Post your latest EJ purchase

[Füty Imre]

to buy or not to buy Freitas ALC, that’s the question now … 🙈🤪

If you do so please let me know how you like it, maybe even compare it to outer alc blades if you can.

 

[dingyibvs]

Just glued up my S968 with my intended rubbers (H3N prov 40 BS 2.1mm and D09c 2.1mm). Working nights right now so won't get to try it out until Tues. First impression is that it's surprisingly not as head heavy as my W968 and Q968. They were head heavy so I shaved them down by 1-2mm, and my setup's weight is usually around 192-195g. The S968 is 1g heavier and wasn't shaved down, so it's 197g and yet it feels slightly less head heavy.

 

[Larshos]

Tibhar BSS1 in ST. Having medium-high hopes for the handle being suitable for me.

 

[KostovTT]

Just glued up my S968 with my intended rubbers (H3N prov 40 BS 2.1mm and D09c 2.1mm). Working nights right now so won't get to try it out until Tues. First impression is that it's surprisingly not as head heavy as my W968 and Q968. They were head heavy so I shaved them down by 1-2mm, and my setup's weight is usually around 192-195g. The S968 is 1g heavier and wasn't shaved down, so it's 197g and yet it feels slightly less head heavy.

Let us know how is it going. I have also purchased S968

 

[Matteones]

If you do so please let me know how you like it, maybe even compare it to outer alc blades if you

to buy or not to buy Freitas ALC, that’s the question now … 🙈🤪

I say buy it! I've been trying it this summer and I'll keep it for the whole season, coming from W968 national (I was trying also the commercial Hurricane Chuqin blade).
It's the first outer blade I actually like: before I stopped playing for some years there was the celluloid ball and I mainly used all-wood blades, when I came back with this ball 3-4 years ago of course the spin and pace was missing so it was a long way here. I really don't like viscaria-like outers for my forehand, but I don't have the same problem with Freitas' racket, and it also couples well with Hurricane. And it's easier to use and activate (a lot easier to activate) than W968 that required me to always be in perfect position.

 

[ToH]

Tibhar BSS1 in ST. Having medium-high hopes for the handle being suitable for me.

I got this in Anatomic. The handle is good for me who prefer larger handles.

 

[Larshos]

I got this in Anatomic. The handle is good for me who prefer larger handles.

Interesting. Have you measured your hand size, for context?

 

[passifid]

Got a XIOM Artemis 89g with 41d H3 and 37d H3 last month as I am not playing much this year and Z03 W968 was too much and I sent a lot of openers long.

 

[ToH]

Interesting. Have you measured your hand size, for context?

I have not. But the thickness is about 24 mm and the width is 29,3 mm. It feels bigger than Butterfly.

 

[biaxialerzug]

Got a Butterfly Strave and Kumpuru in Beijing as I can’t get them in Germany.

 

[Yurifi]

If you do so please let me know how you like it, maybe even compare it to outer alc blades if you can.

bought it, had first practice session with it today. 86g, paired it with Rakza 7 Hard (FH) and Rasanter C53 (BH).

first impressions: similar to Viscaria in terms of speed and vibration, which really nice, but the feel and touch is a tad bit softer, which is great, at least for my game. so far, I like it and prefer it over Viscaria, but have to play more. will probably try it with D09c next week if all goes as planned.

 

[dingyibvs]

Let us know how is it going. I have also purchased S968

I've now had 2 sessions against the robot and 1 session at the club, with a couple matches and some training. The impression thus far is that the S968 is quicker than the Q968, and it's easier to hit into than both the Q and the W. Maybe it was just the particular Q968 I got, but it was harder to hit into than the W968. While initially I felt the S was more like a Viscaria when I played against the robot, playing against people made me realize that it's still more like a 968, with pretty good dwell on harder shots.

Overall I like it quite a lot. Before this I really just wanted to complete my 968 collection. I wanted something easier to play with than the Q968, and I pretty set on moving to either the FZD ALC or the LJK ADC. Now I'm a bit unsure. The 968's whether S, Q, or W just have a particular feel on FH that's really satisfying, and I was surprised by how much easier it was to play with the S968 than the Q. I may still end up with the middle option and go with the LJK ADC, but the S968 has surprised me.

 

[barusu]

Kokusai Takkyu had some nice discounts that i could buy FZD ALC for 13k¥ (70€, compared to Butterfly Germany 180€ 🥺)

And Nittaku Miyabi Jpen, discounted 30%, back side is not painted so i can try RPB with jpen.

Got some rubbers, were also discounted for 20%: Blastac, Mantra Sound, and Feint Long 2.
I wanna try TPB chop blocking near the table using long pips on my 08X cpen 😁

 

[Füty Imre]

bought it, had first practice session with it today. 86g, paired it with Rakza 7 Hard (FH) and Rasanter C53 (BH).

first impressions: similar to Viscaria in terms of speed and vibration, which really nice, but the feel and touch is a tad bit softer, which is great, at least for my game. so far, I like it and prefer it over Viscaria, but have to play more. will probably try it with D09c next week if all goes as planned.

Thank you for your reply!
My question is does it have a noticeably longer dwell time? Because I’v only been playing with my TB alc for a month now, but I might not fully benefit from the stiffnes even if I fully get used to it, because most of the time I play against less-skilled opponents
(coming from nittaku acoustic with 47,5 hardness esn rubbers)

 

[Yurifi]

Thank you for your reply!
My question is does it have a noticeably longer dwell time? Because I’v only been playing with my TB alc for a month now, but I might not fully benefit from the stiffnes even if I fully get used to it, because most of the time I play against less-skilled opponents
(coming from nittaku acoustic with 47,5 hardness esn rubbers)

dwell time is a bit more pronounced but so far not night and day. also still trying to get the right rubber combo, now I changed rasanter c53 with D09c and will see next time I get to play …

 

[kindof99]

Kokusai Takkyu had some nice discounts that i could buy FZD ALC for 13k¥ (70€, compared to Butterfly Germany 180€ 🥺)

And Nittaku Miyabi Jpen, discounted 30%, back side is not painted so i can try RPB with jpen.

Got some rubbers, were also discounted for 20%: Blastac, Mantra Sound, and Feint Long 2.
I wanna try TPB chop blocking near the table using long pips on my 08X cpen 😁

No import tax in Germany for goods from Japan?

 

[barusu]

No import tax in Germany for goods from Japan?

lucky me i know someone there. I will go to japan later for vacation

if i import it from the shop, i have to pay VAT + duties. thats not fun

 

[Caravenav]

lucky me i know someone there. I will go to japan later for vacation

if i import it from the shop, i have to pay VAT + duties. thats not fun

If you go to Japan, don't forget to search for the famous "BTY Mazunov CS"... good luck and post some pictures!

 

[dingyibvs]

Got my Rxton 9 and LAC, both boosted with 2 layers of regular Seamoon. Very different responses as you can see. Using my Shore C durometer both measures in the 58-60 degree range, similar to H3N BS 40 degree. This checks out as both are listed at 40 degrees.

They're both quite tacky, so I wonder how they compare to hurricanes. I tried the LAC without boosting against the robot (that's why it's already cut) since I've read that it can be used without boosting, and I think that's true. It actually felt quite good already, kind of like H3N orange sponge. Excellent grip, solid speed, though feels as hard as the 40 degrees would indicate. I intended to use it on the BH so I proceeded to boost it. I didn't try R9 without boosting as I've read that it has to be boosted.

I'll be gluing them on my Loki LJK ADC special, R-series, and try them out in thr club tomorrow.

 

[dingyibvs]

Just tried out the LAC and Rxton 9 at the club today. Wow was the LAC impressive! It played really well on both FH and BH, though I think it probably suits the BH a bit better due to its relatively lower throw and higher reactiveness compared to the H3. Now I'm thinking that maybe I should've tried it a bit longer without boosting, as I'm a lot more serious about using this rubber now. Really clear feeling, very nice speed and spin, not quite as dwelly as H3. The blocker also felt it was impressive.

The Rxton 9 was a disappointment. Maybe it needs a bit more time for the booster to kick in, but it felt like a dense, yet somewhat mushy mess. It took an extreme amount of effort to hit into it, there was simply no clear feeling. I'll try it again over the next couple of days, but if it doesn't change for the better I'm gonna slap a sheet of H3 on it.

Also tried out the Seth Pech blade:

I glued D09c and D05 on it. The general feeling is that it reminds me a lot of the Stiga Inspira Hybrid. I'm actually surprised by how much I liked the blade. It's not as much like Viscaria as I thought. Even its head size is a decent bit bigger, and it doesn't feel as stiff and muted as a Vis. It's got good vibrations, is pretty easy to hit into, has a nice arc, and it's also really fast. I think it's a little too fast for me, but it's possible that it was due to the pairing of D09c instead of my usual H3.

I think it's a bit fast for me, but I think it's a good blade.