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Sanwei recently invited me to review the final blade in their Trio series and I've naturally responded with an immediate, "Yes!" 
⭐
The Echo and the Parla are both very well constructed blades and I've got another penholder friend who's become incredibly efficient with the Echo and loves it greatly (He's paired it with a Xiom Vega Korea on both sides).
The Reson is positioned at the highest end of the Trio and the build quality is certainly up to par!
The Blade
My review unit came in at 88g, which sits squarely within Sanwei's measurements. Pricing wise, this blade is the priciest option in the Trio series but still sits squarely in the affordable range for blades.
Sanwei rates the Reson's speed very similarly to the Parla, at ALL+ / OFF- and states that the Parla is faster due to the Parla's single core having a "higher deformation threshold". They've also said the Reson has a higher amount of flexibility compared to the Parla.
More on the blade, the Reson has a 7 ply all wood structure with 2 Limba outer plies sandwiching (Is that even a word?!) 5 Ayous plies. 3 of those Ayous plies comprises the core of the blade, which Sanwei touts as using it's EVEN Structure™ design to "engage its core more easily, requiring less effort to generate meaningful power".
Build Quality
The sanding throughout is very very well done. The blade's surface is totally smooth and free of loose fibers and holes in the wood and the handle has several lovely shades of brown that complements the rest of the design. The edges are lightly sanded down so they aren't too sharp for players though penholders still need to do the usual sanding work to customise the blade to your grip.
Technical Details
Structure: 7 Ply All Wood (Limba + Ayous + Ayous + Ayous + Ayous + Ayous + Limba)
Weight: 87 (+_ 5g)
Review Setup:
Weight: 88g
Forehand rubber: Sanwei Gear Hyper
Backhand rubber: Yinhe Moon Blue
Glue: 2 layers of Revolution No.3 on both sides.
How Does It Play?
With all the preamble out of the way, we come to possibly the most important question, how does it play?
Sanwei states that the Parla is faster. From my play tests, the Reson is a pretty fast blade and several strokes initially went out of play a bit easily until I made some stroke adjustments to the angle and the timing. Striking the ball hard gives a satisfying amount of speed that's more than sufficient for many amateur players (which honestly, many of us are unless you're playing at or near the top leagues).
The Reson is marketed as a high control blade and my play tests also help confirm that - blocks, forehand strokes, backhand strokes, all landed nicely as I hoped. The blade did feel a bit 'springy', no doubt due to flexibility Sanwei mentions, so you should adjust your strokes accordingly for it. The blade has excellent 'feeling' throughout, as you'd hope from an all wood blade.
I had several friends of various playing levels try out the blade and the only ones who didn't like it all played with really fast carbon blade and bouncy (Read = High Catapult Effect) rubber setups anyway. While my review setup certainly isn't high catapult, there's room for a wide variety of setups for this blade so really it'll depend on your rubber preference. With high catapult setups, you'd likely have to play a bit further away from the table - for context, I play close to the table - to give yourself more margin for error.
All in all, the Reson is an excellent option for players seeking an all wood option that's fast and affordable. I've seen in another thread that the structure is very similar to the Fextra and I'd say this has a much higher build quality.
⭐The Echo and the Parla are both very well constructed blades and I've got another penholder friend who's become incredibly efficient with the Echo and loves it greatly (He's paired it with a Xiom Vega Korea on both sides).
The Reson is positioned at the highest end of the Trio and the build quality is certainly up to par!
The Blade
Sanwei rates the Reson's speed very similarly to the Parla, at ALL+ / OFF- and states that the Parla is faster due to the Parla's single core having a "higher deformation threshold". They've also said the Reson has a higher amount of flexibility compared to the Parla.
More on the blade, the Reson has a 7 ply all wood structure with 2 Limba outer plies sandwiching (Is that even a word?!
) 5 Ayous plies. 3 of those Ayous plies comprises the core of the blade, which Sanwei touts as using it's EVEN Structure™ design to "engage its core more easily, requiring less effort to generate meaningful power".Build Quality
The sanding throughout is very very well done. The blade's surface is totally smooth and free of loose fibers and holes in the wood and the handle has several lovely shades of brown that complements the rest of the design. The edges are lightly sanded down so they aren't too sharp for players though penholders still need to do the usual sanding work to customise the blade to your grip.
Technical Details
Structure: 7 Ply All Wood (Limba + Ayous + Ayous + Ayous + Ayous + Ayous + Limba)
Weight: 87 (+_ 5g)
Review Setup:
Weight: 88g
Forehand rubber: Sanwei Gear Hyper
Backhand rubber: Yinhe Moon Blue
Glue: 2 layers of Revolution No.3 on both sides.
How Does It Play?
With all the preamble out of the way, we come to possibly the most important question, how does it play?
Sanwei states that the Parla is faster. From my play tests, the Reson is a pretty fast blade and several strokes initially went out of play a bit easily until I made some stroke adjustments to the angle and the timing. Striking the ball hard gives a satisfying amount of speed that's more than sufficient for many amateur players (which honestly, many of us are unless you're playing at or near the top leagues).
The Reson is marketed as a high control blade and my play tests also help confirm that - blocks, forehand strokes, backhand strokes, all landed nicely as I hoped. The blade did feel a bit 'springy', no doubt due to flexibility Sanwei mentions, so you should adjust your strokes accordingly for it. The blade has excellent 'feeling' throughout, as you'd hope from an all wood blade.
I had several friends of various playing levels try out the blade and the only ones who didn't like it all played with really fast carbon blade and bouncy (Read = High Catapult Effect) rubber setups anyway. While my review setup certainly isn't high catapult, there's room for a wide variety of setups for this blade so really it'll depend on your rubber preference. With high catapult setups, you'd likely have to play a bit further away from the table - for context, I play close to the table - to give yourself more margin for error.
All in all, the Reson is an excellent option for players seeking an all wood option that's fast and affordable. I've seen in another thread that the structure is very similar to the Fextra and I'd say this has a much higher build quality.
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