STIGA INFINITY VPS V - Our recommendation for players using an offensive spin

Stiga Infinity VPS V - Our recommendation for attacking players loving natural wood

Due to the presence of the Veneer Precision System (VPS), this blade was extensively discussed and praised in forums and regulars. The Stiga Infinity VPS V was developed in cooperation with the Chinese National Team, and is used for competitions by various world-class players. According to the high demands of the professionals, the five veneers used are hand-picked! Also, Stiga´s vast experience supported the creation of this blade, and an innovative technology was implemented: The VPS technology (Veneer Precision System): hand-picked middle-veneers were treated with a heating and cooling process. Subsequently, considering the right temperature and time, they were aged. The Diamond Touch stands for an increased hardness of the outer veneers, whilst providing a gentle and smooth finish.

With the Stiga Infinity VPS V, all techniques and strokes may be learned and improved. This blades convinces by its properties suited for aggressive openings as well as for the possibility to quickly and economically pursue. The Stiga Infinity VPS V has enormous reserves in speed at a pleasant feeling for the ball. The number of players who identify themselves with this blade is steadily increasing. This blade will most likely not be removed out of production! The VPS technique was implemented into the following blades:

• Stiga Infinity VPS V: Balanced blade, developed in cooperation with the Chinese National Team (Off-/Off).
• Stiga Emerald VPS V : Clearly faster, but still providing a very good feeling (Off).

Stiga does not keep it a secret what kind of blades their players under contract are using. Fan Zhendong himself chose the Stiga Infinity VPS V:



In this video, there is also a test report. The properties are very positive regarding control and penetrating power. One negative aspect are the sharp edges. However, one can easily grind those.



The following Stiga Infinity VPS V test report was written by Marc Martin. He is playing in the national league and studied (together with me, Matthias Bormann, the author and shop operator) Sports Science and Sports Engineering at Chemnitz University of Technology in Germany. I really hope that this feedback helps you! Have fun reading through this test!

Stiga Infinity VPS V Test Report - A blade for the controlled offensive style

Due to manufacturer specifications, the Stiga Infinity VPS V was developed for offensive players preferring an aggressive style with powerful topspins. At the same time, a controlled feeling for the game should be mediated, supporting the modern table tennis.

Technical details - Specifications

The Stiga Infinity VPS V is made of 5 veneers. Both middle veneers were heated and cooled in a specialized process. This VPS (Veneer Precision System) technology shall provide the necessary stability, whereas the Diamond Touch veneers (outer position) shall provide the necessary hardness.

My test blade had a flared handle and a weight of approx. 81 g. The head measures 15.8 x 15.0 cm (height x width). It is categorized as quasi-stiff and offensive.

Gaming properties of the Stiga Infinity VPS V

This blade was tested with the Tenergy 80 and the Nittaku Fastarc G1. My first overall impression regarding the Stiga Infinity VPS V was very positive. I really support the evaluation of the manufacturer.

The Stiga Infinity VPS V mediates a direct and good control, the warming up worked out very good. The center of gravity is quite balanced, right in the middle of the head. Just the stiffness was a bit too soft for my taste, resulting in soft and little vibrations when countering. The speed is good to control, also for people who do not train regularly. However, this does not reach the level of expensive offensive bats.

Offensive Game

Here I found the strengths of the Stiga Infinity VPS V. Aggressive topspins and counter balls provide sufficient speed and good control. This is also due to the relatively high bounce of the ball, which pardons small technical mistakes. For topspins following topspin, and softer balls following backspin, one can rely on those positive properties. However, considering counter topspins originating out of the half distance, I felt that there was a lack of speed development. If you prefer this kind of game, you´ll probably be better off using faster rubbers which compensate the speed deficit.

Aggressive and active counter balls can be served very precisely toward any position on the table. What -again- was very obvious is the relatively high bounce of the ball, causing some trouble at first. But later on, this provided a certain control.

Serve / Return

The Stiga Infinity VPS V provides good control when serving, however, without any significant contrast regarding other blades of this category. The ball can be "leaded" sufficiently long in order to integrate the desired rotation into the serves. Returns were somewhat harder.

Aggressive and direct chopped balls bounce at relatively high angles. I would like to add at this point, that this is not really one of my strengths. Still, I found that this blade is good to control when playing spinny and chopped balls.

Passive Game

For me, here lies the big problem of the Stiga Infinity VPS V: Just to play a short ball, or to simply let the ball drop down when blocking, this is a real challenge. Without an active movement against the ball, the Stiga Infinity VPS V develops almost no speed, and the balls "go down" on your side of the table. First, I thought this was because of my own incompetence, however, this did not improve in the course of further training sessions.

Conclusion regarding the Stiga Infinity VPS 5

To impose an aggressive attacking game on your opponent, this blade is perfectly suitable for offensive non-professionals. It provides sufficient speed at good control.

If, however, you also want to generate passive moments and if you want to partially reduce speed, the Stiga Infinity VPS V may possibly not be the best choice for you.