Yinhe 896

Yinhe 989 is an ALL+ blade, offering good control, feel, touch, and the ability to generate spin. It’s an excellent choice for beginners to learn the basics of table tennis. I highly recommend this blade.

For a low price, this is a very impressive blade. I definitely recommend using tacky rubber on this blade, because the pushing game will be very difficult with more springy rubber. Pushing with Japanese rubber will be frustrating as it will create lots of long and high balls.

Smashing is fine, but the loop is really the best thing about this rubber. There is lots of speed and spin when looping, especially from midrange. Very easy to create high-arc loops also. Flips are also very good.

Great blade for the price. When paired with the right rubbers, it provides incredible speed and spin. It is a fast All+ blade, or average Off- speed blade. Using a boosted H3Neo commercial and Air scirocco easily makes the blade off to off+. I would recommend it for a close-mid distance looping style. Blocks are alright and the short game is decent.

Compared with DHS PG7 on Penhold:

This blade is more lightweight, has a more pronounced “feel,” and is flexier. It was my tool for learning how to loop, serve, flick, and short push. Its speed falls within the controlled category.

Loop killing is okay, not devastatingly powerful. When used with Mercury 2 on both sides, I would give it an 8/10.

When used with Hurricane 3/Xiom Vega Europe, it becomes a little faster but still well-controlled. I would rate this combination 8.4/10.

Serving is pretty comfortable. It is so light and easy to add deception with small, fast movements. I would give it a 10/10.

Flicking has less power than I would prefer, but its light weight allows for quick acceleration and more spin.

Short push control is good. Overall, this blade is an ideal starting setup. It does everything decently enough and will force you to use good technique since no special technology resides in it.

This 5-ply wooden blade features a kiri-meranti-kiri-meranti-kiri construction. It has a medium speed rating (all+), weighs 81 grams, and is 5.8 mm thick.

While the blade is marketed as a “loop machine,” it has certain limitations. It excels at slow-paced play but struggles when the tempo increases. Advanced players may find it lacking in control, speed from a distance, and precision when blocking.

Compared to high-quality blades like the PG7, the 896 feels underwhelming. Its push requires careful adjustment of the angle and is challenging to execute. The blade also exhibits noticeable vibrations.

Overall, the 896 is a suitable option for beginners learning to loop but is not recommended for competitive play.

The blade is remarkable for looping. It’s well balanced and offers excellent control, making it suitable for players of all levels. The blade’s thin construction allows for a great deal of spin, while the soft feel provides a comfortable grip. Overall, this blade is a great choice for players looking to improve their looping skills.

There’s surprisingly not as much information floating around about this blade as there should be. All I could deduce was that it was a great looping blade and not much else. Well, here’s my take after spending a couple of days with it.

This is without a doubt a step up from the Instinct, it’s faster, seemingly more flexible and thus offers great dwell time. In addition to this, it offers decent control though tends to be a trifle unassured in the short game.

As for looping, it certainly lives up to expectations. With great spin resulting from good dwell time and a reasonable amount of speed from mid-distance, it’s not going to be the racket’s fault if you keep hitting long. This said, it isn’t a particularly light blade and while it may well be in the middle of the weight range, you do notice it after playing the Instinct.

What I can say for this blade is as follows, it’s not the worst blade to start out with but it’s much more potent when used by someone who understands looping and countering incoming spin well.

Great quality and cheap blade. It has a nice wooden feel, good speed, and control.

The blade offers excellent performance for looping and chopping, as its long dwell time facilitates spin generation. It provides a remarkable wood feel and tone. Upon inspecting the blade from the side, the wood plies appear to be of high quality.

Currently, I utilize Geospin 2mm and 755 0.8mm rubbers with this blade. It serves as my secondary bat, employed primarily for defensive play.

However, I do have one criticism: the handle is rather small. While it does enable greater wrist movement, I typically favor a Stiga FL Legend handle.

Overall, despite this minor drawback, it is an exceptional blade for beginners, providing a well-balanced combination of medium speed and a delightful wood feel.

Loops extremely well.

Needs some practice to push with, you have to be careful not to let the ball pop up (contact closer to the handle, not at the blade’s tip). However, the looping fun compensates for this. For me, it works best with medium-soft rubbers.

The high dwell time contributes to a lot of spin with ease. I like the sound of it, too. The price/performance ratio is high.

This is a pretty well-rounded blade. It’s not fast on flat contact, but it’s got some good flex to it. This makes it good for a controlled loop game.

I call this blade a “poor man’s W6.” You can apply a lot of the W6 review to this blade. However, the outer plies are a bit cheaper ayous, and the overall craftsmanship isn’t quite up to the W6.

However, it’s a steal at the typical price. It’s very spinny and geared for a topspin looping game.

I don’t recommend this one for beginners despite the price and speed ratings. It’s a bit springy in the short game. But for someone wanting to learn to loop, this will do it with the best of them and at a steal of a price.