Finally got the AC Carbon after a long time of waiting for. Thanks to Stiga

*prices are based on www.pingpongonline.com

Excellent. I am quite interested in the 7.6. 

On a related note: Have you played much with the original Carbo 7.6? If so, a comparison would be sthuper!

yup they have NCT. the handles need a lil bit sanding though and the wing part also needs trimming

ate naman eh! yung 7.6 sense lang ang walang may-ari. yung blaze sp this july makukuha ko na papadala ko sayo after testing

And the XO is lighter.

hope to hear from you. this is the way to have a precise comparison. testing both at the same time.

Well, then stop farting right next to the scale, for crying out loud...

About the rwv blocking performance, my experience at first coming from btfy composite was that the rwv was less powerful about it. however with the time and mastering the blade what it takes some time, the rwv has a very nice feeling to block. It has a lot of feeling to precise blocking and i would say it is one of its best features. one can block and counterblock and redirect the ball with easy. the blade helps to performance.

Another point is the rubbers. When using chinese like rubbers it usually works better to have more feeling gears and vibration in the blade than when using modern spring/tensors. so maybe the xo works better than the rwv with some rubbers and worse with others. 

About weight my rwv is around 90 gr.

Many thanks for this; it's interesting to read your views of the XO and RW5, as I seem to have almost the exact opposite view, having hit with both for about 4 hours on Sunday (I own the XO, and one of my teammates has the RW5). We have the same rubbers (LT Spin Max, LT Sound 2.0). Although I agree that the XO vibrates less, to my mind it has more dwell than the RW5. This may partly be down to weight; even for the XO, 75 grams seems incredibly light. Mine is 80g exactly. That 5g must be somewhere. 

 

 

That probably depends on your ability, and specifically your natural ability to adapt your game to a different setup. Yours, ejmaster, is probably fairly poor, simply because you change your equipment far too often. It means you never allow yourself to develop natural touch. No offence meant by that, but sticking to a setup unless you need to change is standard coaching advice for precisely those reasons.

It was clear to me that the specific XO (80g) I played with had more dwell, and better short-game touch, then the specific RW5 (87g) I played with. I imagine, however, that this varies according to the relative weights of other examples of both, as well as the individual characteristics of what are, after all, all-wood blades.

 

i do not change my equipment too often. on the contrary. i am playing with the same rubbers and same range of blades for years. so in your first guessing you failed.

no comment about your natural touch with LT spin max in just few hours with the xo/rwv. 

what i like it is to be serious. 

you know what i mean.

Actually, I have no idea what you mean. And 'the same range of blades' is effectively non-sensical; you cannot play with seven different blades simultaneously and develop good touch. 

 

* a/c btfy blades. mm, viscaria, tb alc. i like to play t05 in fh and sriver fx in bh.

* all wood blades. 5 ply rw-walnut-ebony/spruce ayous. i like to play new era (chinese type 47º) in fh and sriver fx in bh.

very clear the setup about rubbers and blade.

 

played for years.

the rwv took me some time because the hollow handle and particular balance and handling.

 

and i also know quite well the touch for these range of blades:

 

* 5 ply limba/ayous. korbel, strpw, ... either t05 or chinese.

* hinoki carbon, sc, pc, photino, ... more difficult to decide the rubber match.

* 7 ply clipper, pg7, ... i prefer here chinese type but the ludpower (either t05 or chinese).

 

not so difficult to get used through the years. the pg7 is the one to take more time to get its playing.

i test a lot of blades around a well known idea.

 

This must be a perfect combo!

 

A light blade will make sure that you never develop a tennis elbow.

 

I find XO head too small as compared to my RW5 cpen. Otherwise it is nice to play with a powerful light blade that has a good feeling of something solid and crisp.

 

i know what you mean Thomasson about the chinese rubbers. i just like a very particular chinese that is the yasaka new era 2.0 cartoon boy. it is a quite hard tensor chinese. i do not like the commercial h3neo.

the other interesting chinese rubber type to match is the gripS europe 'soft' version. this is very good and close to a good hx tuned but it lasts little time. unfortunately it is quite fragile rubber.

so i would also probably use the t05 in case i can't get that new era. the acoustic plays with the t05 very well.

A very good point re the ZLF, Thomasson, and no doubt the ZLF has altered my perception of touch (it's my first, and last, composite blade.) Prior to the ZLF, however, I have only ever played with two blades: the Yasaka Extra, and the Gatien Overdrive (I was sponsored by Yasaka as a junior). I certainly don't want anything with too much feel/vibration - the XO seems just right for me.

I'm not convinced by the 'better players will prefer the RW5' thing; it's horses for courses. And, modesty aside, I would describe myself as one of the better players. The RW5's weight is a deal-breaker for me regardless, so there's no point practising any further with it. I'm only interested in blades that are 80g or lighter.

Re rubbers, I have played with the LT Spin and LT Sound on the ZLF, and the YE; I'm well used to those rubbers, and I find them far more controllable than Rakza 7 Soft. I obviously would not attempt to assess a new blade with new rubbers attached that I had not played extensively with before - that would be silly!

a junior tabten5, 14, 16 years old?. have to grow up tabten5. only interested in blades 80 gr. or lighter. i do not know yet a good player playing with blade under 80 gr. just played with ye and overdrive. pfff.  

Telling me to 'grow up' when posting something like this on an internet forum is more than a little ironic.

I'm 30. I was a junior. In the past. As, probably, you were too. I will not reply any further to posts such as these from you; if you wish to discuss TT or equipment sensible and maturely, please feel free to do so.

 

something happened to the progresion. have to treat this. joking. . 

 

I have to admit I am a big fan and watch out for your reviews. I was fortunate to acquire an Adidas Avenger Carbon, after I read your great review on the blade. This blade rocks! and it improved my game by about 20%!

 

I am interested in the Sense 7.6. How would it compare to the Avenger Carbon head to head on: looping, blocks, smash, short game, etc. Speed and control?

 

Thank you and God bless

 

A very teenagerish remark, I would say

 

Concentrate on your transcendental apperception rather than on assessing the others selfesteem images projected by your subjective deficiencies.

 

then do it yourself.

 

besides you were not invited to this party. so you are in the wrong place at the wrong time.

it was joking. that is all.

no need to talk about your gods with a tt paddle in the hand.

 

 

 

I'm more of a looping-near-the-table kind of player and not so much on smash hit, so I guess the Avenger Carbon is just right for me for now. I think I do not yet possess the skill to fully utilize what the Sense 7.6 blade has to offer.  It still is a beatifully made blade, maybe I'll own one someday, not just now.

Any advance info what you would be reviewing next?

 

Thanks again Yogi_Bear

http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=51156&PN=2&title=videos-of-mytt-members-playing - http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=51156&PN=2&title=videos-of-mytt-members-playing

Tabten5: Sounds like you're a good player - any video available of you to add?

Everyone else: add videos of yourself playing, please - it provides so much better of a perspective of "who is talking" when you review equipment and provide general table tennis advice.

Thank you. 

Yasaka was a great sponsor during the mid to late 1990s (i.e. when they sponsored me) - my setup was classic (YE + Mark v M2 (FH) + Mark V (BH) + lots of speed glue), and the relationship was excellent. They sent me 4 rubbers per month, and made sure I had 3 YE (then the Gatien Extra) blades at the same weight at all times. All of my YEs were 80 grams. I still have one of them (I gave the other two away when I went to university and stopped playing.) I didn't try a great many blades back then, but for me the YE was the best speedglue-era blade you could get. I briefly flirted with the Overdrive, but it was too heavy and cumbersome for my tastes. That black handle sure was sexy, though...

As for the weight discussion generally, I'm not sure it matters terribly to me whether Waldner/Gatien/Guoliang/Liqin/whoever used or uses a lighter blade (although, by the way, the JO-shaped Waldner Sensos I used to see everywhere were about 80g.) It is simply what I prefer, and especially since a big wrist operation that I underwent in 2002 to remove a fast-growing ganglion. The resultant decrease in wrist strength and flexibility (owing to scar tissue) means I cannot play with a heavy setup, even if I wished to. 

Oh (and this is not a plug, but a friendly offer): if anyone lives in the UK and is interested in purchasing Yasaka equipment, I can get them 25% off the usual catalogue price of any product (blades, rubbers, balls, whatever), so do PM me if that would help.

Thanks, Pondus. I don't have any videos at the moment, but I have just ordered a cheap tripod for my iPhone 4S, so I can record a summer league match or two (to see where I can improve.) As soon as I have done so, I'll post it. I think your video collection of users is a great idea - it puts reviews in context.

(P.S. has anyone used the iPhone 4S to record TT? Is it high enough quality to pick up the ball? If not, I'll have to buy a proper video camera. Bums.)

Yes, it gets the job done, but obviously video cameras will get a more clear video.

is not sense 7.6 a carbo 7.6 blade with new skin?

so it has  the same plies/wood

i would say the rosewood is faster but the occ is faster than the YEO(i only had a few hits with the YEO)

would be one of these blades good for short pips? 

Attacking close to the table, the XO shines. It has snap, and because it's fairly lightweight you can move the bat into position quickly. Blocks and active blocks against looping are excellent; the ball pings off the blade, sending it back with interest, with minimal effort. FH topspins are good, fast and accurate. BH punching is slightly weaker, however, and this was the first sign that not all was perfect with the XO. My punches lacked power, as compared to the ZLF (82g). With the same action, the ball had less power from the XO. This must be the effect of the Zylon in the ZLF. But this wasn't a deal-breaker at all, given the gains in touch. 

And then, my main game - attacking from mid-distance. It's here that the XO does not work for me. It simply does not have the power necessary. Playing against my usual practice partner (top county player), he was able to return almost every FH loop, even my supposedly devastating loop drives. He said that the ball was noticeably slower with the XO, and with less zip on the ball. When I switched back to the ZLF for comparison, he could return around 50% of my attacking loops. That is a significant difference. By the end of the practice session, the lack of power was very noticeable, and it also had a strange effect: although the setup was lighter than the ZLF setup, my arm was much more sore, and that's because I was having to put so much effort into killing the ball with the XO, and I was having to hit many more shots (because they were returned.)

So, that's the result. It means the XO is not for me, and I'm going back to the ZLF. I'm a mid-distance attacking player, and for me the XO lacks the power at that range as compared to the ZLF. If, however, you are a close to the table attacker/blocker, or an all-round player with a variety of shots (requiring good touch), the XO is a great blade.

And if anyone can recommend a an all-wood blade weighing approx. 80g that would suit my game, I'm all ears...

the xo can be fast but with those parameters it is easy it lacks power so the final result is something like tabten5 describes in the review.

 

to a high level player facing powerful game this is not something to like. to an amateur playing his friends it does not matter.

 

besides the calibras lt do not favour having control. 

in regards to a future blade, have you considered having Peter Freundlieb build something for you? He's building two blades for me atm

http://www.tt-piet.de/infos-zu-furnieren.html - http://www.tt-piet.de/infos-zu-furnieren.html

I wish we were in the same area, I'd be curious to see how you liked my most recent Expert, which arrived at 85.9 grams, and is now 85.0 after being dehumidified

I'm not entirely sure either, but my guess is that they have the thicknesses of the core and medial plies slightly wrong in the XO. One option would indeed be to increase the ayous core, but many people don't like a 6.0mm+ blade. I wonder whether the spruce plies need to be slightly thicker - that is the case on my MEO, and there is no lack of power there. I think it's also about headsize: 155mm is just not 'tall' enough. It needs perhaps 2mm more weight (plus rubber weight) behind it. For me, 157mm is the sweet spot (the MEO is slightly too tall for me). Increasing the XO's headsize, of course, would affect balance, so they would have to re-look at the XO's overall composition, and particularly the size of the hole in the handle. 

Thanks for the link. I don't know enough about his blades to know whether it would be right for me, so I doubt I will plump for it. As you know, I'm not a big purchaser of equipment, so I'd like to be decently sure before I purchase. I don't want to start experimenting. The Expert was an original contender before I finally decided on the XO, and it was discounted because of the 85g weighting. I really want something at 80g (my ZLF, at 82g, is allowed because it is very well-balanced - i.e. very non-head heavy.)

My other option, possibly, is a Violin, if I can source one that is light enough for me. Or I go back to my 80g YE, and attempt to get enough speed out of it.

i'll send you a pm about peter's work

i forgot to mention, having Peter make a 5 ply is only like 35 dollars, shipped

Thanks for the tip. I haven't tried it, and that's probably because it's WRB. I've never been a fan of overtly/very hollow handles.

If any recommendation can be Yasaka, so much the better, as that wouldn't cost me anything. Free is always good! (I'm more interested in getting the right blade, however, so any brand would be considered.)

about the offensive classic, the old one is different from the modern one. the old one is awsome blade. the modern one has different outer and has little to do with the awsome feeling about the old.

 

A definite no to balsa. As to the 80g debate, it depends upon whether it's intentional. But it may be that you're right: in the post speedglue era, it may not be posible to find a fast-enough (for me) all-wood blade at that weight. In which case, I'll stick with the ZLF.

... not that i have, but it seems like the step up from the Extra you might be looking for

too many plies for me though 

And me. And too heavy.

I think that confirms what I said, or at least doesn't contradict it. A higher throw doesn't mean more power and zip; usually, it means less.

Mmmmmm. I'm fairly sure the S1 is not for me.

Despite my 90-something% certainty that the XO is not for me, I am going to try it again in this Sunday's practice with different (and heavier) rubbers. I have plenty of Rakza 7 and Rakza 7 Soft lying around, so I'll stick on some new sheets of that and see. Anything else would be too heavy anyway, and would negate the point behind buying an 80g blade.

i can't imaging that's going to beef up the xo