Weekly Equipment Watch 249: These Are the Latest Trends
Carbon fiber is getting denser everywhere — not just in blades, but in shoes too.
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Last year we talked about how Moregard’s shoes had something going on. Unlike the retail version, his pair is custom-made. There is a carbon plate in the sole. Its job is to stiffen the sole, reduce flex and twisting, and add forward propulsion. That makes the rebound — and the recovery when you are running and covering — quicker and more energy-efficient. Generally, in basketball or high-speed running, it can also offer some protection. But some argue that for players with weaker arches or less ankle stability, a carbon plate can actually invite injury.
Tibhar now also makes signature shoes for the Lebrun brothers, and they too have a carbon plate added. Li-Ning has used carbon plates in some models like the Zhanlong and Qilin. But table tennis shoes with carbon plates are still rare. In the amateur market, will this become an important trend down the road — the way dial-style lacing systems now show up on everything?
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“We scorn spin, we can even give up spin to a degree, all to be a step ahead.” That was the ad copy I wrote for the ZYRE-03.
Butterfly, of course, holds the opposite view. After all, they rated the Z03’s spin value at an unprecedented 100, top tier. Doesn’t my line slap them in the face?
But here is the interesting part: the day after the ZYRE-03 launched last October, I wrote a review, and most people now go with my take. This thing is not built to generate stronger spin — it is built to better “neutralize” spin, so you can ramp up speed and change directions without restraint. That is what it wants.
One of the current trends is exactly this: many players have embraced this style, agreeing that topspin rallying and fast linking-up matter more. Pinning your opponent down with spin is an old recipe now. Unlike the traditional Chinese tactical philosophy, many overseas stars now believe speed matters more, and that you can even give up some spin. So they have all picked up the ZYRE-03.
It is not just the Japanese men’s team switching almost every backhand to the ZYRE-03 — players from many other associations have followed too. Veterans like Ovtcharov and Karlsson switched their backhand to Z03 while keeping D09c on the forehand, and Apolonia runs Z03 on both sides. Players like Mizuki Oikawa, who left Butterfly for Stiga and now seems to have left Stiga too, have gone back to Butterfly gear: Fan Zhendong SALC with Z03 on both sides.
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Softer outer blades, and inner builds with even denser fiber.
Softer, more ball-holding outer blades — we have been talking about this for a few years. It really is one of the key trends of the new plastic ball era. The outer-SALC representatives, the Super Viscaria and Fan Zhendong SALC, even though their fiber is denser and thicker and they seem harder to drive through, are actually becoming more ball-holding and easier to load with spin at the same time. And the outer blades that were already soft to begin with, like the Boll ALC, have been refined further through manufacturing tweaks to become even more elastic with better energy storage — for example the Boll 70th Anniversary edition. Though its price now is absurd. This morning a player said the Liang Jingkun ARC feels like the Boll 70 — not sure if that is true, I will try it when I get a chance.
On the inner side, clearly the old slow tempo will not cut it. You need more stiffness, elasticity and support. Can the Innerforce Layer ZLC still play? Of course it can. But to hit with real damage, you had better swing it big. It is still on the soft and meaty side and needs frequent power output.
Many of Butterfly’s inner-ZLC player-issue blades are actually SUPER ZLC, with thicker and tougher fiber. That is also why we had Yinhe make the Heima-tuned MAX ZFC, following the thick-fiber approach of the Butterfly player-issue blade Liu Shiwen once used, to boost support and backhand rebound speed. It has an ayous core, but with the right tuning, driving through it is no problem at all. As for Butterfly retail, the Tomokazu Harimoto SALC is now used by more and more players. A kiri core is actually easier to drive through, but blade speed still needs to be taken seriously, so they went with the Super ALC. That is another of the current trends.