OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I am a low-level intermediate who has used OX long pips on BH for two years, with only blocks/chopblocks and pushes.
My best results were with Grass D.Tech on Firewall+ (thick balsa blade), and yet I dislike how this blade feels in FH counterhits and FH blocks with inverted.
With the same Grass on Allround NCT, the better players of my club claim my ball goes back with no spin. But FH feels much better on Allround NCT, both spin and control.

What is the experience of other blockers with OX LPs on non-balsa blades? Do they get spin reversal? Using which blade?
Thanks!

I have Firewall+ and I don't think it's best choice. Yes, you get some fast and nice pips balls, but way too many mistakes too. For inverted FW+ is very picky blade: some rubbers don't work at all. For me some chinese rubbers like Skyline 3 worked best, as it masked the balsa effect of the blade.

I don't think that reversal is much of a key to success. Many players have more problems with no-spin balls, as long as they are low and fast and well placed. If you block and push balls "that have nothing (speed, disturbance, low trajectoy, very short etc.) in them", than you are a sitting duck.

I play with Joola Chen Weixing blade and I get some reversal. It's faster than NCT and the oversized head works better with pips.

The problem with allround blade like NCT for me is that they tend to give slow and a bit high balls with pips and FH lacks speed, so they are not dangerous enough unless you can play pips very aggressive.

Thank you for the info!

Sadly, spin reversal is my only "disturbance" with my current BH skill against fast shots (on slower balls I am getting better at placement,
but even there spin reversal would help). Would a faster blade give me more spin reversal? Other top layers, not limba?

If it was not so very hard to glue the long pips I would experiment more, as I have faster blades (DWSC, Carbonado, Infinity, Hayanusa Zi) and slower pips (Talon, Dornenglanz).

Your balsa blade is okay, what is your 4h rubber, a hard sponge works best.

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Panda Drive / 4H Xiom Sigma Pro 2 2.0 / BH Xiom Omega IV Elite Max / Play right-handed
XVT balsa carbon 10mm / 4H Xiom Sigma Pro 2 2.0 / BH Globe 979 Long Pips OX / Play Left-handed shakehand
Stiga Def Wood / 4H Xiom Sigma Pro 2 2.0 / BH GD CC LP OX .. Play Left-handed
Cpen SOS Wood / 4H 729 802-40 2.0 / BH GD Talon use righthanded shakehand grip
HARDBAT / Shakehand Hock 3 ply / Friendship Dr Evil OX .. Play Right-handed

LKT/KTL Pro XP max. Quite close to Mark V as observed on other blades, and a bit tacky (the transparent cover sticks to it).
The ball flies out so fast (for my skills) that I don't feel I impart spin. I did not dare put a tensor on FW+.
By comparison Rasant Grip on Allround NCT gives nicer spin on counterhits, and just feels much better.

I do own Mark V, Sriver EL, Vega Europe, Rising Dragon, Mercury II "medium soft", Baracuda, all max and the right color.
Vega Europe is bouncy on Allround NCT so it is out of question. I expect Mark V and Sriver EL to be the same as Pro XP.

Try Rising Dragon or Rasant Grip on the FW+, i think it's going to feel a lot better than the pro XP.

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I will try Rising Dragon - changing inverted rubbers is much easier. Rasant Grip on Allround NCT is too small to move on FW+.

But am still hoping for some non-balsa suggestions with more reversal. Joola CWX is one.

Rising Dragon was an improvement but in the end I was missing too much the excellent filling of a traditional all-wood blade for FH.
Curent set-up is Stiga Defensive NCT with Grass OX on BH, and practicing covering 2/3 of the table with my FH
(but in matches, I end up 2/3 with BH -- since I do not have enough confidence to atack). Thanks all for the sugestions.

You could try a balsa carbon blade. Worked for me.

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2. S&T Black & White / Armstrong SH-I 1.8 / TSP Curl P3 Alpha R OX

For Grass D'tecs I tried a whole bunch. Below the few I remember.
I get plenty of spin reversal on a kinda hard stif carbon blade with All+ speed property.

Joola Carbon Pro (rated Off but that is a lie): Speed was right, reversal was awesome.
Butterfly Maze Advance All+: same as above.
Butterfly Carbo Balsa x5: was less reversal, to fast (and I don't like balsa.)
Donic Defplay Senso Classic: again less reversal and to little speed without a whole lit of extra consistency, to little pressure.

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~ Puttin' pressure on you kids like I'm a soccer mom. ~