What's the worst blade you've ever used?

[ericd937]

I saw this article about the top ten table tennis blades. I found it strange that they included Yasaka Ma Lin Carbon on the list. That was probably the worst blade I've ever tested. Absolutly terrible blade with terrible feeling. Here is a link to the article: https://pingsunday.com/top-10-table-tennis-blades-excellent-quality/#comment-4798

What is the worst blade you've ever tried?

 

[TensorBackhand]

Never question the expertise of EmRatich!

I dont think ive ever tried a blade that I really hated and couldnt play at all. I like every blade in its own way

 

[JJ Ng]

I saw this article about the top ten table tennis blades. I found it strange that they included Yasaka Ma Lin Carbon on the list. That was probably the worst blade I've ever tested. Absolutly terrible blade with terrible feeling. Here is a link to the article: https://pingsunday.com/top-10-table-tennis-blades-excellent-quality/#comment-4798

What is the worst blade you've ever tried?

Ma Lin carbon is not that bad. It is just a slow carbon.

The worst blade was a Juic Chinese penhold blade, rated ALL+, about 20 years ago when Paddle Palace was promoting Juic brand hard in the US. I don't remember the name. I properly purposefully lost that blade about 2 weeks into owning it. That blade was sooooo slow. Every ball I hit went into the net. That was before internet was that popular. I felt....cheated. And the blade was pretty expensive for my college student budget back then.

Now, we have all these forums to seek opinion. I really cannot think of any terrible blades.

I am also a big believer in, at the minimum, OFF- 5-ply wood blade even for beginners. I do not recommend ALL+ blades to anyone. For beginners, you can put a slow, thinner sponge rubber on that 5-ply wood blade to start with. A slow blade, well, that's kiss of death right there.

 

[Scarfed Garchomp]

Yinhe n3. Felt a bit stiff and chunky but not that solid or supportive, small sweetspot, very strange.

 

[Gozo Aruna]

I hate blade that are neither here nor there. Those middle of the road try to be everything for everyone ended up feeling dull and uninspiring.

Example: Stiga Offiensive Classic.

 

[longle]

I think that list is valid, just out of date. Ma Lin YEO, Ma Lin Carbon are both phenomenal blades, but in the old ball era. Now there are a lot of better blades.

 

[Lazer]

I hate blade that are neither here nor there. Those middle of the road try to be everything for everyone ended up feeling dull and uninspiring.

Example: Stiga Offiensive Classic.

Stiga offensive classic dull 😱
It’s a bit slow but definitely not dull.

I was about to get one, but I found an even better option Alser all+. It’s not made anymore but I got 3 of the last ones 😇.

Limba - walnut - ayous 5.9 mm. The middle layer of walnut makes the difference… (I believe).

Cheers
L-zr

Edit: BTW, haven’t found a blade I hate yet.

 

[SFF_lib]

I saw this article about the top ten table tennis blades. I found it strange that they included Yasaka Ma Lin Carbon on the list. That was probably the worst blade I've ever tested. Absolutly terrible blade with terrible feeling. Here is a link to the article: https://pingsunday.com/top-10-table-tennis-blades-excellent-quality/#comment-4798

What is the worst blade you've ever tried?

Ma Lin Carbon was the second penhold blade I used. It has a soft feeling, pairs perfectly with DHS rubbers, great short game and nice control. Your negative experience might be due to rubber incompatibility?

 

[ben1229]

Ma Lin carbon bad? I doubt this writer play TT, if it's bad, how malin won Olympic with it.

 

[Axiom]

The only blade I really gave up on due to the weird feeling/vibrations was the Butterfly Innerforce Layer ALC.S. I'm not sure what it was, but the feedback I got from that blade was terrible. I was using a Stiga Infinity VPS and wanted to try a carbon blade. I chose the ALC.S because it had the same wood layers plus ALC.
Maybe it was the thinness of the blade which made it feel terrible?

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

Ma Lin carbon bad? I doubt this writer play TT, if it's bad, how malin won Olympic with it.

one of the best blades from Sweden and top Yasaka seller for many years..

I prefer YEO more back in the days

 

[ttarc]

I think that list is valid, just out of date. Ma Lin YEO, Ma Lin Carbon are both phenomenal blades, but in the old ball era. Now there are a lot of better blades.

Do we talk about the top 100 players in the world or amateurs?
I'm still using a YEO as my main blade but test different inner and outer blades because the higher level I'm playing the more I'm forced to play further away from the table. That's still doable with the YEO but can be exhausting.
For close to the table style these thicker 5-ply blades are still a viable option today.
Extensive review of both YEO and YMLC: https://ttgearlab.com/2023/07/24/yasaka-ma-lin-carbon-ma-lin-extra-offensive-lab-test-report/

 

[Lazer]

The only blade I really gave up on due to the weird feeling/vibrations was the Butterfly Innerforce Layer ALC.S. I'm not sure what it was, but the feedback I got from that blade was terrible. I was using a Stiga Infinity VPS and wanted to try a carbon blade. I chose the ALC.S because it had the same wood layers plus ALC.
Maybe it was the thinness of the blade which made it feel terrible?

I love that blade, the only reason I'm not using it now is the teenie weenie handle, and it's already too heavy (93g) to put grip tape on...

Cheers
L-zr

 

[Axiom]

I love that blade, the only reason I'm not using it now is the teenie weenie handle, and it's already too heavy (93g) to put grip tape on...

Cheers
L-zr

Yes I forgot about that. Is the handle for the ALC.S the standard butterfly size? I have other Butterfly blades (Innerforce ZLC and Franziska) and they feel more normal compared to the ALC.S from what I remember.

 

[turbozed]

From this thread I wonder if it's common to get a 'dud' blade that plays worse than a typical one of the same model, or if it's completely down to individual preference and rubber synergy.

I've seen high praise for Yasaka Sweden Extra saying it had great feel, but I personally thought it had the worst feeling of any blade I used, and was approaching pre-made levels of deadness.

 

[CCBladecraft]

Definitely my first handmade blade. It was probably 1” thick balsa with some sort of wood backed veneer for the other plies. I couldn’t hit anything with it haha! Oh and there wasn’t even a handle on it because it was already so thick! Terrible lol but now I wish I still had it for a wall piece or something maybe even a flyswatter idk

 

[NextLevel]

From this thread I wonder if it's common to get a 'dud' blade that plays worse than a typical one of the same model, or if it's completely down to individual preference and rubber synergy.

I've seen high praise for Yasaka Sweden Extra saying it had great feel, but I personally thought it had the worst feeling of any blade I used, and was approaching pre-made levels of deadness.

I feel the same way when people talk about the Boll ALC or the Viscaria. The Yasaka Extra does have a good place IMHO amongst 5 plies, but those ALL+ looping blades in general have limited appeal with the ABS balls, I think the seamed ABS balls becoming standard along the lines of the Nittaku Premium reduced the spin focus of the game a bit.

But this is about your personal opinion and it is just as respectable as anyone else's, just as I think my view of the Viscaria is - I thought I was allergic to Koto, but I am playing with the Cybershape Carbon now so...

 

[CallMeZaddy]

Nittaku Gyo-en. That blade has such a bad vibration that it's unplayable for me. I've tried it with multiple rubbers and have experienced that same thing.

 

[Lazer]

Yes I forgot about that. Is the handle for the ALC.S the standard butterfly size? I have other Butterfly blades (Innerforce ZLC and Franziska) and they feel more normal compared to the ALC.S from what I remember.

I don’t know if there is a standard but it can’t be that one, it’s too small.

Cheers
L-zr

 

[mat]

Nitaku Septear Lead
Donic epox control