There are always legends about Red Double Happiness special baseplates in the jungle. It is the nature of people to pursue more top performance. So, what is the difference between the market version and the special version? What should we choose from the wide range of models?
In this article, I have selected some of the market versions of the baseboards and the corresponding special versions to talk to you.
- Hurricane Hao2 — N656
This Hurricane Hao 2 was named Hurricane Hao 656, and the corresponding special model was called N656. The combination of Kotou, Spruce, and Ayus core made the pinnacle of straight wood five-clip. Hurricane Hao2 is the result of a thicker core, which improves the overall rigidity and support. The thick and permeable core becomes more and more solid with power, and even today, this board still has fans.
The corresponding special N656 is still sought after by many straight players. It is impressive for its permeability, no-brainer ability to get on the table, and its ability to add spin to the arc at any time. Compared with Hurricane Hao2 and N656, the N656 is slightly better in terms of looks and power, but the actual difference is not that big.
There is also an N656-1, which is generally considered to be thicker than the thickness of N656 with a large core. In terms of feel, N656 appears to be softer and more robust, with a higher on-deck rate, while N656-1 is stiffer and more violent, with higher veneer quality, but without the natural arc stability of N656.
- Hurricane King 2 — N655
Hurricane King 2 was named Hurricane King 655 in the early days, and the corresponding special version was N655. The Hurricane King 2 is an inorganic version of Hurricane King 1, but the thickness has been increased from 5.6mm to 5.9mm, mainly due to the thickening of the spruce lumber. The shape change is not as easy as the 1st generation, but after the rigidity is improved, the ball is faster.
Another special version of Hurricane King 2 is N766, which used to be the headboard of Li Xiaodan and Wang Manyu. It is said that the force material of N766 looks like spruce, but in fact, it is harder and the wood grain looks shorter and thicker than red pine. The hardness and support are significantly higher than the market version of Hurricane King 2, but because of the hardness of the red pine wood, there is some fault in the power.
- Hurricane Dragon 2 — W506
The 506 is a symbol of Maroon’s 51-win streak, a magical symbol that has never been seen before and will never be seen after. At that time, the Dragon team was still holding the pure wood seven-ply of the Jinji handle number 506 to play the world. Different from the traditional seven clamps in the middle three layers of almost equal thickness of the structure, 506 is the concept of the thick core. The middle layer is the thickest, creating a sense of deformation similar to five layers of pure wood. The ball is better than the traditional pure wood seven-ply, and the core is more supportive. Although a speed is not much faster but can be “backward”, the bottom strength is strong. It has the transparency of 5-ply pure wood and the solidity of a 7-ply pure wood.
Under Hurricane Dragon 2, there is also a soleplate named after 506: the Tianji 506, which is a stiffer material with a faster release and shorter build-up time. Dragon 2 is optimized. At the stage of the special W506, the material selection is more careful, better drying, more crisp feel, so now there is an official version of the N301 and W968, love the seven clips of ballplayers are also calling for the official version of the W506 release. Until then, it may be wiser to pick a good Hurricane Dragon 2.
- Hurricane Xia — W906
The Hurricane Kasumi is a seven-ply structure with an ebony face and an Ayo’s core, but the Hurricane Kasumi is different from the Stika Ebony 7. The Hurricane Kasumi is a seven-ply core with the thickest middle layer. Compared to Ebony Seven, the speed of Hurricane Kasumi is a little less, but the ball-eating feeling is a little more obvious, and the small ball is clearer.
The W906 looks like a W506 with a new ebony surface, and from the clear feedback to the absolute killing power, the W906 is quite outstanding. The Red Double Happiness special baseboard is not as hard as Stika’s, instead, it looks very delicate and eats the ball. Compared with Hurricane Kasumi, I feel that W906 is soft but still has a strong sense of power, while Hurricane Kasumi is relatively hard and brittle.
- Hurricane Dragon 5 — W968
The Hurricane Dragon 5 was introduced and gave people a stunning feeling. Because that pull out of the arc circle is too “spray”. The 5+2 structure of the Limba surface, built-in yellow carbon, and Ayus core keep the pure wood feel under small power and has the support of the fiber and the shape and spray of the core under medium and large power.
The W968 is more optimized in terms of material selection and craftsmanship and dries better. So when you use the W968, you feel that the board is more integrated. The power level is more abundant and not abrupt. The market version of Hurricane Dragon 5, some seem to be false play, some are only surface play, not play inside, the overall sense of hierarchy is not as good as W968. of course, the level of ball quality and overall arc ability, the market version of Hurricane Dragon 5 is already very good, just say W968 is the pursuit of the ultimate performance choice. Rumor has it that the W968 is also divided into a letter version, a digital version, and the most secure official version. This is mainly a slight adjustment in the selection of materials and processes, because each batch may be in the fine-tuning, the differences between the versions are there, but not as much as people think, not to mention the level of the average ballplayer is not necessarily playing out.
As a special version of Dragon 5, in addition to W968, there is also a W997, which can be regarded as a stiffer version of 968. Although the power has risen, the depth and stability of the ball are not as good as W968. Maybe that’s why Malone used the W968 again after trying the W997.
- Hurricane301 — N301
This is a widely sought-after base plate model. At the low end of the price range, Hurricane 301 has a large audience that sees it as a value for money choice. The N301 Special, on the other hand, is considered to be the king of straight board aramid carbon. Because it is also the choice of national players, such as Xue Fei, it will be used as a straight cross-play tool. The combination of Kou head surface material, Ayus core, and built-in yellow aramid carbon have achieved the style of “no weakness in the forehand and stronger in the backhand”, which raises the balance of rotation and speed to a new level. The Kotou face is better than the Limba face in terms of support and first speed so that the backhand can be further optimized in terms of power and bounce, as well as push blocking.
In fact, the market version of Hurricane 301 is already quite good. Compared to the N301, the small ball is a little fuzzy and fuzzy, but the overall quality of the ball is still very powerful, and it can be said that the price is very high. The wealthy players can naturally pursue the official version of the N301, but Hurricane301 for the majority of players, the actual level of play has been very good.
- Hurricane pole — W965
The Hurricane pole is still a built-in yellow carbon structure, similar to the Hurricane Dragon 5. The difference is that the Dragon 5 is limbal on both sides, while the Hurricane pole is a heterogeneous surface material, one side of the limbal, one side of the ayus. Officially, one side is hard and the other side is soft, which mainly refers to Ayus face material is softer, and the control degree of lending defense is better. It can be said that this combination of heterogeneous surface materials provides some different and new ideas in terms of hitting feel and scoring method.
The W965 is a special version of the Hurricane pole, which has improved the absolute bottom strength. At the same time, the clarity of the feel is better. It should also be due to the slightly optimized material selection and bonding process.
- Hurricane Dragon 5X — W968-6
From Hurricane Dragon 5 to Hurricane Dragon 5X, the face and force materials have been thinned and the core has been thickened, making some changes to the original characteristics of high hold, strong spin, and big shape. It shortens the ball holding time and improves the overall rigidity and performance of one speed. The original Hurricane Dragon 5 was prominent on the forehand, but now the Dragon 5X can be said to have some taste of a forehand and backhand swing speed arc circle. This is the new direction of Hurricane Dragon 5X, with enhanced support, more overall crispness, and faster acceleration.
The rumored W968-6 is regarded as a special version of Dragon 5X, which is also thickened on the basis of the W968 core. Given that the author has not played, it is impossible to elaborate.
Throughout the Red Double Happiness special base plate, in fact, there is a wide range of special plates with a long history. The number of models and quantities is more than we can imagine. There is no shortage of purely experimental boards mixed in with them. But no matter what, enthusiasts who are looking for the ultimate performance will always be interested in a higher standard of board making. The newest version is the 506X, which has an external aromatic carbon, and the 506X is not enough to satisfy the mob’s heart and the K161.