Yasaka Extra

Very good loop blade, good control, fast with fast rubber.

This blade is the semi-old Extra, which came after the Gatien Extra and before the Sweden Extra. The differences between these models are unknown. It’s a somewhat heavy blade, weighing 90 grams, and not as slow as some people think. The outer ply is Aniegre, which has a hardness similar to Koto. The top layer is fragile, so the blade requires coating. It’s an excellent choice for young players and can be used for many years.

Looking for a Yasaka Gatien Extra, I ended up purchasing this blade instead. Unfortunately, it turned out to be an unpleasant surprise.

This was my first blade when I started playing 6 years ago at the age of 11. I then moved to faster and faster blades before eventually getting back with my old Extra blade. Why? Because of the new P-ball, which I had some difficulties affording!

This blade is pretty soft, so with hard sponge rubbers like my Bluefire JP02 and Evolution MX-P, it’s working well.

This blade has a lot of control and gave my shots more spin than before. I feel really more confident with this ALL/OFF blade rather than my old OFF blades, and I got really better feelings than before!

It’s crazy how I had to try several blades before finally going back to my old and first blade!

Really good for aggressive players that want to produce spinny shots and get more control than with an offensive blade!

What a disappointment! Bought it on the strength of reviews hoping to have a slower more controlled set up than my YEO.

The fabled anigre top ply is no magic solution to increased control. This is a blade without any stand out qualities, just dull! The finish is not as good as my older YEO so may be quality suffered over time. The YEO is JTTA approved so may be this explains the difference in quality between the two blades.

It is not Yasaka Gatien Extra; it is only Extra.

The old version is Yasaka Gaitan Extra. The new version is simply called Extra. It is made in Sweden. I do not know what the old version of the blade was like. However, this blade fits my style of play. It is an all plus blade with perfect control and spin.

The best blade I’ve ever used for my style of play. It offers excellent control, and when paired with tensor rubber, it provides ample speed. Spin is also a great attribute of this blade.

Many would argue that this blade is too soft to be effective in competitions. While this may be partially true, it is important to consider the specific techniques employed. With proper brushing and hitting mechanisms for looping both forehand and backhand, this blade can generate fast and high-trajectory loops with exceptional spin. While it may not be the ideal choice for elite players like Zhang Jike, it can be an excellent option for those in the USATT ranking system below 2000. Minor adjustments to the phrasing have been made for clarity.

Good blade with overall performance.

It used to be called Yasaka Gatien Extra. Now, it is called just Extra. It’s a great blade with full control.