7 Ply (5 wood, 2 Carbon/Arylate combo) blade with a slightly larger than normal head size. Although designed as a close to mid-distance loopers blade, I play it as a combination bat with 802-40 Short pimples on the forehand and a hard Chinese tacky rubber (729 FX) on the backhand, playing a close to the table hitting game. The carbon provides the speed whilst the Arylate provides some elasticity for spin generation, notably on service and pushing with the short pimples. This blade is highly versatile and has excelled in every style. One thing to note, however, is that it is quite heavy.

Low trajectory for looping. Speed 9, Control 7 and Weight 89g.

Here it is. I have couple of blades from ZeroPong.com, such as Super Carbon, Hinoki Carbon, Hinoki Wood, Hao Shuai, Arylate-Carbon.

This is what I think about them:

Hinoki Super Carbon: If I take this blade and compare to the Stiga Super Carbon, I would take this blade any day. This blade is at least 99% of what Stiga Super Carbon can offer. And for smashing, it's 110% of what Stiga Super Carbon can offer. Highly recommended for smasher from anywhere.

Hinoki Carbon and Hinoki Wood: This two blades are very similar. Hinoki Carbon is a little bit faster that's all. How much faster? Well, if Hinoki Wood is 8, then Hinoki Carbon is 9 (Super Carbon is 10+). Hinoki blades are not that bad, but they are not that good neither. So, don't buy these unless you are looking for "similar" to Stiga Clipper. I will tell you why in my conclusion.

Hao Shuai: This blade does have a "large sweet spot" like they describe on ZeroPong.com. It's a very very good blade for players who would like to play control-attack-loop close-to-the-table kind of game. Power? Not much like Hinoki Carbon and Super Carbon. However, the control is much better. Recommended for close-to-the-table attackers.

Arylate-Carbon: This is the most interesting blade of all. If you are using a hard-feel kind of blade, you might have to adjust your stroke for looping because Arylate-Carbon has greater dwell time than the rest of the blades that I described above. The first night I loop everything off the table. I mean, it was weird for me because I got used to that Super Carbon. What about now? Now, I really like it. It's so easy to play close or off the table. I can loop the ball from everywhere. One time my opponent forced me off the table (about 6 feet) and the ball is about 1 foot from hitting the floor. I looped and put it back on the table with a little effort. This blade is definitely a looping blade. How does it compare to other "brand name" arylate-carbon blades? Well again, I have to admit that it's NOT as good as other "brand name" blades. However, it can do 95-99% of other blades can offer and for that kind of price. I would go with it. Recommended for 2-wing looper.

Conclusion: Super Carbon is ok to loop, best for smashing. Hao Shuai is good for control attack and control blocking close-to-the-table game. Arylate-Carbon is good for looping, it is ok for smashing. So, why do I say that you don't buy the Hinoki Blades? Well, they are in between everything and they give me unpredictable ball control sometime. So, they are NOT bad, but they are not that good neither.

First test, I glued Nittaku Midship (2.0mm) on forehand and backhand on 1 blade. For your information, I use these rubbers because these are what I use on my Joola Kool. I just want to be consistent with what I am trying to test. I will not use OFF+ or OFF. I will rated them numerically (10 being fastest)

MC1 and Kool are so damn similar. However, the MC1 is a little bit slower, and it feels a little bit harder than Joola Kool.

Second test, I glued Nittaku Hammond FA (short-pips 2.2mm) on my backhand and Nittaku Hammond Pro Alpha (2.2mm). This is on my second blade. Well, the forehand is faster than the one with Midship. Also, the short pips on the backhand. It's awesome. I had harder than Joola Kool, so it's a lot better than the pips on Joola Kool.

Conclusion: The statistics and the rating that all the website gave you might not accurate sometime. Even Joola, they say MC1 is faster than Kool. Not really. Kool is a little bit better if you use inverted rubber. But if you use pips, MC1 is a little bit better.

If you want a blade for looping and control, then MC1 is the better one. If you want a blade for smashing and counterblocking, then Joola Kool is a better one.

I think I will use Joola MC1 from now on. I can play with inverted or pips on my backhand. It's really good. However, I need to remember to put more power behind that ball. It will be an easy thing to fix. One more thing I want to tell you all, I couldn't loop more than 5 balls in the roll during the game with Joola Kool. Today, I loopped more than 8 balls in the roll with MC1 during the game, not just once, many times against better player.

Before I do the review, I have to say this. This is my personal opinions, and also, it depends on my strokes.

I am a power looper (and smash after a loop). Anyway, I saw many GOOD reviews about this blade. Well, the quality (the make) of this blade is good, and I have no doubt about that. The quality is good; however, it's horrible for my style. If you are a power looper, it's NOT for you. If you are a consistent 2-wing looper, then this is OK. ONLY OK.

Because it has a small head, it has a lot of vibration. I don't like it at all. People said that this blade is very balanced. NO, IT DOESN'T. The most balanced blade that with OFF+ is Stiga Titanium.

Again, power loopers (follow by a smash) should stay away from this balde. Consistent (control) loopers will find this blade ok to try, again, only ok.

By the way, what rubbers did I try on this blade? Here they are: Stiga Almana Sound, Stiga Neos Sound, Bryce FX, Bryce, Juic Driva Smash Ultima, and Nittaku Hammond Alpha.

I am so disappointed that I need to write this review. And again, that's my opinions.

First impressions and facts:
The Optimum Carbo, the newest Optimum series blade of Stiga. It’s the fastest and hardest blade from the series, it’s probably also the heaviest. I bought this blade with a master flared handle together with a brand new forehand rubber: Frienship 729 Higher Transcend (2.2mm,red), on my backhand I used my Butterfly Sriver FX (2.1mm,black) rubber. First major things that I notice are that it’s rather heavy and a little bit head-heavy as well! Also the edges of the blade at the end of the handle (and where the blade starts) are pretty sharp.. so I sanded ‘em a little, I’ve heard most blades of Stiga have this, it’s really recommended that you do this because it’s really annoying. The handle isn’t very slim nor is it as thick as the Schlager carbon handle around the middle. The bottom of the handle is pretty wide so you’ve got a lot of grip on it, take a look at the following numbers & facts:

* mine’s around 90 grams;
* 9 plies (5 premium wood layers & 4 ultra thin carbon layers)
* normal headsize;
* Thickness: 6.0mm;
* Head size: 158x152mm;
* Length handle: 101mm;
* Thickness handle(at the bottom): 25mm;
* Width handle(at the bottom): 34mm.

Playing characteristics:
Because of the Crystal technology the surface is pretty hard, this can also be noticed in play. Although it’s not the hardest blade. This technology however is also useful for players who regularly reglue, so there’s no need for lacquering the blade. I’m personally more of a brush-looper, therefore I started using a Chinese rubber on my forehand, and I must say…it really works well with this blade! Since I can’t produce as much speed with brush-looping, than I can with hitting, the extra speed that the blade gives me really comes in handy! My strokes are fast and I only hit the ball with the top sheet to produce a lot of spin, and still the ball goes like a rocket! My backhand on the other hand is more European like. Make sure your backhand rubber isn’t too hard. Sriver FX is a good option: I can produce a lot of spin, hitting works fine and my blocks are fast and precise. Due to the tacky top sheet of my FH rubber I can generate loads of spin on my serves, a lot more than with Bryce (my previous rubber). Service return can be a little harder; solution:attack! Heavy push is okay… just okay. The speed? Pretty fast. It’s not kreanga carbon or Schlager carbon but it’s a lot faster than for instance: BTY Petr Korbel. The control? Hard to say, it really depends on the technique and level of the player, it also depends on which rubbers used on it. Because it’s so fast it’s recommended you don’t use ultra fast rubbers like Bryce in max thickness, or else it will be uncontrollable. It is not a blade for beginners.. that’s for sure! I give it a 9 for speed (when Korbel is an 8 and schlager carbon a 10), and a 7 for control (when Korbel is 8.5).

Similar blades:
I’d say the other three Stiga Optimum series blades. If this blade’s too heavy or too fast for you, you could always try the Optimum Sync or Optimum Plus. One downside though: They aren’t as beautiful as the Optimum Carbo.

Conclusion: Fast blade, average control, rather heavy, good handle but sharp edges, you don’t have to lacquer it, very good Swedish quality and very very very beautiful. ; )

PS. Here’s a small video, so you can see the blade for real. Sorry about the rather bad quality: Click here for video

This blade is light, very hard and very fast! This blade is a Titanium/Wood composite, with 5 plies of wood and 2 of Titanium. Normal headsize. Works well with short pimples and a hard tacky reversed rubber for an all out hitting game with the option for spin variation. Used with Dawei 388D-1 and TSP Spectol.

Weighs 85g, Speed 9.5, Control 6.5 and hard feel.

Good allround, all-wood blade, 5-ply. Super light and quite hard. Reasonable for looping, but offers better in speed than elasticity. Doubles up well as a hitters blade. This is a normal headsize and gives a medium-low trajectory with reversed rubbers.

Speed 8, Control 8 and a semi-hard feel. Weighs just 79g.

Chapter 1: A few stats for you to peruse...

TSP Balsa 8.5 Top Speed, Straight handle, 5ply, Balsa core, 2xGlass Fibre, 2xWood outer ply (Don’t know the wood type)

Weight: 72.5g +/- 0.25g
Head size: 156x152mm
Overall Thickness: 9.7mm
Balsa core: 8.2mm
Handle length: 100.75mm
Handle width: 27.85mm
Handle thickness: 23.075mm

Chapter 2: First impressions

Very, VERY chunky. The handle is slim-ish though and smaller than Stiga Peter, Butterfly Kong Ling Hui Special Straight handle, Andro Super Core Kinetic Explorer Off- Straight handle. Very comfortable. The top right part of the handle is lightly sanded (on both sides) for comfort, gives you a place to put your thumb

The balsa core is huge, gives me the impression that they cut a circumference chunk out of a balsa tree trunk and trimmed it into a blade shape. I can’t help but wonder where the 8.5 designation came from; mine’s a full 0.3mm thinner if we’re talking about the balsa core, or a 1.2mm thicker overall. The sides of the core are soft, very soft; I can dent it with my fingernail if I'm not careful. The top ply is soft-ish too, not as soft as a KLHS but harder than a HWL, Andro SC KE, etc. Bouncing a ball on the bare blade makes it feel soft and slowish. No high pitched ping here.

The blade is light, almost stupidly light. Combined with my well used sheet of Tango Extrem and Mark V (2.1 and 2.0mm respectively), the paddle comes to a total weight of... 159g. Head size is normal, not overly large or compact (i hate these!), a good size. Slightly smaller than standard butterfly blades. My rubbers are overhanging, though not as much as when they were on an Andro SB Kinetic Explorer.

Chapter 3: Playing with the blade.

The lightness emphasises quicker arm movement and I find my forehand loops are going on without putting much effort into the stroke. The ball's just rebounding off the Tango Extrem though, so I'm getting decent speed with poor (compared to what I'm used to) spin. I'm a bit confused; is this fat balsa blades feel like? My coach pushes me to start looping harder so I grit my teeth and loop harder. A bit of "hit it you skirt" self-name calling helps me along and I begin to feel the ball dig into the tensor sponge that the spin starts to come back. The difference is remarkable, I guess these are the “gears” of the blade. The ball starts accelerating off the paddle at a blistering pace; this is definitely not a blade I’d want to play passively with.

Backhand looping is another story for me; I don’t do it that often but when I do it I really lay into it. The Mark V I stuck to the backhand has been my backhand rubber of choice for a while now (at least until my Desto F1 and Revolution Quad 450 arrive), I like the speed and spin I can get out of it. Backhands with this rubber and blade combo really shoot off when I put effort into it. More speed than spin though. Bugger. I can imagine that something a bit softer might do the trick, so I flip over my blade (Noo! There’s no comfy thumb rest on this side of the blade!) and have a go with the Tango Extrem. There’s my spin!.

Tonight was a social doubles competition, so I bravely take this quick new weapon into battle, clad in old, chipped rubbers. People stare at the fat blade. Can’t say I blame them.

These games tonight were the perfect opportunity to test the blade in battle. We won the toss and I took up the ball to serve first. Forehand pendulum serves felt a bit awkward initially; the blade and rubbers are so thick it feels slightly odd to grasp the head directly between thumb and forefinger. Not a problem though. Pushing was the next test; I failed miserably. The thick balsa core combined with the glass fibre layers dampened out extended reach feel, on both forehand and backhand. Not to worry, as the night wore on, I grew used to the different feel and touch. Blocking came next. I do not know whether it was due to the extreme lightness of the blade or just the blade being more stable, but blocking directional control was extraordinarily easy. I add a touch of speed to one of the higher blocks, get the ball to dig into the rubber and the ball returns well and disappears over the barrier and into the next court. Excellent. Almost a hitter’s dream.

Compared to…

My coach had a hit with this blade, coincidentally he was using the exact same rubbers (though different colours and in better condition!) than mine on a Joola Kool. A perfect opportunity to compare these blades head to head. After a few hits, he discovers the secret to this blade; lay into it a bit; and lets me in on it. His Kool was faster, bigger, heavier, harder than my Balsa 8.5. Just wait until my MC1 arrives…

Compared to my baseline blade (it's always good to have a baseline blade you can fall back to), a Nittaku DHS HWL I use for normal play, this blade is far, far ahead. I still prefer the touch of my all wood blade and the fact that I can hit as hard as I want, but it can’t touch this Balsa 8.5 blade speedwise. Similarly against the Clipper Wood WRB, Viscaria/KLHS/TBS, Kinetic Explorer, 729 Blue Thunder, even the Tube Carbo, this blade is faster.

Final thoughts

Slow blade. Oh wait? Fast blade for the enthusiastic. Laziness & weak shots do not bring out the best of this blade. Fragile, yes, very fragile. At the end of the night I was pushing underspin to a beginner and lost concentration. Blade bumped the edge of the table, right in the middle of the balsa core. Net result: dent in the core. #&^@ @$%&@$ &%$%&% $##$&(* !@#^* #$^%& #$!#&% &*@$*,

More cursing continued…