Customer review for Donic Waldner Black Devil Carbon Balsa

External Review for Donic Waldner Black Devil Carbon Balsa on March 10, 2010

Jackpot! This blade almost has it all. It is lightweight, Donic rates it at 80g, but mine weighed in at 76g. The rubber size on this blade will be smaller than e.g. on BTY, Yasaka or Stiga, but only by 2-3mm. But boy, is this blade fast! The control is somewhat better than you would expect, considering the stiffness and speed. If you are an advanced swing-for-the-fences attacker or a speed blocker who likes to keep close to the table, you'll simply love this blade. It has some vibration, just enough to keep you informed of what's going on. It produces a knocking sound when hitting, it's almost funny until you get used to it. =)

Compared to Stiga Hybrid Wood, this is way faster. I like to play Tenergy 64 on my forehand and I just love the combination. Tenergy 05 just wasn't right for me with this blade. A had a friend of mine try this coming from BTY Maze (with T05), and he concluded that this was an excellent combination with the BTY T64. So I'm pretty sure that this blade works best with soft to medium soft rubbers. I even had a Dawei Inspirit Quattro UL 2.0mm H35 (SV35) on my backhand, but it seemed to bottom out occasionally. Maybe as a max or with a H40 it would be even better.

Well done Donic! Truly excellent blade. Especially the price/quality is worth a hats-off.

Pros:
-very fast
-lightweight
-stiff, but adequate feedback nevertheless
-good handle (flared)
-excellent price/quality
-aesthetic looks (dark grey)

Cons:
-control should be even better, were the blade larger
-balsa is fragile, edge tape highly recommended

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