(By: Darryl Tsao)

The Viscaria blade has become a staple in modern table tennis. Almost every other person you see uses a Viscaria blade.

I have been using the Viscaria blade for a year and a half, and it has been my go to blade. Why is it so popular you ask? It is because this blade has the right characteristics of the modern table tennis game.

The weight of this blade is around 87 grams, which is not too heavy or light. The Viscaria is a relatively fast blade with decent control. It has a crisp feeling and a hard contact feeling. It feels amazing during close to table rallies.

However, once you step out and counter loop using bigger strokes, it tends to struggle a bit, due to its smaller head size. This means that the head is swinging less, causing it to be too light for its own good. Forehand on this blade is more average on this blade than other blades on the market.

The speciality of this blade is the backhand side. Backhand topspin to topspin exchanges feel amazing to execute. Like the forehand side, once you step off the table a bit and use a bigger stroke, it starts to lack some power. Transitions between forehand and backhand are exceptional. It has a compact head size, making it much easier to maneuver around. Looping underspin with this blade is a bit tricky, since the blade doesn’t have the racket weight to support your swing.

Players need to utilize their body strength well to get an effective underspin loop. Short game using the Viscaria is also a weak point of the blade. Due to its short dwell time, it can be quite pingy around the net. Modern table tennis revolves around the backhand and forehand fast exchanges, which is what this blade excels at.

The main problem I have with this blade is that it feels a bit out of control sometimes due to its lightness, as well as its lack of power in the mid distance game. I would recommend players who like to start the points from the short banana flick and play rally for this blade.

If you are someone who plays further from the table, using big strokes, this blade isn’t the one for you.

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