OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I have several Chinese blades and mostly use cheap Chinese rubbers (Reactor Corbor, 729 General, Yinhe 9000). Same rubber on both sides, except I'm more diligent at keeping the black (FH) side cleaner.

For about 5 years, my main paddle was the Yinhe W6, but I started to like the Dawei Genote O a lot more. It just felt a lot better and had a very large sweet spot and satisfying feel. Early in the pandemic, I picked up a few more cheap Chinese blades (Reactor DJ200, Sanwei M8, Yinhe N11, Yinhe Uranus-2, Palio 2-star). I immediately fell in love with the U-2. I know it is very popular in China, and remember seeing a few there, which is why I bought it. Yinhe rates is as OFF, but it doesn't seem particularly fast to me, and I seem to not have anymore trouble controlling it than I do with the W6 or the Genote O. But it just has a similar characteristic to the Genote O, but even more so. Very satisfying sweet spot, and I even love the hollow-like pinging sound of it. And I loop just as well with it as I do with the W6.

This is the only 7-ply blade I have tried, so I was wondering if there is something about 7-ply blades that make it feel this good? Or is it really just a faster blade? Curious if anyone has tried it and can compare it to other popular chinese blades? I'd love to know more about it, as I am curious what other blades might have similar characteristics. Maybe some of the other popular 7-ply Chinese blades, like the Sanwei Fextra 7?

Thanks! Appreciate any input.

Yinhe U2 is the most recommended blade to beginners in China. Other blades mentioned together with Yinhe U2 in the similar topics are DHS PG7, Sanwei Fextra 7, and Sword Day Fury.

Comparing Yinhe U2 and DHS PG7, the #1&#2 most recommended blades to beginners in China, U2 gets a larger sweet spot but the players will easier reach its limit when they are better.

Yinhe gets another similar blade which is slightly better than U2, Purple Dragon 437, but it is less recommended to new-new beginners.

If ones are graduated from the above blades, then they will usually be recommended to Stiga Clipper Wood for advanced training or carbon blades for performance.

The above is just general conclusion from the comments on Chinese online forum.

Thanks for the info… I did notice this blade is talked about much more in China. I bet it is that large sweet spot that makes it so satisfying to play with. I admit I don’t fully understand how and why someone would quickly reach their limit with the U2.

In fact, most players just never reach the limit of the blade. Once they got used to this blade, then they simply want a faster blade that can improve their performance immediately.

The ones who really want to improve drills will stick to it instead of easily going to a carbon blade. But there are so many people playing table tennis in China, it is not surprising you have heard the voices about reaching the limit of the blade, even they are minority in the whole group.

Most coaches will guide their students to a faster blade after one year's training even they may not be able to reach the limit. They don't want their students got satisfied with the current setup. Players in China are more aggressive on equipment. The beginners are told to start with 7-ply blades when most Australian or European beginners are starting with 5-ply blades still. It is not because they are better, it is just their preference.

What it the limit of a blade? Why one need to reach the limit?

Chinese players prefer faster blades because they play slower rubber in general not because they are more or less aggressive.