Galaxy 896 - Hi-Res Picture

“A quality blade with a very soft feel and a high degree of flexibility. An outstanding looping blade."

Characteristics:

• Controlled attack blade
• For Looping style of play  
• Outstanding feel and control at mid-distance
• ITTF/USATT/CTTA Approved
• FLARED HANDLE

Ratings :

• Speed: OFF-
• Control: Maximum
• Weight: Light (low eighties grams)

Comments:

        This blade has almost the perfect parameters for an ideal looping blade, ie very soft feel and highly flexible. With the appropriate choice of rubbers, you can either turn this into a fast power-looping bat or a high spin based looping bat.

        Because this blade is so flexible and such a soft feel, it has excellent 'dwell time' which is great for generating spin. It still has just enough smashing power to put the ball away when the opportunity arises. Outstanding value for money, the same quality as it's much more expensive counterparts.

NOTE: If you wish to regularly re-glue (or speed glue) the rubbers on this blade, it is recommend to put a very thin layer of varnish (eg polyurethane) on the surface to protect  the soft outer layers on this blade. This applies to most blades with soft outer layers.

User Reviews (from internet/newsgroups):

This is one of the cheaper Galaxy blades, but by NO means a poor quality blade. I think this blade is a bit of a hidden gem, not well known since it does not have a catchy name or fancy looking graphics on the blade, but it has some outstanding properties.

This blade has a very good feel, and the feel is very soft. It has very good touch and is quite effective in the short game.

It is also quite flexible, giving it good power at mid-distance. You can really feel the flex when you hit harder, giving that real catapult feel. I would rate the speed around OFF- to OFF.

This blade really shines when you loop, with the emphasis on spin. It has VERY good dwell time (caused by both the soft feel and the flex), allowing to really 'wind up' and generate huge spin.
It's OK for hitting/driving/blocking as well, but it's not special there.

Probably works best with a medium - hard sponged rubber. The handle is fairly basic, nothing wrong with it, but nothing special either. If you plan to change the rubbers on this bat often, ti would pay to put a light varnish on the face, to protect the soft out fibres that give it it's unique properties...

For those that like to loop with more emphasis on spin and control than speed, I would highly recommend this, especially with the cheap pricetag. It should work real well with medium hardness chinese rubbers, such as 729 higher, cream MRS and many other that fall in this general catagory. Alex V.

I commonly refer to this blade as the "best looping blade I carry."  It's built very similarly to the Instinct, containing 5plies with ayous outer layers.  If somebody tells me they like to stand a couple of steps back and loop the ball back with an emphasis on spin, this is what I recommend.  Very flexible and springy, this blade has that "boing" effect when you step back and take a big cut, even though overall the blade's speed is correctly labeled "medium." Cole Ely.

My original rubbers (sprung A4/focus I) play much better after I switched them to the galaxy 896 blade, a softer blade with significant less vibrations.

I also carry this blade in penhold.  I often sell it to Ma Lin/Wang Hao fans that want a blade that feels most like the Yasaka Extra.  

The flex and springiness of this blade makes the short game not quite as good as the Instinct.  So it's a tradeoff for people that prefer a control loop or flip to a push whenever possible.

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