Slimbo's Blade Ratings/Reviews
Back to slimbo's ProfileHere are Slimbo's ratings and reviews. These ratings are useful because Slimbo has his/her own standard and will rate and review the ping pong equipment accordingly, giving you accurate and useful ratings and reviews to aid you in your next online purchase.
Butterfly (2) 
 |
Butterfly Balsa Carbo X5
|
||||||||||||||
Review of Butterfly Balsa Carbo X5This blade has to be the Holy Grail for pips players! I put a sheet of Tenergy 80 1.7mm on the FH and Dr Neubaur Allround Premium pips with 0.5mm sponge on the BH. Both were just spare rubbers I had lying around. What a combination! How is it that this OFF blade can be so fast on the FH but deader than my Stiga Tube Def blade on the BH? Perfect! Just what I was looking for. And because it's a reasonably fast blade the effect off the pips is great! You can defend or attack with them. And a lovely low price for a Butterfly blade as well! About the same price as a sheet of Tenergy! Give it a go pips players you won't be disappointed!May 05, 2014 | |||||||||||||||
 |
Butterfly Zhang Jike Super ZLC
|
||||||||||||||
Review of Butterfly Zhang Jike Super ZLCOk, for starters this blade is massively overpriced (but I had some spare cash so thought I'd try it). I did buy it cheaper than list price so it was about the same as the normal ZLC. I wouldn't say there is anything special about this blade at all! It has a lot of control but this makes it dull and lacking in feel. You have to put Tenergy on this blade. Other rubbers work (I put Tuttle Beijing IV on it at first and it played very well) however Tenergy gives it a bit more life. It wasn't that it played badly. On the contrary, it played very well. It's just that it lacks feel. My normal blade (and Ive had a few!) is a Butterfly Balsa Carbo X5. For a carbon blade this has much more feel and it's pretty cheap. For the list price of the SZLC I can buy 7 of these!Build quality is very good. I'm sure the flashy box probably cost half the price!lol! For the money it would have been nice if it had come in a wooden box not cardboard. My coach and 6 other people at the club have tried the blade. No one was over impressed. I might stick mine on ebay if anyone wants it? Guess I haven't really sold it to you have I? :/ I still gave it a high rating as control-wise it is very good and if you're of a mind to you could just stand there and block loops all day. Aug 19, 2014 | |||||||||||||||
Donic (1)
 |
Donic Wang Xi Dotec Control Plus
|
||
Review of Donic Wang Xi Dotec Control PlusI've been using this blade for around 18 months now. I've tried other blades but keep coming back to this one. That cork handle is just fantastic. I really can't see why other manufacturers don't use the same material much more. Also the blade has loads of control and enough speed to finish a point when required. I'm currently using DMS Spinfire on the fh and Giant Dragon Meteorite Ox on the bh. As another review suggested it works great with Donic Bluegrip C2. I did find that the blade was a little soft for my chop block style but i can punch and drive with the ox pimps and it's very nice with spinny short pimps. I'm a terrible fiddler so I looked for a harder veneer to try on the bh and used 0.5mm Bamboo. The handle design is perfect for adding veneers. It has transformed the bh performance. I can do pretty much everything with the ox pimps now. It gives great spin reversal, chops, drives, punches, chop blocks and even what looks like a loop (it tends to come off the table rather flat). Cost me £3 to do. I now have 5 blades and reworked 4 of them with bamboo. I'm a bit of an EJ! I did have 7 but people keep asking to buy them off me as they're so nice to play with! Try this blade. You'll love itMay 25, 2023 | |||
Hallmark (1)
 |
Hallmark Aurora
|
||||||||||||||
Review of Hallmark AuroraAstoundingly good blade for long pimps in Ox on the slow Def side which I've given a 4 for speed but if you drive with the pimps think 8! I'm using Joola Octopus. It can play every shot including hard attack and if your opponent hammers one at you just pops it back on the table with no effort! Amazing! Let the blade do the work for you! I have Tenergy 05fx on the Offensive side which again for speed would be 8. Match made in heaven! A real loop monster! This blade is so cheap it has to be worth a punt!Mar 22, 2015 | |||||||||||||||
Nittaku (2)
 |
Nittaku Violin
|
||||||||||||||
Review of Nittaku ViolinThis blade is simply stunning! It almost feels like part of your hand when you use it! I've tried several rubbers to see which ones go best with it and have settled on Xiom Vega Elite max on the forehand and Friendship Geospin Tacky max on the reverse. However the Geospin works great as a f/h as well. I play an alround attacking game and this bat loops, blocks and counter hits with ease. I've had to prise it away from other players at my club as they wanted to keep it! Worked great with Friendship 802 short pips on b/h as well. Great for blocking and driving. Looping with the short pips was hard work for me though not impossible. But this is supposed to make things easier right? So I'm back to the Geospin. Found Tenergy 80 didn't suit me or the blade (one or the other anyway!) But other people who tried it while it was on the Violin liked it so guess it was me! Don't be fooled into thinking this is a slow blade just because its all wood. You put max Tensor style rubbers on this and it comes alive; too lively for me with the Tenergy 80! But any blade can be tamed with the correct rubber for the playing style. I can only compare it to the other blades I've tried recently and in the past. Butterfly Viscaria owned by another player at the club: very heavy but nice to use. Not as fast as I expected. 1976 Butterfly Surbek Hinoki. I thought this was a fast blade when I was 17 but it feels a bit slow these days. The Sriver still works fine and plenty sticky too! Two Stiga A/R woods. One from 1975 the other a modern version. Slow in comparison to the violin but play ok. Ok so the Violin is expensive, but if I lost it I'd buy another immediately!Mar 21, 2013 | |||||||||||||||
 |
Nittaku Shake Defence
|
||||||||||||||
Review of Nittaku Shake DefenceI can only assume this blade in its original cut down size just doesn’t suit my game. It is the worst blade I’ve ever bought so going straight back on sale. I find it hard to believe anyone likes this bouncy trampoline of a blade. The reversal with DtecS was nothing to shout about either.. my Viscaria is a much better blade for my style of close chop blocking and looping. I’ve given it a fair rating based on how it played but you may find differentAug 05, 2024 | |||||||||||||||
Stuor (1)
NO IMAGEUpload an Image
|
Stuor Arbluo
|
||||||||||||||
Review of Stuor ArbluoThis blade is touted as a Butterfly Tiago Apolonia clone. That’s like saying a Fiat is a Ferrari. That’s not to say the Stour isn’t a good blade, it is, it’s just not an Apolonia. It actually plays similarly to the Donic Anders Lind. So much so it almost feels like they were made in the same factory! Quality of materials is fine and edges sanded down adjacent to handle. Nice touch. Just don’t expect an Apolonia. That’s one of the best ever. This is just ok. It’s difficult to say exactly what the difference is but it doesn’t feel as stable or competent as the Butterfly (I’ve owned 2). I didn’t feel the Andro Rasanter C48 on the fh worked. It needs a rubber with more power maybe T05? The power was missing with C48. Odd as I currently use a Dr Neubauer Colossus an all wood blade and it’s fine. I used Giant Dragon Meteorite ox on bh and again worked ok. Good reversal. Very flat linear ball trajectory on chip blocking. You can attack fairly easily and the returns are quite poisonous for the opponent. So I’d say if you’re looking for a cheap but slightly average blade at £28 this is a good buy but it’s not even close to an ApoloniaMay 17, 2025 | |||||||||||||||
About
Founder StoryBlog
Shop
Retailers
Dictionary
Contact
© 2026 Flipspun Inc.
Formerly the Table Tennis Database
