Site Products
Shahin Akhlaghpasand

Ask The Experts: Shahin Akhlaghpasand, No. 390

Posted on

Butterfly Table Tennis Question and Answer

Question:

Hi. I’m struggling to choose a butterfly blade.
My playing style is simple, i stand close to mid distance from the table and like playing aggressive topspin shots. My physical strength is great and i can generate quite a lot of power. I would prefer a blade that grasp the ball well and at the same time providing high resilience and adds a lot of power on the ball, and emphasizes on shot quality.
I have played some butterfly blades before. I don’t prefer the feeling of viscaria blade, it was quite stiff but it doesn’t give me a great feeling. I like the feeling of zhang jike super zlc, it’s perfect at small to medium power but the ball bounce off too fast at large power, and it doesn’t impart lot of spin on the ball.
The Boll ALC has a good feeling, the shot quality was enough, but i want to have another blade as boll alc is a bit out-dated.
My friends suggested some butterfly blades, the Lin gaoyuan alc, harimoto alc, mizutani zlc, harimoto super zlc and the dimitrij ovtcharov alc(they’re not sure as this blade wasn’t released yet).
I did tried borrowed harimoto alc from my friend once and played for awhile. I love its feeling, it has perfect control, dwell, spin and forgiveness but i’m not sure whether the shot quality is enough. I’m sure the Lin gaoyuan alc and mizutani zlc have good feeling but i’m not sure about their shot quality and whether their ability to add power to the ball is enough. I have no idea about dimitrij ovtcharov alc as it is not released.
Can i be advised on the choice of the butterfly blade that suits me the most? Which of the blade from the above suggestions from my friend may work best for me? Or are there other blades that work even better? Please help, thanks!

Answer:

image005

Your Ask the Experts question was answered by Shahin Akhlaghpasand. Coach Akhlaghpasand is an ITTF Level 1 Coach and a Coach at the Austin Table Tennis Club and his response is as follows:

Hi Kevin,

 Your description of the woods you tested was complete.

 I think the Mizutani ZLC blade is more suitable for you according to what you expected from the woods. Of course, you can get a good and similar feeling from Timo Boll ZLC wood, which is also one of my favorite woods, which was not on your list. They are designed for play near and middle of the table.

 Depending on your body physique, these two can keep you satisfied.

 Regards,

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.

Latest News

WAB CLUB FEATURE: Salt Lake City Table Tennis

March 29, 2026
(By Steve Hopkins) Salt Lake City Table Tennis has a decade of experience as Northern Utah's premiere, full-time… Read More

World Cup Preview

March 29, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT) The world's best converge on Macao for the ITTF Men's & Women's World… Read More

Picking Coton in Tunisia

March 29, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT) The surname Coton or le Coton has been prevalent among those in the… Read More

ITTF Announces Marketing Deal with Tom & Jerry

March 29, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins, photo ITTF and Galaxy Entertainment) On Friday, the ITTF announced a marketing contract with Galaxy… Read More

Jeff Yamada – Reversed Pendulum Serve

March 29, 2026
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Jeff Yamada is breaking down every aspect of the Reversed… Read More

Rogelio Castro – Defense of the middle position

March 28, 2026
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Rogelio Castro is working on defending the middle position while… Read More

The Beauty of the Wait Function

March 27, 2026
Logan Backhand side backspin serve from middle of the table to short Forehand, robot plays long backspin to… Read More

Laurent Jutras Vigneault – Backhand Smash with “Buggler”

March 27, 2026
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Laurent Jutras Vigneault is working on his Backhand Smash with… Read More
View All News

Get the latest from Butterfly

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.