OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Just received this LP in red OX from Ztabletennis.com.

This LP seems to have been mostly ignored by the online community thus far, perhaps due to the shadow cast by the success of regular Talon. ITTF ID# and label appearance is identical to regular Talon so I've marked this sheet with a Sharpie so I don't confuse the two. ZTT's website says: "Dragon Talon Special has a harder rubber compound and sponge than regular Dragon Talon." My rub test reveals that its pips are indeed stiffer than the very soft Talon pips. Giant Dragon rates the two LPs slightly differently as well:

Dragon Talon Special
Speed: 7.5
Spin: 5

Dragon Talon
Speed: 8
Spin: 4.5

More info when I get it mounted and some actual testing done.

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BBC CarboFlex DURO, Donic Acuda S1 Turbo, KTL Stranger Attack 1.2mm

I love the regular Talon, can't wait to hear about it!

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"Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try."
USATT Rating: 1984
Blade: LKT Instinct-Plus, FH: Juic 999 Turbo 2.0 mm Red BH: Giant Dragon Dragon Talon OX
Just For Fun: LKT Toxic 3, FH: Air Illumina Black 1.8 mm BH: Xiying 979 OX

Haggisv says they're the same in OX.

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I'll have them side by side a bit later and will test. ZTT's blurb seems to deliberately mention the rubber compound.

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BBC CarboFlex DURO, Donic Acuda S1 Turbo, KTL Stranger Attack 1.2mm

I had the 0.9mm sponged version and i thought it played like a dog!

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Yes I've confirmed with the manufacturer who tell me they are exactly the same, so any variation is probably just variation between sheets or batches.

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My setup: Blade: Re-Impact OOAK Dark Knight | BH: Dtecs OX red | FH: JUIC 999 Turbo 2.0mm blk
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That leaves me wondering why GD would go to the trouble of marketing the same OX topsheet in an altogether different package.

Feel-wise, the Special does feel stiffer that my regular Talon, and it sure cut differently than any of the three Talon OX sheets I've installed; Special being harder to cut, leaving behind a jagged edge around the entire circumference of the blade. I know from CW Smith of BBC who used to run the rubber press for ASTI back when they were manufacturing their own line of rubbers that the process involves a heated mold.

A carefully weighed lump of rubber is put into the mold and it's closed, much like a waffle iron. Timing is critical, and a particular rubber will have a predetermined optimum time in the press -- say 30 seconds. Leaving it in a just few seconds shorter or longer produces a softer or harder version of the same topsheet, so perhaps that's what GD is doing here.

On my robot DTS feels similar to DT. I'll get some actual play time at the TT club this Sunday and report back.

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BBC CarboFlex DURO, Donic Acuda S1 Turbo, KTL Stranger Attack 1.2mm

They have different packages because the sponges of the two versions are different. I don't doubt your impression that this sheet is different, but it's likely just be a different batch.

I can't see any incentive for the manufacturer to lie about this... whereas they would probably sell more if they said that they were different, as customers would want to try both instead of just one.

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OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Table Tennis Reviews / Articles | Table Guide | Robot Guide
Re-Impact Blades | Avalox Blade Overview | Table Tennis Robots
My setup: Blade: Re-Impact OOAK Dark Knight | BH: Dtecs OX red | FH: JUIC 999 Turbo 2.0mm blk
Check out my huge 'for sale' thread here | My OOAK Interview

That makes perfect sense until you consider the Dragon Talon Special OX version, which is why I included the image of its packaging. If it's exactly the same as Dragon Talon OX then why package it differently with different specs?

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BBC CarboFlex DURO, Donic Acuda S1 Turbo, KTL Stranger Attack 1.2mm

Yes I don't disagree with you there, but that's what they told me. They have the same rating for the sponged and OX version, which obviously isn't right either.

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OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Table Tennis Reviews / Articles | Table Guide | Robot Guide
Re-Impact Blades | Avalox Blade Overview | Table Tennis Robots
My setup: Blade: Re-Impact OOAK Dark Knight | BH: Dtecs OX red | FH: JUIC 999 Turbo 2.0mm blk
Check out my huge 'for sale' thread here | My OOAK Interview

I just received the 1.0mm version of Dragon Talon Special and can confirm that the sponge is not the dampening type found on the sponged versions of regular Dragon Talon and Cropcircles.

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BBC CarboFlex DURO, Donic Acuda S1 Turbo, KTL Stranger Attack 1.2mm

Today I received talon 0x normal and special. Special feels "harder" than normal..
And special feels a little faster than "normal". And normal feels more "grippy".
But this is just the ball popping up and down, but I find out Monday if
I can feel any difference playing.

I have to say special is 0x red and normal is 0x black.
I also have a red 0x normal, but that was on a 0.9 mm
dampening sponge that I peeled of and this one is
rather soft.
So maybe glue-sheet makes it Harder??

Any one tried to peel of glue-sheet??

Cheers
Geddk

Giant Dragon glue-sheets are not difficult to remove, though the adhesive is fairly strong so pull slowly.

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BBC CarboFlex DURO, Donic Acuda S1 Turbo, KTL Stranger Attack 1.2mm

They're nearly impossible to remove from a blade though!

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OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Table Tennis Reviews / Articles | Table Guide | Robot Guide
Re-Impact Blades | Avalox Blade Overview | Table Tennis Robots
My setup: Blade: Re-Impact OOAK Dark Knight | BH: Dtecs OX red | FH: JUIC 999 Turbo 2.0mm blk
Check out my huge 'for sale' thread here | My OOAK Interview

I'll second that, it takes quite a bit of effort to remove those Giant Dragon Talon glue sheets from the blade.

_________________
"Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try."
USATT Rating: 1984
Blade: LKT Instinct-Plus, FH: Juic 999 Turbo 2.0 mm Red BH: Giant Dragon Dragon Talon OX
Just For Fun: LKT Toxic 3, FH: Air Illumina Black 1.8 mm BH: Xiying 979 OX