Comprehensive Review of Fan Zhendong's Gold Label Blade: A Revelation! (Part 1)
Comprehensive Review of Fan Zhendong’s Gold Label Blade: A Revelation! (Part 1) 
Today, we are reviewing the Butterfly Fan Zhendong ALC Prussian Edition, also known as the ‘Düsseldorf Collaboration Fan Zhendong Gold Label.’ This is the most expensive and sought-after blade of the year.
First, let’s clarify the sequence of events. The domestic release of the Fan Zhendong Gold Label was planned first, and then Fan Zhendong wanted to collaborate with Düsseldorf. This information comes from an official at the Butterfly provincial assembly. It was not the case that a collaboration model was released first and then a Gold Label was assigned to it. 
If it were just a simple collaboration model, it could have been made into another ‘Despicable Me’ (the one with the Universal Studios collaboration). 
Now, let’s get back to the topic and start our lengthy review. What makes the Fan Zhendong Gold Label different?
Actual Measurements
The actual thickness is 5.64mm, and the weight is 88g. Structurally, and in terms of the thickness of each layer, it is identical to the Viscaria, Fan Zhendong ALC, and Gold Label Vis. Comparing the latest K code, the blades I have are all between 5.6 to 5.74mm thick. Visually, there is likely no discernible difference. However, one noticeable aspect is that the surface material of the Fan Zhendong Gold Label currently on the market is consistently high quality, unlike the more uneven quality of other models. The core also looks quite good. 
The sound produced when tapping the blade is slightly lower than that of the Vis, but the difference is not significant.
According to official information from the provincial assembly, the Fan Zhendong Gold Label uses better wood than the Gold Label Vis. After playing with this blade, I agree with this statement because it feels more solid, to the point of being hard and stiff.
Is It from a Special Workshop?
Does it really matter if it comes from a special workshop? Looking at the official pricing, the Gold Label Vis is priced at 1980 yuan, while the Fan Zhendong Gold Label is priced at 3000 yuan. Which is higher?
How Does It Feel?
Most of the time, the market version of the Fan Zhendong ALC is a bit soft, the Viscaria is crisper and harder than the Fan A, and the Fan Zhendong Gold Label is hard, stiff, and resilient. It is harder to play through than the market version of the Vis by one level, and harder than the Fan A by two levels.
Initially, I didn’t have a very intuitive sense of this. Then, last night, I found a K code Vis and invited three amateur experts to try it out. In the same setup with D09c, after playing with the Fan Zhendong Gold Label and then switching to the Vis, you would feel: ‘Wow, am I playing with an inner-layer blade? How come the Vis is so easy to play through and has so much deformation tension?’ 
Because previously, when comparing the Fan A, you would find the Vis harder and harder to play through. Now, with the Fan Zhendong Gold Label as a comparison, the Vis already feels very easy to play through, let alone the generally softer Fan A.
This is the Fan Zhendong Gold Label. The difficulty of playing through it might be similar to that of the iron Vis (it’s been too long since I’ve played with it, so I can’t be sure), but after exerting full force, the elasticity and springiness are better than the iron Vis.
The Strongest Point in Performance
The Fan Zhendong Gold Label has excellent control over short balls. Simply put, once you get used to the rhythm, short pushes are very good. When I put a soft and bouncy T05 on the forehand, I could feel that the short balls were really easy to control. With D09c, after adaptation, the short balls are particularly impressive.
Why is this so? It might be because it is very solid, solid enough to be linear.
Another strong point is its exceptional durability.
For example, when I defend with the Yoshimura Masaharu Limited or W968, I feel very insecure when the opponent hits a heavy shot, as if the blade can’t withstand it. Especially when playing against retired provincial team veterans, sometimes it feels like the blade isn’t worn out by me, but rather shaken out by them… 
But when I use the Vis against them, it is clearly more durable and the defense is more faithfully linear and stable.
Well, now let me tell you: the Fan Zhendong Gold Label is more durable than the average Vis. Even if the opponent’s power is one notch higher, you can still add force while borrowing it because it is solid to the point of being hard and stiff. Defense and counterattack, as you know, is also something that Fan Zhendong himself needs. I can imagine that if the blade were softer and less solid, it would be difficult to directly borrow force and counterattack from close range, although it is possible to unload force.
The Weakest Point in Performance
You might not be able to play through it. This is probably the biggest problem. Even at medium to low power, it can be very forgiving.
But when you exert force and can’t play through it, in simple terms, you exert force but don’t produce quality. At this point, you might as well buy a Fan A. Why do some players feel that the Fan Zhendong Gold Label plays like a Fan A with a different skin, I guess, it might be because they can’t play through it. If you can’t play through it, you can’t produce quality, and you might even feel that the ball quality is not as good as the Fan A. After all, the Fan A is softer and more forgiving, and it is easier to have deformation.
The first night, I used T05 on the forehand and T80 on the backhand. I already felt that: in general, at six to seven tenths of my power, I could easily play through other blades. But this Fan Zhendong Gold Label, at six to seven tenths of my power, I couldn’t play through it. Although it was stable, the ball quality was not explosive enough. 
When I exerted more than eight tenths of my power, it started to spring. My opponent exclaimed: ‘Your speed is much faster than when you use the Vis and Fan A.’
Note that I used T05 on the forehand, and although my skills have degraded and I can’t reach 1900+ anymore, and although my technical framework is not good and my movements are ugly, I still have some brute force. Even with my kind of power, I can’t easily play through it. Once you pair it with a harder rubber, such as Hurricane 3 (but not boosted to the point of being very transparent), it becomes even harder to play through.
When you can’t play through it, at low power, the friction and arc of the Fan Zhendong Gold Label are still very stable, but the ball quality is not impressive.
From this perspective, can we understand that: for the average amateur player, this blade might not be suitable? It’s possible. That is to say, for players with less power than me, playing with the Vis, Fan A, Lin A, and my Heima Yazhi ALC is enough. With the Fan Zhendong Gold Label, you may not be able to produce very high quality.
But for some professional players, they may need extremely high stability, including control over short balls, and powerful counterattack ability, so some of them will like such a blade very much.
Sometimes, when using this blade, my backhand feels better than my forehand because the backhand movement is more compact, the power is more concentrated, and the ball comes out with a lot of explosiveness. While the forehand movement is more rough, it doesn’t have the same ball quality as the backhand.
The second night I played with the Fan Zhendong Gold Label, I switched to D09c on the forehand, and the overall effect was easier to control. I also uploaded two videos to Bilibili. I will share more feelings tomorrow.
It is worth mentioning that when I figured out the Fan Zhendong Gold Label, I understood more about why other blades are designed the way they are. I will continue the discussion tomorrow.