Suggestion for all-wood flex blade for looping

[Amit Mehta]

I've been playing with my current setup; Jonyer Hinoki with Rasanter c48 on Forehand and Hexergrip on Backhand for sometime and recently noticed that I can generate considerably more spin if I replace my current blade (Jonyer Hinoki) to some all wood blade. The allwood blade that I tried was "Neottec Voodoo Classic". Compared to Jonyer this blade seem more bouncier to me, which I don't like. The other all wood blade that I've used are Stiga allround WRB and Stiga Infinity VPS. Stiga allround is even more bouncier and Infinity VPS has very sharp edges, which is also annoying, hence can you please suggest some all wood blade which is suitable for spin oriented game (I loop almost as soon i get the chance from my forehand) and isn't bouncier. It seems (based on online search on this topic) that a thinner and flexible all-wood blade is suitable for looping. Hence can you please suggest something. Nittaku Violin is very expensive; i'm looking for something under 100 Euros. Please note that I play at quite low level (my Dutch table tennis rating is somewhere around 1100) and hence having a good control is very important to me and I *do* believe that I do not lack power; it's just that It would be nicer if there is something out there, that can help me generate more spin with similar effort.

 

[lodro]

flexy all wood blade ?
Sure, i used to play with Sanwei J7, a seven layer all wood blade that on a good day could be formed into a pretzel. 😁

 

[ZFT]

I would suggest looking at a non-hollowed handle, as the WRB likely moved the centre of balance too far toward the head making you feel Stiga AC was too bouncy.

Check this thread, thank me later.

https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/topics/best-feeling-allround-plus-blade.15610/

 

[z0uLess]

Depends a little what you like. I use Stiga Offensive Classic and have adapted well to it, but a lot of people dont like it. Stiga has another similar flexible blade, allthough I havent tried it, called Celero, which is a bit more quality and nice for beginners I think. I know one dude who plays with Celero and he plays really well with it and uses Donic Bluefire M2 on both sides. I have allready bought an Avalox P500 as my planned upgrade of speed. Havent tried it yet as I am in no hurry to get more speed out of my setup. The handle is more rounded than how the Stiga classic handles are, if you play with ST. Long term, I also plan on trying Stiga Infinity VPS, but this is a big step up in speed and it flexes less than the ones mentioned, allthough the composition is similar. I dont know if you are into using tacky forehand rubbers, but if you are: try Rakza Z. I love flex blades with tacky chinese rubbers (allthough this is a hybrid), but I think that you need to be in good physical shape to play with this and its a lot more tiresome from the thousands and thousands of repetitions you need before your stroke starts to develop into its potetial with this setup.

 

[piligrim]

Sweden Extra

 

[ZFT]

I wonder why Yasaka decided to discontinue the Extra 3D? The (extra!) flex from the 3 slits above the handle would suit very well to topspinning the plastic ball

 

[Scarfed Garchomp]

Xiom Allround S. Xiom handles in general are very comfy if a tad thin

 

[JustANoob]

Xiom Fuga, but only if you can get it 88g+.

or

Xiom offensive S, weight condition remains, between the two depends of you prefer koto top or limba top.

 

[P1ngP0ng3r]

In general, a 5 ply wood blade is by default flexible compared to 7 ply or composite blades.
With a question like this, you will get dozens of names of 5 ply all wood blades. So, I doubt if this will help you at all. In all fairness, the majority of these blades play very similar. Just pick one in the 40 to 60 euro price range and you are good to go. As mentioned in other topics as well, go to a store and hold several blades in your hand. Choose the 5 ply blade which handle feels most comfortable.

 

[Amit Mehta]

Just pick one in the 40 to 60 euro price range and you are good to go

With an answer like this", no one should take you seriously; please stop, you make no sense.

I was hoping I get more objective suggestions, for example, a personal experience based advice from @z0uLess and @ZFT Thank you, that helps. I've one more match in this season and to avoid surprises, I will stick with what I have and after this season, I think, I am going to try Xiom offensive S.

 

[Der_Echte]

Every outfit makes SEVERAL of these type... so it is almost like a mosquito at a nudist colony on this thing... choose any in that class.

 

[Der_Echte]

Hey Next Level, I got that mosquito line from a vid interview I saw with Thomas Sowell.

 

[ejprinz]

I am playing the Victas Swat which is a light/relatively thin 7-ply Limba top blade (85g). It spins very nicely. In general, Limba/Spruce/../Spruce/Limba blades are candidates, and Aneigre top blades. Walnut is a little harder (Ma Lin Extra Offensive). For control the Victas Swat is the best of my 40+ blades.

 

[P1ngP0ng3r]

With an answer like this", no one should take you seriously; please stop, you make no sense.

I was hoping I get more objective suggestions, for example, a personal experience based advice from @z0uLess and @ZFT Thank you, that helps. I've one more match in this season and to avoid surprises, I will stick with what I have and after this season, I think, I am going to try Xiom offensive S.

Oh well....I'm only playing table tennis for about 38 years now and during all this time buying and trying out a lot of blades and rubbers. Not because I'm still looking for that holy grail, but just because it's fun. Also tried many 5-ply wood blades (of which Infinity VPS is my overall favorite btw). I have a Dutch rating mid 1500, so I'm no TT-god myself either. But with all my experience, I dare to say, I understand equipment a bit.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy your new Off S, which is actually a nice basic 5 ply blade (within the 40-60 EUR price range

 

[OldUser]

Maze Advance/ex Performance, man... it's a 5 ply looping machine really.

 

[z0uLess]

Id honestly say that most blades have their plusses and minuses and the main chunk of your level will come from the grind and adapting to the blade instead of an endless search for a blade that adapts to you. I think this is a trap that many people fall into and then never get to fully develop into a particular kind of setup, but I have also seen players with years of experience play with "beginner gear" and have thought to myself that they probably should take a few months to get into a different type of setup to broaden their horizon.

My experiences:
My Stiga Offensive Classic with Rakza Z on forehand is one of the spinniest setups I can think of, but backhand punch is a bit tricky and blocking a powerloop with backhand is difficult because of the flex of the blade. A great strength of this blade for me is that is has clear vibration that gives me loads of feedback on how I am hitting the ball, even with harder tacky rubbers that takes away a lot of the vibration from the wood. Some people feel that it has too much vibration, but for a beginner like me I think its a great way to build a foundation. The blade is definately made for harder rubbers and holds the ball through its flex. I have stuck Mark V on backhand just to be able to control as much as possible with backhand and this gives me a good range to play with because the backhand and forehand rubbers have quite different characteristics.

Some times I wish that I had a stiffer blade with euro rubbers so that I dont have to work so hard with my legs, but when I do get to make a full stroke forehand people often get suprised by the amount of spin I put on a fast ball which kinda looks not that spinny because of its trajectory. The contrast to how the ball acts on my backhand kinda tricks some people up and my backhand serves are short and spinny because the rubber is not as hard while I can load up a very spinny underspin serve with my forehand which looks almost identical to the nospin variation.

 

[Kuba Hajto]

It might be a globally unpopular opinion, but Tibhar Curious could be a solid choice.

 

[Draycott old man]

I'd recommend Butterfly Korbel top quality all wood blade at a very reasonable price!!!