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A REVIEW Joola Rosskopf Emotion PBOc
I finally bought the new PBOc version!
Handle: Flared (103x25x34)
Weight: 80 – 85 grams
Thickness: 6.3 mm
Plies: 7 ply (Hinoki-Koto-PBOc-Ayous-PBOc-Koto-Hinoki) not actually stated in the Catalog but should be same veneers as JRE, just my guess
Speed: Off (Fast)
Stiffness: Medium Stiff
Touch: Hard
Trajectory: Medium Arc
Control: Medium to High
Would love to post pics of my blade but don't know how, sorry.
My main blade these past few years is a Joola Rosskopf Emotion or JRE. I bought this new upgraded version of the blade, the JRE PBOc since this was the newest edition of the premium Joola line, and I thought would be an improvement. I needed an upgrade which I thought would level up my playing performance. And for such reasons and justifications, like all the other regular equipment junkies (EJs) would resort to I ordered this blade. So for this review, I may compare mostly to my old JRE as reference.
I used Tenergy 05 rubbers on both sides of this brand new blade. I used it warming up with several hundred balls on my robot. I used it to play a couple of games at our club against my usual playmates. So my review of the blade may only be my initial perception, and I may add some more or fine tune my impression as I play with it more in the weeks to come.
The blade is finely made, precisely crafted. Quality is very high, finish is extra sleek. I suspect the blade may even be lightly sealed as it seemed to exhibit some gloss. No sharp edges that needs sanding. Top plies are smooth with the beauty of the Hinoki grain clearly evident in the ply.
The handle is flared, identical to the size and shape of the old JRE, which is relatively small compared to most blades. I use a rubber tube grip which gives me a more comfy chunkier grip.
When hitting with the blade, it produces a high “thok” sound which I found very similar to its 5 ply brother the Joola Nobilis PBOc. Hitting forehand to forehand drills, it is clearly evident that this is a quick blade, with the capability of some power when you exert effort as with most synthetic/carbon blades. I believe that this blade is a tad faster than the Joola Nobilis PBOc.
On soft touch strokes, such as returning serves short by the net, the blade was fairly controllable. Despite using TO5, the blade was controllable on soft short strokes. If you exert force and engage the inner material, then the blade can be fairly quick. And it has power when you go whack with it.
The sweet spot for this blade is large. I never felt a bad feeling even when I hit near the edge of the blade face, so huge sweet spot. This gives bigger tolerance for inaccuracies in hitting the blade.
Hinoki top veneer ensures spin generation is still adequately high, maybe a tad less compared to the old JRE. But this blade makes up with a lot more speed. If trajectory of the old JRE is high arc, this blade would be medium. Not really as flat and long as most fast carbon blades. Speed is fast and would be a notch higher than OFF but still far from OFF+.
On serves, it takes some getting used to, compared to my old JRE. I still need to learn to use it on most of my serves. But on the serves that I could adequately do, like the pendulum side-under, the spin generation coupled with the speed was ridiculously wicked. So the blade has a high potential for spin generation on serves if you know how. Serving short is easy and manageable.
On opening of loops, angle of the blade also needs some adjusting compared to my JRE. Trajectory of the ball is longer with arc not as pronounced. Once you overcome that, the blade has a pleasant feel to loop and drive with power even if you step back from the table. The feeling is pleasant when looping. So this is a fun attacking blade that will allow you to topspin and drive ad infinitum. It is a topspin looping machine on steroids. On blocking it is firm, stable and fast on the rebound. The blade shines in blocking, and punch blocking, nice crisp feeling when you do.
On my old JRE with T05, I can feel the rubber bottoming out with a peculiar “poink” sound when doing counters against strong drives. In the new JRE PBOc this does not happen, the ball rebounds with a strong quick pleasant feel. Probably has something to do with dwell time on the blade.
With T05 on both sides, this blade should be heavy but somehow because the blade is light, it does not feel that way. So it must be a fairly balanced blade.
The blade demands some skill to use effectively. It is definitely not a blade for beginners, maybe more useful for intermediate to advanced players. Skilled offensive topspin players capable of attacking from both wings, topspin oriented spin variation players, power spin players are best suited to unleash the full potential of this blade. This blade will reward the active player more than the passive one.
Speed and power, touch and control are two paired qualities that seem to be inversely proportional in most conventional blades. For the JRE PBOc, Joola seemed to have found the right mix without compromising feeling and control for speed and power. It still is a fast blade with the capability for soft controlled touch. Nice soft touch in the short game and a lot of speed when hitting.
For me the blade is a bit on the expensive side, but for its qualities, it is money well worth spending, if you know what I mean. (wink, wink)
All these are my impressions of the blade gathered from a few sessions of play. Of course I talk and shoot bull more than I can actually play. So all these should be taken with a grain of salt. Only my opinion for whatever it's worth. Should you find this review useless and a complete waste of your precious time, then my apologies.
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Joola Rosskopf Emotion, FH T05 red, BH Dignics 05 black
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