OOAK Table Tennis Forum

From Coles TT, I got Galaxy 896 C-Pen with forehand 729 Focus III 2.2 and backhand Dawei Inspirit Quattro allround, total of $41 complete with dawei cover and two dawei protective film sheets, assembled and shipped to my door.
I have decided to wait about a week to give my review, so that I could have a few practice sessions before bashing everything in my adjustment period from a stiga premade. This blade definately has some heft to it, I have nothing to weigh it, but it is heavier than my stiga premade and my friends DHS cpen. There is nice sound when hitting the ball on a loop, and the feel is fantastic, it can really be felt if you hit the sweet spot or a bad part, something that my premade lacked. The feel is mostly flexable, excellent for loops, close to the table shots are not as great though.
For rubbers, I really knew nothing while buying them and it seems that I picked two opposite ends of the spectrum. The 729 Focus III is super slow, controlled, slightly tacky and excellent for a mid-range shot. I use this on my forehand and absolutely HATED it to begin with. I was coming up short on every shot, hitting weak loops and getting punished for it, but after a bit of getting used to I have loved it. The feel with this is great, feedback to the bat is phenomenal and I can place my loops anywhere I want.
The Inspirit Quattro is on my backhand (for RPB play) and is very fast, does not give much feedback, seems better for closer play, and did I mention it was extremely fast?!?! I found myself using this rubber mostly as a forehand when I first got the bat even though the 729 was gapped. The play is very fast and difficult for opponents to return a fast loop. I love having this on my RPB side, because that is probably my biggest weakness. I hit weak shots on RPB and this makes what used to be a weak shot something whith some speed, preventing it from being smashed or looped back into my face.
Here are some pictures to see it (taking a picture gripping penhold is next to impossible!)
Let me know if there is any more information that I can provide on my new bat!

_________________
cpen Galaxy 896
FH: 729 Focus III 2.2
BH: Dawei Inspirit Quattro Allround 2.0

Next step is to sand the edge to your comfort!

_________________
Butterfly Cutlass
Tackiness Chop 1.9mm Red
Curl-P1-R 0.5mm Black

I use that blade on one of my LP setups. 896 is a looping machine of a blade.

_________________
Goof-off chopping bat
Gambler All Rosewood
Aurus Soft / Gambler GXL .6 sponge

Status - Out of Business Janitor/Babysitter

Nice review, jeff

I am happy that the blade recommendation suit you and that you enjoy your new blade. I am sure you will grow increasingly attached to it as you get to know it better and better

Have fun and tell us more about your findings as you develop

_________________
NITTAKU SEPTEAR cpen | FH: 729 802, 1.5, black | RPB: CORNILLEAU PILOT POWER, 2.0, red
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯