Hello everyone,
I just received my OSP Virtuoso Carbon to test and write a review about it.
By holding it I still feel the same balance and when looking at it, still the craftmanship im used to.
Will be trying it out tonight and hopefully post pictures and a video soon after that.
I will be comparing it to my Virtuoso Off- and hopefully the Virtuoso + which I didn't use alot yet.
Pictures:
For more pictures click here
https://picasaweb.google.com/1017000104 ... directlink
(Link doesn't work for me for some reason.. It does when I copy and paste)
First impressions:
Wow, I was impressed by the feel of this blade. Using the Virtuoso off- for myself, I hardly noticed any difference in feel. Just a bit crisper then a new Virtuoso Off-.
My Virtuoso softened up after a few weeks of play, making it less crisp. I think when this Virtuoso Carbon softens up a bit, it will play like a new Virtuoso Off-.
The carbon gave me the same control, just a bit faster, a bit less spin, easier hitting.
I tried with rubbers I used last season, they are worn more then my current rubbers or the rubbers on my backup paddle. Tonight I will test the blade with the rubbers from my backup. Since all Tenergy rubbers get a bit faster and less spinny after a season
Control is pretty subjective, but in my eyes its how hard it was for the to control serves, how I can place the ball where I want it to and the short game mostly.
Head to head results with Virtuoso Off- after first impression:
V- = Virtuoso Off-, Vc = Virtuoso Carbon
Balance: This one is hard to say since the test blade doesn't have the custom handle I normally have. I think with the same handle and same rubbers, the blade will have the same balances. Maybe the Vc just a tiny bit head heavier. Since its so close to call, you can say its equal and depends on rubber weight differences.
Spin: V- > Vc
Speed: V- < Vc
Control: V- = Vc
Blocking: V- < Vc
Throw: V- > Vc (V- being higher just a bit)
Gears: V- < Vc (Vc is able to have a more powerfull top gear)
After this test, im 90% sure I will get this blade in my custom handle, for further testing and most likely being my weapon of choice in next season or the season after that.
UPDATE: Couldn't test it the evening I wanted it to, due to just 1 player (a bit below my level) showed up.
I will try again this Thursday, after that I will send it away.
Sorry for keeping the blade for almost 2 weeks, but I want to make a good review and need to test it well.
UPDATE: Final test
So after other attempts to give it a good go didn't work out, I finally had the chance to test it during a 1.5 hour training. I was gonna compare it to the Viscaria, but this is a totally different carbon blade. So I decided during this training I was gonna switch back and forth between the V- and Vcarbon, doing the same drills with both of them.
Training schedule for this evening:
1: Warm-up (this includes the basic strokes fh-fh,bh-bh, contra and spin)
No problems here, like before I needed little adjustment. However when spinning, my partner blocked more balls in to the net when I was using the Vcarbon. He said to me the ball was coming at him faster but with less spin. I myself found myself blocking more precise and lower with the Vcarbon.
2: Falkenberg (Player A playing FH spin, FH spin on middle, BH, stepping round playing FH spin, then repeat. Player B plays BH only)
After having done the warm up, my partner got used to the difference in spin and we were able to play the Falkenberg as we should, however as my opponent said the balls came at him faster during warm-up, I noticed this myself in the Falkenberg, since I had less time to step around and go for the FH after that. My backhand punch however was more precise and felt more comfortable, probably because of the carbon making the dwell time just a bit less. Also my partner had less time because of me being able to block more precise as in the warm-up.
3: Serve&Return - Thirth ball: Probably the most important thing to train in tabletennis today.
Mixed feeling here. Serves: Using the V- I got more spin, however the Vcarbon serves were easier to place and I could get faster serves. Return: Due to the V- having a bit more feel it was easier returning the short spinny serves. The Vcarbon had less trouble on long spinny serves due to it being a bit less sensitive to spin. No problems with either of them on float serves.
4: Push&Flick game: Try keep it short as possible and flick when you can. 1 point for opening up and 1 point for the one that scores the point at the end of the rally.
The Vcarbon, although being faster, has a bit lower throw. Which made it easier for me to keep it low over the net, but they went a bit deeper then normal. They were still hard to open up though. My V- tends to sometimes pop them up a bit. However when opening up with a banana-flick it was easier to use the V- because of the higher throw and more dwell. Fh punching was easier with the Vcarbon because of the lessers dwell.
5: Matches
In the end I won easier with the V-, but I think the main reason for this is because im used to it more. Im pretty certain that if I chose to use the Vcarbon more often and got it in the same handle (since I like the other handle more) my results would be almost identical between the two.
Conclusion:
This is a great blade, close to all-wood blade with more power, less sensitive but losing some spin.
I don't know when OSP will release it, but when they do I will be interested in getting on in my custom handle. However for now I will be sticking to my V-, my game is currently balanced and focussed on spin mostly.
In the last few weeks I also tried the Viscaria with the same rubbers. The Viscaria is a notch or 2 faster than the Vcarbon, but also has more spin. Its throw is alot lower. The feel of the blade is totally different and I prefer the feedback given by the Vcarbon and the control on short game. Although the dwell on the Vcarbon is longer, it is very easy to open low balls with the Viscaria, it requires a different game though. I would play an opening loop with the Vcarbon which would be a bit slower and being spinny mostly, where I would rip the ball with the Viscaria making it a killer shot loaded with speed and spin (yes on low balls). However the Viscaria didnt give me the placement control I have with the V-. The only better aspect of the Viscaria compared to the V-&Vcarbon is imo, the ripping balls and smashing/blocking. Since I prefer having a better allround game and having control most of the time, the V- will be the blade for me next season. Scoring points with the Viscaria is lovely though, but its not just about ripping balls past your opponent in table tennis.
I hope this review will help people and if there are any questions, please don't be afraid to post them here, rather then trough pm. Since other people may have the same questions. I will be happy to answer them.
I would also like to thank OSP (http://www.ospblades.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) for giving me the opportunity to test this blade!
