Nittaku Ma Long Five

One of the best blades I have ever played with. I was so surprised. It is sometimes faster than my DHS 301 (sometimes not), a little faster than my Sanwei HC-5S, really faster than the Darker 7P-2a blades I had, and a lot slower than Sanwei Dragon Dance. All in all, I was really surprised about how spinny my loops actually were, also, I could do backhand topspins I wasn't able to do before. My opponent had trouble blocking them away from the table, because the ball dove down so much, it kicked away from the table in a very flat curve. Moreover, I cannot really remember if any other blade offered about as much control as this one. I think Donic Appelgren World Champion and Donic Dotec Appelgren came close, but were not equal. The blade is a little heavy (87g), but if you choose light rubbers, you can keep the total weight below 180g. Highly recommended.

High control, large hotspot, not speedy, rather an Off- in my opinion, long dwell time, flexible. Most of all I like the handle (mine is flared), it's DHS style. In fact, I feel it more like a DHS blade (It's a DHS+Nittaku made blade). Strange outer layers, they are grey and soaks the glue very fast. You need more quantity of glue to cover the entire surface and you need to move fast spreading it when you do it for the first time. Update: I've found that the outer layer is koto but painted and after few gluing it behaves like all blades regarding soaking the glue. It's a great, great blade, under evaluated.

I have been a user of Acoustic without carbon for a long time, before I used Viscaria, Infinity VPS, Sk7 and Allround Evo, but I have also tried dozens of blades with and without carbon during these last years. I am used to the feeling of the Acoustic SG, and I can say that the Ma Long 5 is quite similar in quality and performance, being less reactive and with more vibration and flexibility. The recommended user for this paddle would be an allround player of any level, even high level, or a beginner who wants something luxurious to develop shots. If you don't mind using your physique a little more when you walk away from the table and if you value fine, subtle touches, precision and flexibility that add spin to your tops, this blade is a great choice. In its price range I do not know anything like it, although it must be said that it is not cheap, it is worth every penny.