Victas Swat Power – A detailed review

Saturday, March 25, 2023

by ThePongProfessor

Over the years, I have received many requests to review the Victas Swat blades, which are very popular in Japan. Here, I share my thoughts on the Victas Swat Power, which is the fastest blade in this series.

The Swat Power is a 7-ply all-wood blade that is made in China. Victas describes the Swat Power as the perfect weapon for ambitious topspin players, giving it speed, control, and vibration ratings of 9, 7, and 7 (out of 10), respectively.

The blade arrives in a low-key, blue cardboard box with an inner silver box. A sticker listing the blade’s name and technical information (presumably hardness, speed, and control stats written in Japanese) is provided on the front lip of the box. On one side of the light brown playing surface, the blade's name is printed in blue, while the BH side is without text. The handle boasts a brown and blue, diagonal color scheme with oval lenses on both sides. The FH lens states “VICTAS”, while the BH lens lists the blade’s name in blue writing against a silver background, the brand’s colors. The bottom of the handle is adorned with a square, blue-on-silver Victas tag. The blade neck has been sanded for comfort, but the edge of the blade is relatively rough. As you hold the blade, it feels comfortable to hold and presents itself well, though there are minor glue traces around the handle.

What about the ply composition? Unfortunately, Victas does not provide the ply composition for this blade. My best guess is that the core consists of horizontally aligned, medium-thick ayous or basswood, followed by a vertically aligned ply of ayous of similar thickness. This is followed by a thin horizontally aligned penultimate ply of ayous, and a vertically aligned outer ply of tempered limba (also sometimes called smoked limba). The playing surface of the Swat Power has a height and width of 158 mm and 151 mm, respectively, and a thickness of 6.4 mm according to my measurements. The FL handle is suitable for players with large hands, with a length of ~101.4 mm, width of ~26.6-35.2 mm, and a height of ~24.0-26.0 mm. The test blade weighed 85 g and produced a main resonance frequency of ~1270 Hz, which was lower than I expected for a blade that is touted to be fast.

Testing protocol

I tested the Swat Power using a 40-degree blue sponge DHS Hurricane 3 in my FH and the Victas Spinpips D2 short pips in my BH, which were attached using one layer of the Revolution 3 glue on the blade and two layers on the rubbers. I tested this set-up over four sessions playing a mix of regular and match-like drills against my regular high-level practice partner (two-winged looper) and a weekly league against intermediate level players using 40+ ABS training balls.

Playing characteristics

Initial impressions

The Swat Power has center of gravity is tilted towards the center of the blade. As a result, the blade feels light and nimble. The blade is comfortable to hold, though it should be noted that the blade is seated deeply in the handle, which makes the handle feel smaller than it really is.

Driving

The Swat Power is slower than expected, falling into the high OFF- range. It produces reverberating vibrations and a loud cracking sensation on drives, especially in combination with softer rubbers like the Spinpips D2 that I used on the BH side. If I were to guess, the strong vibrations are due to a soft core, while the cracking sensation is due to the tempered limba outer ply. The vibrations provide a lot of feeling in the palm, allowing for iterative adjustments in bat angles. I enjoyed excellent control on FH drives, which had sufficient arc to clear the net but weren’t so fast that they floated long. My short pip BH drives were similarly consistent, with long and flat trajectories.

Looping

The consistency of my warm-up FH loops using the H3 - Swat Power combination was outstanding. The shots had a medium trajectory, enough to clear the net. However, the loops did not seem to trouble my practice partner much, suggesting that spin levels are average in line with expectations for a blade with a rather stiff outer ply.

FH loops against backspin (i.e., 3rd ball attacks) require a more open bat angle to compensate for the slightly below average throw angle. Interestingly, despite the somewhat lower throw angle, the blade feels like it has an extended dwell time. I have felt similar characteristics in only one other 7-ply blade before, i.e., the Stiga Rosewood NCT VII, a favorite of mine. The great strength of the Swat Power lies in its predictable, non-linear nature rather than brute power. Thus, a greater proportion of my shots landed on the table, and in spots that I wanted them to land, winning me more points than normal. And the blade’s moderate speed meant a reduced probability for overshooting the table. The Swat Power is a relatively stiff and non-bouncy blade that allows for a precise titration of power, which is essential to execute shots consistently.

My BH short pip 3rd ball attacks against long pushes were also very consistent by my standards and accompanied by a satisfying cracking sound. Whilst the throw angle of these BH shots is quite low, it was sufficient for the shots to clear the net, especially if executed using a slightly more rolling motion. And again, the blade’s moderate speed ensured that most of the shots landed on the table, rather than flying past it.

Unlike most other 7-ply all-wood blades, the Swat Power is effective and very enjoyable away from the table in FH (or even BH) loop-to-loop rallies. I attribute this to the blade’s above average stiffness, which gives it a slightly larger sweet spot compared to most other 7-ply blades. The blade’s extended dwell time facilitated good power coupling, resulting in enough of an arc for the shots to land on the table with excellent consistency. At the same time, the high OFF- speed prevented me from overshooting the table.

Flicking

The combination of the hard H3 FH rubber and the mid-stiff feeling of the Swat Power resulted in a somewhat numb feeling on FH flicks, which reduced my already-lowish confidence on these shots. Also, since the blade has a linear power profile, there is no catapult effect to accelerate the shots. I couldn’t feel the ball as well as I would have liked on these low impact shots, resulting in several stray flicks. The situation was much improved on the BH side, using the softer short pips. The contact point felt sharp and was accompanied by a massive cracking sound, which gave me the confidence to snap through the ball as needed.

Blocking

The Swat Power feels very robust during warm-up blocking. Its rigidity, moderate speed, and non-bouncy nature translates into sky-high consistency. The blade soaks up the incoming kinetic energy without any issues and does exactly what you expect it to. Passive FH blocks with H3 are crisp and solid, whilst passive BH blocks with the softer short pips are crisper still, very fast, and best executed with a slightly closed bat angle to prevent the blocks from going too long.

Active blocking with the Swat Power is a blast. The blade’s stiffness and its moderate speed allow you to counter fast topspin shots aggressively with a wristy shot, resulting in lightning-fast blocks with excellent consistency.

Smashing and flat hitting

The relative stiff nature of the Swat Power works very well for flat hits, especially in combination with softer rubbers. Thus, while H3 never will become a supreme flat hitting rubber, I was able to produce respectable smashes when using it on the Swat Power. Along similar lines, I was able to fire off some cracking, unreturnable BH short pip smashes.

Short game and pushing

The non-linear and moderately fast nature of the Swat Power work very well for pushing and the short game. Thus, I was able to produce excellent FH and BH long pushes against short backspin serves, although I had to use slightly softer hands than usual to prevent the shots from going long, due to the stiffer nature of the blade. Backspin levels seemed to be rather acceptable judging by my practice partner’s ability to attack the shots. Along similar lines, I found it easy to play short, low pushes.

Serving

The linear, somewhat stiff, yet somewhat dwelly nature of the Swat Power works well for serves as the blade allows for precise titration of input power. Thus, I could keep backspin serves short and spinny, whilst also producing long and fast side/top-spin serves that had to good spin levels.

Conclusion

The Victas Swat Power is an excellent, well-balanced, and super versatile 7-ply all-wood blade that supports several different playing styles depending on the rubber choice. If combined with soft to middle-hard rubbers, a topspin-oriented close-to-the-table and mid-distance playing style is promoted. If the Swat Power is combined with hard rubbers, a more direct driving, blocking, and counter-looping style is facilitated. Lastly, the blade works beautifully with offensive short pips, as it provides the stability and crispness that these player types typically crave. The Swat Power can be used by players at many levels, spanning from intermediate to professional level players, as it offers a good feeling, speed, and outstanding control. Personally, I am very excited about evaluating the Swat Power more fully to determine if it is to become my new go-to blade.

About The Author

Patrick "ThePongProfessor" Hrdlicka is a table tennis enthusiast, who was introduced to the sport by his parents at the age of six. He progressed to play in the top national cadet and junior leagues in his native Denmark. With college looming, Patrick quit the sport for nearly twenty years. During this hiatus, he obtained a Ph.D.-degree in chemistry and moved to the US as he accepted a chemistry professor position. Since his return to the sport in 2015, he has been combining his analytical skills with his passion for table tennis by testing and writing about a wide range of table tennis equipment. He is a ~2200-USATT-rated left-handed doubles specialist who counts his 2017 US Open (O40 doubles) and 2018 Portland Open (open doubles) titles and Top-16 finish at the 2018 World's Veteran Championships (40-44 year doubles) among his fondest memories. He has a controlled offensive playing style and currently uses a 7-ply limba/ayous based all-wood blade and DHS Hurricane 3 and driving-type short pips in his FH and BH, respectively.

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