OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I’d like to hear from folks using this blade, which I just bought, about their rubber setup experiences. Any suggestions are welcome.

My setup is Hellfire X long pips in OX on my backhand. For my forehand I’m using my previous rubber, the Xiom Vega Euro DF in Max, which I used on a Zhang Jike blue dragon blade.

I’m very happy with the OX and blade combo. The slower wood (compared to my Zhang Jike) is just the ticket to help me attack with the OX, a skill I’ve been clawing my way towards adding to my blocking to round out my backhand.

The Xiom is delivering very heavy vibration. It’s also a very slow sponge and I think the slow sponge / slow blade might be too much slowness. But, I don’t really know...

Any experience or thoughts?

-Brendan

bump. This is a blade that interests me, so I look forward to your and others opinions on how it plays. Bonus for videos playing with it!

Innershield def is a fantastic chopping blade and it has enough support of ZLF when attacking.
If you FH chop a lot, a slower blade with your Xiom rubber on you may have more control and even more spin.
If you need more power on FH, you can go with a Tenergy, Dignics or one of that kind of rubbers with sacrificing control.
NeoH3 seems as a good alternative too.

Innershield ZLF is great stuff... I've had 3 of them, but have since swapped to the soulspin blades. If I weren't using custom, I'd definitely take the innershield ZLF as my blade of choice for chopping with brush loop attacks.

It's thin construction leads to more vibrations and a flimsier feel when hitting. Unless you like that sort of thing, I don't know if I'd recommend it for a more aggressive attacking chopper. I use a custom blade that is about the same thickness at 5.1 but much heavier in weight (ZLF around 86 grams, my current about 107 grams).

_________________
SOULSPIN CUSTOM BLADES
Fh: Spinny rubber
Bh: Not so spinny rubber...

How does Innershield ZLF compare to InnerForce ZLF & Innnerforce Layer ZLF

I'm not interested in knowing the differences in blade composition, but rather, actual playing characteristics.

Innershield is thinner and larger, so more vibrations and increased "dwell" time. Easier to spin the ball, but lacks the heftier punch when smashing or hitting more into the ball.

_________________
SOULSPIN CUSTOM BLADES
Fh: Spinny rubber
Bh: Not so spinny rubber...

With a few more weeks under my belt since I initiated this post, I can safely say that the blade continues to impress with its blend of compliance and snappy attacks.

With the forehand, by swinging smoothly through the ball, the Xiom Vega Euro DF is working perfectly. The vibrations seem less now that I’m working “with” the blade and getting more dwell time.

With the backhand, after taking a lesson from a coach who played pro with medium pips backhand, I’ve started fully attacking with my Hellfire X in OX. The key to the attack has been to initiate ball contact with a brushing motion, which lays the pips down, and then snap forward using my wrist which starts cocked slightly downwards.

I’ve watched every YouTube video that shows up in a search for Long Pips OX Attack, and I’m finally emulating the very aggressive style of play that I see, with chops and blocks being used to set up aggressive long pip attacks. The resulting ball has a flat trajectory and is dead-or-underspin and just brutal to return.

Hoping this takes me from 1663 into the 1800s with another few months practice!

Anyone in Los Angeles: happy to host at my table!

-Brendan