ARCTIC WOOD [Discontinued]
| Everyone's rating |
[Hardness] Little hard [Performance] Spin and Speed are excellent. |
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Averages reviews points
- Speed: 8.45
- Spin: 8.64
- Control: 8.18
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Arctic Wood is what you get when you combine nature and science. A blade born in nature and crafted by our knowledge and experience. For this blade we have found a rare pale outer veneer which only grows in the cold and deep forests above the arctic circle. This together with our well-renowned VPS (Veneer Precision System) in the second layer results in a unique blade with characteristics like non-other.
- FL
- ST
- Chinese pen
- Outstanding spin performance despite hard feel
- Excellent stability in blocking and short-range shots
- Superior bounce and control compared to Infinity
- Excellent compatibility with inverted rubber
- Durable high-quality Nordic wood construction
User reviews
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Yukiusagi (Experience: １１〜２０ years) My new racket, decided
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2017/09/26
A friend of mine really pushed me to try it, so I bought one - and now I get why.
The feel is on the harder side, but it still has plenty of flex, and you can put really good spin on the ball.
It's got plenty of speed too, so you'd almost doubt it's really a 5-ply blade.
I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who loves wood blades but also wants more speed.
I think I'm going to keep using this one going forward.Overall Speed Spin Control Touch Hardness hard
Recommended rubber (Forehand) NEO HURRICANE 3
Recommended rubber (Backhand) TARGET PRO GT-H47
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HH (Experience: ６〜１０ years) Unique!
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2019/09/15
After doing some research to finally replace my racket after a long time, I decided on the Arctic.
Just from the specs — the material, bounce, weight, design, and online reviews — I already had pretty high expectations, but after actually hitting with it I liked it even more.On light shots it bounces just a bit more than a racket from over ten years ago, staying within a range you can control. On hard shots it really bounces a lot, and it took some hitting to get used to adjusting the distance and spin.
Focusing on your impact improves ball quality with any equipment, but this racket really stands out in that regard. I could see why people say it feels like nothing else out there. Whether I can really master it depends on how much work I put in going forward, but I think we'll be together for a long time.Overall Speed Spin Control Touch Hardness little hard
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Tenari (Experience: ２〜３ years) A racket recommended for tacky rubber or short pips
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2019/05/19
I used this with Evolution ELP on the forehand and Mantra S on the backhand. That said, this blade is quite hard even among STIGA's 5-ply offerings. The top ply is hard and the blade is thin, so I think it suits tacky rubber or short pips well. Here are my impressions using it with ELP and Mantra S.
Overall, the ball comes off fairly quickly, which made meet-hitting easy. It also has good speed, so topspin rallies were easy to keep up too.
As for the ELP on my forehand, grazing shots were easy and produced good spin, and since the blade adds pace, loop drives felt great. However, because the ball leaves the blade so fast, it felt harder to get spin when sinking the ball in.
The Mantra S on my backhand paired really well — it had enough speed that pushes and blocks alone felt like plenty, which made meet-hitting easy.
I'd recommend this to players who lift the ball with spin on their loop drives and then finish rallies by meeting the ball and hitting down from above.Overall Speed Spin Control Touch Hardness little hard
Recommended rubber (Forehand) NEO HURRICANE 3
Recommended rubber (Backhand) MANTRA S
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Alexandra (Experience: ６〜１０ years) Plywood that delivers top performance
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2018/05/25
Even in this day and age, I'm a devoted user of all-wood blades.
Of all of them, I can say with confidence that this one performs the best.
Personally I'd put it around the same level as the Eternity VPS?
But this one is way ahead in terms of ball control and holding the ball.
Nordic wood is truly wonderful!!The bounce, spin, and control are all outstanding.
Since it's wood, it's tough to play far from the table like you can with special-material blades, but rallying from mid-distance is no problem at all.The short game and blocking are incredibly easy with this blade.
I'd recommend the thick flared grip (LEGEND).For rubbers, STIGA's own lineup (Genesis, Mantra) and other spin-oriented tension rubbers pair best with it.
Overall Speed Spin Control Touch Hardness Little soft
Recommended rubber (Forehand) TARGET PRO GT-H47
Recommended rubber (Backhand) MANTRA M
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Kidney Bean (Experience: １１〜２０ years) Excellent overall in both performance and looks
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2017/11/26
My old Infinity had the top ply peel up right where I'd knocked it against the table, but even though this blade uses the same VPS, maybe because the top ply is made from hard Arctic wood, it hasn't peeled at all so far.
Control is also easy to manage despite the hardness - not quite as much as a blade with special materials, but still a lot of speed for a 5-ply.
The look is beautiful too, with a white base color, and the performance is great, so I plan to keep using this one for a long time. On the other hand, I find myself worrying about it getting even a little dirty, so this is the blade I've cleaned the most out of all of them.Overall Speed Spin Control Touch Hardness little hard
Recommended rubber (Forehand) MANTRA M
Recommended rubber (Backhand) Regalis Red
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Yoshimura Works with short pips too
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2017/11/15
Switched over from the Intensity. I was looking for a harder blade.
First off, the stability when blocking with short pips really stands out.
I've cut down on overshooting on lobs, which I'm not great at. With the Intensity, it would sometimes flex too much and send the ball sailing up and out, but the Arctic doesn't flex nearly as much, so I don't send the ball up anymore.
On the backhand, there's plenty of power.
At first I struggled to control my forehand touch well, but I've gradually gotten used to it, and now I can hit balls with a solid, centered feel. My counters and pushes have gotten heavier too.
The fine short-game control doesn't produce weird, erratic flight, so you can fine-tune each shot individually. I think the control will keep improving the more I use it.Overall Speed Spin Control Touch Hardness little hard
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You Arakaki (Experience: ６〜１０ years) Ah
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2017/11/12
Other reviewers have written that this is similar to the Infinity, and that's exactly right.
They're extremely similar. The blade itself is expensive, so it's at a level I won't be able to afford for a while.Overall Speed Spin Control Touch Hardness Little soft
Recommended rubber (Forehand) Rakza X
Recommended rubber (Backhand) V＞15 Limber
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