Setup Question Long 5 + Rubbers??

[jk1980]

Have you played with both?

Yes, still got the Dignics 09c on a TMXi (which is also an inner carbon blade) and as you said, i could play with it because in training it might be fun.

What do you mean will make it easier to play shots slightly out of position?

A softer sponge and a softer topsheet will make the ball eject slower from your blade, so that you dont need to have pinpoint accuracy to hit every shot. What i mean by "out of position" is that there might be a ball to the wide forehand that you only can get to by leaping and reaching for the ball. In such situations we tend to not have a very stable swing of the arm and not a secure bat angle when meeting the ball. In these scenarios a softer sponge and topshit will allow you to bring the ball onto the table more often than with the harder sponge who will basically make you hit the net, because the force you could exert in that rescue arm swing was not strong enough to penetrate the topsheet and generate enough friction to send it over.

For me this scenario is most often when i am a little to late to step around. Lets say you play a long pendulum serve cross court and the opponent pushs it long to your backhand. If i am too late to step around or dont step around enough and need to also tilt/twist my upper body away to make enough room for the ball i will hit the net with a harder (+53°) sponge more often then not, while these shots at least clear the net.

Because right now I can also do "weak" drives back to the table when I am out of position.

You will be able to do the "weak" drives just as fine with the Rakza Z, just with less risk of overshooting.

I also dont quite understand how a slower setup is more forgiving when topspinning for example if you can generate less Topspin overall and more topspin == safety over the net. The ball wont fly out faster with a slower setup == enemy has more time to finish the point.

A slower setup does not mean that you generate less speed at all. It could even be the opposite.
The ball curve is a function of spin and speed. With the same spin but more speed the ball curve just gets longer (and less high). A rubber where you are confident to put in 80% or more power into your topspin will be great for your confidence, because then you feel like you can attack everything.

I had one setup that was basically like that, but i put it away for other reasons. For me i think i had the V20 Extra (not double extra) on the Xiom ZL Pro and that combination was so nice and forgiving, because the V20 Extra simply was a "toned" down version of the V20 Double Extra. It was basically just a more forgiving version with a little less tempo which made many shots work even when i put in 70-90% of my power.

It had a lower throw than i wanted and i kind of dislike non-tacky rubbers, so i changed again, but in terms of confidence, such a setup is great.

I don´t lose my game because of my short game. My opponents actually never serve short. Its his topspin opening (my blocking abilities) vs my topspin and his blocking abilities.
Why did I feel such an upgrade from R7 to D09c in my bh game? -> Fh I only felt the advantage in the short game I assume because of the stickiness. In the Topspin game I didnt feel too much of a difference between d09c vs G1(G1 would fly out more)

i would stay with the dignics 09c on the backhand as long as you can cope with it and nobody exploits it as a weakness. I think it might be suited to your backhand, but as you said: if you dont gain from using the 09c on the forehand, you might as well go with something that helps you more.

and i totally agree with the sentiments here that it would be delusional to just get accustomed to the dignics 09c, because even with training, many players much better than us wont be able to succesfully tame that beast in the lower leagues.

 

[Zezima]

Yes, still got the Dignics 09c on a TMXi (which is also an inner carbon blade) and as you said, i could play with it because in training it might be fun.


A softer sponge and a softer topsheet will make the ball eject slower from your blade, so that you dont need to have pinpoint accuracy to hit every shot. What i mean by "out of position" is that there might be a ball to the wide forehand that you only can get to by leaping and reaching for the ball. In such situations we tend to not have a very stable swing of the arm and not a secure bat angle when meeting the ball. In these scenarios a softer sponge and topshit will allow you to bring the ball onto the table more often than with the harder sponge who will basically make you hit the net, because the force you could exert in that rescue arm swing was not strong enough to penetrate the topsheet and generate enough friction to send it over.

For me this scenario is most often when i am a little to late to step around. Lets say you play a long pendulum serve cross court and the opponent pushs it long to your backhand. If i am too late to step around or dont step around enough and need to also tilt/twist my upper body away to make enough room for the ball i will hit the net with a harder (+53°) sponge more often then not, while these shots at least clear the net.


You will be able to do the "weak" drives just as fine with the Rakza Z, just with less risk of overshooting.

A slower setup does not mean that you generate less speed at all. It could even be the opposite.
The ball curve is a function of spin and speed. With the same spin but more speed the ball curve just gets longer (and less high). A rubber where you are confident to put in 80% or more power into your topspin will be great for your confidence, because then you feel like you can attack everything.

I had one setup that was basically like that, but i put it away for other reasons. For me i think i had the V20 Extra (not double extra) on the Xiom ZL Pro and that combination was so nice and forgiving, because the V20 Extra simply was a "toned" down version of the V20 Double Extra. It was basically just a more forgiving version with a little less tempo which made many shots work even when i put in 70-90% of my power.

It had a lower throw than i wanted and i kind of dislike non-tacky rubbers, so i changed again, but in terms of confidence, such a setup is great.



i would stay with the dignics 09c on the backhand as long as you can cope with it and nobody exploits it as a weakness. I think it might be suited to your backhand, but as you said: if you dont gain from using the 09c on the forehand, you might as well go with something that helps you more.

and i totally agree with the sentiments here that it would be delusional to just get accustomed to the dignics 09c, because even with training, many players much better than us wont be able to succesfully tame that beast in the lower leagues.

Ok thanks for the explanation makes more sense now!

I think I will stick with this setup for now not changing anything till the first half of the season is over (2nd December) Then I will watch my videos from the first games and end of season games. And just write down my mistakes (fh side /bh side what kind of shots etc.) And then I will decide to change the rubber. My little brother bought the japanese version of Petr Kobel 5ply wood blade. I will try that blade aswell and see if I play better with it. We will put different rubbers on it though. He wants a gewo hype kr 47.5 on the bh. Fh he is not so sure (he has played only for 3 years) so we might buy the Rakza Z to give that rubber a shot aswell.
For me I just want to get closer and closer to my "ideal" setup. Right now it feels like I get better because of training aswell so its hard to pinpoint which direction I need to go with the equipment.

End of december I will be in a trainingscamp in germany for 4 days. So before then I want to have decided on my new setup (if I get a new one) for the 2nd half of the season. My goal is to finish the season in Top 5 and that we as a team get promoted to the highest league in our county

 

[Zezima]

Backhand:

<- only placed it bad and I think I could have looped it with more spin

https://youtu.be/_fLhJTyTs-w?t=330 <- active bh stroke in the end which nets me the point
Forehand:
https://youtu.be/kExjeAU1qP0?t=537
https://youtu.be/kExjeAU1qP0?t=544
https://youtu.be/kExjeAU1qP0?t=550
https://youtu.be/kExjeAU1qP0?t=585
https://youtu.be/_fLhJTyTs-w?t=78
https://youtu.be/wubSiP1H6ZE <-Serve receive (want to keep this spin)
https://youtu.be/wubSiP1H6ZE?t=387
https://youtu.be/wubSiP1H6ZE?t=406

Watching these clips make me think its mainly footwork and staying low and committing to the strokes. Also to note is that I feel more pressured in actual games than in training since I play against players closer or above my level while in training I know he is much worse than me..

I found a trainingspartner that is better and can spin the ball hard ( a lefty) from a tournament in a different country (close to me 10min~) so we will be training next week and who knows he might end up my trainingspartner for the future aswell. I will also go to a different club on thursday (sometimes even sundays) to get more exposure to different players.

 

[Tyce]

Sure
But he has no coach and no better training partners so I can't see any way to recommend pushing ahead with D09c when he is struggling with it.
How do you recommend a development strategy for his current setup?
I think that's the question here

True. Need a better environment, too. Depending on how far the drive is that might be costly, too.

 

[Sims]

1) you mentioned fzd alc thats what I meant
2) I am not holding back because of no confidence but because I was not forced to do a "more active" stroke to win the game. I do go for more proactive shots when I feel like my "safe" playstyle is not good enough to win the game

Ok. I had understood you were holding back because the rubber was uncontrollable at full tilt (which is my experience of it) and thought that's why you were asking about H3.

5) As I mentioned earlier short game is not needed.

I don't get this but but it doesn't matter once you're happy with your choices.

And again G1 is bad for shortgame much worse than D09c. I don´t think I will ever go back to G1 again.

👍

We all hold back yes even you in an actual match. It´s just another atmosphere. You are more nervous and more stiff. Lose confidence fast after a missed shot and so on...

I don't hold back in matches at all really.
I find it harder to find opportunities to play some shots but I can really go for it without worrying that the ball will break windows 😂

I would say equipment is bad if you cant open up properly or you get no good feedback on your strokes (you cant tell what went wrong with the shot) Mostly with very fast carbon blades...

Nope its not. Its very slow when you just hold the racket and very fast if your stroke is fast. G1 for example I could just hold the racket and bring the ball back to the table. With D09c I still need to drive the ball forwards otherwise it goes into the net.

You never played with that rubber? Because you are super against it and dont even know its not catapulty at all.

I have played it on the FZD ALC with the T05.
I found it less catapulty than the T05 but still found the short game tricky with it, could be the blade I guess but to me it was a tricky rubber on both counts.
I found G1 less bouncy too though but that was on a different blade again.
In short I didn't like 09c because I couldn't actually use it with ANY consistency and most players I've seen with it have the same issue. Players I've seen thriving with it are at much higher level.
Basically I think it's the wrong rubber but that's just me! 😉
On the other hand you've said you're still unsure about rubbers but from your responses it seems you're determined to stick with it for a while.
In that case you'd better park any doubts you have and go with it 100% and see how it goes.
Best of luck and enjoy the training camp 👊

 

[Zwill]

Hello guys,
I currently play with the Long 5 and since 1 month both sides D09c for the first time. (coming from R7 Bh and G1 FH)

I don´t know if I really make use of these Rubbers especially on the FH I am very very unsure. Even on the Bh I do very slow drives against blocks many times. I rather want to keep the ball on the table then hitting it hard and uncontrolled and lose the point. I am more aggressive in the beginning with the bh but during the rally not so much.

I want to link 3 games from two different days. One against a Player at my level and another who has less points but surprised me a lot with how good his blocks were.


I want to know if I should try https://prott.vip/Product-Details.aspx?productcode=NEOH3provincialblue this for my FH. I got no coach or any better players to train with. So from the 18 games I played so far I lost to 4 who would attack after a single push (14-4). I went 48%WR in my first season in this class 2 years ago. So in a way thats a huge improvement already, but I still feel like I have lots to improve and be more consistent. I actually don´t know how I won so many games so far. Mostly I play to win even if its dirty and from cheap points (letting them attack and miss). I also dont want to pay 160€ for Rubbers every 6month if I don´t even use their potential in real games, at the same time I do want to play with the best rubbers that fit for me. I also made the switch to these Rubbers a month ago and maybe jsut need more practise time with it because I feel it gets better and better (the previous rubbers had more catapult so I need to get used to the balls losing a lot of energy if I don´t play active strokes)

Anyways here are the games From best performing to least performing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kExjeAU1qP0

https://youtu.be/wubSiP1H6ZE

https://youtu.be/kJTF0VNnCHw

TLDR: I am overperforming (expectation wise) but still unsure about Rubbers. Maybe just need more Training and adjustment time? Thoughts?

I watched a few minutes of your play and my first thought was that you don't win points by hitting bombs or outspinning the opponent. You win most of the point just by putting the ball back once more. I think this should be your goal now to put the ball back a few times more and you will win. Dignics is a huge waste of money for you for this game and maybe it even makes you not so comfortable to swing harder. Once you have a stable game and put back many balls you can start to hit a bit harder or pull a bit harder and you will get a lot better. I don't think Dignics will help you at this. Maybe once you can hit harder and pull balls harder then Dignics will be more suitable but for now I wouldn't push it...

I think for you something like a Palio The Way on forehand and a Fastarc G-1 or C-1 on backhand would be great. These rubbers work well with the Ma Long 5 blade. Of course you could exchange G-1 with Rozena for backhand or Rakza X or Victas V>15 extra or stiff. These are all pretty durable too.
On forehand you could exchange Palio The Way with Loki Arthur China or Hurricane 8-80 and I bet they would work better than Dignics09c. And these are dirt cheap too especially the Palio, but it's really a good rubber.
Heck at this point you could just order a DHS Fang Bo 2 carbon which is pretty much the same blade as the Ma Long 5 put on the rubbers I suggest and have 2 rackets

 

[joshmak10]

@Zezima if you stick to ur Long 5, just get H3N Blue sponge for FH. You will improve massively. I tried so many different FH rubbers that made me struggle but once I tried H3 I improved so quickly. BH can stick with 09C or if you want smth slower, H3N for sticky rubbers and G1 for tensor rubbers works

 

[K.K]

i really would advice against Hurricane 3 if you not get coached. it is just not worth it with all the hustle of boosting and all. especially for the way you play. you will just confuse yourself even more. hurricane 8-80 i would say yes and rakza z too, but to tell you the hard truth:
it really doesn't matter the way you think it would. i think you are a player that really wants to get better really fast and you post a lot of videos here and get great tipps and this is super good and great and now you noticed that you can also change something with equipment, but i think you need to chill and accept that sometimes process takes really long and stuff you can do in training takes sometimes years to move over to a match situation. just get any decent rubber that was suggested that doesn't cost a fortune (like dignics) and just stick with it! if you learn the right technique you will be able to play mostly every grippy rubber. if you really be serious about that sport then it will actually hinder your process if you start to become a EJ, because you always need to adapt to the new feeling and this trainingsession is then wasted. if you change blades it get's even worse.
if my coach can win against most players in our club with an iphone you will win with your whatever decent bat combination if you just train the right way and have the right strategy and mindset.

 

[Zezima]

Ok. I had understood you were holding back because the rubber was uncontrollable at full tilt (which is my experience of it) and thought that's why you were asking about H3.

I don't get this but but it doesn't matter once you're happy with your choices.

👍

I don't hold back in matches at all really.
I find it harder to find opportunities to play some shots but I can really go for it without worrying that the ball will break windows 😂



I have played it on the FZD ALC with the T05.
I found it less catapulty than the T05 but still found the short game tricky with it, could be the blade I guess but to me it was a tricky rubber on both counts.
I found G1 less bouncy too though but that was on a different blade again.
In short I didn't like 09c because I couldn't actually use it with ANY consistency and most players I've seen with it have the same issue. Players I've seen thriving with it are at much higher level.
Basically I think it's the wrong rubber but that's just me! 😉
On the other hand you've said you're still unsure about rubbers but from your responses it seems you're determined to stick with it for a while.
In that case you'd better park any doubts you have and go with it 100% and see how it goes.
Best of luck and enjoy the training camp 👊

I meant that in my games currently ppl serve long most of the times. I would be very happy actually when they would serve short.

Its weird because I had G1 on my Fh when I first glued the D09c only on my bh. There is no way G1 is less bouncy. But as you said you had it on a different blade aswell. I don´t know the fzd alc.

I am still tempted to try Rakza Z on my FH or any other rubber that would be more forgiving? But then again I am dealing with mostly light backspin/no spin shortish balls that have no energy on them.

Today I trained opening up on long backspin pushes (one of the many drills I did today) Had someone who could block very well. And I just found out that I am so slow for the next Ball especially if he blocked it kind of short (He blocks it off the bounce) He had more problems when I looped with a higher arc but I think thats bad for me to train since it would work only against low level players?

 

[Zezima]

I watched a few minutes of your play and my first thought was that you don't win points by hitting bombs or outspinning the opponent. You win most of the point just by putting the ball back once more. I think this should be your goal now to put the ball back a few times more and you will win. Dignics is a huge waste of money for you for this game and maybe it even makes you not so comfortable to swing harder. Once you have a stable game and put back many balls you can start to hit a bit harder or pull a bit harder and you will get a lot better. I don't think Dignics will help you at this. Maybe once you can hit harder and pull balls harder then Dignics will be more suitable but for now I wouldn't push it...

I think for you something like a Palio The Way on forehand and a Fastarc G-1 or C-1 on backhand would be great. These rubbers work well with the Ma Long 5 blade. Of course you could exchange G-1 with Rozena for backhand or Rakza X or Victas V>15 extra or stiff. These are all pretty durable too.
On forehand you could exchange Palio The Way with Loki Arthur China or Hurricane 8-80 and I bet they would work better than Dignics09c. And these are dirt cheap too especially the Palio, but it's really a good rubber.
Heck at this point you could just order a DHS Fang Bo 2 carbon which is pretty much the same blade as the Ma Long 5 put on the rubbers I suggest and have 2 rackets

I don´t know which game you watched or anything. But its hard to take advice from someone who judges me based of off a couple minutes of gameplay. In matches I play to win. I don´t have to loop every single long ball immediately if my opponent lets me chose a "safer/easier" ball to loop. I play very different if I am under pressure myself and also loop way earlier then.

And you recommend me G1 again when I just wrote that my quality of the balls I play has increased after the switch to d09c. Again its not a rubber I want to go back ever. C1 was very close to R7 when I tested it (trading spin(c1) vs control(R7)).

Rozena is also pretty bad. Rakza X and Victas I havent tried them out so can´t say anything about those rubbers.

So I will play this setup till this half of the season is over. Lets say I buy a Rakza Z for my FH can I just glue it on my blade and if I dont like it put the d09c back on or do I have to wait till d09c is "overused"? I really want to know if I can go more consistent just by changing the rubber. At the end I still think its gonna be how much and how good of trainingspartner I can play against to improve and not the rubbers.

 

[Zezima]

i really would advice against Hurricane 3 if you not get coached. it is just not worth it with all the hustle of boosting and all. especially for the way you play. you will just confuse yourself even more. hurricane 8-80 i would say yes and rakza z too, but to tell you the hard truth:
it really doesn't matter the way you think it would. i think you are a player that really wants to get better really fast and you post a lot of videos here and get great tipps and this is super good and great and now you noticed that you can also change something with equipment, but i think you need to chill and accept that sometimes process takes really long and stuff you can do in training takes sometimes years to move over to a match situation. just get any decent rubber that was suggested that doesn't cost a fortune (like dignics) and just stick with it! if you learn the right technique you will be able to play mostly every grippy rubber. if you really be serious about that sport then it will actually hinder your process if you start to become a EJ, because you always need to adapt to the new feeling and this trainingsession is then wasted. if you change blades it get's even worse.
if my coach can win against most players in our club with an iphone you will win with your whatever decent bat combination if you just train the right way and have the right strategy and mindset.

I mean the other bh rubber I really liked on my old blade was the gewo hype kr 47,5 that was like 2-3years ago. But thats also not that much cheaper.

 

[Zezima]

Also I have to admit that my playstyle is a bit "slow". I don´t topspin hard, because my recovery is bad and I hate losing points to them if they guess it right and hold the racket there only. Thats why I focus on spin first because even if they block I have time to recover and hit the next shot. I do sometimes hit very hard when I pivot and go all in.

Also in Matches I feel like sometimes I want to let them open up and see how consistent they are. Vs Ronny for example I didnt´t want to attack asap because I saw he was doing many mistakes. And if I attacked it was slow and spinny.

I think I wanna keep this playstyle and work on just getting more consistent. Get my footwork better and also find the right distance to the ball during rallys. I also want to work on my blocks after I let them open up and put them under pressure with a well placed block till I get a weak ball back to finish them off.

I am still trying to refine my playstyle and adapt to the players I face. In the training I care about technique and consistency and feeling. During matchdays only about winning.

 

[Zezima]

Yes, still got the Dignics 09c on a TMXi (which is also an inner carbon blade) and as you said, i could play with it because in training it might be fun.


A softer sponge and a softer topsheet will make the ball eject slower from your blade, so that you dont need to have pinpoint accuracy to hit every shot. What i mean by "out of position" is that there might be a ball to the wide forehand that you only can get to by leaping and reaching for the ball. In such situations we tend to not have a very stable swing of the arm and not a secure bat angle when meeting the ball. In these scenarios a softer sponge and topshit will allow you to bring the ball onto the table more often than with the harder sponge who will basically make you hit the net, because the force you could exert in that rescue arm swing was not strong enough to penetrate the topsheet and generate enough friction to send it over.

For me this scenario is most often when i am a little to late to step around. Lets say you play a long pendulum serve cross court and the opponent pushs it long to your backhand. If i am too late to step around or dont step around enough and need to also tilt/twist my upper body away to make enough room for the ball i will hit the net with a harder (+53°) sponge more often then not, while these shots at least clear the net.


You will be able to do the "weak" drives just as fine with the Rakza Z, just with less risk of overshooting.

A slower setup does not mean that you generate less speed at all. It could even be the opposite.
The ball curve is a function of spin and speed. With the same spin but more speed the ball curve just gets longer (and less high). A rubber where you are confident to put in 80% or more power into your topspin will be great for your confidence, because then you feel like you can attack everything.

I had one setup that was basically like that, but i put it away for other reasons. For me i think i had the V20 Extra (not double extra) on the Xiom ZL Pro and that combination was so nice and forgiving, because the V20 Extra simply was a "toned" down version of the V20 Double Extra. It was basically just a more forgiving version with a little less tempo which made many shots work even when i put in 70-90% of my power.

It had a lower throw than i wanted and i kind of dislike non-tacky rubbers, so i changed again, but in terms of confidence, such a setup is great.



i would stay with the dignics 09c on the backhand as long as you can cope with it and nobody exploits it as a weakness. I think it might be suited to your backhand, but as you said: if you dont gain from using the 09c on the forehand, you might as well go with something that helps you more.

and i totally agree with the sentiments here that it would be delusional to just get accustomed to the dignics 09c, because even with training, many players much better than us wont be able to succesfully tame that beast in the lower leagues.

Would this not mean that on "faster" shots the ball would overshoot more? In yesterdays training I could figure out that I can loop with a very slow motion and good arc/spin.

My "bad" habits don´t work with the D09c anymore just holding out the racket while back then with G1 it would still land on the table. But I am like I don´t want to rely on that anyway and learn to do active strokes no matter what.

I also checked the topsheet of the bh rubber I really liked (gewo hype kr 47,5) and it has a soft topsheet appearently.

What are the adv/disadv of those with soft -> hard topsheet rubbers on top of the sponge hardness? I think me personally care more about the topsheet?

I kind of want to give Rakza Z (FH) and the hype kr 47.5 (BH) both in max on my long 5 and see if that setup would work the same or even better for me (more forgiving also much cheaper)

But its gonna be bad in case I want the d09c back on the blade. I think I read somewhere that reglueing changes the properties of the rubbers.

 

[Zezima]

Yes, the standard, commercial long 5 from tt11 (when it was €130)

I haven’t changed my technique, it’s just faster and a bit gives higher arc than H3.

Thinner contact is used when needed like slow spiny openings on dropping balls etc,
otherwise all the time I just try to hit & brush to forward for looping as my coach trained.

Your problem could be related all about timing and positioning.

Do you have the blade 2x? or just once? Currently thinking about getting a 2nd blade. I just have that feeling there might be a better blade suited for me in the back of my head so I have a hard time committing to this blade and buy it again. But then again I wouldn´t even know what I would be looking into. I am able to do any kind of shots I want to do with this current blade. Its just timing and positioning as you said. If I don´t rush and take the balls when its falling I seem to have no problem.

One half of me says you are 28 already and to reach your goal you gotta stick to the same blade and stop thinking about other blades and what ifs. The other me says get a slower blade and give it 2months adjustment time and see if you will make even further progress.

I also want to wait and give that blade what my brother bought a shot (petr korbel 5ply non carbon) I really liked the handle aswell.

With the 2nd Blade I could also test Rubbers like Rakza Z more reliably.

 

[jk1980]

without a second blade you will not be able to pick up the real differences between the rubbers anyways.
I feel that you do appoint much of your winning and progress to the switch of rubbers, while you forget that you compare with results that are 2 years ago and especially the last year in the higher league will probably have had a bigger impact on your learning than the rubbers could

 

[K.K]

if you want to stay with your defending style and your allround play then there is nothing against this. i actually think it is really nice and refreshing, because most beginners nowadays are only playing the same style of offensive game, so i really like that you don't want to push yourself towards something you don't like. but then you really don't need dignics 09c and think your new idea of rubbers is pretty decent!

with the Rakza Z you have something tacky and slower for your forehand to get a good and spinny long serve where the other part can just react with a high loop and then you can control it back, that is also good to block with.
on the backhand a normal grippy tensor where you can lob the ball back from the distance and play your mini-loops or soft open spins. if you liked the gewo hype korea then go for it! vega x or ventus extra could also be two alternatives, where vega x is the spinniest of the 3.

but please don't change the blade again! only go back to your old blade if you change! i got the chance lately to play the Long 5 and it is one of the slowest innerforce blade i know and is really soft, it is way slower then my HAL, so you really don't need to change it. i think it perfectly suits you playing style, soft and controlable but with a carbon layer to get some kick when you are playing your defending lob game from the distance

 

[Aizen]

Do you have the blade 2x? or just once? Currently thinking about getting a 2nd blade. I just have that feeling there might be a better blade suited for me in the back of my head so I have a hard time committing to this blade and buy it again. But then again I wouldn´t even know what I would be looking into. I am able to do any kind of shots I want to do with this current blade. Its just timing and positioning as you said. If I don´t rush and take the balls when its falling I seem to have no problem.

One half of me says you are 28 already and to reach your goal you gotta stick to the same blade and stop thinking about other blades and what ifs. The other me says get a slower blade and give it 2months adjustment time and see if you will make even further progress.

I also want to wait and give that blade what my brother bought a shot (petr korbel 5ply non carbon) I really liked the handle aswell.

With the 2nd Blade I could also test Rubbers like Rakza Z more reliably.

I have some other blades in using order:
Acoustic (SG Handle), Fang Bo Carbon, Long 3, Yasaka Sweden Extra, Stiga infinity, Yasaka Ma Lin Extra Offensive, Stiga Rosewood, Avalox 555, Timo Boll Alc, Primorac Carbon (black tag) etc

I've played with all of them at least 6 months. I'm using FB carbon and Acoustic as backups.

If you ask my opinion, don't bother with other blades HL 5 is just sweet spot, especially, you plan to use Chinese or Hybrid. Don't waste money and time.
As I saw, you don't have much struggle in short game at matches, what are you looking for?

 

[Zezima]

@jk1980
You are right in that regard but just by playing idk 20-30 matches a season you don´t magically get any better? Especially if most of the games I lost (in the higher league).
I don´t have those players as my trainings partner.
So should I get the same blade with the same weight again? I wonder if I would feel that difference if the blade was 85g instead of 90g but then again it wouldnt be the same..


@K.K
I really don´t know what to do. Watched my game vs Ronny (he played many years in the higher league) and he struggled a lot when I looped with my FH even though they were not rockets.
Also what about the glayzer09c if I should try something slower for the FH? Wasn´t that the rubber if D09c is too fast you?

And yeah I guess I will stick to the same blade. I do really like the soft touch. I also liked the hype kr 47,5 because of the soft topsheet. But either way I will give myself 1 more month and then decide if I really want to change the rubbers. Maybe the Long5 will be on sale somewhere then and then I can test some different rubbers on it.

I wouldn´t say my Playstyle is defending lob game.

This point explains it quite well how my "defending" looks like. Most halls have very small playing field so I don´t want to stick to this actually. Even in this game not sure which point it was I stepped over that guys foot when I was pivoting and using my FH attack.

I just feel like sometimes I loop and then stay close to the table. The ball doesn´t come into my hitting zone and then I gotta return the ball weak and then my goal is just bring it on the table. Still need to practise the right distance and overall recovery after my shots and going back into half distance so I can loop again. But its not easy if in Training my first loop gives me straight a point. But As I said I am going to train in 2 other clubs so I get some exposure to different players even if they might not be better than me in terms of rating it should help me get better.

 

[Zezima]

I have some other blades in using order:
Acoustic (SG Handle), Fang Bo Carbon, Long 3, Yasaka Sweden Extra, Stiga infinity, Yasaka Ma Lin Extra Offensive, Stiga Rosewood, Avalox 555, Timo Boll Alc, Primorac Carbon (black tag) etc

I've played with all of them at least 6 months. I'm using FB carbon and Acoustic as backups.

If you ask my opinion, don't bother with other blades HL 5 is just sweet spot, especially, you plan to use Chinese or Hybrid. Don't waste money and time.
As I saw, you don't have much struggle in short game at matches, what are you looking for?

I don´t know whenever I give my blade to someone else they act like your racket is super fast. I don´t even feel the ball etc. And that makes me think like maybe I should go slower myself so I do more controlled shots?
My brother had bought the primorarc carbon TC5000 or something the fastest blade I think it was. And he was like this feels the same as that one blade just with a softer feeling x)

@Aizen Dont you have the same blade again as a backup too?


@Edit: I guess I just needed a reality check and get some confidence back for my current setup that nothing is wrong with it or something is a big problem and I should make the switch.

 

[Aizen]

I don´t know whenever I give my blade to someone else they act like your racket is super fast. I don´t even feel the ball etc. And that makes me think like maybe I should go slower myself so I do more controlled shots?
My brother had bought the primorarc carbon TC5000 or something the fastest blade I think it was. And he was like this feels the same as that one blade just with a softer feeling x)

@Aizen Dont you have the same blade again as a backup too?

Yeah, I hear the same but don't bother IMO. No way, HL 5 can't be fast as Primorac Carbon. Best option you may go is Acoustic like 5ply soft blade, but I don't think even it will improve your game drastically.

I wish I had W968, I was thinking to buy Q968 prov. as backup (vice-versa) but no budget for that.
Fang Bo carbon is almost identical with only thinner handle and cheap option for backup.