soper79's Blade Ratings/Reviews

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Here are soper79's ratings and reviews. These ratings are useful because soper79 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.

Gambler (1)

Gambler Fire Dragon Touch

Speed	8.0
Control	9.0
Stiffness	0.0

Hardness	3.7
Consistency	10.0
Overall	10.0

Review of Gambler Fire Dragon Touch

I have the penhold version of this blade. I could not be happier with this blade. This might have just replaced my Stiga Clipper (which costs twice as much) as my all time favorite penhold blade.

First off the finish is top notch. The outer wood plies felt almost glass slick. Just very nice. The handle for a penhold is perhaps my favorite part. The thickness/roundness of the handle is very skinny which makes it as comfortable of a penhold as I've ever held.

Now to the fun stuff. This blade has good flex which is great for spin but no vibrations that I felt. Feels very controlled. You should be able to open up with soft loops on backspin balls with the utmost confidence knowing that ball will hit the table. The speed of the blade is right in that sweet-spot for me. I have it paired with a somewhat firmer sponge on my FH. I think that pairs well with this blade which has high flex. A softer sponge I'm not sure would pair as well possibly lacking in speed. That being said, with a firmer sponge, when I go for a ball, it's fast and given thee spin this blade produces, I have the utmost confidence the ball will break in.

When you need to play a touch or drop shot, you'll be able to keep those balls short. That's harder to do with super fast blades that want to zip everything off the table. All in all I couldn't be more impressed and I highly recommend checking this one out.

Mar 21, 2018

KTL (LKT - Li Kuang Tsu) (1)

KTL (LKT) 368

Speed	7.0
Control	10.0
Stiffness	3.0

Hardness	5.2
Consistency	10.0
Overall	10.0

Review of KTL (LKT) 368

I can't stress enough how good this blade is. It's really unbelievable for the price.

Of all the Cpens I've tried, this one for sure allows me to hit with the most spin.

The All+ rating is accurate and is very controlled. I've tried this blade with inverted, short pips. Honestly it does everything well.

The only area where this blade doesn't excel is the speed. It's just average. But I think that's why this blade is so good in the other ares. spin, touch, control.

If I wasn't playing a short pip, speed game, I would absolutely play this blade regularly with inverted.

Oct 04, 2013

Nittaku (2)

Nittaku Airuline 8.8

Speed	9.0
Control	10.0
Stiffness	7.0

Hardness	6.7
Consistency	10.0
Overall	9.0

Review of Nittaku Airuline 8.8

This is the 2nd Jpen I've owned. I also had the Nittaku Excelity which was nice but I wanted to try a 1 ply hinoki blade.

1 plys are all they're cracked up to be. The sense of feel and control you get with them I can't state enough.

This blade is very much a driving/speed blade. You can loop with it but given the stiffness, if you're looking to loop, I'd suggest going with a flexible Cpen. If you're looking for great touch, unbelievable blocks, power & speed, look no further.

My game with this almost resembles the classical Jpen short pips type of attack popular back in the 80s.

It does have a relatively narrow, elongated head. Not as wide or rounded as my Excelity. This also leads me to believe this blade is designed for driving vs looping.

For the price this is a great deal if you're looking for a budget 1 ply Hinoki. I'm very happy with it.

May 21, 2013

Nittaku Excelity

Overall

9.0

Review of Nittaku Excelity

Really happy with this purchase. Price was good compared to other Jpens. Has cork on the backside for comfort. Non-cork back comes black for you. (so order a red rubber).

Driving, looping. Feel like this is a good all around blade for attacking as it should be used. Very light in weight.

Mar 07, 2012

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