Customer review for Donic Defplay Senso V3

External Review for Donic Defplay Senso V3 on January 28, 2024

My style is close to modern defence but with long pips (Curl P-1R) on forehand and thinnish inverted (a 1.8 Dr. Neubauer Domination) on backhand, and I re-sized the Defplay to 157 x 149. The oversized blade was way too heavy and unwieldy, and felt like I was trying to swing one of my mum's old frying pans from the family kitchen. However, a few sessions with the oversized blade, out of curiosity, told me that is borderline godly for defensive play, with long-distance chops and fishes hitting the table with an amazing consistency. Re-sized, it became stiffer, more predictable, and faster (probably ALL- or even ALL), and doesn't feel that much slower than my old Applegren Allplay. However, it is significantly spinnier than any other all-round blade I have tried, and it obviously suits pips out and spinny chopping. Indeed, it has great dwell and feedback, although I lessened both and sped the blade up by lacquering it, even when I know that Donic blades tend to play better without varnish and are cheap enough to replace if you do rip off some wood when changing the rubbers. The upshots of the (relative) speed, though, are that long-distance chops tend to reach the other side of the table without a problem and point-ending attacks are made even easier providing you put your body into them Chinese style. As with most defensive equipment (Curl P-1R, Neubauer stuff, slowish inverted chopping rubbers, etc.), full commitment is necessary to maximise the spin from the Defplay as well as to make your shots consistent. Once you have got the hang of the blade, including the flex and the hollow handle, you can really cut the ball in two, and the amazingly comfortable straight handle really suits twiddling, too. However, the fact that the handle is hollow does affect the blade's balance even when it's resized, and if you plan on using the Defplay as a 149 x 157, you'll need to find a way to make it 5-10 grams lighter than your normal set up if you want a shorter transition period.

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