Re-Impact M3 Select test results.
Introduction.
Initially, I planned on taking two or three weeks for testing several different combinations of rubbers on this blade, but as it turned out the M3 Select is a pretty predictable blade, so I had only to put in about ten hours of practice and play. The results are presented below in two sections, as the blade plays consistently differently when used with no sponge or thin sponge (up to 1 mm) on its backhand compared to when used with at least 1.8 mm sponge on either side.
The M3 Select is a combination blade, as is apparent from its design – on the forehand side there is a core ply of 6 mm balsa, on the backhand side of the core there is only a 2 mm balsa ply and between the two balsa plies is a 2mm cork ply which should decrease or contain the influence of the forehand structure on the backhand structure. The outer ply of the forehand seems to be ash, on the backhand it seems to be larch. I’ll admit I am not really a fan of this type of design; I prefer balsa cores to be split in equal halves which are glued directly together (without cork in between), which results in the blade having a less typical balsa-like character (lower catapult, a more predictable reaction curve) while it is still light-weight. But for a combination blade, adding the cork ply is probably inevitable, and for the backhand of this blade it works out very well indeed.
Section 1: the M3 Select with thin sponge or no sponge on its backhand side.
I tested the blade with Yasaka Phantom 0012, which is an OX LP, Friendship 755 on 0.6mm sponge, and Friendship 799 Mystery 1.8mm, all in red, on the backhand and inverted (KTL Rapid Sound, black, 2.0mm; Friendship Super FX black on blue sponge, 2.0mm and 1.5 mm) as well as SP (Friendship 802-1, in 2 mm) on the forehand, first for a close to the table backhand-block-forehand-loop-attack type of game, using LP and inverted. Blades of reference were Re-Impact Perfect and Re-Impact Preference, with the exact same set of rubbers in order to make a comparison valid. With an LP and inverted set-up, the M3 Select’s forehand is about as fast as or perhaps slightly slower than the Preference’s, but much faster than the Perfect’s; its control is less than what the forehand sides of the other two blades offer, as its forehand catapult is very high, and its throw rather low. This means timing the contact with the ball must be very precise and as concerns placement the margin of error is quite small as well; in my opinion, the blade’s forehand requires advanced technique, whereas the Preference’s and Perfect’s forehands are much easier to deal with. The blade’s backhand is much slower than both the Preference’s and Perfect’s and its catapult is quite low, not only on low impact but also remarkably so on medium impact (catapult will always be high on high impact, due to the balsa core) and control is accordingly high. The throw of the backhand is rather high, which means that blocking even with low-friction LPs you have to close your blade somewhat, which may feel counter-intuitive to players. Still, the backhand is impressively effective. Its well controlled catapult (which is a feat difficult to achieve in a design with thick balsa plies) means that probably my choice of LPs was on the conservative side and faster LPs as well as perhaps frictionless anti-spin rubbers could be used on the M3 Select with good results. The overall feel of the blade is rather soft, and it seems to have some flex as well, possibly due to the handle which is made with soft balsa outer layers. It is one of the most light-weight blades in the Re-Impact catalogue. Balsa, as a rule, is used best close to the table, where its lack of weight is an advantage: close up, your reaction time is a critical factor, and a lightweight blade helps in bringing the reaction time down. Going for lightweight rubbers in the set-up is therefore logical, but as LP’s are generally used with thin sponge or no sponge at all, and are therefore much more light-weight than other rubbers, the forehand inverted rubber does not have to be ultra lightweight in order to get a light-weight set-up. It is important, though, that the catapult of the forehand rubber suits the blade’s. Catapult is the degree of springiness of a rubber or blade; it determines how quickly a rubber or a blade responds to contact with the ball, pushing it out, like a spring coil would do. Balsa (at least as it is used in Re-Impact designs) behaves like a very sensitive and responsive spring coil; so does a rubber with high catapult. Imagine attaching such a sensitive coil to another one. The front coil (representing the rubber) is compressed due to contact with an incoming body and then will expand, pushing the body away, but it will at the same push against the second coil (representing the balsa core in the blade) which will likewise be compressed and then expand, pushing against the front coil. If the front coil is about as sensitive and responsive as the second coil, their combined response is unpredictable – the individual responses of the coils may enhance their combined response or cancel it out to some degree. This is how using a rubber with high catapult on a high-catapult blade may result in a substantial decrease of control. In practice, you may find that when trying to loop with speed, using a high-catapult rubber on a balsa blade, at times the ball will shoot away much too abruptly with little spin, and at other times it may simply drop off. Therefore, the best control is to be had by using a rubber whose catapult is either much higher than the balsa blade’s or much lower. Bouncing a ball on the forehand of the M3 Select it seemed to me to be quite a bit springier than the forehand of the Perfect. The Perfect’s catapult was moderate enough to allow high-catapult rubbers to be used on it, but for the M3 Select I decided to use a rubber with moderate catapult instead: KTL Rapid Sound, 2.0mm. The choice for an LP on the backhand was also decided considering the catapult. The M3 Select’s backhand has low catapult, but as there is a total of 8 mm balsa in the blade, on high impact the 6mm forehand ply will inevitably get activated and catapult will be higher. Using the spring coil metaphor again, if it is contacted by a body with low impact, the coil will absorb most of the impact, so hardly respond at all, which amounts to a dampening effect; if impact increases, however, the coil’s response will increase exponentially. The dampening effect on low impact means that, using an LP, you will have high control over placement of the ball, but as on impact it will lose part of its energy, so it will lose part of its rotation, and a reversal effect will therefore be low. The reverse is the case on high impact: you will have high spin-reversal, as the ball will leave the bat abruptly, but therefore low control over placement. The most effective type of LP on responsive balsa blades would, then, always be one with very low speed (to compensate for the blade’s acceleration effect on high impact) and very high reversal (to compensate for the blade’s dampening effect on low impact which diminishes reversal), so the classic frictionless LP’s would simply be the best to use; but as they are banned, you need an alternative. Low speed is either achieved by a dampening sponge or an OX sheet that has no elasticity. The latter is rare, but Yasaka Phantom 0012 fits the requirements; I used it in red, for maximum reversal. I also used Friendship 755 on a 0.6mm sponge, as this sponge is quite inelastic as well and will therefore dampen the incoming speed some. Neither of these LP’s is frictionless, of course, but they will produce acceptable reversal. Since (in my opinion) you will not profit from reversal if you cannot control the placement of the ball, control comes first, so acceptable reversal will have to do. A slow, frictionless anti-spin rubber would be a possibility as well, but I didn’t test that kind of rubber on the M3 Select; though, as it turned out, I probably should have. I did test it on other Re-Impact blades and found it rather difficult to control. Any kind of LP that is allowed by the ITTF will offer you some grip on the ball, which means you will still have some control when the blade’s catapult is activated. With a frictionless anti you do not have that control. I have not yet seen an anti that was capable of neutralizing a Re-Impact’s catapult sufficiently to do away with any kind of grip on the ball, which is why I prefer low-friction anti on them.
Now for the details of the test-results, that is, my subjective report relating only my own impressions. The forehand with the Rapid Sound on it proved to be capable of producing serves with heavy spin (any kind and combination) while offering great control over placement. For a combination blade, which is used with LP on the backhand, this is important as you want lots of spin in the rally from the onset, to be manipulated disruptively with the LP. Forehand lifting of incoming backspin required a technical adaptation. Whereas Perfect and Preference allow classic lifting (with a long stroke movement, contacting the ball on the highest point of the bounce) and offer great control over placement, especially as concerns the length, using the M3 for lifting this way is difficult. Due to its high catapult, when you try to contact the ball going forward (to make speed) and upward (to make spin) with an almost vertically held bat, the ball is pushed so quickly out of the rubber that it tends to shoot off with low control over the length (balls will go long). When you try and compensate for that by using less power going forward, the ball tends to drop off. So I changed to a different lifting technique. Contacting the ball early, when it is still coming up, with a vertically held blade you perform a compact quick drive with good wrist action but with only slightly more than moderate force – rather as if you were playing with short pips instead of inverted. Again, the blade’s catapult will push the ball abruptly out of the rubber, so you produce little spin if any, but are not hindered by the incoming backspin either. This quick drive will lift the ball low over the net, and land it deep on the other half, where, as it now will have very little topspin and a lot of speed, it will skid, or bounce very low, like a dead ball. Opponents had some difficulty with returning these balls, so the technique is also tactically effective. Even heavy backspin balls will be lifted by this quick drive; if needed, drive with slightly more force to lift more. Make a point of moving towards the ball and contact it well in front of you, as well as on the rise; contacting it on the highest point of the bounce tends to be too late. The stroke should also be very compact to make timing precise – start the stroke about hip-high and do not follow through long, staying beneath the shoulder level. Use only the underarm for the swing; rotating of the upper body (to produce power) is not needed, as the blade is fast enough and rotating the body may impair the precision of the stroke. I also tried a slower rubber with a harder sponge (Friendship Super FX 2.0 mm blue sponge) and thinner sponge (the same, 1.5 mm) to find out if this would make classic lifting easier, but it hardly did. In fact, the 1.5 mm thick rubber offered the least control. So the quick compact drive would seem to be the standard stroke to for this blade to lift incoming backspin. The forehand loop against incoming topspin turned out to be the most effective in a similar way: compact stroke, no body rotation, using only the underarm, this time with the blade closed of course. Contacting the ball on the rise is not really necessary, on the highest point will do fine, but you have to move towards the ball again and contact it in front of you to be precise with your timing. Even moderate force (as you will produce using only the underarm) results in great topspin and fast speed. The trajectory of the ball will be low and rather flat, and the ball will rush away on the other half. Control with this stroke is good enough to enable cutting the side-lines. Using sidespin with the topspin is very effective too. I was surprised how little power was needed to produce fast and very spinny balls, at least close to the table. The M3 Select is a great blade for players who do not like or are not able to rotate the upper body in order to get fast balls with good spin; amongst other things, this is good news for players with back problems, knee problems, or shoulder joint injuries.
Even if you play a close to the table type of game, you may have to step back every once in a while. Fortunately, this blade allows it – a dropping ball, even if it gets close to the floor, can be looped effectively. If you are off to the forehand side, put good side-spin on the ball, and sending it around the net onto the other half is a cinch; control is that good. But don’t expect this kind of ball to be very fast; the blade (with this set-up) lacks the power to produce great speed away from the table, even if it is more than fast enough when you stay close. Alternatively, you might twiddle and chop using the LP (see below). Forehand hitting and smashing was a bit of a disappointment. The blade feels rather soft and too light on high impact, even with the hard sponged 2.0 mm Friendship Super FX rubber, and will only produce enough speed with these strokes when the opponent is really close to the table. If the opponent steps away, smashing becomes ineffective. The best forehand tactics with this blade against an opponent who plays at mid-distance is smother-blocking his loops: close the blade, contact the ball passively when it is still on the rise, keep your wrist very relaxed and move a bit upward on contact. You will take the speed away (the balsa helps with this) and be able to place the ball short. Not an easy technique, but effective.
Using a Friendship 802-1 in 2.0 mm, the next thing I tested was the forehand’s behaviour with SP. If the compact strokes are used which I described above, control is high and speeds is high enough for an effective block-attack game. Incoming spin is rarely heavy enough to pose problems, as the SP itself is rather insensitive to it and the catapult of the forehand helps here. Flicks are very easy to perform, go low over the net with good speed which can be produced with little force. Blocking is very safe and precise; driving as well. Hitting is less effective than it normally is on a conventional blade – again, the blade felt a bit mushy when I hit flat with great force. Even so, the speed is sufficient as long as the opponent does not back off too far.
Forehand pushing against incoming backspin is reliable, with lots of spin and a low trajectory, as long as you hold the blade really open and actively produce backspin. A more passive push, for instance if you want to drop the ball short, is harder as the ball tends to dig in and climb out high. Blocking with the forehand against incoming topspin is very controlled, but at low impact you have to close the blade more than on high impact, as on the latter the trajectory of the ball will be significantly flatter.
The backhand of the blade was a bit of a revelation. I used both the Yasaka Phantom 0012 (an OX LP) and the Friendship 755 on 0.6mm sponge and although these LPs have very different characters, there was no significant difference playing with either. Clearly, the blade dominates the rubbers. And in a very good way, too, as its dampening effect is substantial – as good as the best I ever encountered in Re-Impact blades. Blocking incoming topspin, you have to close the blade a bit, or the ball will go quite high over the net. The dampening is very good on low and medium impact, and even on high impact there is some of it left, which is remarkable. As a consequence, you have excellent control over placement. Also, your opponent will hardly be able to force you away from the table, as incoming speed – except when the ball is smashed all-out – is easily dealt with. Reversal is, not unexpectedly, moderate to low. However, if you are forced to step back and change to chopping, heavy backspin can be produced. Chops, if done shallow, going horizontally under the ball, will produce low speed, a nicely flat trajectory, and control over placement is great. This is probably your best stroke when away from the table. Active blocks and drives against topspin tend to produce dead balls with enough speed. The trajectory of the ball will be quite flat, so it is safest to go for the corners. Lifting backspin with an LP can be done using the same kind of quick compact drive as described for the forehand, or by pushing or side-sweeping. The reversal is moderate again, but enough to make the ball dip and get onto the other half. By far the most effective way to respond to serves is to use a side-swipe; this guarantees the ball will stay low and somehow seems to produce the best reversal as well. I would expect that using a more disruptive LP like Tibhar Grass D-tecs on this blade’s backhand is quite possible and would make the blade even more effective as concerns reversal, but I liked the way it played with the Yasaka and Friendship LPs very much.
As the blade proved to be very good for chopping away from the table with the LPs, I also tried chopping with the forehand away from the table. Even with the 2.0 mm Rapid Sound, chopping was excellent, with great control and spin, and a low trajectory, as long as I chopped shallow while holding the blade horizontally. This way the forehand’s catapult doesn’t come into the action and the balsa will actually slow things down comfortably for a solid defence. With thinner sponge, things get a bit more tricky; with the Friendship Super FX 1.5mm I felt I lost a lot control as the forehand’s catapult got activated to some extent. And as soon as I turned the blade, chopping at an angle instead of horizontally, control went overboard: balls shot away and went long.
Section two: the M3 Select with 1.8 or 2.0 mm sponge on both sides.
As soon as I changed from LP on the backhand to MP (Friendship 799, 1.8 mm – the white Mystery sponge, which is more light-weight, softer and more elastic than the classic orange sponge, and in fact resembles the sponge of the KTL Rapid Sound I used on the forehand), the blade changed its character. Its basic speed increased (now it was faster than the Preference), it felt more solid, and control went up as well. The best technique was still the one with compact strokes, but the effectiveness of play at mid-distance was greatly increased due to the increase of speed, and the blade now proved capable of very good hitting as well. The margin of error concerning the timing of the contact with the ball increased as well; it was still very good to contact the ball on the rise, but even after the highest point of the bounce I could re-loop with good spin and speed as well as good control. Everything was more easy now. Apparently the blade gets better when its balsa-effects are compensated some by sandwiching it between medium soft sponges of rubbers with medium catapult – changing from 1.8 mm to 1.5 mm and a harder sponge did not work out well, so 1.8 mm seems to be the minimum effective thickness in this kind of set-up. The Friendship 799 is normally a medium fast and moderately disruptive medium pip, but on the M3 Select it came very close to the results I had had with the LPs, including modest reversal on crisp blocks and aggressive pushes. It was fast enough for crisp hitting, too. It would chop as well and that makes me think that using an LP on relatively thick sponge (1.2 or even 1.5 mm) would be an option with this blade, effective for modern defence away from the table, as the forehand chops great anyway. I did change the MP for a classic anti-spin rubber on 1.5 mm sponge to test this style to some extent, but even if it worked for returning loops low and safe, it is quite hard to get really heavy backspin in your chops with conventional anti, so you have to rely on the aggressive potential of your forehand to win points.
The last combination I tried was the MP on the backhand and the SP (Friendship 802-1) on the forehand. Close to the table, this set-up is very effective as well. Hitting with the SP was now much better than it had been with the LP on the backhand, generating better speed and feeling solid on contact. In fact, this was the set-up that proved the easiest to play with, as it felt insensitive to incoming spin, fast, and offered great control. When you use compact strokes and contact the ball in front of you, preferably on the rise, or on the highest point of the bounce, this set-up demands the least power as well and would probably be the best of all to avoid stress on knees, shoulder and back.
Logically, I should have tried one more set-up, but as I mentioned earlier I didn’t test the M3 Select with frictionless anti-spin rubber (which I don’t own) on its backhand. From its overall behaviour I would guess, though, that this blade would do well with that kind of rubber, if it came on thick enough sponge (1.8 to 2.0 mm). With inverted it would probably work for modern defence, also away from the table; and with SP on the forehand it would suit a style like Amely Solja’s.
Conclusions.
All in all, the M3 Select seems to be – not for beginners, but for advanced players – quite good for a close to the table block-and-loop-attack game using LP on the backhand and inverted on the forehand, perhaps even better for a push-block-and-hit game with frictionless anti and SP, and also for a block-and-loop-attack game with MP on the backhand and inverted on the forehand or a block-and-hit game with MP on the backhand and SP on the forehand. Even modern defence away from the table would be an option. I think the rubbers used should have medium catapult, medium soft sponges, and have a thickness of 1.8 to 2.0 mm (possibly 2.1 mm), except for the LPs, which can be used in OX, but may do better for chopping when used on relatively thick sponge. Even so, for modern defence players who do not need a light-weight blade, a traditional blade would be probably better, as it offers a larger variety of strokes (especially longer ones) and a greater margin of error. In my opinion this blade really works best with a compact technique. Its special forte is that you do not need to produce great power: this is a blade that will do the work for you – and will get the job done as well. Having a great dampening backhand side, it allows you to stay close and when you have to step away from the table it offers the options you need for that, too. It is, therefore, also a great choice for players who would like to minimize the stress on their shoulder-joints, their backs, and their knees produced by conventional table-tennis techniques; and as such, this is a classic and top-notch Re-Impact blade.
_________________ Without opponent, no match.
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