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Review: BBC Ultima |
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JimT
Premier Member Joined: 10/26/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 14602 |
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Posted: 09/29/2011 at 2:59pm |
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Formal introductions first:
Brand: BBC (Blades By Charlie, www.bladesbycharlie.com) Model: Ultima (or Ultima-7; don't look for it on the website, it's a unique name, (c) ) Class: OFF Handle: FL, 100 mm Weight: 89 g Face dimensions: 159 x 148 mm (about 1 mm less than regular Butterfly dimensions) Thickness: 8.1 mm Plies: 3+2, ie, WRC 1.75 mm + carbon + WRC 4 mm + carbon + WRC 1.75 mm This blade is my custom variant of BBC 9-10-9 (which is built the same way, from the same materials but with thicker outer plies and thinner central ply; specifically 2.25 mm - C - 2.5 mm - C - 2.25 mm). 9-10-9 is a great blade (by the way, it is the only blade from my collection which plays without any problems whatsoever with Palio Thors) but as I played with it more and more I became a bit unsatisfied with its softness in offensive strokes. It also was feeling often kinda mushy with my Palio tensors like PME and Blitz. I also wanted to improve its blocking capabilities, making the blocks crisper and a bit more stable, closer to the amazing blocks by H1P blades like my Darker Speed 90 (however DS90 can be a bit of a pain when attacking on BH, a little too thick for the proper positioning of the fingers, same with BH short game over the table). So I thought to myself if I only could combine best qualities of DS90 with best qualities of BBC 9-10-9 - and I came up with the idea of making it a little thicker (gotta have those blocks!) and its outer layers a tad thinner (keep great control of American Hinoki but make the shots a touch crisper and less mushy in attacks and loops). So this is the result - a hybrid born from my brain and Charlie's amazing blade-building prowess. |
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Single Ply Hinoki Club, Founding Member
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JimT
Premier Member Joined: 10/26/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 14602 |
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Photos:
Now File Manager tells me I have reached my 10 Mb limit... so further pics will have to wait until I resolve this conundrum In the meanwhile see the other pics at https://picasaweb.google.com/JimT2008/BBCUltima |
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Single Ply Hinoki Club, Founding Member
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JimT
Premier Member Joined: 10/26/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 14602 |
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First practice review:
I played about 80 minutes yesterday using Ultima. Here is the brief report Speed: OFF. At least as fast as my main blade Galaxy W-1. However, slower than W-1 in gentle short game strokes, which was to be expected as outer layers of Ultima are soft whereas outer layers of W-1 are not (limba?). Took me 10-15 minutes to adjust to that, but this is familiar for anyone who ever played with H1P blades or thick Hinoki 3-plies like Donic Dotec Waldner Hinoki etc. Generally, Ultima has more gears than W-1 which is not a surprise, really... Spin: due to softness, a tad better than W-1 Control: same reason - better than W-1 but needs some adjustment. Also in short BH game this blade pops the ball more than W-1 - probably due to its thickness my fingers were keeping the blade just 1-2 mm out of proper position. Needs practice! Sensitivity: less than W-1 Short game: seems as good as W-1 when I do the proper pushes and slices. But it is a bit trickier than with W-1, mostly due to the extra thickness. This applies to BH, it seems quite fine on FH Looping: mixed feeling. On one hand, this is certainly a blade which is better than W-1 in flat game. You can feel that looping is a little less comfortable. However, within 30-40 minutes I found myself adjusted and kept on looping without much problem. Ball goes a little further and flatter with Ultima so you gotta be on the lookout for that. Chopping: certainly better on FH. Ball goes lower and shorter. However that means you have to chop a bit harder on low and mid-power chops lest the ball ends up in the net. Also it means you need more tangential motion, less playing through the ball. On the BH it's the same when you adjust the angle. Once again, due to extra 2 mm of thickness you need some time to readjust yourself there. Otherwise you are quite liable to pop up the ball since the blade hits it at the wrong angle. Blocks and flat hits: great! I can gladly attest that in this regard my experiment panned out. Blocking and flat hitting is basically as great as with DS90, and there is almost no sign of that problem I had with Darker because it's so thick that hitting the ball from BH really requires very good angle technique and the wrist must be relaxed and rotating very precisely. You got more of a leeway with Ultima (less than with W-1 of course). Grip: quite comfortable. I had to sand down the top of the handle just a tiny little bit to get rid of the sharp corners but that took me no more than one minute. I also put on a foam 7 mm edge tape from Stiga and a bit of grip tape. More on that soon... |
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Single Ply Hinoki Club, Founding Member
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Carryboy
Silver Member Joined: 05/12/2009 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 723 |
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I would love to see some photo's.
Ultima 7 cool but is there a specific reason for the 7???? |
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Spin Master Carbo Power (Stefan Elsner Custom)
Donic Acuda S1 Max Donic Acuda P1 Blue Max |
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JimT
Premier Member Joined: 10/26/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 14602 |
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7 is there to honor the thickness of the outer layers. BBC 9-10-9 would be Ultima-9. Charlie measures the thickness in 1/100 of an inch (10 thou), so for example 9 means 9 x 0.25 mm = 2.25 mm. Correspondingly Ultima-7 is 7-16-7 (not 7-14-7 as you might think, since I wanted to make center ply as thick as possible while keeping the weight under 90 g) |
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Single Ply Hinoki Club, Founding Member
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sahiggs100
Silver Member Joined: 04/23/2010 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 518 |
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Just the name makes me want to give it a go! Can't wait for your review.
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Blade: Nexy Lissom
FH: Gambler Outlaw Black BH: RITC 802 Short Pips Red Please Don't feed the EJ's! |
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JimT
Premier Member Joined: 10/26/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 14602 |
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I have just updated post #3 - please read the first impressions. Also - added the link to my picasaweb album with the other pictures, see post #2 |
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Single Ply Hinoki Club, Founding Member
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JimT
Premier Member Joined: 10/26/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 14602 |
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Had a second long practice with Ultima. I changed the rubbers (same but newer) and that somehow affected the whole balance. I couldn't get a comfortable grip and my short game and placement shots suffered as a result, especially with BH. So - mixed feelings. By the end of the practice I was much more comfortable, found a better grip and played OK... not great but OK.
Some additions to the review: Throw angle: lower than W-1 on stronger shots; higher than W-1 on BH pushes, especially with tighter wrist. I am not sure why but all the thick blades (Hinoki and Balsa alike) have this extra pop-up property. It probably relates to the fact that the thicker blade is gripped a little differently and gentle push is performed with somewhat less precision. This is however helped by the better control and softness of the Hinoki (WRC) blade so overall more or less a wash, especially if you have had some practice with thicker blades. Blade feeling and flex: On strong hits, drives and loops this combo kicks a$$ better than W-1 and feels harder. The speed of the ball is certainly noticeably (still not by a lot) more than with W-1. Where on W-1 I had sometimes to add some wrist motion to dig the ball out of the court's corner, here I don't really need that. However, sometimes when doing that from BH, due to a tighter wrist, I was liable to pop the ball too much (see description of similar things above). That needs some adjustment. Overall, the blade is certainly less flexible than W-1 (no wonder, there are 2 mm of extra thickness and less plies) but with softer feeling on slow and placement shots. But as I said, in attacks it doesn't feel soft at all. Certainly good warmup could have helped me. Not to mention this was only the second time I played with the blade. I have changed the rubbers - instead of Blitz MAX put Blitz 2.0 on BH (make it a bit more controllable, a litlle less "poppy") and Air Scirocco Speed on FH (just for kicks, to see how it plays). |
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Single Ply Hinoki Club, Founding Member
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JimT
Premier Member Joined: 10/26/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 14602 |
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Played 4 matches with new setup - now that I have gotten more used to the thickness, it played much better, I stopped popping up the ball etc. So by the match #4 I played quite OK - however it was extremely humid and stuffy in the gym (historical building where they are not allowed to install A/C) so my game was not at its best (excuses, excuses)
Anyways, despite the fact that Scirocco did a really good job I am still changing FH rubber back to PME. I want to see how it plays now after a good break-in period. Will report later. |
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Single Ply Hinoki Club, Founding Member
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arg0
Platinum Member Joined: 07/22/2009 Location: Germany Status: Offline Points: 2023 |
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Am I right in thinking that if this blade weren't custom made you'd have rejected it already and would have reverted to your W-1?
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JimT
Premier Member Joined: 10/26/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 14602 |
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You are correct in the assumption that quite often people tend to overestimate the "newness" and "coolness" of their new blades. It is psychological - they have just spend some time and money and they want to justify their efforts and expense, so they are inclined to see the good sides and refuse to see the bad. However, if a player is more or less honest with himself, after some time he can reassess the worth of the new equipment and make a proper decision. Anyways, in my case: W-1 plays at least as good as Ultima in most areas, but when I conceived Ultima in my head, I was trying to create something that will specifically suit my style - therefore I tried to merge best sides of W-1 (control, looping, touch, speed) with the best qualities of Darker Speed 90 (blocks, short game, flat hitting). I am not saying that the result is the ULTIMATE BLADE OF ALL TIMES - I am just claiming that so far I am very much impressed by the fact that purely theoretical assumption that I made (on how to adjust the design of 9-10-9 so that it plays better for me) kinda panned out. Blocks are better, and touch in the FH game is better. BH loops are getting better with Ultima - close to what I could achieve with W-1, so it's mostly a matter of practice now. I have again played with it today for about 90 minutes straight with a very good sparring partner of mine (2100-2200 level player) and I certainly have gotten used even better to Ultima. I think that the return of PME 47.5 to the forehand helped to make it more comfortable for me. I played really well (4-2) and intend to play more (and even better, hopefully) in the coming weeks. I wish I could videotape my game properly (in the club there is simply not enough space to position the camera so it looks at the players at the right angle) so that you guys could take a look... although I believe I would have played almost the same game with W-1 (but sometimes those elusive 5-10% do matter a lot). |
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Single Ply Hinoki Club, Founding Member
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bluebucket
Platinum Member Joined: 02/20/2011 Location: 16 Status: Offline Points: 2882 |
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It's always worth trying a blade, you only have to gain 1 point a game or make two less mistakes and you go up 100 points in rating. Really easy, almost brain dead easy decision to do that with a slower blade but sometimes possible with a more suitable one too
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JimT
Premier Member Joined: 10/26/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 14602 |
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I would not be as bold as to say "always"... first of all, there is a question of money (not for all of us but still); second - trying out different blades and rubbers could really mess up your game as you will be constantly readjusting your technique even if slightly. But once in a while when you feel like you are getting bored with your old trusty setup and if you do not have any important tourneys coming up, why not? |
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Single Ply Hinoki Club, Founding Member
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JimT
Premier Member Joined: 10/26/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 14602 |
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I have played another full week with Ultima - and that's about 10 hours of continuous play.
Here is the more or less finalized impressions: Pros vs W-1 - better block - slightly better flat game - more control in the short game - a little more power in attacking shots - better control on FH block shots, including chop-blocks and fishing... Cons vs W-1 - a bit less control in BH looping - a bit more tentative in mid-power shots, needs adjustment - extra thickness is a minus when doing BH flips, flat kill shots from BH and generally any controlled attacking from BH Basically, overall it is a wash vs W-1 (for me) but for now I will keep playing with it till the NH tournament on Oct 30. Then I will probably get back to playing W-1 for a while... and make some more comparison as to what feels better with W-1 and what worse. |
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Single Ply Hinoki Club, Founding Member
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JimT
Premier Member Joined: 10/26/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 14602 |
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A small update on Ultima is that I have been playing with it non-stop for the last 4 weeks (almost) and I have gotten used to it so much I am playing better with it now that I played with Galaxy W-1 before that.
So I am trying to get myself another Ultima... as a backup and for rubber testing. But it seems Charlie is busy, I haven't been able to get an email from him lately. Hopefully, soon. |
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Single Ply Hinoki Club, Founding Member
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sahiggs100
Silver Member Joined: 04/23/2010 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 518 |
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There can be only one Ultima!!!
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Blade: Nexy Lissom
FH: Gambler Outlaw Black BH: RITC 802 Short Pips Red Please Don't feed the EJ's! |
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JimT
Premier Member Joined: 10/26/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 14602 |
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Oh man, you got me there... I'll think about smth though... |
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Single Ply Hinoki Club, Founding Member
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tiehwen
Premier Member Joined: 11/22/2006 Location: Bukan Bumiputra Status: Offline Points: 6434 |
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it's name is questionable IMHO & could be borrowed from OSP Ultimate which is also a 7 plied but all wood & thinner.
This thickness of the new "BBC" (sounds familar?) blade is 8.1mm..Wow, it must be 1 hell of a composite blade, even THICKER than Btfly Schlager Carbon....quite someth'n....
In comes the BBC & out goes the Nexys eh?
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JimT
Premier Member Joined: 10/26/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 14602 |
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Too late - I have already put the name on it... how do you like Clipper vs Clippa, or TinArc vs FastArc etc. Not to mention, TopENERGY vs Tenergy, CCT Carbon Flex vs BBC CarboFlex etc etc etc. Also there is Ultima as in series of fantasy role-playing video games from Origin Systems, Ultima Health Products and many many others. I feel like I am in a good company!
I just needed better blocks and a bit harder attacking feeling (compared to 9-10-9) and that can be relatively easily achieved with a thicker blade. However, 9.5 mm thick Darker Speed 90 is not very comfortable in BH looping and flicks, so I wanted smth in the middle. |
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Single Ply Hinoki Club, Founding Member
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JimT
Premier Member Joined: 10/26/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 14602 |
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Yeah... I just realized I have way too many blades - especially after I managed to get my hands on a 10-yr old Butterfly Moonbeam, which I will be trying out after the upcoming tourney on Oct 30. |
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Single Ply Hinoki Club, Founding Member
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Tinykin_2
Silver Member Joined: 01/30/2009 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 540 |
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Don't forget the Ultima GTR, the world's fastest supercar, or so they claim. |
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Member of Single Ply Club. Shakehand, Kauri wood by American Hinoki, 1-ply 7mm. FH> Gambler Reflectoid. BH> Yasaka Mark V
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JimT
Premier Member Joined: 10/26/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 14602 |
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That's a beautiful car! So now I know why I called my blade Ultima !
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Single Ply Hinoki Club, Founding Member
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tiehwen
Premier Member Joined: 11/22/2006 Location: Bukan Bumiputra Status: Offline Points: 6434 |
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Nissan ALTIMA is also a nice family car for all average Joes (or most average families, incl. mine) which I'm pretty sure alotta us don't mind to have.....
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JimT
Premier Member Joined: 10/26/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 14602 |
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One of the cars I actually considered getting for myself a few years back. But then I decided to be boring and predictable and got myself another (newer, of course) Accord instead of my old dilapidated one. By the way, Charlie (BladesByCharlie.com) contacted me and told me he is working on a sister for my first Ultima (the main issue as always is to control the weight). Yippie! |
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Single Ply Hinoki Club, Founding Member
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JimT
Premier Member Joined: 10/26/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 14602 |
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My second Ultima is coming - just in time for Thanksgiving! Thanks, Charlie!
I will put some new rubbers to test on it, too. Right now the candidates are Galaxy Moon Pro 39 and Palio Macro Era 47.5 2.0 ... |
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Single Ply Hinoki Club, Founding Member
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JimT
Premier Member Joined: 10/26/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 14602 |
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Got the second Ultima - it looks as good as the first one. And I must say that playing with Ultima for two months now... it's getting better and better. I am saying that for my OFF style now it plays best of all of my blades. That was a very good decision on my part (patting myself lovingly on the back ) to get this great customized blade made to my specifications.
Once again, big props to Charlie Smith of BladesByCharlie. |
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Single Ply Hinoki Club, Founding Member
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JimT
Premier Member Joined: 10/26/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 14602 |
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Some more pictures - this time of my third Ultima
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Single Ply Hinoki Club, Founding Member
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JimT
Premier Member Joined: 10/26/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 14602 |
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Charlie is a magician - all three of my BBC Ultimas weigh 89 g, they look the same, have exactly same dimensions, same handles, same game etc.
Next try - with two Xiom Omega IV Asia rubbers ob both sides. |
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Single Ply Hinoki Club, Founding Member
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the_theologian
Premier Member Joined: 01/11/2009 Location: U.S. Status: Offline Points: 3895 |
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oh man.... very nice indeed
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Appelgren Allplay ST / Vega Europe max
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sahiggs100
Silver Member Joined: 04/23/2010 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 518 |
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Sounds like you have enough to start sharing! |
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Blade: Nexy Lissom
FH: Gambler Outlaw Black BH: RITC 802 Short Pips Red Please Don't feed the EJ's! |
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