OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Well it's the most exciting time ever. Time to upgrade!!! However, I need to some advice because it can be so hard to stay current on so many great products. I've been playing for ten years. I consider myself a rather lethal one wing looper that loves winding one up especially at or below table height. I typically exhibit a fishing backhand or the occasional sneaky far corner B/H smash. I also consider myself to have solid all around defense so in summary, I need a blade with good flex and dwell time (OSP expert seems to be top notch) but also a somewhat stiff blade so my B/H won't suffer (or my F/H for that matter when trying to bury a point). I know I want a 5 ply for sure but I've read so many different reviews about carbon/ carbon glass vs an ample amount of different woods so I figured it was time to bring it to my homies for advice!!! Lol

N11.

Or the M8.

Iskandar

Dare I ask why you're snickering at the N11? Lol

Do a search for "N11", you'll find out...

Iskandar

You don't say a lot about your current equipment (what to upgrade from), nor your budget. For better advice you may need to clarify a little.

You stated that you know you want a 5-ply. Anyway, if the OSP Expert is a viable choice, you are in a price range where you will find a few single ply hinoki blades, which do possess some requested characteristics (stiffness for putaway power, dwell for looping). Single ply blades also have a few disadvantages: weight/thickness, crack easily, quite fast so may be difficult to control, lots of vibration.

The YinHe N-11 seems to flex a little more than the one OSP blade I tried. (Not sure what model that was.) Also, the YinHe sells at around a tenth of the price, and is still an excellent blade.

Good point. I've actually only ever played with the stiga carbo 7 and a couple variations from the master series so I've never really had a true high performance racquet and I don't have a budget Im ready to spend the money to buy my weapon of choice. Thus, I too am also snickering at the N11 haha.

Any particular reason you decided to start another thread that is pretty much identical to this?

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USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

ONE thread??? More like several dozen. About two a week on average...

Iskandar

How did he manage that and still only have 11 posts? Must be magic

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USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

Lol yeah I didnt realize there was a whole forum for just blades and yea I'm definitely not on here as much as I wish I could be

YinHe (= "Galaxy") blades should not be dismissed.

From this and previous threads I gather that you are an equipment junkie (EJ) in spe. The EJ virus is generally not to be encouraged, but I make an exception in this case...

If you have only really played with Stiga's (top premade line) Carbo7 (S5 rubbers), then an N-11 with basic rubbers, like the one linked here, may well be a step up. Based on your statements above, this is what I would advise that you try.
This is not a joke, and neither was Iskandar's mention of the N-11 above. I guess the snicker was on context or forum history, not on actual quality of the equipment. I have built an identical setup for one of our local players, and would not be reluctant to use it in competition myself.

A setup similar to your Carbo7 may be this Y-4 with Palio rubbers. I would also consider this a step up, but probably in the wrong direction. The blade is fairly stiff, so not really ideal for looping.
I have two Y-4 blades in my bag, for demo purposes. Nice blade if you want a really stiff Carbon blade with moderate speed rating. Wouldn't use it myself, except for demo purposes.

If your self assessment is spot on, and you are really in the market for a good step up, consider a W-6 combo.

All of those combos together will cost you about the same as an "Old Stiga/Palatinus" (OSP) blade, incl. shipping. (possibly a little more than your Stiga Carbo7) If you have patience, Iskandar may even share his AliExpress research with you, so you can get them all at a lower price. (Yes I know you indicated that your budget is not severely limited. Still...) Of course you can buy only the blades from the same seller. Just follow one of the above links to the webshop and surf from there.

If your focus is on playing better, and not on acquiring the "perfect" equipment, then just get one and stick with it, forget about the rest. You will probably be fine with either the N-11 or W-6 combo. There is no magic involved, just hard work...

Note that ordering from China does require patience. While the sellers are generally quick to dispatch, Chinese export customs procedures tend to be slow. Prepare to wait 2-4 weeks, and perhaps more in holiday seasons (Christmas, summer, Chinese new year).