Yinhe 985

Wood layers from what I can tell are: Limba — Meranti — Kiri — Meranti — Limba.

Excellent jpen blade for a general-purpose do-it-all playstyle. It doesn’t have the same vibrations as single ply hinoki blades, which I don’t like. There are almost no vibrations. The blade feels extremely stiff but not hard; the ball is able to sink in a bit, but there is no catapult like all-hinoki blades. Thickness is 8.6mm and weight is 87-90g. I sanded the blade quite a bit, especially the cork on the back handle.

I put boosted Battle 2 Gold on fh and Mantra Pro M on bh for RPB. The serve and short game is incredible. FH topspin is fast but needs the right technique. If I let the ball drop before hitting, the spin becomes insane in exchange for a slight speed loss. There is no backspin ball that I cannot loop. FH block has superb control; it goes exactly where I want off the bounce. TPB block has subpar power, but with good placement it’s fine. RPB also has great power; with the Mantra Pro M, I hit with a more open blade angle.

I think putting tacky or hybrid rubber on fh is the way to go, or else the short game could suffer, as the blade itself can be very bouncy. I gave another build to a friend with boosted Loki GTX Pro on fh, and it felt okay but not amazing.

For $20, this is by far the best price-to-perf blade I have found, and it’s my main setup now.

My Jpen needs are fulfilled with this blade. I should say, more flex than Yinhe N8s/N9s. But the feel of the ball is more clearly felt than N8s/N9s, and the control is amazing. High and slow speed is easy to control. I pair this wood with some Chinese rubber (999 999T) in which I achieve a lot of gears with great speed and power. I enjoy Yinhe 985 than 988, mainly because of its control. Also, this blade weighs 88.7g, not 78, and IT IS WOODEN (clearly said in the name).

Update: It is an ALL+/OFF- blade, best with medium for great control and some speed. Try with medium hard rubber for more speed and spin.

Update: Bought 4 more, each weighs 86.3g, 88.5g, 88.9g, 89.8g.

My skill is equal to 1900s USATT players.

Great control and speed, but not carbon in this blade.