Butterfly Timo Boll ZLF
Blade description:
This blade features a 3+2 construction incorporating Zylon-fiber (ZLF) layers. It is designed for offensive-minded players who prioritize high dwell time and control over raw, explosive power. The blade provides a unique playing experience that bridges the gap between the sensitivity of a traditional all-wood blade and the performance benefits of a composite construction.
Performance and Feel
- Feel and Dwell: The blade is noted for its soft, wood-like feel and exceptionally long dwell time, which facilitates high-spin looping. It avoids the numb or muted sensation sometimes associated with stiffer carbon blades.
- Speed and Power: While categorized as an offensive blade, it is generally considered slower and more controlled than standard carbon-fiber blades like the Viscaria or Timo Boll ALC. It functions as a versatile “all-round offensive” tool that performs reliably from close to mid-distance.
- Control and Forgiveness: The inclusion of ZLF provides a larger sweet spot and reduces unwanted vibrations, offering high forgiveness on imperfect strokes. It excels in touch play, short game, and blocking, allowing for precise ball placement.
Playing Characteristics
- Spin Generation: The blade is heavily optimized for topspin and looping. Users note that it rewards a brush-looping technique, though it remains capable of powerful shots when paired with appropriate medium-to-hard rubbers.
- Weight and Balance: The blade is generally lightweight, typically ranging between 80g and 87g. It is well-balanced and not head-heavy, which contributes to ease of maneuverability during flicks and quick transitions at the table.
- Considerations: Because the blade is not overly stiff, it is best suited for loop-oriented play rather than flat hitting. Players accustomed to very hard or stiff carbon blades may need to adjust to its flexible nature, and some users note that pairing it with very soft, low-throw rubbers can occasionally result in a shallow arc.
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Recent Reviews
#1 — March 2024
I love this blade. Control, speed, and rotation are excellent. We can play all the strokes of table tennis with a huge feeling of control. All with good feedback and very good speed when we play hard on the ball. Mine is 84 grams. This wood is light and is often between 80 and 85 grams.
In terms of speed, it is faster than the Primorac or the Korbel but has better control of Timo Boll ALC or Viscaria. This wood can be used as a stepping stone between a 7 ply wood and a carbon wood.
#2 — March 2024
My level is around 1500 TTR (around 1800 USATT). I can compare this blade with a standard 5 ply wood and Timo Boll ALC. My TB ZLF is 86 grams, 1400 hz. I am playing with 2x Vega Pro (2.0mm). It is not head heavy at all and well balanced.
Comparing the TB ZLF to TB ALC, the ZLF is much more forgiving. The biggest difference you can feel is that there is a lot more dwell time on the ZLF and more vibrations. You can feel the ball more, and even if you are not perfectly in position and your stroke wasn’t clean, the ball still has a high chance to go on the table. At the same time, short game and loops with the ZLF are easy to do and confidence inducing.
Comparing the ZLF to a 5-ply wood: With 5-ply, loops are automatic, and it works well if you dig into the ball or go for thin brush contacts. For me, on the ZLF, it took some time to adjust with loops because digging into the ball gave me a lot more quality on spin and speed. With thin contact, opening up on backspin was difficult and the quality was lower. Adjusting to this was no problem though, took 2 training sessions.
Away from the table, the ZLF felt a lot better than a 5-ply wood. Just more power but same full confidence. Short game was easy with both, smashing was better with the ZLF for me. Flicking was way easier with 5-ply than with the ZLF at first. Once I opened my racket angle more, I was able to produce nice trajectories on the ZLF also.
On blocking, it felt a little bit like the ZLF had some extra catapult, so at first everything went out. After some adjustment, however, blocking is super easy and comfortable, passive, and active blocks that is.
To summarize, if you are currently using a 5-ply wood, sticking to it is just fine. TB ZLF, however, can be an upgrade if you want to try something new. For me, the ZLF is my new blade. It offers me the same safety a 5-ply wood has, but the shoot feeling is much more crisp. This crispness that is offered makes table tennis more fun than with a 5-ply for me personally.
#3 — March 2024
I have two of them… one recent serial 2022 with 81 grams and one serial N no dot no bty logo 82 grams sounding like an old wood, very pleasant. I must say it has so much dwell time like no other, made for technical players for topspin, not for hitters because it is not so fast ====== Viscaria > Long 5 > TB zlf. It is an amazing pleasure to play table tennis, best setup with tgy 05 hard. (With this setup, you can attack often the first ball of the opponent). For pleasure nr 1 TB zlf nr 2 Dhs Long 5 nr 3 Viscaria and you have all… zylon… innerforce alc… alc.
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