Ultimate 7-ply all-wood blade for offensive power looper?

[Larnus]

Ultimate 7-ply all-wood blade for offensive power looper? Stiga/Nittaku?

Hi,

I am a fast offensive power looper who likes to play near to mid table position. I am currently using Rosewood V, which I really love for its control and lovely spin - and generally decent power, however, I wished I had a bit more speed.

On the forehand I often alternate between Xiom Tau, Xiom China and sometimes DHS Hurricane 3; although I'm mostly settled on Tau (for sheer power, awesome spinny serves, and silly dangerous dippy loops). On the backhand I've started having great success with Donic Baracuda.

I'm looking for a faster blade which will give me the extra zip I need for stronger blocks (RW5 is a bit weak here), less tiring loops, close to the control of RW5, decent spin and 20-30% more speed i.e. close to carbon but with more feel/dwell time.

I am considering the Ebenholz VII, Rosewood VII and Clipper CR from Stiga. I also have a huge soft spot for Nittaku as I almost exclusively played with their blades 10-15yrs ago and loved their feeling - but have found it increasingly difficult to locate their blades (and reviews!) where I was living in China, which is easier now with Ebay - and moving to Hong Kong etc..!

Of the above I've only used Rosewood VII - which my coach has lent me for a few weeks and I actually like it quite a lot - the speed is just right, control is similar to RW5 but it's a bit too hard to use with Xiom Tau (now difficult to lift backspin over the net, especially when flicking - therefore I've been forced to mostly use Vega China which is a bit slow for my liking). Unfortunately, Stiga have decided to jack up their prices for hardwood blades by around $30-$40 in the last few months on Dandoy - which breaks my $100 limit (about to have a kid - so pennies matter!). A friend is offering their Ebenholz VII a very attractive price, but I hear it's even harder than RW7 and even lower throw. Is clipper CR right for me? Will I find the extra power I need there?

In the Nittaku camp, I can only dig up reviews of older 5-ply blades like Acoustic, Violin and the very old septear - all which I imagine will be too slow especially for the new ball. Any one have experience some of the hot new Nittaku 7-plies like the cheaper barwells, Ludeacks etc?

Also, as an aside which is Nittaku handle is thicker - FL or ST? I used to play with their AN handles, but I don't think they have blades with that any more.

Cheers for any help you can give me! I'm also open to other suggestions.

 

[XariuzCruz]

Why is it a must with 7 ply? I think you might need to train more to compensate it.
Tau works best with 5 ply? It's a shame as last time I put it on a stiff arylate carbon blade and it works sucks =.=lll

 

[Larnus]

Why is it a must with 7 ply? I think you might need to train more to compensate it.
Tau works best with 5 ply? It's a shame as last time I put it on a stiff arylate carbon blade and it works sucks =.=lll

I know quite a few coaches (who teach top 50 here) in Hong Kong and they say I quite powerful - although we are comparing against with other Chinese locals rather than mammoth Europeans. I want the higher speed for blocking, and to have similar speed without requiring so much movement - as I've started to wreck my back a bit.

Rosewood V which I use is already quick for a 5-ply blade - so faster blades are generally 7-plies.

I really don't think Tau is suited for carbon blades - I've put it on a Donic Ovtcharov CarboSpeed and Yinhe Carbon blade - and it's next to impossible to loop due to the uber hard sponge - even with the spinny surface!

 

[agold]

I'm know quite a few coaches (who teach top 50 here) in Hong Kong and they say I quite powerful - although we are comparing against with other Chinese locals rather than mammoth Europeans. I want the higher speed for blocking, and to have similar speed without requiring so much movement - as I've started to wreck my back a bit.

Rosewood V which I use is already quick for a 5-ply blade - so faster blades are generally 7-plies.

I really don't think Tau is suited for carbon blades - I've put it on a Donic Ovtcharov CarboSpeed and Yinhe Carbon blade - and it's next to impossible to loop due to the uber hard sponge - even with the spinny surface!

I think you would be well of with Ma Long 3. 5-ply, but tons of power and spin, according to most users. 150 USD on ttnpp.com. That's the cheapest place.

 

[XariuzCruz]

I'm know quite a few coaches (who teach top 50 here) in Hong Kong and they say I quite powerful - although we are comparing against with other Chinese locals rather than mammoth Europeans. I want the higher speed for blocking, and to have similar speed without requiring so much movement - as I've started to wreck my back a bit.

Rosewood V which I use is already quick for a 5-ply blade - so faster blades are generally 7-plies.

I really don't think Tau is suited for carbon blades - I've put it on a Donic Ovtcharov CarboSpeed and Yinhe Carbon blade - and it's next to impossible to loop due to the uber hard sponge - even with the spinny surface!

So Tau really works best on 5 ply? DAMN IT I'M GONNA TRYYY!!!!!!

Can you let me know which rubber you're going to use for your new 7 ply?

 

[Larnus]

So Tau really works best on 5 ply? DAMN IT I'M GONNA TRYYY!!!!!!

Can you let me know which rubber you're going to use for your new 7 ply?

If whatever blade I choose is soft enough I'm going to continue using Tau, otherwise I will revert to using Vega China until Hurricane 8 comes out (my vendor says it's scheduled for the end of next month - and we have ours on pre-order!). Early reports from China say that H8 is actually fairly close to Vega China - but cheaper (whoopee!).

It's not that Tau won't work with 7 plies - you must have exactly the right technique to power loop. You really need to slightly open the face of the bat to super-whip your elbow up after contact to get enough spin to go over the net. Whereas you normally want to hit the ball more horizontally to get more forward speed/motion. It's just far less forgiving than H3 Neo.

Actually, I've had one or two sessions with my coach's Rosewood VII over the last day or so, and it's definitely a lot more usable with Vega China than Tau on there. No wonder he originally sold me my original slice of Tau (taken from his RW7) after just 3 sessions! If there was a rubber just between China+Tau it would be perfect!

I'm going to slightly contradict what I said about Tau and carbon - the first time I tried Tau it was on a Butterfly Sardius - but I was playing mid-long distance against my coach. I think the super-hard super-fast combo works well here as the ball stays low and fast and doesn't need to loop so steeply over the net. But my main style is close-up, fast and spinny so it wouldn't work for me.

 

[XariuzCruz]

If whatever blade I choose is soft enough I'm going to continue using Tau, otherwise I will revert to using Vega China until Hurricane 8 comes out (my vendor says it's scheduled for the end of next month - and we have ours on pre-order!). Early reports from China say that H8 is actually fairly close to Vega China - but cheaper (whoopee!).

It's not that Tau won't work with 7 plies - you must have exactly the right technique to power loop. You really need to slightly open the face of the bat to super-whip your elbow up after contact to get enough spin to go over the net. Whereas you normally want to hit the ball more horizontally to get more forward speed/motion. It's just far less forgiving than H3 Neo.

Actually, I've had one or two sessions with my coach's Rosewood VII over the last day or so, and it's definitely a lot more usable with Vega China than Tau on there. No wonder he originally sold me my original slice of Tau (taken from his RW7) after just 3 sessions! If there was a rubber just between China+Tau it would be perfect!

I'm going to slightly contradict what I said about Tau and carbon - the first time I tried Tau it was on a Butterfly Sardius - but I was playing mid-long distance against my coach. I think the super-hard super-fast combo works well here as the ball stays low and fast and doesn't need to loop so steeply over the net. But my main style is close-up, fast and spinny so it wouldn't work for me.

According to almost all Chinese website, Tau (or even something similar to Hurricane)is not suitable for something 7 ply or composite. The best combination is with 5 ply all wood flexible blade because it provide more dwell time for a hard rubber. I think you should still use your RW5 instead. If me, I wont change because it feels good when you sweat after a good match/training!

 

[Larnus]

I thought some might find the conclusion to my quest useful. Being a strong power looper, but getting close to 40 with back issues, I was looking for a spinny and fast setup - with great control (better than carbon).

After a year of going through different setups I finally found what I've been looking for. At first I bought a Nittaku Ludeack Power, but I found despite it's control, it licked a bit of Oomph - and lots of defensive balls popped up, due to the blade's flex/softness. So I had to try something else; as I love the feel of RW5, I tried its big brother RW7 - which is basically carbon speed but all-wood control/dwell. However, tacky rubbers like my usual Hurricane 3 Neo or Xiom Vega China gave me huge problems. The stiffness of RW7 compared with RW5 caused a much lower throw angle, and I kept netting the ball. As I was trying to adjust, it just felt like my strokes were getting exaggerated when trying to compensate with brushing.

I then turned to getting a slightly higher throw rubber, with faster speed but with enough gears/hardness to keep short balls short, and spin to maintain my strong serve advantage. I went for Xiom Omega IV Pro - and what a great decision! It's so fast when you want it to be, and yet so short with just a gentle touch. It's also pretty spinny - if I screw up and loop into the net/barrier - I can still hear the spin for 2-3 seconds flush again the material. The control on RW7 really compliments the all-around gears of Omega Pro; although it did take 3-4 weeks to get used to the increased speed. In my club I'm known for my speed, but everyone noticed the extra zip with the upgrade - especially my backhand punch. It's astounding the difference in control the RW7 has compared to my carbon blades - as my Yinhe T9/Donic Carbospeed are great on attack mode - but just can't keep pushes low/short.

I found I had some problems with fast chop serves and dead balls on backhand, and tried out the much softer Vega Europe on BH, which returned loops more easily over the net while noticeably lightening the blade. It's also helping me develop a deadly banana flip. So far I can curve shots 12-18 inches horizontally - so fun!

My Beautiful Rosewood VII
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On the flipside - Serves and loops are a touch little less spinny, and I can't generate those vortex-like H3 dippy loops - but a little more wrist/elbow snap solves the first two issues.

The new setup also opened up shots I never had before, such as fast blocks, and fast chop serves to the baseline; allowing me to beat more players than before. I also need far less force to generate speed than before, so I don't need my back brace (btw it's a great brace for lower-back pain, although a touch tight on the diaphragm) most of the time.

So my goal of getting a faster blade, for less physical effort to reduce back-pain has ended in success. In the end I had to overhaul all my equipment and adjust my game, but it's been really worth it. XariuzCruz, was right about 7-ply being difficult with Chinese rubbers, although 7-ply Ludeack seems to be an exception. Hope this helps somebody else out too!

I held off getting RW7 for 2 years, due to the expense and tried a bunch of stuff in between. I think it's important to know what you're trying to change, and if you get new equipment - persevere with it. Quite often it requires technique adaptation and a bit of custom tweaking - or you'll be forever searching. I almost sold my RW7 before I decided to try new rubbers, and it worked out well!