Looks like Stiga has upgraded the look & presentation for the new Emerald Series.  Using the VPS (Veneer Precision System) same as Infinity.  See my previous review.  For some of you that might not know what does VPS do?  Stiga is using burnt medial plies(Temperature Treated)  to enhance stability (increase stiffness).  I believe the reason behind this is to maintain the feel of wood, and give additional speed offer by composites to cope with the new balls.  Burnt wood is somewhat similar to Carbon, both offers stiffness & are lightweight to blades.  Nexy, Yinhe has also offered this type of technology.  However, they have a burnt core instead medial layers.  New outer veneers are being used: Green Ebenholz.  According to Stiga, the Green Ebenholz offers better dwell than original Ebenholz.  The Emerald has very attractive attributes, with metal like (it could be hard platics) logos at the handle & butt of the handle.  I can’t say the QC (quality control) is better than previous versions of the Hardwood Series where a lot (a lot) of people complained about the rough finishing, & wood splintering.  This one that I received (previous tested) has a big wood splinter about 6cm near the side of the blade, and some outer wood delaminations after one gluing.   From the knocking of the handle, I believe it’s not WRB or not like Ebenholz & Rosewood.  Pair this blade with Dark VlonS on FH, and EL-P on backhand.  Total weight at ~186grs.  Blade felt good, not overly head heavy.  Was able to produce massive spin when serving at home on the floor.  

First Impressions: Stiga does offer a distinctive feel from most of their blades, and this one is no different.  Wow, after playing with Hayabusa ZX recently, the Emerald also offers a noticeably big sweet spot!  More than any other wood blades (5/7/9plies) I’ve ever played with!  Sharper feeling than Infinity VPS.  It does have some vibration at the handle.  Medium stiffness, & surprisingly quite flexy for a hardwood blade!  Hayabusa is stiffer, and gives me options to play passive, aggressive, and away from table.  Emerald at the table is superb, it’s not bad when you step away.  Counterlooping is as good as Hayabusa.  The most notable impression I got from this blade was the top gears.  They are CRAZY, BLAZING fast!!!  All players were amazed how fast my FH drives were at the table.  It’s definitely one of the fastest out of everything I’ve played with.  

In-Action Sessions: After a few sessions, I am beginning to like this blade even more!  I am not comfortable with the extra vibration at the handle, which gives me problems at blocking & countering on occassions.  Emerald does offer slightly better hand feel than Hayabusa ZX.  I love the flicking game with Hayabusa, Emerald however is less forgiving.  For a hardwood blade, this blade can generate as much spin as any other softer outer woods (Limba, Koto, Ayous, & Hinoki).  Smashing is quite good as well!  Medium gear is a bit slower than ZX, but spin will help in gaining control when out of position.

Summary: I apologize for mainly comparing this blade with ZX because the Emerald just outperforms all of the hardwood series or any other 5 plies out there in the market (IMO).  It’s that good!  It offers more spin, same hand feel, have bigger sweet spot, and higher top gears than any other hardwood series.  Just popped into my head that this blade is somewhat similar to Infinity, the top gear for Infinity is also up there… I will have to go back & play with Infinity to compare.  Emerald has a noticeably sharper feedback than Infinity.  I highly recommend this blade if you have ~$130 to spend, get it from TT11!  It might drive you back to Stiga products (Blades at least) =S.  

Overall: For some that might be interested in comparison between Emerald VPS against other similar hardwood blades.  These are my findings:  

Speed(1^st & Max Gear): Emerald > NR-50 ≥ Rosewood NCT 5 > Bloodwood 5 ≥ YEO Pro ≥ YEO jttaa ≥ Ebenholz V 

Spin Generation: Emerald > NR-50 ≥ Rosewood NCT 5 > Bloodwood 5 ≥ YEO Pro ≥ Ebenholz V > YEO jttaa

Medium Gear:  Emerald > NR-50 ≥ Rosewood NCT 5 > YEO Pro ≥ Bloodwood 5 > YEO jttaa > Ebenholz V

Feel: Emerald > Ebenholz V ≥ NR-50 ≥ Rosewood NCT 5 ≥ YEO jttaa > YEO Pro > Bloodwood 5 

Control(Placement, defense):  NR-50 > Emerald ≥ Rosewood NCT 5 > Ebenholz V ≥ Bloodwood 5 > YEO jttaa > YEO Pro

In conclusion I will rate Emerald VPS as follows:

85gr, ~6.2mm thick, 

Speed (medium-top Gears): (8.5-9.7) out of 10

Spin: 9.3 out of 10

Control: 8.6 out of 10

Hardness: Medium

Flex: Medium-High Flex