Just picked up this blade with the special on rubber, both sides Stiga Calibra LT Plus Max. Previously I used a Stiga Allround NCT with Carbo MC 2.0 on both sides. Im too cheap to buy two different rubbers, maybe next time when replacing rubbers. Ive only been playing off and on for about a year less than 100hrs play time, no tournaments/rating yet but could feel I was outgrowing the Allround NCT, which has great control for blocking and defense, but I wanted a faster smash and longer loops and was willing to give up some control since Im improving on getting in a good position on each stroke.
Ive only a played a couple times with the Carbo 7.6 blade and Calibra LT Plus rubber, but the difference is huge. The hard sponge makes the ball fly off the blade with little effort. Blade does feel like it has a decent sized sweet spot. Rubber is very grippy, amazing spin. My underspin serves used to be good but now are nearly unanswerable. The reverse backhand is deadly. Close to table game has good feel, away from table theres still enough control to produce high, spinning lobs that are very difficult for opponent to answer. I can feel I need more practice to make good use of the blade, but it was well worth it, definitely ups my game. I was afraid at first to give up some control for speed but no worries, once you practice a good stroke your blade will follow. There are more glowing reviews on the Shakehand version here too, most agree: Highly recommended!
- FT, VA
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Rubber
