OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I've mentioned the Palisander NCT VII earlier (twice) in another thread and I'm about to order one, from the well-known-China-retail-club, making it a Christmas surprise for myself.
I expect it to be quite fast and it possibly offers an advance in feel and control for the pips I am using on my bh-side.
It is described as an 7ply all-wood and the pictures of its veneers and layers look very promising.
Once it's in and tested I'll let you all know, here in this thread.

On the other hand there are 2 very interesting Palio blades, named WAY-001, WAY-002 and also WAY-003, which also seem to be very nice 7ply all-wood blades and which do look very similar to other well-known rosewood-setups around; structures are quite similar to Palisander VII and Rosewood VII.

The Palio TCT I already own is surprisingly good, especially for my style of playing on the forehand-side, I only miss control and feel with the pips. I would like to describe it as a very unforgiving combination which literally kicks my ass everytime I do something wrong. For the very moment this is good as it forces me to use cleaner strokes and therefore it helps me to improve my technical abilities.
The only minor point I have with Palio is that they seem to have quite small handles, compared to the HRT crystal my son owns. And that's my impression whilst my hands are everything but bear-paws...
So. it's still #1 choice, especially once I go back to inverted or shortpips on the backhand. I'll muster the Stiga Graphite out.

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Red is blogging here >> http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=30522

Looking forward to pics and reviews maynn! besides huarite there's still satiga which is stiga copy as well, I'm thinking in china ppl have obsession over stiga blades.

Thanks. I will.
Stiga is - at least in Europe - one of the most famous brands, of course there's a reason to it. I looked up Satiga and found more or less cheap look-a-likes that promises everything and will give you nothing... I wouldn't buy one even if forced to...

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Red is blogging here >> http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=30522

Small update: I've stalled the order of Palisander NCT VII yesterday bc the 'free-shipping' coupon was already listed as beeing expired, 31-10 while it's been still 30-10 where I live and 31-10 didn't end anywhere on earth.

I've found a shop offering the Palio WAY-series even cheaper than our retail-friend with his stores spread on several platforms is listing it, and now I'm puzzled which one of them to order: WAY-002 or WAY-003. Structure is quite similar, both are 7ply (unless my eyes are fooling me) but I'd guess they feel different.
If I'm not mistaken 002 has, similar to the Palisander NCT VII, a softer core with hardwood used for the outer layers whereas the 003 has it reversed, but I'm no wood-expert and things aren't that easy nowadays.
It would be kind if someone could take a look to cough up some thoughts. I think 003 would be better for my pips (higher dwell-time) but a lot less similar to what I actually use, making it more a looping than a fast-attack blade.


Palio WAY-002 https://www.aliexpress.com/item-img/Palio-WAY-002-WAY-002-WAY002-Table-Tennis-Blade-for-40-New-Material-Ball/32418068038.html
Palio WAY-003 https://www.aliexpress.com/item-img/Palio-WAY-003-WAY-003-WAY003-Table-Tennis-Blade-for-40-New-Material-Ball/32418084101.html

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Red is blogging here >> http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=30522

Satiga is one of those sound-alike copycat "brands" that China is famous for.

Iskandar

Hmmmmm.....

Way001:



Way002:



Way003:



For comparison, HRT Clipper:



I'd say the most Clipper-like of the three would be the 002. As to what to buy, I've absolutely no idea, nor any idea of what to look for, even.

Iskandar

Interesting. What the heck is Palisander?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosewood

A type of Rosewood. Many varieties of rosewood, apparently, are endangered (I assume the ones we use are CITES Category 2, which allows some harvesting, or is the Indian variety (which is plantation-grown).

Interesting that HRT makes a Rosewood NCT VII AND a Palisander NCT VII. Eacheng's price is USD25.79 for the Palisander and $37.52 for the Rosewood.

NCT VII Palisander:



NCTVII Rosewood:



There's also a Palisander NCTV (USD21.49):



Iskandar

The Palisander NCT VII does look very similar to the WAY-002 but I fail to see a similarity to Stiga. Indeed, the Clipper-builds do look similar with another shift in soft-/hardwoods used.
But then there's also the Avalox Triton or the Butterfly Hadraw SR - looking closely at the layers I would suggest this a >85% hit of beeing the 'inspiration':


I'll go for the WAY-003 first since the Palisander VII is and will still be on my wishlist and there are also reasons in 2017 to grant some wishes (like, for example, birthday-present, another Christmas, maybe tournament-wins (cough,cough) or thanksgiving...) - at a price of $17.50 plus shipping.
The core of the WAY-003 looks similar to the one of the Mizuno Fortius, the top-layer seems to be harder, both should be stiffer and harder than the Avalox P700, imho.

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Red is blogging here >> http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=30522

I expect the WAY-003 to arrive next week, maybe it will take a few days longer.
Our friends from the China retail-chain prolonged the coupons up to December, so I was able to order the Palisander NCT VII as well - actually for sub $22 shipping included. A steal if it's as good as I guess.
Arrival of this very blade is probably over 3 weeks.

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Red is blogging here >> http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=30522

There might be some good deals on 11/11. Just check AliExpress, the sales prices are already being displayed.

Iskandar

Yeah, thanks, good for me AliExpress 11.11sell is still above the price I got on both.

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Red is blogging here >> http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=30522

So, I've got the Palio WAY 003 2 weeks ago and I did put it to work.

First impressions are that this is a nice all-wood blade with good but not entirely perfect finish, everything looks smooth and well done.
I'm still unsure if it's a 7- or 8-layer blade, it could entirely be that they've used a 4-layer construction which has been inversely sandwiched.
I also have the impression that the blade has already been factory-sealed, but I waxed it nonetheless. A small spot of about an inch in size on the upper-right forehand side of the blade refuses to shine no matter how much I polish it.

I had some trouble glueing rubbers to it, probably because I didn't wait long enough after waxing etc. before putting it in use. Patience is a virtue...

The bounce-test on the naked blade revealed a sound far lower than that of the TCT or the Dorada, and it's still lower than that of the Stiga Graphite. It actually sounds like, err, table-tennis ball on wood. There seems to be vertical flex, while the lateral flex is obvious, albeit it's not that much, I guess it's similar to Stiga Clipper and less than Banda Dacota.

In action it definitely felt slower than the TCT and the Graphite, indeed it's more like the Clipper. I had more control with the pips compared to the TCT and I was able to put signifikantly more spin into it but it didn't feel better with the Palio CJ8000, somehow mushy. Off table, with harder strokes, there was a signifikant gain in length and catapult. So, quite a soft touch with an afterburner waiting to get used. I finally replaced the CJ8000 with an older Stiga Mendo Energy, giving this setup more feel near the table.

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Red is blogging here >> http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=30522

I didn't find a way to test the blades since I'm trying to progress with the racket I've started with.
What I did find for the Palio WAY-series is a similar series of blades made by Cornilleau, the Gatien. I consider it possible that the WAY-003 is a modified Absolum. I need to test it again with the Palio-rubbers, this time well-glued.

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Red is blogging here >> http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=30522