Opinions on the Hurricane Long 5 Blades

[mihalichtheone]

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.

Nope I don't have a passport photo, unfortunately...But both HL5s felt kind of the same - rather bouncy.
Long 5 is *amazing* on top spins, especially on opening loop kills. I managed to did those alot with HL5.
But blocking even the simplest drill is difficult when training with high level players with HL5.

WIth Viscaria and T05 blocking is a breeze.
With HL5 and boosted H3 on the BH blocking is ok, but not so easy.
With Hl5 and any tensor on the BH is difficult.

May be it's because it's so flexy both loops and blocks go long sometimes.

I can record a video where I block drills with Viscaria+T05 with the guy who's beating top 50 in the country. I glued the rubbers like 1 week ago and already feel that this is a magical combo.

That's just my opinion, I would never look back to HL5.
w968 on the other hand would be very interesting to try out.

edit: actually I think I saw someone on this forum (from France IIRC) who had exactly the same opinion about HL5. He was quite a high level player and using H3 on the FH on w968...
edit2: found the guy. His nickname is @panany, dunno if I can somehow spawn him to this thread..

 

[Equaaz]

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

And the Tezzo Paladin is very good too. (Slower and very flexible)

 

[Wrighty67]

Nope I don't have a passport photo, unfortunately...But both HL5s felt kind of the same - rather bouncy.
Long 5 is *amazing* on top spins, especially on opening loop kills. I managed to did those alot with HL5.
But blocking even the simplest drill is difficult when training with high level players with HL5.

WIth Viscaria and T05 blocking is a breeze.
With HL5 and boosted H3 on the BH blocking is ok, but not so easy.
With Hl5 and any tensor on the BH is difficult.

May be it's because it's so flexy both loops and blocks go long sometimes.

I can record a video where I block drills with Viscaria+T05 with the guy who's beating top 50 in the country. I glued the rubbers like 1 week ago and already feel that this is a magical combo.

That's just my opinion, I would never look back to HL5.
w968 on the other hand would be very interesting to try out.

edit: actually I think I saw someone on this forum (from France IIRC) who had exactly the same opinion about HL5. He was quite a high level player and using H3 on the FH on w968...
edit2: found the guy. His nickname is @panany, dunno if I can somehow spawn him to this thread..

I have owned and played both (HL5/5X/968) and would agree that the Viscaria is much easier to block with - not because it’s less bouncy but because it‘s more linear and more direct. To me the Viscaria is the faster blade and harder to control in the short game but far easier to manage in the longer game and to me far more attractive to play with.

 

[NextLevel]

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.

I actually think they do but to each his own. He is trying to imply that the values reflect meaningful differences in measuring the flex and vibration of blades and I have found them reasonably valid for the blades I use, but maybe I am just giving him unearned credit. And he isn't measuring height, he is measuring the ratio of different reaction and vibration properties.

 

[Jeffrey4423]

Tried all 3 blades before.

W968 is definitely an enigma, I have several friends that use w968, all of theirs feel different, however, the general consensus is that the w968 feels heavier than the HL5/HL5X. When I tried it, it limited my swing speed and ability to switch between backhand and forehand, however, the heavier blade definitely gave me an increase in power.

HL5 to me, is a blade specialized for looping, the blade is light, lighter than most other offensive blades (easy to switch between backhand and forehand). The blade is also soft, allowing you to spin the ball hard without the ball flying out of the table. Blocking with it is pretty slow, the bat is really able to absorb the opponent's power well. Carbon kicks in on shots above a certain strength, giving you a visible increase in speed.

HL5X is a similar blade to the HL5, it is said to be built with a thicker core and thinner outer limba layers, this pushes the carbon into a position closer to that of an outer carbon blade. I don't know how exactly it affects the blade but I do feel that in general the HL5X is:

1. Light, as light as the HL5
2. "Crispier/harder feeling"
3. Is very transparent (even on low strength, on a flat hit, the carbon kicks in really easily)

In summary, with HL5 as a base where the blade's playing characteristics are that it is light, soft, retains good control when you hit hard, you can either go down either of the two paths and go for w968, where the blade gets heavier, more deadly, and retains its unique characteristics (just that you need more physical strength to fully utilize the blade). Or you can go for the HL5X, which I would say is a blade that switches it up to something similar to outer carbon blades, basically, easy power with soft feeling.

Note that all 3 blades' backhand are more difficult to generate power and require some time to get used to. Personally, the softer feeling required me to have to hit/"push" the ball harder on my strokes, whereas for a viscaria when I did the same stroke the ball flew back faster and spinnier. Though, after using the HL5X for about a year now I realize that this may not be such a bad thing after all; it allows me to switch up the pace in the middle of a rally, something that I probably wouldn't have the touch for if I was using a viscaria.

 

[jk1980]

Long 5 is *amazing* on top spins, especially on opening loop kills. I managed to did those alot with HL5.
But blocking even the simplest drill is difficult when training with high level players with HL5.

Ok, I see. By opening loop kills you mean the third Ball attack whereby you loop the opponent return or do you mean killing opponents loop by smashing it?

I guess I did not notice the bounciness because I nearly every block.

 

[ricospin]

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

Was eyeing this blade. The handle design is meh but perhaps we finally have a more accessible w968 clone!

Let me know how it plays haha

 

[ricospin]

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

DHS Hurricane Long 5 & 3 [Lab Test Report]

Table of Contents1. Introduction 2. Comparison by Performance Indices……. 2-1. Elasticity Indices……. 2-2. Vibration Indices3. Summary Note (11th October 2023) : The data of &…

ttgearlab.com

I’d beg to differ. Having tried Korbel and Long V there are differences.

Long V is just more powerful, especially from long distance.

 

[ricospin]

Also worth mentioning that W968 is not like a viscaria in terms of ease of use.

A 2500 was telling me that it’s better to use vis because it’s more forgiving.

That being said, you have to keep in mind that W968 was made for the pro player. You have to have good technique to fully utilize the blade. From the several times I’ve tried it, I could not get the blade to flex at all. Even trying to loop drive and drive as hard as I can, it was difficult. However seeing other 2000 USATT + people use it makes me think that you need to be of a certain level to make the most out of it.

Will that stop you from getting a w968? Probably not, but it is more woody and it has a unique feel compared to long V.

TLDR: W968 needs good technique and solid fundamentals.

 

[mihalichtheone]

Ok, I see. By opening loop kills you mean the third Ball attack whereby you loop the opponent return or do you mean killing opponents loop by smashing it?

I guess I did not notice the bounciness because I nearly every block.

yup, I meant third ball attack.

Nittaku Acoustic is almost perfect for loop killing third ball with H3, but it lacks power on pushes and overall above the table plays comparing to Vis/Long5, since the new ball is just different. Hence all(95%?) pros switching to carbon blades.

By Acoustics' lacking power I mean I can do practically same things with more speed with faster blades, that's it. Also probably unpopular opinion: Acoustic is actually same or faster than Viscaria on proper swings, since it's very flexible.

HL5 is like Acoustic, but with less control, I guess is the comparison..

 

[SenseiJM]

If I understand all your opinions correctly, the Long 5 would be the most controlled of the three, W968 being the most powerful and less controllable ?

 

[ricospin]

If I understand all your opinions correctly, the Long 5 would be the most controlled of the three, W968 being the most powerful and less controllable ?

The W968 would be the most controllable. It’s the slowest (in terms of simple drives) but also has the fastest potential speed.

Long V is the “better” of the two (hl5 vs 5x) in my opinion.

 

[turbozed]

I just wanted to pop in and ask if anyone has anyone has any opinion on the Nittaku Ma Long series. There's apparently at least 5 blades. 2 are all wood (Ma Long 5 and Ma Long 7) and 3 are carbon blades.

Ma Long Carbon is inner FE carbon. Ma Long Carbon 2 is inner glass carbon. Ma Long Carbon 3 is outer FE carbon.

I've seen Ma Long Carbon 2 praised as a top blade in a few Japanese Youtube channels, but I haven't heard much discussion about these blades in the English speaking internet forums. According to Nittaku's marketing blurbs, they've thrown in a few 'modification's' which include a slightly larger head size and more control (unclear how).

Ma Long Carbon is apparently a rebranded DHS Hurricane King 3 but also comes in a LG handle size (which might be interesting for people who want to use Long series blades but want a bigger handle). MLC2 and MLC3 are different consruction, so not sure if these are also copies/rebrands or if they were specially made for Nittaku.

 

[Der_Echte]

You need a certain kind of impact to get the most of the Long 5. I do not have that impact and am not interested in training to get it.

 

[ricospin]

You need a certain kind of impact to get the most of the Long 5. I do not have that impact and am not interested in training to get it.

Even more so for w968.

Rubbers also play a part in how a blade flexes.

I have DNA Pro on both sides and it flexes like a typical blade. I have not tested with h3 tho

 

[Comodoensis]

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 !

In general :

1. Long 5 is commercial version for w968 (quite pricey, though, but one might think it's easy to afford, while another one think it isn't). Notorious for the infamous DHS hollow feeling, due to less dense core, compared to W968.

2. Long 5X might be suitable for one who's familiar of using outer composite 5+2 blades, since its outer and medial ply are significantly thinner, and the core is thicker than Long 5/W968. That results in narrower gear, but easier to access the upper limit. And, also, it felt more solid, due to the material construction (thicker core, and the composite layers are more 'outward').

3. W968. Provincial, national, personal, etc. Even wider range of gears than Long 5, but has solid feel to it (thanks to the better quality of materials used, and of course, denser core, and of course this results in a better stability). Unfortunately, this makes it a bit challenging to unleash its top gear. The best of all 3 in terms of ball quality during offensive strokes, only if one can 'access' its gears.

Personal note :

1. Though it's inner-composite structure, somehow it's very bouncy in touch plays, even using hard chinese rubbers on both side.

2. Somehow, those 3 works better if paired with 'equal' rubbers on both sides, or at least, not so different between them. For example, the FH side using 40 degree DHS scale, the BH side might be better if paired with 37 degree. Even better with 38 degree (if BH side is decided to use ESN rubbers, perhaps at least 45 degree is still acceptable, 47.5/48 works well. Going harder, as long as one is capable and confident, go for it). For ESN rubbers on both sides, perhaps try to make sure only 1-2 step difference (example, FH 50/52.5/53 BH 48/45, FH 48 BH 45/42.5, etc), it does help to improve the 'support' /solid feeling of overall setup. Using wider sponge hardness difference/too soft on the BH side results in mushy/'pillow' feeling, some might like it, some don't. Different stroke for different folks.

3. Amazingly, those 3 pairs well with pips due to its 'softness'. It suits pips users who emphasized on variations both spin and ball tempo, instead of relying on reversal/disruption (which stiff and hard blades are much better for it)

 

[thomas.pong]

Really depends on what you're looking for and what you've enjoyed or disliked playing with before.

HL5 is on the slower side and not very crisp.

HL5X is faster and pretty stiff.

W968 is a completely different blade with a larger core and top quality materials used, it has a ton of feel and is also crisp, quite fast and responsive while having good control. I'm obviously very partial to it as it feels perfect for me, I think that even though it's expensive, if it's the kind of blade you like, you more so get what you pay for compared to Butterfly blades. The W968 Provincial is more affordable ($200 less) than the National and not too far off in terms of playing characteristics.

 

[SenseiJM]

I'm quite used to soft slow blades. My Techno Power Contact is a blade that I have since nearly my beginner years. I also liked the Yasaka Ma Lin Soft Carbon, because it feels slow as well. The Commercial Long 5 seems to be the one to go for in this case.

 

[Jackcerry_]

Is this w968 original or fake? —-> https://www.prott.vip/Product-Details.aspx?productcode=OFFICIALW968
And I can see you can buy a w968 at tt11 too at 915€, are they original?

 

[mightymouse]

May be a bit off topic, but I think it is still related.

Donic No. 1 (expensive) and Donic No. 1 Senso (more expensive, using premium carbon?) are supposed to be modeled (or made by DHS) after HL5.

Can anybody confirm that they play similar?
And similar to HL5 only, or similar to W968 as well?