Five Outer Fiber Blades That Are a Joy to Play
1
Boll ALC 70th Anniversary. In feel, this blade truly matches the word “joy.” A soft, deep ball-holding wrapping feel, no less than an inner blade, making you feel you can create spin at any time. At the same time, it is not a slow-poke ball release, but can have explosive speed, varying with your power. For close-table play, it really is a near-perfect blade. And it is fairly compatible with tensors or tacky rubber. The flaw: when you do not lead with friction, it sometimes feels hollow. After backing off to mid-table, firing always feels not satisfying enough. Though elasticity is still better than the Boll A type, the sense of power is unsatisfying.
2
Lin Gaoyuan ALC. Natural arc and wrapping feel. It makes you more grounded when loop-driving, with speed and spin striking a fine balance. “Steady as an old dog” — just like this. A good blade is the hand’s extension, and the Lin A basically achieves it. It is now discontinued, which I have to say is a pity. Because the later Fan Zhendong ALC, though about the same in real effect, with a still-smooth backhand, on the forehand always has a touch of meatiness, not as joyful as the Lin A.
3
Heima-tuned ALC. Talking about my own blade always risks self-praise. But in feel, adjustability and spin-adding ability combined, besides the Boll 70, even the Lin A and Fan A cannot surpass the Heima-tuned ALC — and the Yazhi A’s bottom power is a bit better too. On this blade, there is a better ball-gripping pause and energy-storage ability. Of course, in the sense of speed, I feel Butterfly’s outer blades are a touch faster; the Yazhi A highlights spin and bottom power more. That is, it is a blade more suited to power loops.
4
Viscaria. I would doubt whether “joy” suits it. Its feel is not especially special. But it really is settled and almost universal, compatible with all styles. Because of faithful, linear feedback, it has always shown stability. For experts, this may be a simple but suitable weapon. And amid the blandness, its explosiveness has always been high-quality. The flaw: its forehand ball-holding is so-so, and the power-amplifying feel gives no special help. So it is as ordinary as three meals a day. Whether it is good depends entirely on your skill, and whether your style matches it. Of course, from the joy angle, the custom Viscaria fits better — comfortable wrapping feel, strong energy storage. Except that its backhand is, conversely, not as crisp as the original retail, and the price is absurd — no other faults.
5
Hugo HAL. Its ball-grip is special. Even paired with a tensor, it shows this. Compared with Butterfly outer blades like the Viscaria, using the Hugo HAL with T05 on the forehand feels more able to add spin and power at any time. If you only use the forehand, it is a very joyful outer fiber blade with high ball quality. But there is also the backhand. On the backhand, it is not so effortless, less than Butterfly outer blades. Though it can be fierce when you fire, we are amateurs after all — who fires fully on every backhand? If you do not fire enough, its pace-borrowing rebound really is mediocre, so it seems slow.