OOAK Table Tennis Forum


A truly International Table Tennis Community for both Defensive and Offensive styles!
OOAK Forum Links About OOAK Table Tennis Forum OOAK Forum Memory
It is currently 29 Mar 2024, 17:04


Don't want to see any advertising? Become a member and login, and you'll never see an ad again!



All times are UTC + 9:30 hours




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 58 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4
Author Message
PostPosted: 06 Jul 2017, 06:25 
Offline
Full member

Joined: 08 May 2014, 02:57
Posts: 87
Location: UK
Has thanked: 10 times
Been thanked: 15 times
Blade: Soulspin Basalt
FH: Victas 402 Limber
BH: GD Cropcircles OX
I bought a Re-Impact Preference earlier in the year and have spent a month post season testing it with Cropcircles OX on the BH and Victas 402 Limber / Spinlord Degu in 1.5 on the FH.

I tested it alongside a Soulspin Basalt and TSP Trinity Carbon but for these blades I just used Victas 402 and Cropcircles. At the end of the two months of testing I've decided that the Soulspin Basalt is the blade for me but it was a fairly close run thing with the Preference. In the end the non-linear behaviour of the thick balsa was the undoing for me, particularly on the forehand and more particularly for short stuff and service return. Also my serves were never as dangerous with the balsa blade.

Had I decided to stick with the short pimples then I would have also stuck with the Preference. Attacking with the Preference with short pimples was a dream, as was attacking and blocking / rolling with the OX Cropcircles on the BH. I decided against short pimples because I'm too lazy to spend 12 months adjusting my game but if I was only playing for fun rather than in competitions I'd probably still be playing with it as it is definitely good fun.

Looping with the Preference was OK but I can definitely generate more spin (according to opponents) with both the TSP and Soulspin.

Incidentally I'm not sure if I was using it the "wrong" way round as I had the logo on the handle facing the BH (before it fell off). However I'd take a lot of convincing that there is a lot if any difference in the two sides.


Top
 Profile  
 


PostPosted: 30 Jul 2017, 18:48 
Offline
New Member

Joined: 01 Jun 2017, 01:43
Posts: 15
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 5 times
Blade: Re-impact Preference
FH: Donic Acuda Blue P2 1.8 m
BH: Spinlord Keiler 1.5 mm
My Preference arrived 2 days ago. This evening, I'm going to test it. The forehand is Donic Acuda Blue P2 1.8 mm, the backhand TSP Agrit Speed 1.5 mm. The total weight is 164 grams. I'm very curious.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: 08 Aug 2017, 06:29 
Offline
New Member

Joined: 01 Jun 2017, 01:43
Posts: 15
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 5 times
Blade: Re-impact Preference
FH: Donic Acuda Blue P2 1.8 m
BH: Spinlord Keiler 1.5 mm
Last week, I played with TSP Agrit Speed 1.5 mm on the backhand of my Preference, and Donic Acuda Blue P2 1.8 mm. I had no control with the backhand, and so also not with the forehand. This evening, I switched the backhand and tested it with the medium pimples Spinlord Keiler 1.5 mm and it was great! Very controlled, enough speed, enough deception. Because of the good backhand, I could better control the game and so my forehand was also much more controlled!


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: 10 Aug 2017, 04:22 
Offline
New Member

Joined: 01 Jun 2017, 01:43
Posts: 15
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 5 times
Blade: Re-impact Preference
FH: Donic Acuda Blue P2 1.8 m
BH: Spinlord Keiler 1.5 mm
I would like to share how I have, up till now, done with the Re-Impact Preference blade. As I would like to present a complete picture, which should relate the whole process, I have divided this article into sections:
- My level of play.
- Equipment (before the Re-Impact Preference blade).
- My type of play.
- Reasons for the search for new equipment.
- The search for new equipment.
- Current results.
- The future.

My level of play:
I play in the Flemish competition (VTTL), 2nd provincial league. Rating: C4; about 1400 ELO points (range 1300-1500). For those who are not from Belgium: this level amounts to being around position 1000 of the 8000 players in the VTTL. I am in my mid thirties, now.

Equipment (before the Re-Impact Preference blade):
In recent years, until March 2017: I played with Butterfly Michael Maze OFF (since 2009), Butterfly Tenergy 05 2.1mm FH (since 2016; before that Butterfly Sriver, Tibhar Nimbus Soft, Tibhar Optimum+ Sound, and others), Butterfly Bryce FX 1.9mm BH (since 2009).
From March 2017 to July 2017: Butterfly Michael Maze OFF, Butterfly Tenergy 05 2.1 mm FH, Spinlord Keiler 1.8 mm BH.

My type of play (before testing the Re-Impact Preference blade):
In recent years until March 2017 (with the inverted rubber on the BH) I used the forehand primarily for controlled topspin, both close to the table and at mid distance. Sometimes I played a drive, never a smash or a push. I rarely blocked. My BH I primarily used, at service return, for lifting or mild topspin, sometimes for a push, and for controlled (lifting) drives during rallies; I rarely pushed or used heavy topspin.
From March to July 2017 (with medium pips on BH): with the forehand primarily controlled topspin, both close to the table and at mid distance. Sometimes I played a drive, never a smash or a push. With the BH I played drives, rolls, or blocks. Sometimes I pushed, but rarely.

Reasons for the search for new equipment:
I have been playing table tennis for 23 years now, until March 2017 always with inverted rubbers on both sides. So why did I change, using pips on my BH? I cannot explain that fully. It was a process, I increasingly became aware of the fact that I often got under pressure on my BH side. I think it had to do with the introduction of the plastic ball, which our club has been using since last season. It made it more difficult for me to produce sufficient topspin for lifting. Until then I had been rather successful with lifting against serves, putting pressure on the opponent, but with the plastic ball I could that much less well, and as a result I could not control the game on that side anymore, and suffered from being under pressure there myself.

The search for new equipment:
The transition to Spinlord Keiler: advantages and unexpected side-effects:
To deal with the pressure on my BH side, I wanted to find a different rubber. After research on the internet I eventually came to the Spinlord Keiler, a medium pip. I liked the description of this rubber and decided to test it in 1.8mm. A week’s holiday, fortunately, was used for testing. I thought it couldn’t hurt anyway. Right from the first stroke this medium pip seemed to suit me. I had 3 training sessions with it and the week after I played in competition with it. I beat two higher-ranked players, then I lost from a third one with a very small difference (3-2). Winning was mainly due to the disrupting (sink) effect of the pips. All in all, this rubber performed well for me on the BH of the Michael Maze OFF. But even as my BH had improved, I had to deal with an unexpected new problem: my BH returns were returned by my opponents in a different way than I had become used to when playing with inverted rubbers. It caused problems for my FH topspin. Incoming balls now were much less favourably “set up” for my FH topspin, which had until then been my best weapon; it seemed it would be better to block them. So the advantage for my BH was more or less neutralized by the disadvantage for my FH. Self-doubt kicked in. I wondered if I had to change even more about my equipment.

Search for an answer:
I went on. On the one hand there was the good feeling I had on the BH due to the Keiler, on the other hand I doubted my FH set-up. My doubt led me to search on the internet again for solutions. I finally found the Re-Impact site. They seemed to be good blades, so I emailed Achim Rendler. He suggested a Rapier 44 with FH Donic Acuda Blue P2 1.8mm, BH Spinlord Keiler OX (on the Rapier it should not be played over 1.2mm thickness, according to Achim). I had never played with an OX rubber before, which I thought to primarily be for defence, and felt uncomfortable with the suggestion. Then Achim suggested I’d play the blade with inverted rubbers, TSP Agrit Speed 1.5mm on the BH. After a series of emails I decided I would try this set-up and ordered the Rapier 44 with Donic Acuda Blue P2 and TSP Agrit Speed. Even so I had doubts about the speed of the Rapier (ALL- to OFF, whereas I had only played with OFF blades). Excited about Re-Impact nonetheless, I wanted to find out more about these blades and stumbled upon this forum, of which I until then had not known it existed. I read the article by Kees on the Re-Impact Preference (a blade which makes table tennis easy). I liked what he wrote about that blade and asked Achim if it would be suitable for me. It could be, Achim said, but the Rapier 44 would be better, being a conventional blade – the Preference was an active blade and therefore harder to master coming from a conventional blade like the Michael Maze. I deliberated with both Achim and Kees, and in the end decided to change the order for the Rapier (which hadn’t been built yet) into an order for the Preference.

Arrival of the Preference:
Ordered early June, with a delivery time of 4 weeks, the actual arrival of the blade was towards the end of July. Just in time before the start of the new season. The first thing that caught my attention was the superb quality of the handle – it is 11.5cm long (the M.Maze was 10.2cm) en 3.2cm in diameter (2.6cm with the M.Maze); ideal for my large hands. Apart from that it was about 12 to 13 mm thick, weighed 164 grams including the TSP Agrit Speed 1.5 and Donic Acuda Blue P2 1.8 mm. The outer plies were Koto 0.5mm; intermediate plies were 2 mm balsa and 1.5mm corck; the core plie was 4 mm balsa.

Current results:
First test with the Preference:
The first test I did against an old robot which could only produce drives. My first impression of the FH: I had a lot of control over my topspin, could keep them low over the net, and I could loop well from mid distance. First impression of the BH: the first dozen balls went wide, a meter high, over the table. Probably due to the change from medium pips to inverted. After that it went better; still, I frequently hit balls long or into the net. Then I tested the set-up during a training session. I disliked it profoundly: I had no control with the BH (which was much too fast) and because of that no control with the FH either, as I got under severe pressure and as my loops from mid distance too often went into the net. Lifting heavy backspin was another problem: my balls went into the net because I could not impart enough forward speed. Obviously, I needed to adapt my strokes. I had the feeling I lacked any kind of “own game” and had to rely mostly on errors of opponents, instead of being able to control the game.

Action after the first tests with the Preference:
As both FH and BH of the Preference posed problems, I wondered if this blade was, after all, for me. At such a time you feel bad, being aware both of the tact that the blade is expensive and of the limited amount of time you have left for further experiments as in a month the new season will start… At such a moment you need support. A had it from forum-member Kees. I discussed things with him and decided to test the Spinlord Keiler on the BH in 1.5mm anyway (despite Achim’s advice to play it in OX, or in 1.2mm max – which I could have done, I had one around). Boy, did this work!!! Now my returns had lots of control, ideal speed, and lots of disruption! Furthermore, with the Keiler on the blade my FH started to work beautifully! With the Butterfly M.Maze OFF I had run into problems with it, but the Preference with the Spinlord Keiler on its BH brought the FH really to life, because blocking is so easy with it! Now I can choose if I want to block an incoming ball or if it is just right for looping it. With the Butterfly blade looping was the only option, as it didn’t work for blocks.

The future:
I’m still in the early phase of testing and it is too soon to cheer, but considering my experiences, with the Spinlord Keiler on the BH and the Donic Acuda Blue P2 on the FH, I feel it is safe to say that I have finally found the set-up with which I will start next season in competition!


Last edited by Keiler on 10 Aug 2017, 17:17, edited 1 time in total.

Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: 10 Aug 2017, 15:51 
Offline
Hurricane Lover
Hurricane Lover
User avatar

Joined: 09 Mar 2008, 19:19
Posts: 2921
Location: Indonesia
Has thanked: 145 times
Been thanked: 236 times
Blade: DHS Long 2
FH: Dianchi D
BH: Yinhe Pluto
Very good story!
Makes me want to try one as well since I also play with medium pips on the BH.

_________________
instagram: rokphishtt


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: 20 Apr 2019, 17:12 
Offline
New Member

Joined: 12 Oct 2013, 02:50
Posts: 24
Location: Loughborough, UK
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 0 time
I have a Re-Impact Preference with noble mahogany sealing for sale, PM me if you are interested.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: 23 Jan 2020, 15:41 
Offline
Call me Shrek!
Call me Shrek!
User avatar

Joined: 25 May 2011, 12:38
Posts: 1183
Location: Perth, Australia
Has thanked: 18 times
Been thanked: 134 times
Blade: Dr Neubauer High Tec Plus
FH: Hurricane 3 Neo
BH: Tibhar Hybrid K3
I have just received a Re-Impact Preference - the blade composition intrigued me. I normally play with a Hallmark Ultra oversize blade.

This blade is oversize as well - 162w x 160 high, as against the Ultra 160w x 162h, so visually the Preference seems "rounder". The Preference is 75g, so a good weight for oversize.

Good quality.
Attachment:
tt1.jpg
tt1.jpg [ 138.15 KiB | Viewed 1603 times ]


Attachment:
tt2.jpg
tt2.jpg [ 106.33 KiB | Viewed 1603 times ]


I will report back on the blade next week, once I have had a chance to try it out.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: 24 Jan 2020, 06:23 
Offline
Bytes worse than his Bark
Bytes worse than his Bark
User avatar

Joined: 15 Sep 2011, 12:25
Posts: 1692
Location: Sydney, Australia
Has thanked: 111 times
Been thanked: 375 times
Blade: OldNittaku Carbon
FH: Tenergy 05 Hard
BH: Yasaka Shining Dragon max
PRW wrote:
Quote:
I will report back on the blade next week, once I have had a chance to try it out.


So next week we find out if your preference is your hallmark? Or do we find out if your hallmark is your preference? I hope you're feeling ultra confident about the impact of that.

_________________
Retriever (sometimes golden, but often leaden)
Moderator, Inverted Retriever Technique sub-forum - http://ooakforum.com/viewforum.php?f=74


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: 24 Jan 2020, 09:30 
Offline
Goes to 11
Goes to 11
User avatar

Joined: 13 Jan 2014, 20:27
Posts: 10671
Has thanked: 3 times
Been thanked: 1384 times
Two cork layers and three balsa? Very interesting.

Iskandar


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: 24 Jan 2020, 09:49 
Offline
Call me Shrek!
Call me Shrek!
User avatar

Joined: 25 May 2011, 12:38
Posts: 1183
Location: Perth, Australia
Has thanked: 18 times
Been thanked: 134 times
Blade: Dr Neubauer High Tec Plus
FH: Hurricane 3 Neo
BH: Tibhar Hybrid K3
Retriever wrote:

So next week we find out if your preference is your hallmark? Or do we find out if your hallmark is your preference? I hope you're feeling ultra confident about the impact of that.


haha - that's so good!


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: 24 Jan 2020, 09:55 
Offline
Call me Shrek!
Call me Shrek!
User avatar

Joined: 25 May 2011, 12:38
Posts: 1183
Location: Perth, Australia
Has thanked: 18 times
Been thanked: 134 times
Blade: Dr Neubauer High Tec Plus
FH: Hurricane 3 Neo
BH: Tibhar Hybrid K3
iskandar taib wrote:
Two cork layers and three balsa? Very interesting.

Iskandar

yip, I managed to get some of the same rubber as the normal blade, so will glue it up and have an initial hit tonight. I will be using Joola Maxx-P on the fh, Rakza 7 soft on the bh, both max.

I am interested to see if the cork adds a bit more control in "mid-range" shots, without compromising the power. I have a Dream (this may be a red flag to Retriever :lol: ) as well, which I find a bit dampened with max soft rubbers.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: 24 Jan 2020, 13:51 
Offline
Goes to 11
Goes to 11
User avatar

Joined: 13 Jan 2014, 20:27
Posts: 10671
Has thanked: 3 times
Been thanked: 1384 times
How thick is that blade? Looks pretty thick, but not as thick as Haggis's - what was it called - Dark Knight? The one that looks like a Triple Whopper...

Iskandar


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: 24 Jan 2020, 14:07 
Offline
Call me Shrek!
Call me Shrek!
User avatar

Joined: 25 May 2011, 12:38
Posts: 1183
Location: Perth, Australia
Has thanked: 18 times
Been thanked: 134 times
Blade: Dr Neubauer High Tec Plus
FH: Hurricane 3 Neo
BH: Tibhar Hybrid K3
iskandar taib wrote:
How thick is that blade? Looks pretty thick, but not as thick as Haggis's - what was it called - Dark Knight? The one that looks like a Triple Whopper...

Iskandar

12mm: 4mm balsa core, 1.5mm cork x 2, 2mm balsa x 2, 0.5mm Koto x 2


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 58 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4



All times are UTC + 9:30 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: sk123, Yann00 and 58 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Copyright 2018 OOAK Table Tennis Forum. The information on this site cannot be reused without written permission.

Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group