and am not afraid to pay for equipment. I've tried out a few blades (I'll be at 18 once my latest custom blade is finished) and wanted to get one last blade before I stop testing out every other blade on the market. The Long 5(x) / W968 is the one I'd like to finish this saga on.

 

[NextLevel]

what leads you to this verdict ? I have not seen a review comparing those two that would say something like this.

better selected material make the very same wood composition not magically classes better, especially not for a regular non pro player

I used one for a few years. Maybe I had a bad one, but it was really slow.

 

[Gekko]

If you're looking to experience it, then get a W968 and a national blue sponge (or even named) H3.
Be warned it is very short lived but it's the epitome of feeling.

I'm an allround player based on spinny shots, but more focused on attack than defence. I usually play with Rakza 7 and 7 Soft on an Allround blade (Tibhar Samsonov Techno Power Contact). I play mostly at mid-distance, but I know I should get more inside the table to get better. I'm pretty bad at putting power through my shots.
I'm not looking to buy this blade to improve my game. I just like to experiment and am not afraid to pay for equipment. I've tried out a few blades (I'll be at 18 once my latest custom blade is finished) and wanted to get one last blade before I stop testing out every other blade on the market. The Long 5(x) / W968 is the one I'd like to finish this saga on.

 

[Shifu]

what leads you to this verdict ? I have not seen a review comparing those two that would say something like this.

better selected material make the very same wood composition not magically classes better, especially not for a regular non pro player

The arylate carbon is different between these 2. W968 has more dwell but also more power. The core material is a lot better and the handle is different which changes the balance.

A provincial „letter“ W968 is not THAT expensive.

 

[SenseiJM]

The arylate carbon is different between these 2. W968 has more dwell but also more power. The core material is a lot better and the handle is different which changes the balance.

A provincial „letter“ W968 is not THAT expensive.

Are there different versions of the W968 as well ?

 

[mihalichtheone]

Can't compare Long 5 to w968 since I've never owned one, but I have Viscaria and completely agree with Table Tennis Gan opinion: get a Viscaria.

I've owned Long 5 2016 (older version with bigger head size) and 2020 regular commercial version and all I can say is that Viscaria is just better. Long 5 is very bouncy and works well only with Chinese (H3, basically) rubbers since they're very linear. That means boosting H3 for BH and FH, which is a bit frustrating.

Counter top spins with Long 5 is just more difficult to execute since the ball goes ... long (heh) most of the time, you have to be very precise with your strokes.

Here's the video I'm talking about:

edit: typos

 

[jk1980]

You are assuming that the DHS HL5 would be bouncier than the Viscaria. That would mean that the Viscaria would be easier to control and that is hard to believe if you listen to any reviews out there. Next level even found the HL5 to be too slow, which would indicate the exact opposite of too bouncy.

The only explanation I got for this is that the quality control of the DHS HL5 might indeed be lacklustre that two HL-5 might play very differently.
Do you know what the last value on the spec sheet of your blade was? It is given in percent and measures the amount of slowing down/dampening of an incoming Ball, which would indicate a better short game capability. Perhaps yours was pretty low which could indicate a bouncy blade. A value above 60% is what one can often see. Mine is 66% and it is not bouncy at all.

 

[nicedream]

According to this, Long 5 doesn't play much differently from a 5-ply Korbel.

DHS Hurricane Long 5 & 3 [Lab Test Report]

Note (11th October 2023) : The data of ‘InnerForce Layer ALC’ in this article were measured in 2018. At that time the thickness of ‘InnerForce Layer ALC’ was around 5.7~5.8m…

ttgearlab.com

 

[jk1980]

According to this, Long 5 doesn't play much differently from a 5-ply Korbel.

DHS Hurricane Long 5 & 3 [Lab Test Report]

Note (11th October 2023) : The data of ‘InnerForce Layer ALC’ in this article were measured in 2018. At that time the thickness of ‘InnerForce Layer ALC’ was around 5.7~5.8m…

ttgearlab.com

That is totally incorrect. You are misreading that report. I do like ttgearlab, but you have to understand that he simply measures four physical values of the blades and compared two values to each other in seemingly related pairs.

Let's have an analogy:
Let's say you have two married pairs.
Pair one consists of the man being 2m tall and his wife being 1.5m small. That makes a height relation
of 1.33.

Now pair two consists of two midgets.
The man is 1.33 m tall and the weight measures just 1 meter. The height relation is again 1.33.
Would you tell me that there two pairs are similar just because the height relation value between them if the same?

And would you now claim that the midget man with his 1.33m is more similar to a woman, since the other pairs woman is 1.5m?

Measuring values is all fine, but there is not a slight hint that these values really reflect in meaningful differences or similarities felt in play.