I picked up the Z5 Graphite paddle this Friday as much as I wanted to play with the voyager I owe it to myself to try these other paddles out. At first the face of this paddle sounds very hollow, I think that is a combination of the graphite face and the nomex honeycomb core. This is another emerging core material and while new to the segment certainly not as prevalent as the poly cores. The tap test would reveal that this is going to be a louder paddle and after playing confirmed that to be the case. It's got quite the pronounced dink sound under normal play and more so under harder play. This is not going to be a neighborhood friendly paddle from a sound perspective.
One big difference from my other reviews is the grip, this one feels more squishy/softer and a little more tacky. Not sure why or if it's made of a different wrap but it feels the best in hand of all the paddle grips I have used.
One of my partners asked before he tried any of the paddles if there were a noticeable difference in how paddles play and I can unequivocally say absolutely. I will do a segment on the difference between play in another review.
The Z5 is another paddle I place in the brittle category. That for me is a paddle that is more responsive meaning the ball spends less time on the paddle face so it has more reflection. The "softer" or more absorbent paddles, the Voyager and the Outbreak absorb the ball more meaning its spends more time on the face. That results in more control spin and a little more effort to make the ball move. I like the Z5 for new players who are still learning how to get the ball over the net or may be a little shy at hitting harder. This paddle requires less effort to do any of that based on how it feels again compared to the others. It is less hollow than the React and even less brittle. I attribute that to a solid core regardless of core material compared to the React which has that massive sweet spot where it is overly responsive for me. I have to give the React another go to see if playing with it more makes a difference. I will be doing longer term write-ups on all of the paddles as I play with them more. Two of the players who tried out the Z5 indicated they liked that paddle a lot which just goes to show you a lot of how these paddle play is purely in the hand of the player. One indicated that the top of the grip where it meets the face is more flared and that forced his hand down further on the grip. What I will try to do with my reviews is compare paddles to one another as much as I can with hopes of taking the player out of the equation more and more.
I played four games with this paddle and initially I read this book by its cover wrong. The more I played with it the more it responded to my type of play. It's still brittle and more responsive than I like and certainly loud but once you figure out how it responds plays quite nicely. It doesn't have as much control or as much spin as the other softer paddles and I can now tell that just from the face coating and the tap test. This is an all around great paddle that I think could be a good for newbies. It requires less form and swing to get the ball over the net. As good of a cause that can be it can also be a detriment if your returning to high or to hard. The ball will travel and that may result in more uncontrolled returns. This might be my second fall back in the line up of paddles I am currently testing. I need to give the Outbreak another chance before I decide if it's too much paddle in my hand or for someone still trying to perfect their play. I am pretty hard on myself when it comes to what I expect from my own capabilities. I need to make sure that I work on my technique instead of trying to find a paddle to correct my flaws...
If this paddle is in your sites I do recommend this one as a viable well rounded paddle option for players just beginning with the sport.
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