JOOLA Vyzaryz Blade Review by Coach Richard McAfee
I recently received three of the new JOOLA Vyzaryz Blades for testing. I have been using the classic JOOLA Rosskopf Emotion blade for years. However, with the advent of the plastic ball, I felt it was time to upgrade my equipment and was looking forward to testing the new JOOLA Blades.
The blades I received were the JOOLA Trinity, JOOLA Hybrid, and the JOOLA Freeze. Out of the box, it was quickly apparent that all three blades were exceptionally well made in Korea with wonderfully comfortable handles made in Italy. The overall look and finish of the blades was the equal of any top blade on the market. All the blades were around 5.8-5.9 mm thick and weights were between 85-91 grams. They were all very well balanced even when used with max thickness rubbers.
I used all three blades in my daily coaching for two weeks and had several of my students test them. The students ranged in level from 2200-2450 in the USA rating system. During testing we used JOOLA Dynaryz AGR rubber on one side and JOOLA Dynaryz ACC rubber on the other side.
Here are our impressions on how they played:
JOOLA VYZARYZ TRINITY
This 5 + 2 blade features a new, unique to JOOLA, X3 Composite. The X3 Composite is created by weaving horizontal layers of PBO-C with vertical layers of AL-C. This creates a unique blend of both power and control at high speed.
My first impression when hitting with this blade was that it was not only fast but had perhaps the largest, sweet spot of any blade that I have tested. I felt that my directional control when blocking or playing counter-topspin was exceptional. While the X3 Composite is stiff, the Limba outer plies create good dwell time and an overall feeling of a med-stiff blade.
This is a powerhouse blade (Off to Off+), that adds lots of speed to short strokes with good directional control for close to the table play but also has lots of finishing power from mid-distance. You can feel the X3 Composite even on soft touches of the ball, so the blade adds power with just small movements of the hand.
Even though the X3 Composite is hard and fast, the Limba layers keep it from feeling overly stiff and allow for high spin production When playing counter-topspin this blade produces a fast ball loaded with spin that feels very heavy on the opponent’s racket..
Overall, this is a high-tech, high-speed, blade that requires good strokes and hand skills to use effectively so I would recommend it for higher level players with good technique.
JOOLA VYZARYZ FREEZE
This is an ALC blade that incorporates JOOLA’s new “Cold Press” production. The result is an ALC blade with even greater touch and control. It is a medium-stiff blade but with some flex and a large, sweet spot. The ALC composite is between two layers of Limba (soft) wood which makes for good dwell time. However, the Limba plies make this a better racket for brush strokes using your opponent’s speed rather than trying to produce power with direct forward contact.
I felt that the strength of this blade was its ability to play against the opponent’s topspin where I could easily change the rhythm of the ball or change the amount of spin. It has wonderful control playing early in the bounce so If you like to play a fast counter-attacking game this would be the blade for you. It was easy to play a good quality opening topspin against backspin but loss speed from mid-distance.
Great for the modern close to the table counter-attacking game. The high control values would make it suitable for an intermediate to advanced level player. Great control when counterattacking or blocking. Enough speed to win the point but not a strong mid-distance racket and not a racket for an all-out power game.
JOOLA VYZARYZ HYBRID
I found this blade to be the most unique of the three. It is a 5+2 blade with PBO-C composite on one side and Super PBO-C on the other side. It has Koto outer plies which creates a harder feel and lower ball throw.
This is a fast blade (off to off+) with a stiff feel and large sweet spot. It feels more linear in its power production than the Trinity Blade or the Freeze Blade. When making softer contact with the ball, the racket does not add as much speed, but at higher contacts (more direct) there is great power. Personally, I liked this blade the best of all three. Producing both slower heavy topspin and power-strokes worked equally well with the Hybrid. It also played well from all distances from the table. While I did not find a big difference in speed between the two sides of the blade, the PBO-C side played safer with a higher throw.
I would recommend this blade for an intermediate to advanced all-round attacking style of player who likes a harder feel and wants a more controlled backhand side. This is also a great racket for players using short or long pips, or anti rubbers.
CONCLUSION
With the introduction of the JOOLA Vyzaryz series of blades, JOOLA has moved the bar upwards in both quality and innovation in blade-making. The game of table tennis keeps evolving and creating new challenges to the equipment manufactures. JOOLA continues to develop top-line blades and rubbers to meet these challenges and to offer equipment to allow every player to get the most out of their game.
Disclaimer: These blades were sent to Coach McAfee by JOOLAUSA. All views are his own.
About Coach Richard McAfee
Richard McAfee is a JOOLAUSA-sponsored coach and has been coaching table tennis for more than 50 years. He is a USATT certified National Coach. In addition, he is also certified by the International Table Tennis Association (ITTF) as a Level 1, 2, 3 Course Conductor and Trainer.
For his work in the USA, Coach McAfee has received the: 2004 United States Olympic Committee, DOC Councilman Science Award for Table Tennis, 2003 Georgia AAU Coach of the Year, 1999 United States Olympic Committee, Developmental Coach of the Year Award (Table Tennis), and a 1996 Merit Award from the International Olympic Committee. In 2005, Coach McAfee was inducted into the USA Table Tennis Hall of Fame.
