maze vs viscaria - the final veredict

when you've decided you want to use an alc blade there's really not many options.
considering that
*viscaria
*timo boll spirit
*timo boll alc
*zhang jike
*zhang jike alc
*kenta matsudaira alc

are all basically the same the only option you have if you want something different is michael maze alc.
you could say you have the innerforce alc but the difference is bigger because alc is inside.

so which one do you choose?

speed:
there's not a big difference in speed.
they are very similar in speed considering both weigh the same.
I'd put viscaria and similar just a little bit ahead.

spin:
the difference is not big either.
I think viscaria has a bit more spin with the same rubbers.

control:
I think this has two sides.
on one side the maze is a "safer" blade.
this means more balls will go in even when you make mistakes.
on the other side if you thought about yourself as the perfect player you'd say viscaria has better control because when you do the right shot the result is easier to anticipate with viscaria.

looping:
as I just said, if you want shots to go in then go for maze.
if you want control over the shot you are producing then go for viscaria.
a pro player most of the times would go for viscaria.

blocking:
maze has a bit more of dwell time so should be better for blocking.

on the other side the feeling when you block with viscaria is sharper and I really enjoy this.

short game:
here the feel of the maze is not very clear and doesn't give you much confidence.
feels soft and a bit bouncy.
as always viscaria has a more direct feel, if you are good enough where you point is where the ball goes.
the viscaria has a more direct bouncy nature, so the ball tends to go out more in a 90 degree angle of where you hit the ball.
the maze is a bit different, ball goes out a bit more in a diagonal.
this is actually beneficial in the short game.
you want something that can slice the ball without making it pop much.


serving:
koto is a bit less bouncy and gives a bit more spin.
so viscaria wins over maze.

final words:
if I have to choose one I'd go for viscaria.
I think it has more potential once you really know what you are doing.
it's not just me, if you look at chinese players in the superleague and similar players they are all using viscaria, none of them is using maze.
the only player I can think of using maze is freitas and in the past chen qi.

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some thoughts I read here and there:
"limba feels softer so it has better control in the short game".
maze feels softer and more mushy and a bit springier in the short game.
this is not better for an accurate short game.
the sharp not bouncy  feel of viscaria I feel gives more control.

"viscaria has balsa center ply".
not true, it has kiri center ply like all the other blades mentioned here.

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update:
I've been using a couple of days michael maze with andro rasant power grip.
andro rpg is a pretty hard rubber which has some similarities with chinese rubbers.
same goes for tibhar evolution mx-p.
I really like how maze behaves with these types of rubbers.
basically the new hardish tensors.
I'd leave out donic rubbers because they are always a bit softer and more elastic, which is better for viscaria.

dhs hurricane long v w968 w997 EXPOSED part II

ok after playing some more with these blades I will make a final statement for all mankind to hear once and for all.

1- these blades are SLOW.
very very very SLOW.
they have no bounciness.
think of a waldner senso carbon of 85g.
it's a similar speed.

2- they are not that great for looping, there's not that much power or spin.

3- the feel is super ultra mega woody.
feels really like an all wood blade.

4- the shape of the head is absolutely horrible.
it's super large and big.
I sanded mine down to make it fit all the other blades I have.
all blades have similar size except for this one.
not anymore.
also the handle is like super long and thin, it's horrible.

5- this blade is the biggest testament as to how much ma long really boosts his rubbers.
I tried it with two tenergy 05, a very fast rubber, and man it felt so slow.
you can go and think just maybe guys using a viscaria or similar are not boosting, specially if they use tenergy.
but using the dhs w968?
it's a must to boost, even tenergies.

6- this blade is so slow it's even slower than clipper by a big margin.

7- I even got to a point where I was
"ok, I can get used to this blade, it's not that bad".
and then I went pick my zhang jike alc.
no comparison, zjkalc is 20 times better (if you are using regular tenergy 05).
the difference in control is not that big but power, spin, placement are so superior with the zjkalc.

8- the price of these blades is so excessive.
even the hurricane long v is a steal.
it's not superior to waldner senso carbon in any way and it costs like double.

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oh and if you can, sand this blade down to the same size of butterfly blades.
no need for buying rubbers specially for this blade anymore.
you'll also be removing close to 8g of total weight.
and the blade will feel much better.
the best thing that happened to mine is the sanding down.
it's still a rather poor blade but at least the size is good now.

dhs hurricane long v w986 w997 truth EXPOSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ok so as you already know you go out there to the world and get all lies and marketing and fluffy fluff.
and then you get tired of all this and you come to pingpongclassics and get the hard cold truth.


so it turns out everybody out there is talking endlessly about the dhs w968, w997, hurricane long v blades.
they say they are so fast and so for super advanced players and uncontrollable expect if you play like ma long.

ok let's start by the first thing.
most pro players in china don't use w968 or w997.
they use butterfly viscaria.
you would think since ma long is the best and he uses w968 then this blade would be more difficult to control than viscaria, more powerful, etc.
only for super advanced players.

well this is not true.
compared to butterfly viscaria the dhs wxxx/hlv blades are almost beginner blades.
not if you compare a 85g viscaria with a 95g w968.
but if you are lucky and get a 93, 94g viscaria you will see the difference with the dhs blades.

speed -> the dhs w968 w997 hurricane long v blades are like half the rebound speed of a powerful viscaria or tbs, tbalc, etc.
of course you'll go and loop hard and say "oh this w968 is so powerful".
it's not that the blade is powerful, you are hitting hard so you are using your own power.
you could loop with a 5 ply allround blade and you'd get the same speed.

spin -> the difference in spin is quite big too.
viscaria or any of the butterfly composites have much much more spin than the wxxx blades.
with this I include blades like zjk zlc, super zlc, mizutani, boll zlc, etc.
basically all the blades that have composite as 2nd layer.
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so maybe this is one of the secrets of ma long after all.
he didn't go more power, more speed, more everything in order to overcome his opponents.
he went down.
he went to more control, slower speed, better short game, more safety.
this is what w968 is.
it feels like a 5ply blade.
now imagine this + chinese rubbers on both sides.
the control of his paddle must be extraordinary.

blocking is much easier with w968 than viscaria.
counterlooping too.
same thing for pushing, serving, etc.
it's one of the safest blades out there.
probably even has more control than a stiga clipper.

the counter side is there is less power and spin.
but I guess he counters this adding more booster to the dhs rubbers.

fan zhendong is using a viscaria!

I don't really remember what I posted in the past but I wanted to share a picture that clearly shows fan zhendong is using a viscaria with a stiga handle.

as always, pingpongclassics, the only true source of table tennis information on the internet.

here you can watch the whole video.

ovtcharov october 2015

if the reason for that "tape" in the handle is to hide the composition of his blade it's not really working :-D

side by side comparison fzd vs infinity

fzd:

stiga infinity vps:

 

fan zhendong october 2015 pic 3

fan zhendong october 2015 second pic

fan zhendong infinity vps october 2015