Positives and negatives of the Butterfly Viscaria blade

[Sakumi]

Hey,

I was wondering what the positives and negatives are of the Viscaria. For example, how well it plays close and far from the table, counter-topspins, sweetspot, flicking etc. or any personal experiences with the blade.

Thanks for your time

 

[rokphish]

positive: being one of the most popular blades, it can do just about everything, if you can't do it, then it's your problem and not the blade. you can stick on just about any rubber and it would work. easier to sell later on. zjk uses it!

negative: dead feel, pricey, zjk uses it!

 

[laistrogian]

What rokpish stated above are all true. Viscaria does wonder for any attacking style game but the short game is pretty atrocious.

Unless you really have your short game down, normal ALC blades are tough to deal with. Something like innerforce ALC IMO is better for most people. It doesn't go as quick as viscaria or TBS but you get a more wood feeling from the blade while maintaining a good speed.

Although if you don't have a carbon addicition like me, getting a clipper would save the problem all the same.

 

[SilentRain]

Tested with the *new* viscaria with H3neo FH (boosted and T64 Bh)

Pros: -Best ALC blade with carbon in the second layer in terms of feel of the ball. (Still pretty dead thou and Innerforce has more feel)
- Synergies well with Chinese rubbers. Tried H3 on Timo boll ALC and JM ZLC and it played and felt very weird to me
-Very balance in terms of speed spin and control. A good entry blade to use if coming from all wood but i still advocate innerforce series if you're coming from all wood
-Capable of doing every shot rather easily if you are skilled enough. Rubber selection and players skill level will probably affect the success rate of each shot more than the blade.
-Supports a wide variety of playing styles

Cons:
-Dead feel
-Tends to lose a little bit of power and control when away from the table. But not a real problem as you just gotta use a bit more strenght from your body and it will be fine
-Pricey

Conclusion:
This is one of those blades like the Clipper by stiga which lets you do every shot depending on your skill level. It does not help you execute certain shots or techniques easier but it improves as YOU improve. Some further notes that may help you, Sweetspot is big but rather average for a composite blade. Plays good close and mid but requires more strenght when far from table. Throw angle is medium but rubber selection will greatly change that.

 

[Sakumi]

What rokpish stated above are all true. Viscaria does wonder for any attacking style game but the short game is pretty atrocious.

Unless you really have your short game down, normal ALC blades are tough to deal with. Something like innerforce ALC IMO is better for most people. It doesn't go as quick as viscaria or TBS but you get a more wood feeling from the blade while maintaining a good speed.

Although if you don't have a carbon addicition like me, getting a clipper would save the problem all the same.

Why is the short game atrocious? Is it the speed of the blade? Does the short game include both BH and FH flicks as well as pushes?

 

[Shuki]

Down sides: Bad for developing technique. Fast so touch is difficult for learning.