Uli from
Ulmo Blades kindly sent me this blade, so that I could test and review it. I've had 2 session with the blade, so i though I'd share my impressions so far.
Manufacturer description:“Die Angel Off-“ is a 7-Layer TT-blade with Balsa core. This core is fitted with a special veneer that dampens the catapult effect, on top of which a thin Balsa layer rests the cover veneers. In the larger of the two standard sizes, the “Die Angel Off-“ weighs approximately 80g and thus offers perfect control even when combined with ticker rubbers.
The tt-blade displays different forehand and backhand behaviour since the backhand is fitted with a harder veneer made out of rosewood. This makes it ideal for block play with long pimples or the block/counter/smash style with standard rubbers. The forehand is much softer as it is fitted with selected maple and limba veneers, which supports an attacking top spin style of play.
Because of its asymmetric behaviour and speed layout, the Die Angel Off- is recommended for more experienced players. Players who have previously only used symmetric tt-blades should give this blade some time, in order to get a feel for the asymmetries and thereby exploit the full potential of this tt-blade.
Some of my pictures:
Physical features:The blade looks quite nice and professionally made. The finish on the blade is not as smooth as many mass of the high-end produced blades, but that's not surprising for a hand-made blade, and none of this effect play in any way. The rosewood backhand looked beautiful, and even better when I sealed it as it added a nice shine to the wood grains. From a sales perspective I think it would sell better when already sealed as it looks a lot prettier
This wood feels very hard, so I doubt it would need a sealer for protection, but the wood on the other side feels softer and is probably more fragile, so sealing that is certainly recommended.
The weight of the blade was 80g, which is exactly what the manufacturer specified...coincidence or not, I don't know, but it's always a good sign of quality control when the weight is close.
This blade came with a straight handle... I normally hate straight handles, and this blade was no exception
The handle is fine and is fairly plain, and there is obsolutely nothing wrong with it, I just prefer FL handles. I've played with plenty of ST handles blade though, and it does not seem to effect my play in anyway, so it does not matter as far as this review goes.
Test setup:I put Tenergy 05 (MAX black) on the forehand and Palio CK531A (OX red) on the backhand side. As I'm quite familiar with both rubbers, and I felt they should work quite well on this blade, I think they should make a decent setup.
Forehand performance:In my opinion the blade felt a little faster than OFF-, it was more in the OFF range. I prefer that speed range for the forehand, as long as the blade is not too fast for the backhand, which is usually a major issue with long pips, especially in OX.
The blade felt of medium hardness and felt a fairly stiff with little vibration. The throw is a little lower than I'm used to, which is not a bad thing considering the T05 is fairly high throw. I would not call it low throw though, it's more like medium.
I think the blade matched really well with the Tenergy, and made a beautiful looping combination! Loops come off fast and spinny... the blade had good dwell time. On loop-drives and hits it had a real solid feel which you tend to get from stiffer blades, making them feel crisp and fast. It really combined well, so I was impressed so far.
Backhand performance:This is the crunch for me, as good control with the LP is critical for a combination blade. This blade is designed for LP on the backhand, and it did not disappoint. I'll go into a bit more detail for this, as it really defines the blade for me.
1. Aggressive pushing:This I think is it's biggest strength. Against backspin I could push hard and aggressive with the bat. The reversal was really good, producing deep and penetrating pushes that dropped due to the reversal. Although the ball came off faster then I'm used to, I had no trouble controlling them. The depth and speed caused my practice partner some problem, and forced weaker loops which i could then block very effectively.
2. Blocking:Against loops this bat blocked very well. It is most effective taking the ball as early as possible. I could feel 2 definite gears on blocking. Passive blocks actually came off quite slow, a lot slower than off a regular blade of this speed. This is where I think the balsa layer was doing it's job really well. The really hard outer ply does make it a little harder to keep the ball lower, but I seemed to have little trouble adjusting... I was pleasantly surprised how well I could keep the ball short, as I was concerned about the speed of this blade with LPs.
With harder blocks you need to be careful or it will sail over the end, which is typical of most balsa blades. I think it's best to use the bat for passive blocks when you can, unless the balls are high enough to hit through them as an attack.
3. Attacking:Since both the rubber and the blade feel a little harder and faster then I'm used to, I needed to adjust and work out how to attack with this blade and combination. The dwell time is quite a bit shorter than with my tachi/dtecs combination, so my first few attacks (against backspin) went over the end. However I soon discovered that a quick swiping action (left to right) produced very effective and consistant attacks against backspin. Again the reversal felt quite good, and my attack came off quite fast, a lot faster than with my tachi, so I could actually hit it past my practice partner. I feel that this blade is really well suited for a close-in blocking/pushing/attacking style game with the OX LP, very much like I believe it was designed to! I would expect it to perform well with other types of pips as well.
4. Chopping:With OX LPs I don't think this blade is well suited for chopping. The dwell time is too low and there is not enough feel of the ball. I expect you could make it work quite well with a sponge, particularly a slower sponge to give you more dwell time, but I don't think this is the strength of the blade.
Conclusion:I don't know if I was just lucky, but the rubbers I picked for this blade combined really well!
For the forehand I can't see any reason why other rubbers would not work well either, but being a balsa-based blade I expect that the soft-medium tensor style rubbers would work best. The don't need to be that fast, as the blade provides plenty of power when you need it.
As far as the backhand is concerned, the Palio worked very well although it felt a little hard. I'd like to try it with something like dtecs. A softer pip will likely give a little more dwell time, adding even more control in the short game.
All in all, I'm quite impressed with the blade. I thought it would be too fast for me, but the contol is very good where it counts, so I could make it work with only minor changes to my game. It is well made and seems to be perfectly suited for the game that it's designed for. For the more aggressive combination players it is well worth a look.
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