The Clipper CR WRB has a pleasant balance and weight distribution and offers an average dwell time and medium-high ball trajectory on FH loops rendering it easy to attack pushes with sufficient clearance over the net.

Patrick progressed to play in the highest national cadet and junior team leagues in his native Denmark and was among the top 40 players in his age group, which fostered several long-standing members of the Danish National Team.

With college looming, Patrick quit the sport for almost twenty years.

During this hiatus, he obtained a Ph.D.-degree in chemistry and accepted a position as professor of chemistry at the University of Idaho.

Bitten again by the table tennis bug, he plays 4-6 times per week.

The Swedish company is renowned for making some of the finest blades in the business by continuously investing in research and development of new blades and manufacturing technologies in close collaboration with the Chinese National Team.

I was particularly stoked about this opportunity since the Clipper is considered one of the most classic blades for short pips players, while the Rosewood NCT VII, Ebenholz NCT VII, and Nostalgic VII are updated and more powerful versions thereof, adapted explicitly for modern game styles.

I slapped on well used sheets of DHS Hurricane 3 Neo (2.15mm, black, National version, 40 degree hardness) and SpinLord Waran II (2.0mm, red) short pips on my FH and BH, respectively, using one layer of Revolution 3 normal viscosity glue.

I tested the setups over several sessions, playing a mix of simple drills against my Robopong 2050 and regular practice partners, practice matches, and league matches, using DHS 3-star D40 plastic balls in the process.

The Clipper, along with its CC (crystal carbo), CR, and CR WRB variants, has been used by many top players over the years.

The hollow WRB handle allows for faster returns and extra sensitivity of touch according to Stiga, since the weight is reduced and the center of gravity is shifted towards the blade head (WRB weight balance; rate of recovery; ball sensitivity).

The Clipper has a regularly sized playing surface (157x151 mm), an average thickness for a modern 7-ply blade (6.5 mm), and an average weight (87 g).

The very thin penultimate natural-colored ayous plies are capped by thin UV-treated light-colored limba plies.

In typical Stiga style, the blades name is written on the neck of the handle.

Dark-brown wood is used for the handle, which also features two vertical red stripes, giving the blade a fresh look.

The WRB handle is hollow with two see-through plastic lenses.

Players with large hands may find the neck a little too narrow as it promotes a deep embracing grip.

The wings and blade edges are quite sharp, and some players will be inclined to sand them.

The lower part of the playing surface is very smooth, whereas the upper part feels slightly rougher.

Bouncing a ball on the naked blade produced a pitch (1324 Hz) that is lower than with the Tibhar Samsonov Force Pro Black Edition or Nittaku Ludeack blades (1380 Hz and 1345 Hz, respectively), similar to the DHS Hurricane Long 3, and higher than the Donic Ovtcharov Senso V1 (1281 Hz) or Nittaku Ludeack Power (1227 Hz).

I was, therefore, surprised to note the only medium-stiff feeling and low-to-mid-range OFF- speed after the first couple of FH and BH drives.

The feeling is solid and instills confidence on FH and BH drives, but other 7-ply blades like the Nittaku Ludeack or Tibhar Samsonov Force Pro Black Edition offer a harder and more direct feeling on striking the ball.

Dwell Time On Rb25 Neo