I've been using a Nittaku/Avalox BT555 straight handled blade for about 4 months now. It is a medium fast Swedish-made 5 ply blade. It really seems to suit my game. It has enough flexibility and dwell to loop well, but alos has enough backbone and speed to never feel "soft". I particularly love the handle, balance, and feel. It gives really good control along with more than enough speed. I like the fact that it gives good feedback (feel?) without ever feeling harsh.
My game isn't overly pretty, but it can be pretty varied. I can't chop, but, depending on my opponent, can block, loop, hit, or push from both sides. I naturally tend towards an aggressive third-ball attack style whenever I get on a roll. The BT555 is good to excellent for all these techniques. It is particularly good for opening loops and flips. It is also really nice for serving - the slight flexibility, balance, handle, and feedback, along with what seems like a slightly wider head gives me more margin of error (or possibly just more confidence?) when imparting heavy spin.
As a side note/ benefit, I bought another BT555 recently so that I'd have a back-up. The second one feels virtually identical to the first - same weight, balance, feel, speed, and handle. I can put one down, pick up the other, and never feel like I've changed anything.
This similarity may seem normal, but I've tried pairs of several other blades over the last two years, and none of them were even close to identical. I was using a Stiga Energy, for example, and got another for back-up. The second one neither felt nor played anything like the first. The face sheet on one side of the new one was paper thin, the handle smalle and rougher, and the blade was far more flexible, but, weirdly enough, heavier. Even the grain of the face sheets was nothing alike. I sold the second one, bought another, and found it to be quite different from both the first two. I liked the first Energy blade, but even it wasn't nearly as nice as the BT555.
Review by Bes (published with permission)
