OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hello everyone,

today I had a short equipment debate with a local expert and importer which planted a seed of doubt if my setup was any good (I admit I am an EJ and too obsessive about equipment) so I am really curious about opinion of more experienced players than me.

The expert's thesis was that my Yinhe W6 blade was thrashy with low wood quality used and therefore with low or bad feeling and feedback. Interestingly he considers Yasaka's blades in the same category despite being produced in Sweden and recommends going with 5 ply all+ or off- blades from Avalox, Xiom or Stiga which he considers as brands that produce good feeling blades made of high quality wood...

Also my Rakza 7 soft which I use on forehand was evaluated as old technology and apparently I would be better off with some newer generation rubber made for plastic ball.

I personally can't verify any of those claims, I own W6 and Appelgren allplay and only difference I notice is that W6 vibrates more, also my new Vega Europe DF which I use on the backhand feels nice and has great grip but I can't tell its "Dynamic Friction" technology is any superior to my Rakza 7 soft...

Really confused right now from all the various opinions and reviews and would really appreciate if anyone could help me out with my dilemas, thanks

I don't know anything about the w6, but people whose opinion I value say it's good quality.

My personal view on blades is that it's really down to feel. That will change too. I'm also somewhat skeptical about manufacturer ratings of speed. Best thing is to try a few. How it feels in the hand, and when you play a variety of different shots will be the key thing. If you feel comfortable and confident with your current blade, don't worry.

As for rubbers, I think talk of old/new technology is mostly marketing toss. Rakza 7 soft is an excellent quality rubber, used at the very highest level by very strong players. You really don't need to spend more money on a marketing gimmick.

It sounds to me like you've got some good quality equipment. Just relax and play with it.

The fellow you've been speaking with is bound to have opinions that support the purchase of new equipment...


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Yasaka Sweden Classic | 802 OX | C8 OX
Check out my blog - LordCope's Latest Learning Log - 10+ years of accumulate mistakes!

My reaction when people ask if they should change equipment is to see and ask what they do well (let's call them qualities a, b and c) with their current setup.

Then I suggest how their proposed setup might be detrimental to what they do well with their current setup.

Then I tell them that their proposed setup might do x, y or z better if they are prepared to sacrifice a, b or c, at least in the short term. Does the player want x, y or z more than a, b or c? Usually the proposed setup includes Tenergy and a faster blade. Funny, that!

If you are a fairly skilled player, your technique is probably robust enough that equipment changes don't throw you off as much. IOW, equipment changes make less of a difference to you in the first place.

IMHO everything you are using is fine. If you bought the new setup, it would also be fine, but you would be out some $$$.

Also, given that the new plastic ball is actually several very different plastic balls, I remain very skeptical of efforts to market rubbers for the plastic ball.

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"Once you get past a certain threshold, everyone's problems are the same: fortifying your island and hiding the heat signature from your fusion reactor." –Doctor Impossible

Sounds to me like he wants to sell you something. Expensive. Yinhe's build quality, in my opinion, is superb. Second to none. The W6 I find a little too slow for my tastes, but I'm sure it's just right for a lot of people. I have a Stiga Allround Classic, while it's nicely made I can't see why it's better made than any of the Yinhe blades I own. Can't say it plays any better, either (current favorite is the Sanwei M8, which you can get for USD8.30 including shipping). Making and reverse-engineering blades (especially all-wood ones) isn't rocket science after all, woods and glues available to the Swedes and Germans are just as available to the Chinese and Japanese. Ply thicknesses are easy to measure, so I don't buy this stuff about blades from Europe being very much different than blades from China. Build quality can vary, but as I said, Yinhe blades are among the best where that is concerned.

What's his opinion of Butterfly?

Iskandar

How are you playing? If you are getting better and playing okay, your equipment is probably just fine.

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Smile in the mirror. Do that every morning and you'll start to see a big difference in your life.

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He sounds like a salesmen with prejudices against chinese build materials - unless it is sold as Yasaka, Donic or Stiga...

Did he have some 'good stuff' for you to test and to prove his claims?
I guess he did not.

I'd like to meet people like him, and simply beat them with my 'old crap & garbage' Palio-stuff...

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Your rubber is perfectly fine, especially for your current standard.

I dont know the W6 but if you have doubts use the Appelgren Allplay - they are a decent blade.

I wish both Carl and Der Echte were here to read this.

Yinhe produce high quality blade, and,

Imho, they maybe right about Japan born (not branded) stuff were better quality, but,

I strongly vote that Yinhe blades better than Stiga and Donic!

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I've not used a W6 however is apparently one of the better Chinese blades and would like to try one. I've had a Galaxy N11 and not problem with build quality. Can't speak for consistency between model though Iskandar has been happy. On the other hand I'm really happy with my Donic blades I've had though have noticed a difference in speed between two of the same model, though both were similar.

As far as rubbers go, if be interested how good you are as if you are only intermediate it's unlikely to make a difference between those and any suggested alternative (unless a really fast and bouncy rubber is suggested which will make you worse). If you are a very good player then you should be able to adjust anyway.

Some people get to caught up with equipment and love imparting their knowledge onto others (I'm one of these) but mostly they believe too much of what they read.

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Donic Waldner Senso V1,FH Baracuda Big Slam 2.0mm ,BH Victas Triple Regular 2.0mm

Careful, though.. he might be 2700 level...

Iskandar

Just seen your videos Barfly and I suspect there is nothing wrong with your equipment and making a change wouldn't make any difference to your results.

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Donic Waldner Senso V1,FH Baracuda Big Slam 2.0mm ,BH Victas Triple Regular 2.0mm

Does that mean you think he's awesome already, so no need to change? Or so rubbish that any change won't make any difference? )

Edit: adding some sort of smile to indicate that I know exactly what Cobalt really means....
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Yasaka Sweden Classic | 802 OX | C8 OX
Check out my blog - LordCope's Latest Learning Log - 10+ years of accumulate mistakes!

Appelgren allplay is supposed to be excellent and im trying to source an old style one from a coach.
if you are wanting to try other all round blades just check out e bay and sell on if you dont like.i like the grubba all plus old style and like it better than the all round stiga.you have nice control in the vid and i dont think you need to change at all.but if you want to experiment on the cheap e bay is the place.

Cheers everyone, I really appreciate your help and valuable advice, you have helped me a lot and I am much more at peace with what I use and hopefully won't obsess much over it anymore .

I also had a talk with a coach about the same topic and her opinion was in line with everyone here: she is actually quite a fan on W6 and would recommend it to anyone and also plays with Rakza7 (not soft) and actually prefers it even over Tenergy and she is a world class player so who I am to complain and try to reinvent the wheel...





LOL, thanks Cobalt, really appreciate your considerate and polite remark, but yeah, my game is rubbish compared to other members here (but I am making progress and I realize no equipment will change that miraculously, just wanted to make sure that what I use is perfectly ok so I don't constantly doubt my equipment and obsess over it.

The W6 is an excellent blade for all levels. Beginners like it's ALL speed. 1500-1800 level guys like it for it's ability to do everything from chop to loop. It's very good for looping. I loved it, but as a chopper preferred my Defplay (at the time).

Cole from ColesTT says that's his preferred blade, I think he's intermediate level-ish.

There is are two 2000+ players that I know of that use th is blade.

....wait...I mean, it's a crap blade. Send it to me and I will us it -- I mean-- destroy it for you.

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