Although it is not my favourite in the Perfect series, the Re-Impact Smart is a very special combination blade with a great potential for many all-round styles. This review is intended to be an introduction to the features, possibilities and use of this blade.
The Smart combines an active backhand which has a defensive character with a conventional forehand which is very much all-round in every respect. The backhand, being active, is quite insensitive to incoming spin and works best with compact strokes. It is therefore ideal for blocking with great precision, with any kind of rubber. On low and medium impact it is easy to take the speed off the incoming ball and placing short is not a problem. On high impact the backhand has a bit of a kick, so when you hit flat you will be able to produce enough speed for a surprise counter-attack. This makes it very hard for opponents to put pressure on your backhand side, and it allows you to make free use of your forehand. The forehand, being conventional, works best with longer strokes. It has a soft feel (but not as soft as the backhand) and a very high spin-production potential at low, medium and even relatively high speed – only when impact with the ball is very high, the balsa core will kick in and catapult the ball away with less spin and more speed than usual. This makes the forehand just about perfect for spin variation. As its catapult is low for a balsa blade, balls can be placed with great precision as well. Its speed, basically around ALL+, combined with its spin potential allows loop-attack from mid-distance as well as close to the table; it also allows effective chopping at any distance. All-out attackers should use a different blade and so should classic defenders, for with its features, the Smart works best for forehand-oriented tacticians who use spin and speed variations, mostly at moderate speeds, to win their points.
Shortly before I tested the Smart, I played extensively with the T4, which is quite a bit faster and active at both sides. The typical influence of its balsa core, which dampens speed at low impact and increases it at high impact, works harmonically in this blade and as soon as you have got used to its speed curve, it is completely predictable. Coming from the T4, the Smart feels very different, and wilful at times. But if you let the blade have its way, it will work admirably. There are several set-ups that suit the Smart, but in my opinion a player should always bear in mind that the backhand is mainly for defence and control, and the forehand for active, tactical play. An inverted rubber on the backhand should be relatively thin (1.5 mm or less) to retain the special character of the blade on this side. Blocking and looping (at low to moderate speed, with great spin) close to the table is excellent, but I found chopping away from the table much less easy, as the compact stroke this side requires doesn’t suit producing backspin with inverted very well. If you really want to chop and produce your own spin with the backhand, pips-out rubbers do better, in my opinion. But the backhand is, for defence, actually best when used to reverse incoming spin, with rubbers that have low friction (like Tibhar Grass Dtecs in OX, or nearly frictionless antispin rubbers like Neubauer ABS). The backhand also works great with anti-spin or pips-out rubbers if used for blocking (stop-blocks are a cinch!) and occasional counter-hitting. If sponge is used, its throw is moderately high on low impact, gets a bit lower at increasing impact, and tends to make your returns very safe - for you. In fact, using antispin rubber (Tibhar Ellen Defensive, black, 1.5 mm), I found it very hard NOT to return the ball on the table and be at least slightly awkward for the opponent at that. But with several OX LPs I found the throw surprisingly low, which is a definite plus when you chop-block. The forehand of the Smart is absolutely best with inverted rubbers. I tried short pips in several thickness and didn’t ever get the speed I needed for sustained attack. I guess pips would do if you only wanted to block very well. However, the spin-potential of the forehand just begs to be used! With inverted, I didn’t notice any problems considering thickness. As for the sponge, I liked soft to medium soft sponges best on it. In my opinion it doesn’t work so well with tensors and the like; if speed is what you want, a different blade would be better. But for spin, the Smart is really very good.
Tactical play is what the Smart seems to be designed for; actually, its name says it all. Here are some examples of tactics that work very well with this blade. If you have a well-reversing LP in OX or a slick anti-spin rubber on the backhand and inverted on the forehand, a good tactic is to serve heavy backspin not too deep and attack the return (push) with an aggressive push. The Smart allows good speed, great reversal, and perfect placement with this shot. If your aggressive push is attacked (topspin) the Smart’s backhand will also allow an effective stop-block or chop-block with, again, good reversal. If the opponent’s attack is fast and deep, you can step away from the table and chop his return, using a short (chop-block-like) stroke. But stepping around the backhand and using the forehand to re-loop is very effective as well. A bit more daring and provocative is to serve long with little spin, placing the ball so that it will be returned to your backhand. The defensive potential of the Smart is so huge, both with blocking and chopping, that this is an effective way to start a rally in which sooner or later the opponent is forced to push or drop the ball – this return can be attacked with aggressive pushing, but also very well with a good forehand loop. With grippy anti-spin rubber on your backhand similar tactics apply, but instead of aggressive pushing your best counter-attack is now a quick flick or roll. It is very easy to attack backspin using anti with the Smart’s backhand, and the balsa kick will see to it that you get enough speed. With thin-sponged SP or MP it is more or less the same. Tactics using inverted on both sides include old-school all-round play: a mix of loops, pushes, and chops close to the table and at medium distance, using every possible angle. It requires excellent foot-work, but the Smart will reward that with great spin and accuracy. However, it also quite effective to use thin-sponged inverted on the backhand to block, and thick-sponged inverted on the forehand to attack with spin and speed close to the table, in a kind of blocker/looper style.
_________________ Without opponent, no match.
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