Tibhar Drinkhall Allround & Offensive Classic Blade Review

[Dan]

Hey all,

Below is my latest review with Paul Drinkhall looking at his new blades, the Tibhar Paul Drinkhall Allround & Offensive Classic Blade Review.

Myself and Paul both alternated the blades throughout the review using the Tibhar Evolution MX-P rubbers on both sides.

We hope you enjoyed this review, let us know what you think by posting below guys. Have you tried any of the blades from Paul Drinkhall's range yet?

Stay tuned for our upcoming review with Paul looking at his Carbon blade.

More reviews
Drinkhall all round classic reviews: http://www.tabletennisdaily.co.uk/equipment/blades/11066-drinkhall-allround-classic
Drinkhall Offensive Classic reviews: http://www.tabletennisdaily.co.uk/equipment/blades/11067-drinkhall-offensive-classic

 

[Paul Drinkhall]

Thanks to Dan and TableTennisDaily for reviewing two of my three signature blades with me, we had a great time making the video - Dan taught me that last shot there at the end, the behind the back super smash, I owe it to him ;-)

 

[Kaiwen]

Is that the Samsonov stratus carbon the real choice of Paul for play every days please?

 

[TTHopeful]

Nice review, looking forward to the Carbon review. Is there a great difference between the offensive and the all round?

 

[Ilia Minkin]

Watched the review just to watch how a top player plays in a "casual" setting. Awesome

 

[anchorschmidt]

Wow, it's much more apparent how good the pros are when they are filmed at this angle. The overhead angle slows the game down a bit Paul's strokes looked deadly and refined. I would really struggle just blocking them, forget counterlooping . I wonder what Wang Liqin's forehand would look like at full speed from this angle.

 

[Paul Drinkhall]

Is that the Samsonov stratus carbon the real choice of Paul for play every days please?

Hi Kaiwen, I was playing with the Samsonov Stratus Carbon when I first signed to TIBHAR, now I'm using my own TIBHAR Paul Drinkhall Power Spin Carbon blade. Me and Dan will be reviewing it soon!

 

[Paul Drinkhall]

Nice review, looking forward to the Carbon review. Is there a great difference between the offensive and the all round?

Hi TTHopeful, yes the difference is quite big, the Offensive is faster and has a different feeling. The Allround is really nice to play with as it is a little slower and you get so much control due to the increased dwell time of the ball on the blade!

 

[Paul Drinkhall]

Wow, it's much more apparent how good the pros are when they are filmed at this angle. The overhead angle slows the game down a bit Paul's strokes looked deadly and refined. I would really struggle just blocking them, forget counterlooping . I wonder what Wang Liqin's forehand would look like at full speed from this angle.

I wouldn't mind seeing Wang Liquin's forehand from this angle either Anchorschmidt ;-) One of the most deadly strokes in the history of the game!!

 

[anchorschmidt]

I wouldn't mind seeing Wang Liquin's forehand from this angle either Anchorschmidt ;-) One of the most deadly strokes in the history of the game!!

Wasn't just the deadliness of your strokes, it was also the unpredictability. I had no idea that you were going to play that forehand stroke down the line at 1:35 after you had been looping to Dan's forehand or that Backhand at around the 2 minute mark that you also played down the line. Are you constantly reading the body language of your opponent during a rally? For my level it's sufficient to just concentrate on where the opponent is and what is racket angle is.

 

[Liten]

Yeah. Struck me as well, you look like a real machine in the drill-sequenses Paul! In the flicks and drive-shots, real unpredictable. Great vid!

 

[Reaper]

quick question, the tag on the handle is a lens or is it made of metal? or a sticker?

 

[Dan]

quick question, the tag on the handle is a lens or is it made of metal? or a sticker?

Hi Reaper, it is plastic I have attached a photo below. The lens sits around half a mm below the edge of the handle, fits well.

 

[Dan]

Hi all,

I've just got back from shooting footage with Paul Drinkhall on the upcoming Drinkhall Carbon Blade Review. It is incredible how much speed and spin Paul gets on the ball. I also on a few occasions I really felt I had won the point, however he just returns it with ease!

We also did some fun stuff looking forward to showing you. A very nice blade indeed!

 

[Kaiwen]

Hi Kaiwen, I was playing with the Samsonov Stratus Carbon when I first signed to TIBHAR, now I'm using my own TIBHAR Paul Drinkhall Power Spin Carbon blade. Me and Dan will be reviewing it soon!

Thanks Paul

 

[Paul Drinkhall]

Wasn't just the deadliness of your strokes, it was also the unpredictability. I had no idea that you were going to play that forehand stroke down the line at 1:35 after you had been looping to Dan's forehand or that Backhand at around the 2 minute mark that you also played down the line. Are you constantly reading the body language of your opponent during a rally? For my level it's sufficient to just concentrate on where the opponent is and what is racket angle is.

Hi Anchorschmidt, Of course you try to disguise your strokes to give your opponent as little time to react as possible. Yes it's something that I practiced a lot many years ago and still do to this day, things like backhand to backhand switch and irregular footwork drills help to develop this!

 

[Killerspintt]

Nice review and very fair price for those two blades.

 

[vvk1]

I was asked to make up a bat for one of the new players at my club yesterday. The blade is Paul Drinkhall Classic FL and rubbers - BTY Shriver.

The blade looks and feels well made, no rough edges or surfaces anywhere. The edges near the handle are not sanded off, but they don't feel sharp nor bite into the hand. I wouldn't bother with sanding them on this blade (compare that with Stiga Ebenholtz or Xiom Vega Pro where you're better sand off the edges or prepare to grow blisters).

The handle's surface is "grainy" (see above pics), not as smooth as, say, on a BTY Viscaria or an Adidas Hypertouch. But when one holds the bat, you almost don't feel the grain. The handle's shape is standard FL shape, almost identical to Adidas Hypertouch.

Once the rubbers were glued on, the bat felt very well balanced and not heavy at all. I did not play with the bat yet, but based on a couple of bounce tests, it seems to have excellent control, and a decent sweet spot. Does not seem to vibrate a lot, unless you really hit close to an edge. Looping a ball across the room exhibits a sweet medium high arc

Based on first impressions, this is probably not the worst setup for an allround player.

 

[Mar5kid]

So how would you choose between the Drinkhall offensive and PowerWood ?

I was thinking of getting the Powerwood blade but now confused by Special offer for Tibhar Drinkhall Allrounder Classic with Q5 VIP rubber at only £65.

https://bribartt.co.uk/product/tibhar-drinkhall-xmas-vip-bat/

I think my decision would have been easier if it was the DrinkHall Offensive blade in the offer. I lean towards offensive forehand and a good combination of both speed and control is preferred.

 

[NextLevel]

So how would you choose between the Drinkhall offensive and PowerWood ?

I was thinking of getting the Powerwood blade but now confused by Special offer for Tibhar Drinkhall Allrounder Classic with Q5 VIP rubber at only £65.

https://bribartt.co.uk/product/tibhar-drinkhall-xmas-vip-bat/

I think my decision would have been easier if it was the DrinkHall Offensive blade in the offer. I lean towards offensive forehand and a good combination of both speed and control is preferred.

Send a quiet email asking to Bribart and don't tell anyone what happened until 6 months or more later.