OOAK Table Tennis Forum

This is a first impressions review, having used the blade for only a couple of hours against decent club players, non-competitively.

The blade is reputed to be around 70g, and certainly feels light. It is balsa cored (not too thick), then carbon with a thin limba outer. I sealed mine with a couple of layers of my dear wife's hairspray - with permission of course...........

I glued on two used but full of life rubbers - same as my match setup - 2.2mm red Outlaw for forehand and 2.0 black quattro U/L (40 degree sponge). U/L by the way is an indestructable rubber, 6 months and I can detect no real deterioration in performance, it is still domed off the blade and I only replaced it because I thought I should.......

My match setup is an Avalox BT555 blade - 5 ply wood, OFF rated (as a reference definitely a level quicker than the Primorac OFF- I own). Same rubbers.

As the BT555 is supposed to be 85g I expected to find the new setup lighter, and this was the case. I'm afraid I have no means (and nor could I be bothered) to weigh the bats. They either feel right or not. Both of these feel right - not head heavy, which I dislike.

The BT555 truly is a marvelous blade, a really good controllable looping machine. I'm experimenting to try to gain a little in maybe three departments; firstly I have found that stiffer blades than the BT555 (which is seriously flexible) are far superior when flicking short balls. secondly - and blocking really is the strongest shot in my armoury - stiffer / harder blades seem to block a little better. Finally - misguided or not - and mainly for my much stronger forehand - I did fancy a little more speed (whilst appreciating the need to retain sufficient control).

I bought my T-11 from a well known ebay seller for <£17 gbp. Bargain. Like every other Yin-he blade I have seen it is very well made - as good as any butterfly or other premium item I have played with.

I was concerned before playing that the blade/setup would be too fast. I also have a T-4 which is simply a monster.....lovely to hit/block/flick but the short game is a nightmare for me, especially on my backhand.

To give some context to the review, I should describe my style and standard a little. I am a UK local league player. I play top divisions in two leagues (3 and 4 division leagues) and after a 12 year layoff and 18 month comeback am in the top 5 or 10 of each league I play. I am 41, pretty mobile and have a generally offensive game but had a very defensive game in years gone by - hence the ability to chop, lob and block remains important to me. My forehand is a real weapon - a loop drive that wins lots of games. My backhand is distinctly average. The general shape of my FH attack is a low arc fast shot. Bear with me, this is relevant to the review - the T-11 may well suit flatter hitters, and I am one of these.

I expected the T-11 to be very,very fast. It was rated OFF, and so was the T-4. In fact, I fully expected it to be too fast for me, but for some reason fancied trying balsa. In reality, The T-11 and BT555 are of similar general speed, and the BT555 may actually be a little faster.

However......................

Although stiffer - by far - than the BT555, the T-11 is not a hard blade. This "absorbancy" of the soft blade is something you will either love or hate (along with the carbon / balsa "ping"). Great for "soaking up" attacks.

Basically my impressions are that the stiffness of this blade makes hitting through spin quite readily achievable. It is definitely a good flat hitters blade. Flicking is excellent, the blade is really stable (plus being so light it is really mobile). Short game superb. It has several gears. Speed is a lot less than anticipated; I think on reflection the BT555 may actually be faster....... Bizarrely - and I can only think this is due to blade softness or moderate speed -it is also excellent for occasional brush/opening spinny loops as well as flat hitting. Generally I don't use sidespin with my loops but this blade seemed to give me time to do so, which was fun. Opening with my backhand was working fabulously tonight - better than I can ever recall - both flat and looping/rolling - an unexpected bonus........Blocking and retrieving was superb on a control level but there was insufficient rebound from some blocks - this blade requires some punch to a block rather than a passive block. Chopping was really very good, some real dig into the ball. It still retains decent power mid+ distance from the table, although not in the T-4 class of course.

In summary I feel this blade has really good potential. I felt at ease with it very quickly. It may lack a little pace but seems to do everything well. I will be interested to see what I think of it when playing really high quality opposition, and will post an update in due course.

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Timo Boll ALC ST
FH Tibhar Evolution MX-P Max
BH Tibhar Evolution FX-S 1.8
185g

Maybe just a typo in your reply SP, but the blade i'm comparing to is a BT555, not a 550. I believe the 555 may be a tad quicker, but am happy to be corrected as I have never hit with a 550.

Regarding 'away from the table', it might depend on what you regard as distance. It was certainly potent enough for me in the 6, maybe at a push 8 foot range. If I get pushed back any further than that my natural reaction is to chop anyway, and it was bl00dy marvelous at that; some of the balls I sent back were absolutely loaded (I was feeding a teammate chops from distance to attack for 10 mins or so). Definitely spinnier than with the 555. If you are inclined to continue loop to loop from distance I'm not sure, it might be OK but I ddn't try. I should add that I do hit the ball very hard anyway......

Re: blade/setup weight. Yes, very light indeed. Outlaw and UL are light rubbers too. I struggle with heavy setups as although I have good hand speed I don't think my wrist is strong enough to turn over a heavy bat quickly. I think this may be why my BH suddenly started to fire last night, the lighter bat (I have an alternative theory, below, but I think weight is most likely).

Some other things to add that I have remembered now that blood has re-entered my alcohol stream.

- This is a little strange, but somehow on the 555 the difference in speed between my rubbers (outlaw=faster) is very noticable. On the T-11 very much less so. I'm referring to slower shots here. I wonder whether, being stiffer, the blade is more the factor on the T-11 for these shots than the rubbers, and vice-versa for the 555.

- I did a 'bounce test' on the two blades, bats on the table flat, handles off the table, dropped the balls from shoulder height. Results were very similar indeed.

- rubbers were glued on with the thinnest possible layer of Falco normal glue. I have this down to such a fine art using a sponge that the pot of glue should last ages, or at least until the ITTF deem that we should no longer use water as it may make us too clean.......

- The handle of this blade is flared, the BT is a ST. I mention this as maybe this has altered my grip somewhat and improved my BH? Just a thought, but anyway it's a nice comfortable handle.

- My main concern with this blade is blocking, but I think it will be OK. The concern is that I may lose a little pace. Control was superb though.

- I have noticed in the past that my serves have been less effective against balsa bladed opponents (usually very thick blades and max rubbers). I think I understand why now, it was excellent in this department but I can't put my finger on why.

I do hope this is not a false dawn, but I will happily use this bat in competition immediately. I will try to post some pics later.

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Timo Boll ALC ST
FH Tibhar Evolution MX-P Max
BH Tibhar Evolution FX-S 1.8
185g

Very nice review, so_devo

Your findings are quite satisfactory to me as i am buying a T-11 for my girlfriend and modifying it for her liking. What you have found certainly does not put me off.

Thanks

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NITTAKU SEPTEAR cpen | FH: 729 802, 1.5, black | RPB: CORNILLEAU PILOT POWER, 2.0, red
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I have a T-11 and I bought it because I thought I'd find a cheaper equivalent of my Carbon Extreme(I've got three of them, all 68-70g) . T-11 weighs 68g, but the head is bigger than my Carbon Extreme, so I felt immediately a head heavy tendency with the same rubbers (the same cut ) Speed is very good, close or far from the table , but I had obvious lack of spin due to the stiffness.Workmanship is impeccable.

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Samsonov Force Pro
FH:H3/NProv/D05 BH:light and fast

Great review so_devo!

Most of the T-11 I've seen have been a little heavier than those mentioned here, usually in the high seventies grams.

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@kolev ; I guess any light blade has a tendency to go a little head heavy, especially if you use thick rubbers. In my opinion it isn't really a factor for me- and I dislike head heavy setups- as I have two relatively light rubbers on it.

My findings with spin are different to yours though, I am getting substantially more spin with this than the BT555, which must be harder than I realised. I 'm referring to all incl. strokes, services, pushes, chops, loops. I think the softness of the blade must be compensating for the stiffness, and I love it. This is even with the older rubbers I glued on.

@haggisv; I have no idea of the weight of the blade, but even if it is high 70s that's still a nice light blade in my book.

I played again with it today (in practice) and fared very well. I won both the singles I played including one against one of the top local players who most would expect to beat me. I won't repeat the stuff from my review, except to say that blocking speed is actually fine, and that it retains reasonable power at sensible (2-3 metre) distances from the table. It chops magnificently at long range.

I haven't forgotten that I promised to add some pics and will do so. I took some by flash, and they were poor quality, so I'm awaiting some decent light and an opportunity.

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Timo Boll ALC ST
FH Tibhar Evolution MX-P Max
BH Tibhar Evolution FX-S 1.8
185g

yes, a light blade might be a head heavy, but it will be head heavy if the size of the head is bigger, which is the case -the bigger the head , the more the rubber, right? About the spin-it is all relative, depend on what is your reference, not the strokes......

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Samsonov Force Pro
FH:H3/NProv/D05 BH:light and fast

This is not an especially 'big headed' blade - all of the galaxy blades I have seen (all non-defensive) seem to be of a standard size. The rubbers on the T-11 now were first cut to the BT555 and they fit perfectly well......so no noticable size difference between those blades. But of course if your reference blade had a small head then they will have a different feel.

Re: the spin, yes it does depend on the reference. I am surprised to be getting more spin than with the more flexible BT555, but this is the case. I felt I got similar or more spin with the BT555 than with a Primorac OFF-, so for my type of strokes and in my opinion it is outperforming that blade too. I play a relatively flat loop (loopdrive), this may be a factor for that stroke.

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Timo Boll ALC ST
FH Tibhar Evolution MX-P Max
BH Tibhar Evolution FX-S 1.8
185g

Actually, thinking about this, the T-11 is light because it has a balsa core which has replaced a heavier wood. this will (relatively) lighten the head a lot more than the handle, as the handle has a lot smaller surface area.........

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Timo Boll ALC ST
FH Tibhar Evolution MX-P Max
BH Tibhar Evolution FX-S 1.8
185g

Yes it is excellent choice for a loop-drive type of player, smash is great too, block is flawless, but I still try to figure how can I trim the length of the head with some 0.5-0.9 cm, though I suspect it will stiffen the feel even more.Any ideas?

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Samsonov Force Pro
FH:H3/NProv/D05 BH:light and fast

Hi guys,

have some of you experience with T-11 and long pimples. I actually play Meteorite Soft (OX) FH and FS 799 (OX) BH on a Darker Hinoki but would be rather interested by different hands-on experiences with fast blades like T-11 and long pimples in conjunction to a typically passive or active block-oriented play close to the table.

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Bty Apolonia China Clone
FH Dr.Neubauer Killer 1,5
BH Dornenglanz ox

Be careful with the T-11. This is a blade that needs to be sealed. I have only play a few time with my new T-11 and then, you guessed it, splinters.

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ZLC ST
Re-Impact Mythods ST for trade

Almost all blades need sealing to be on the safe side. It applies more so to blades with thin top layers on top of carbon layers. They are extra sensitive to splintering.

Of course, it depends on which glue you use as well.

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NITTAKU SEPTEAR cpen | FH: 729 802, 1.5, black | RPB: CORNILLEAU PILOT POWER, 2.0, red
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I should update this review, as once you have played with a setup a few more times, your opinion can change.

In this case, I conclude that it is actually quite a bit faster than the Bt555. Why I didn't think this day 1, I don't know. Pretty much everything else stands true, hitting is fabulous and powerful at least 2-3 m from the table. Short game needs real concentration and, dare I modestly suggest this is not a beginners blade, but this is not an untamable brute of a blade, rather a fast blade with good control, given its speed.

I've glued fh 3 times and bh twice (replacing used with new rubbers and once regluing a lifted rubber) with no splinter issues.

It continues to be my new match setup, which is the most telling statement I can make.......

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Timo Boll ALC ST
FH Tibhar Evolution MX-P Max
BH Tibhar Evolution FX-S 1.8
185g

no splinter problems at all. the surface is very smooth. excellent finish. today i sold it to a mate and we glued few rubbers to check what he likes and still no sign of a splinter

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Samsonov Force Pro
FH:H3/NProv/D05 BH:light and fast