What Blades Should Short Pips Players Use?

Hello TT11 blog readers!

    It is time to switch things up a little bit and take a break from the test reports. This time, I will share my thoughts about blades that I think pair well with short pimpled rubbers.

    For context, I have been using short pips in my backhand (BH) since 2015, shortly after returning to the sport following a near-20-year hiatus. I switched to short pips from low-throwing inverted rubbers like the now-discontinued Andro Rasant Grip or Stiga Calibra LT because my BH loops weren’t consistent enough and because my BH blocks often overshot the table, as my BH bat angle was too open. The switch to short pips was very easy and natural for me. I switched to a sheet of Friendship RITC 802-40 in the middle of a US Open tournament following a tough loss where I became disgusted with my inverted BH. And the results were immediate.

    Since making the switch to BH short pips, I have been experimenting with different short pips to identify the ones that suit my playing style. I quickly discovered that I prefer short pimpled rubbers like the 802-40, Spinlord Waran II (W2), Victas Spinpips D2, or Victas Spectol S2, which support an aggressive blocking, driving, and flat hitting style, while still allowing for an effective short game and generation of good amounts of spin on pushes. In finding softer and bouncier short pips like Yasaka Rakza PO, Nittaku Moristo SP, Victas VO>102, or the regular Spinlord Waran to be better suited as FH short pip rubbers, as they allow the ball to sink into the sponge a little bit, which facilitates FH topspins and flicks.

    Identifying blades that work well with BH short pips, whilst harmonizing well with typical FH looping rubbers like DHS Hurricane 3 (H3), which is my FH rubber of choice, proved more challenging. This is because blade types that work well with a BH short pimpled rubber don’t necessarily work well with FH looping rubbers, as the requirements are different. In the end, the blade becomes a compromise.

    Having tested >100 blades using W2 and H3 as my prototypical BH short pip and FH inverted rubbers, my observations and conclusions boil down to the following.

    Medium-fast to fast 7-ply all-wood blades that are relatively thick (~6.5 mm), stiff but not too stiff, typically work very well with BH short pips for a blocking, driving, and hitting playing style. This includes blades like the Victas Swat Power, Andro Gauzy SL, Donic Original Senso V1, or my personal two favorite blades in this category: Tibhar Force Pro Black Edition and Stiga Rosewood NCT VII. Blades in this category typically have an ayous core with a medium-hard outer ply like lima, walnut, or rosewood, which produces a crisp, cracking feeling on offensive shots. The thickness of the blades gives an impression of energy absorption. BH short pip blocks tend to be flat and somewhat spin-inverted (which can confuse opponents) and have long, but not too long, trajectories. The blades can generate sufficient power on flat hits to finish off points, while still providing a good feeling in the short game. Their downside is the medium dwell time, which can render BH flicks or openers against pushes a little more challenging, and slightly compromise the amount of spin you can generate on FH loops with regular inverted rubbers.

    7-ply all-wood blades that are slightly thicker and/or feel stiffer with shorter dwell times start to add more disadvantages. Thus, there is a greater tendency to overshoot BH blocks, the margin for error on BH flicks and openers is smaller still, and it gets even harder to produce high levels of spin on FH loops. Examples of blades that fall in this category include: the Neottec Gamma Seven, Stiga Nostalgic, or the different versions of Stiga Clipper, including the regular CR, or CR WRB.

    For me, 7-ply all-wood blades with a hint of flexibility are one of the best compromises for BH short pips and FH inverted rubbers. This includes blades like the Nittaku Ludeack, DHS Hurricane Long 3, Nittaku Ma Long Seven, and – one of my favorite blades – Tibhar Bernadette Szocs Signature 1. These blades tend to be thinner (6.0-6.5 mm) and slightly more flexible than the first category, which, in turn, facilitates BH flicks and – especially – FH topspin production, with minimal negative impact on FH/BH blocking.

    Five-ply all-wood blades with slow, energy-absorbing cores are another blade type that I have found to work well with BH short pips. Examples of such blades include the Donic Allplay and – especially - Nittaku Acoustic, be it the SG or G-version. Most 5-ply blades are too thin and flexible to produce consistent BH short pip blocks or openers against backspin. However, the Acoustic blades, in particular, feel thicker than their 5.6-5.7 mm would suggest, presumably due to their tung wood core ply that seems to have significant energy-damping properties. The drawback of these blades is their lower inherent speed, which means that FH topspin shots might be perceived as being too slow, though I think that’s debatable. Sure, if one plays with H3 as a FH rubber, focus will be on controlled spin-offense, but if one uses a fast European/Japanese FH rubber, I don’t think this would be too much of a concern.

    Another blade type that works well with BH short pips is stiff composite blades that produce a crisp feeling, yet have fairly linear playing characteristics (i.e., weak catapult). Examples of such blades include the Xiom An Jaehyun TMXi Pro and Xiom Hayabusa ARX. These blades feel as if they have an energy-absorbing core, allowing for controlled BH short pip blocking with some spin inversion, although active rather than passive blocking styles are encouraged. The slightly longer dwell time and flexibility enable BH short pip flicking (using mini-loop and pancake-type techniques), and spin generation on the FH side with inverted rubber. These blades are sufficiently stiff and fast to allow for BH short pip fishing shots far from the table, which otherwise can be challenging to execute. While I have no experience with using short pips as FH rubbers, I could easily imagine that this blade type could work well for that purpose, given their flexibility and slightly longer dwell time, which should facilitate FH short-pip topspin shots.

    Blade types that don’t work particularly well with BH short pips are blades that feel thin (incapable of absorbing the incoming energy), produce a soft disengaged feeling, and/or are very bouncy. Examples include the Xiom Hayabusa ZLX, Nittaku Hino Blade 5.22, DHS Hurricane 301x, and Donic True Inner Carbon. In my experience, it becomes very easy to overshoot the table on BH blocks or openers with such blades, and the short game precision also suffers. 

    So, to sum up, blades that I have found to work well with short pips for a blocking, driving, and flat hitting playing style tend to be stiff (but not too stiff), feel thick, have linear characteristics (i.e., weak catapult), and energy-absorbing qualities. While it is possible to find 5-ply all-wood blades or composite blades that exhibit such characteristics, they are relatively few and far between (with the Nittaku Acoustic and Xiom An Jaehyun TMXi Pro as prime examples). For me, 7-ply all-wood blades with a hint of flexibility - such as the Tibhar Force Pro Black Edition, Stiga Rosewood NCT VII, or Tibhar Bernadette Szocs Signature 1 - offer the best compromise between adequate spin generation on the FH side with inverted rubbers, and power and consistency on the BH side with short pips. However, different players will have different playing styles and preferences. Are you ready to discover your preferences?

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