W968 alternative

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I've been playing my W968 letter for over a year now. The longest period without EJing on blade 😂😂😂

I paid $250 for a second hand one. On the first day I put 3 layers of Nittaku protector on each side. But the splinting issue is still quite obvious. I just feed like my $90 Victas has much better finish than W968.

When this blade dies of splinting, any used one will cost $350+. So I am looking for alternative.

FH H3 blue sponge 41 degree. BH 09C. What I like about W968:
  1. Amazing short touch
  2. The springy catapult effect when looping hard in far distance

Do you know any blades from reputable brands (Butterfly, Nittaku or Victas) have inner ALC blades with similar properties? Personally I dislike the handles of all Innerforce 😓
 
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Vodak Miroslav Hořejší ALC EnTech (https://vodak-dreva.cz/en/off/163-2...andle-straight/41-kind_of_wood-wood_al_carbon) is the same construction. It's a little bit thicker at 6.1mm, so possibly a bit more linear than W968. Vodak's quality is simply unsurpassed though - at least in my view.

If you're set on a more 'mainstream' option, then isn't the new Xiom TMXi a very similar construction? I see it's on special at TT11 this week: https://www.tabletennis11.com/other_eng/xiom-tmxi

Thanks. I like the nostalgic and simple look of the Vodak blade.

I read up on Xiom TMXi. The price is so much lower than most ALC blades. How does Xiom's fibre compared to the mainstream ALC? Where is the blade manufactured?

 
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Nexy's Yoo Nam Kyu blade is trying to be a pretty much a W968 copy too. It has 2 versions with different head sizes.

Xiom's high end blades are Korean and they claim to use Japanese fibers.

As a curveball suggestion many top players switched to W968 from Carbonado 45. Now sure this would immediately mean that W968 is superior, but then again the Carbonado 45 cannot be too different either.
 
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I read that the Xiom TMXI "Pro" version is the one supposedly closest to W968 (not widely available yet) as opposed to the standard TMXI (non Pro).
 
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Gan liked Athletico Power too. Bigger question is, why are you looking for something different when you already have THAT something that you're looking for?
At the end of the day the journey would go like W968>some alternative blade "oh this is similar but it doesn't have xyz">maybe i should go back to w968> buys another w968, "Wow, why did I even want to switch, w968 is great!"

I felt like this when I wanted to switch from chinese to tensor, but once I came back to Chinese rubber it felt like the Prodigal Son haha
 
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Gan liked Athletico Power too. Bigger question is, why are you looking for something different when you already have THAT something that you're looking for?
At the end of the day the journey would go like W968>some alternative blade "oh this is similar but it doesn't have xyz">maybe i should go back to w968> buys another w968, "Wow, why did I even want to switch, w968 is great!"

I felt like this when I wanted to switch from chinese to tensor, but once I came back to Chinese rubber it felt like the Prodigal Son haha
That’s a good question.

I like the W968 handle. I like the performance and feel.

I just feel the quality is low for a used $300 blade.

I actually don’t mind paying $400 if it guarantees Butterfly quality with W968 feel. There is no guarantee that the national version is any better in quality.

 
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I own two numbered version w968 no1. And to my feel I think XIOM TMXi is a close choice, but you definitely need some getting used to. Yasaka Athletico resembles w968 more than TMXi , so I’d recommend you try that first, and it’s a lot cheaper than w968 and TMXi. Btw I have one like new in box for sale if you are considering one. Another choice is get SDC Blades to make you one, he made me two w968 clones that feel almost the same at about 1/8 the price, good deal.
 
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I own two numbered version w968 no1. And to my feel I think XIOM TMXi is a close choice, but you definitely red some getting used to. Yasaka Athletico resembles w968 more than TMXi , so I’d recommend you try that first, and it’s a lot cheaper than w968 and TMXi. Btw I have one like new in box for sale if you are considering one. Another choice is get SDC Blades to make you one, he made me two w968 clones that feel almost the same at about 1/8 the price, good deal.

Which one has the largest handles?

 
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I’d suggest you try the xiom TMXi (pro). Again it’s the pro model not the regular TMXi. The one with red lenses. Some differences between them are pro has larger Handel, bigger head size, and it is said by xiom that pro grade hardwares are used on pro model which means they will have better quality overall compare to regular tmxi. It’s evident because you can tell by just looking at the surfaces of those two blades. The wood surface on pro is more evenly distributed and tends to have better quality. The next thing is pro has thicker outer veneers and thinner core whereas regular has thinner outer veneers and thicker core. That means pro will be closer to w968. An Jaehyun himself uses w968 previously and now he’s using TMXi. to note is that his racket is special just like any other pros’ from other sponsors. But AJH said in an interview that the pro model is really close to his special racket.To wrap up, pro has better qc, more handpicked by xiom, thicker handel, bigger head size, more pricy, has thinner core and thicker outer veneers and more likely to be closer to w968. Plus the handle design looks cool too xdSorry if my comment has been quite long. I’ve been collecting as much data and info as possible about this blade since the time AJH was using xiom prototype blades. Here in US, at xiom store pro cost $300 but at ttstore.us it cost for around $240. Hope this helps you to an extent:)
 
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