I've got one of these - the 5 wood 2 carbon version. It's a lot of fun to use, and I often think about using it seriously (meaning local league level). I did have to use it for one match after I broke my main blade, and it was the only spare I had in my bag. Won my matches with it, but it was a mad experience. Things worth noting:
- The 5w+2c version I have is VERY fast. There is an all-wood one available as well, so that might be more sensible.
- The forehand side is awesome. You have a massive range of bat angle adjustment. Brilliant for close-in loop/drive. Was excellent with Skyling TG3, and would probably suit most chinese rubbers.
- The backhand side is strange. Coming from shakehand, a big adjustment in technique is needed. It feel a bit like a penholder's RPB stroke. Loop and hit are OK, pushing and chopping feel very awkward. Would need to work on this.
- Can be a bit confusing when receiving a ball to the cross-over point. Hard to cover the hip with the backhand side. Best to move and use the forehand for as much as you can. Again, similar to a penholder's game I suppose.
- Serving requires a lot of thought. I found it difficult to use most of my current serving options.
- Hard to fit rubbers to the blade face. If I'm honest, this is the main thing which stops me using this blade. Regulations say that the rubber logos should be visible, but it's very hard to avoid cutting the logos off the rubber when fitting to the blade. Especially on the backhand side. I don't want to have to pick rubbers based on how they have the logos printed on them!
I do toy with the idea of having a custom blade maker (Ross Leidy?) produce a similar blade. A similar grip layout, but with a regular blade face shape. I think Yasaka had a pistol design like this many years ago, so it's possible to do. And like I said, it's a lot of fun to use!
