Butterfly Jun Mizutani

First, i've been into medium hard all wood blades for my whole career up to now. I play in the second bundesliga in germany and had to switch the blade because i was not satisfied anymore since the ban of speed glue. This is now quite some time ago and i have played with a lot of different material, since i am sponsored by a online supplier, which allows me to play all brands. Now to the mizutani blade. It offers more than what has been lost with speed glue. There is a very reasonable feeling in the blade, and it has a tremendous catapult effect, probably due to the hyped material zylon. It is easy to serve and to return with it, there you have a very well defined touch. The blade somehow softens up as you swing or hit harder, leading to a quite long dwell time and an increased throw angle. The looping game is a breeze, smashing is fun again. It's easy to play with serious amounts of spin, both strong and slow loops are equally manageble. I can only recommend this blade for more advanced two winged looping players, though also blocking and more direct shots work out just fine. A very beautiful blade by the way!

My blade weighs 88g @ 5.65mm thick. I also have the 2nd edition Mizutani ZLC and it has about the same weight and thickness also plays the same except this one is a touch faster. This is a very ideal offensive blade with excellent feel and control; yet it's more than fast enough to finish the point. Speed is OFF but close to OFF+. It has a good soft feel which is very unique with a lot of dwell for a carbon blade due to the elastic zylon composition Butterfly added to the carbon. As a result, you can produce an enormous amount of spin & nice arc. Feels like the blade can grab the ball momentarily then throw to wherever you aim. So your loops are super spinny and underspin flicks are easy to generate. I also own the Super ZLC version which I like very much, but at times when I am on the defense with that SZLC blade, it feels too fast to control but this blade plays & feels very similarly except it's slower, slightly softer and more control. The speed is fast but not too fast; faster than the Freitas ALC but a touch slower than the TB T5000 & a notch slower than MJ SZLC. It's almost perfect except I wish for a wider FL handle like the one in the ZJK but that blade's top veneer is koto vs the softer limba used on the MJ. So far it's my favorite blade. Here is my review summary: Speed=9.35; Control=9.5; Spin=9.5; Feel=9.5/ideal/dwelly/precise/cushy good feel; Flick=easy+; Flex=6.5; Hardness=4; Balance=good; FL grip=smaller; Dwell=exc; Smash, flat hit , block & Drive=exc; Loop=exc; throw=avg; Serve=exc; Sweetspot=huge; touch shot=good; push=good+; Sound=loud pop; Overall=9.7

True, it takes a few sessions/hours to get used to handling the short game. But first of all, EVERYTHING else will compensate you for those adaptation practices, and once you have tamed this monster, it is better then Innerforce ZLC, has more energy (and perhaps even faster) than ZJ Super ZLC, and feels greater than any other carbon blades out there. And I have tried a few. Smashes are perfect. Opening loops require your most delicate touch, but what doesn't, frankly? This is not a sport of crazy straight hitters, and never been. So, if you want to improve your skills in a way that you do not have to fear to reach the limits of the equipment, just put some Tenergies on this blade, and enjoy life.

I'm reviewing this blade coming from a Harimoto Innerforce ZLC user. Apparantly this blade is middle of the 5 ZLC Brothers. This blade a bit faster than Harimoto ZLC, slower than FZD and ZJK ZLC. The regular Innerforce ZLC is at the end because I've never used it before. paired with Hxer grip FH, RHYZEN 48 BH. Decent setup but I don't think you guys will like it. I don't like it muhc, I've given it to a training buddy.

I’m using Tenergy 80 for forehand and backhand with this blade and it’s awesome. Full of Control. Speed and Spin is good enough to win the points. Looping is very consistent and strong...powerful! Update: Changed the rubbers for FH and BH with Xiom Vega Pro for FH and Rakza 7 for BH and it’s so amazing. Humblebear is right. Perfect combo for me. After a week is like a beast!