OOAK Table Tennis Forum

When you used the original Hellfire in ox during the celluloid era, which blade did you use?
I had the Hellfire on the Zeus blade and this worked very well.
I wonder how the Unicorn compares with the Zeus. Both are produced by the same people.[/quote]

I plaid Hellfire on Ross Leidy custom made blade. It was a gem but unfortunately is not good with a plastic ball.

Although I did not play Zeus I used during the celluloid era Nittaku Shake Hand Carbon blade which is a similar
construction with a soft hinoki outer ply as Zeus. Unicorn is harder due to a Mansonia outer ply.
But you never know until testing yourself on your favorite wood Zeus.
By the way I glued Hellfire X with a Revolution3 glue by applying it on the blade and on the edges of the rubber
(approximately 1 cm wide)

Here you can see Hellfire X in action if someone wants to : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZdJbfaDC5I

Thank you for sharing your experience with Hellfire X. You plaid mainly a passive block and lifting technique.
I guess that you did not have much practice with a new set up.

Can you compare the properties of Troublemaker and Hellfire X?

I think the community playing your style of game would appreciate more of your videos of Hellfire X in action. In particular a video of real game against an attacking player.

Thanks for sharing your video. Though you recommend HellfireX, I thought you did pretty well with excellent short blocking and lifting with SuperStop. It also seemed to offer the best control out of the three rubbers.

I tried the Super Stop when it first came out. Blocks against loops were very easy to do. Attacking underspin or no spin was decently easy as well. The problem is that neither your blocks nor your attacks are dangerous. There's hardly any spin reversal whatsoever on blocks, so it's very easy for your opponent to tee off on you once they get a handle on the ball's flight trajectory and master the timing. As for attacks, unlike pips attacks, they're generally pretty easy to block back. From having tested it so far, the Hellfire X in OX is far more dangerous. It requires more skill to play than the Super Stop (which you can master after a few hours of practice), but it's also not as hard to play as some other pips. It's very linear, creates decent spin reversal and is very easy and reliable for chop-blocks, making those shots almost as safe as passive blocks. And it's also good for attacking. Don't like it for chopping, though.

_________________
I. Re-Impact Tachi Plus 2019; FH: Nittaku FastArc G-1 1.4mm; BH: Saviga 77 Monster OX
II. Re-Impact Turbo; FH: Spinlord Sandwind 1.5mm; BH: DMS Kamikaze OX
III. Re-Impact Smart; FH: TSP Spinpips RED 2.1mm; BH: Dr. Neubauer Gangster OX
IV. Sauer & Troger Firestarter; FH: Spinlord Waran 1.8mm; BH: Giant Dragon Snowflake OX

Thanks TT that well explains why he recommended Hellfire X

Here's a review of the Hellfire pips from the TT-Maximum guys:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz8jJLo ... e=youtu.be

I'd agree with the guy's comments about the OX version (didn't try the sponged version), but one thing he didn't discuss or demonstrate at all is chopping with the OX version. This is the main liability of the Hellfire OX in my opinion. If you are forced away the table, you are in trouble because unless it was something with my blade or my technique, chopping is very unforgiving. Part of the problem is that the pips are so slow that the ball often doesn't make it to the net unless you can give it a lot of forward momentum. But a bigger part of the problem is the ball either dies down or else sails long, and it feels like you have to get very lucky to get just the right angle. Having said that, if you're game is 100% at the table, the Hellfire OX might be one of the best options out there: slow and controlled, low ball flight trajectory, decent reversal on passive blocks, very good underspin on chop-blocking (and, importantly, chop-blocking is easy to do with this rubber), good attacking options and low spin sensitivity. They're easy pips to master and, again, as long as you stay at the table, your ball just has a way of landing on your opponent's side of the table again and again and again.

_________________
I. Re-Impact Tachi Plus 2019; FH: Nittaku FastArc G-1 1.4mm; BH: Saviga 77 Monster OX
II. Re-Impact Turbo; FH: Spinlord Sandwind 1.5mm; BH: DMS Kamikaze OX
III. Re-Impact Smart; FH: TSP Spinpips RED 2.1mm; BH: Dr. Neubauer Gangster OX
IV. Sauer & Troger Firestarter; FH: Spinlord Waran 1.8mm; BH: Giant Dragon Snowflake OX

Today I had a long practice session with two my mates who are very skilled long pimples in OX players: a one is a current National Veteran over 50 champion
and a second one is a finalist of the National Veteran championship over 40. All of us have a bit different styles. The Unicorn blade with Hellfire X and Dignics 09C 1.9mm was tested by all of us in any aspect including chopping from the distance. This set up shines in every aspect: a passive block, a chop block. a lifting of back spin, a hitting and a chopping from the second zone (the space in privet facility was limited). The back spin after chopping the top spin generated with Harricane3 National on Viscaria blade was good enough for the attacking player to hit the second or third ball into the net.

TT, I think your blade does not bring out the all qualities of Hellfire X. Although I tested in my life of EJ hundreds of the rubber - wood combination for a close to the table play, Unicorn blade with Hellfire X is a great match. So try it and you won't regret spending of a few bucks.

I must say I am really looking forward to the unicorn/ hellfire x combination and the hellfire x on the viscaria copy/ zhang jike super zlc combination.

Unicorn is highly controllable but it will be interesting to try the hellfire x with the 2 carbon blades. The control should still be there but the speed might be an issue. Especially with the slowing down of the incoming ball.

There's always ups and downs but this is going to be exciting times. The hellfire and the unicorn should arrive next week so the testing and learning can continue.

Will be interesting to see the effectiveness after extended use as compared to the cloud and fog iii setup I'm currently enjoying and the viscaria copy and grass Dtecs combination.

It seems Hellfire X has a special version like the original Hellfire did.It is all about a peculiar adhesive sheet, which they say it makes the rubber even slower.Does this mean that a glue sheet can slow down the pips speed? Is there something special on the adhesive film that makes this happen? Is it legal? as the rubber is approved with no adhesive film . Is it worth even paying more money ? .... Maybe people read special version and in their mind just clicks: more dangerous,hence , better.

https://www.contra.de/en/s-t-belag-hell ... ezial.html

You can make a special version of any long pimples rubber by stretching it on a glue sheet.
It increases a space between pimples and applies a bit tension into a rubber sheet.
Different make of long pimples rubbers react differently after the procedure.
The best was an old version of Tibhar Grass D tecs as it had longer pips and a tensor type of rubber mix.
It produced more deception with a celluloid ball.
I think a new version of D tecs after stretching is still going to give some extra funk but not as much as an old version.
I did not try to stretch Hellfire X because these days I prefer attaching my pimples with a water based glue.
I apply glue on a blade and on edges of a rubber sheet. This way of gluing allows pimples stay quite loose so it adds a bit
of funk.
The best way of finding out what is good for your way of playing is trying yourselves

So I finally received my Hellfire X and Unicorn blade for my one option and the second Hellfire X for my Zhang Jike blade. Thank you to Red spot for persuading me and arranging the delivery as well.

I'll not focus on the Zhang Jike setup fo now since the Hurricane III hasn't settled in as yet. I'll comment on it after a few weeks. However, the Hellfire X and Unicorn blade with the Hurricane III is absolutely a gem of a combination. I can play the same effective shots as with my Cloud and Fog iii setup and with the Elite long setup. However, the Hellfire X does it all and even more. The more I'm referring to is that the Hellfire X has a fantastic damping effect and more reversal than compared to the other two mentioned setups. Reversal on the chop blocks for sure and not much on the passive block.

I can feel the ball soo much more and it performs in all departments. Whether I play with it on my forehand or backhand. This goes for either defence or attack. The Hurricane III works perfectly well on either forehand or backhand as well. So all in all I can play a very dynamic game of defence and attack near or far from the table.

To be able to aggressively hit a long pimple reasonably consistently from 1,5m to 2m away from the table is an absolute joy. Mix this up with a chop from distance keeps the opponent on their toes.

Review: https://youtu.be/phSsB5HHr0Q

_________________
GeblockTT - table tennis on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/c/geblocktt

Great pimple play as always and thanks for sharing. This guy can make any pimple look good and effective

Hellfire X plus Unicorn blade is a great combo, not just a good technique of German player (German rating - 1800 points). This rubber - blade combination allows him to control easily the offensive game of first opponent (this player is rated above 1700 points by German classification i.e. approximately 2200 by US classification).

I predict that Hellfire X and Unicorn will be very popular, just a matter of time.