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Played with a Stiga Carbonado 145 for about 3 years while I was still developing my techniques, wanting to try out the harder rubbers I decided to purchase a new, softer blade that would allow me to stick on harder rubbers and hit harder.
Ended up getting myself a Xiom Hugo HAL blade, transferring my rubbers Nitakku G-1 on forehand and Tenergy 05fx on the backhand.
Little did I know what was i getting myself into, comparing carbonado 145 to Hugo HAL, although the speed of the HAL was surprisingly only a notch slower, the feeling of hitting the ball was much softer with the dwell time being incredibly long, giving the feeling of the ball "sticking onto my bat" and only bouncing off late into the stroke.
After consulting my local TT shop expert, i decided to stick harder rubbers on the Hugo HAL: Stiga DNA platinum XH on FH and Omega 7 Asia on the BH.
The Hugo HAL with its new harder rubbers played almost completely different. Backhand felt incredible, the harder rubbers coupled with the soft blade gave me the confidence to counter topspin the ball with my backhand, producing a much more pronounced arc as compared to the carbonado's hard blade + soft rubber combo.
For the forehand, the HAL, again being slower, allowed me to hit harder which gave me more control in counter topspinning. The faster carbonado however, gave me the opportunity to dish out higher quality shots with less effort.
After trying out the HAL I realised that equipment is a factor that could really determine one's playing style and techniques. My mistake was switching to a blade that felt too different.
Should I swap back to the carbonado? Stick with the HAL? Or should I try another blade that would be more similar to the carbonado?
Update (To anyone that stumbles across this post and wants to get something out of it):
• It has been about a year since I posted this? Would like to thank ricospin for his reply!
• I ended up sticking with the HAL for a few months before swapping to my current blade, the HL5X.
• I would like to share that I learnt that beginners/developing players should always stick to a slower, medium hardness blade and stick medium-hard rubbers on it.
• Although softer rubbers helps with learning how to loop, harder rubbers provided better "support" and stability when blocking and flat hitting, which are both crucial aspects of the modern game.
• Hence, it would be ideal for a developing player to use a medium-hard rubber that could help with ease of loop, while still providing stability when blocking.
• In turn, the player should also use a blade that is not too stiff. A stiff blade coupled with medium-hard rubbers would impede a developing player's feeling and slow down his/her rate of improvement.
• In summary, I would suggest people start off with a slower all wood blade like TSPW to develop feeling, touch, and the confidence to perform full and proper strokes.
• After the player develops further and his/her opponents get to a point where an all-wood blade becomes too non-threatening, I suggest the player swaps to an inner carbon blade (Innerforce ALC / Hurricane Long 5 / Xiom TMXI) which basically provides the same touch as an all wood blade, but with an added carbon gear that kicks in past medium effort.
Ended up getting myself a Xiom Hugo HAL blade, transferring my rubbers Nitakku G-1 on forehand and Tenergy 05fx on the backhand.
Little did I know what was i getting myself into, comparing carbonado 145 to Hugo HAL, although the speed of the HAL was surprisingly only a notch slower, the feeling of hitting the ball was much softer with the dwell time being incredibly long, giving the feeling of the ball "sticking onto my bat" and only bouncing off late into the stroke.
After consulting my local TT shop expert, i decided to stick harder rubbers on the Hugo HAL: Stiga DNA platinum XH on FH and Omega 7 Asia on the BH.
The Hugo HAL with its new harder rubbers played almost completely different. Backhand felt incredible, the harder rubbers coupled with the soft blade gave me the confidence to counter topspin the ball with my backhand, producing a much more pronounced arc as compared to the carbonado's hard blade + soft rubber combo.
For the forehand, the HAL, again being slower, allowed me to hit harder which gave me more control in counter topspinning. The faster carbonado however, gave me the opportunity to dish out higher quality shots with less effort.
After trying out the HAL I realised that equipment is a factor that could really determine one's playing style and techniques. My mistake was switching to a blade that felt too different.
Should I swap back to the carbonado? Stick with the HAL? Or should I try another blade that would be more similar to the carbonado?
Update (To anyone that stumbles across this post and wants to get something out of it):
• It has been about a year since I posted this? Would like to thank ricospin for his reply!
• I ended up sticking with the HAL for a few months before swapping to my current blade, the HL5X.
• I would like to share that I learnt that beginners/developing players should always stick to a slower, medium hardness blade and stick medium-hard rubbers on it.
• Although softer rubbers helps with learning how to loop, harder rubbers provided better "support" and stability when blocking and flat hitting, which are both crucial aspects of the modern game.
• Hence, it would be ideal for a developing player to use a medium-hard rubber that could help with ease of loop, while still providing stability when blocking.
• In turn, the player should also use a blade that is not too stiff. A stiff blade coupled with medium-hard rubbers would impede a developing player's feeling and slow down his/her rate of improvement.
• In summary, I would suggest people start off with a slower all wood blade like TSPW to develop feeling, touch, and the confidence to perform full and proper strokes.
• After the player develops further and his/her opponents get to a point where an all-wood blade becomes too non-threatening, I suggest the player swaps to an inner carbon blade (Innerforce ALC / Hurricane Long 5 / Xiom TMXI) which basically provides the same touch as an all wood blade, but with an added carbon gear that kicks in past medium effort.
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