Butterfly Balsa Carbo X5
Blade description:
This composite blade features a 3+2 construction utilizing a soft, springy balsa core combined with carbon fiber and basswood outer plies. Designed primarily for an offensive, close-to-the-table playing style, it is notably lightweight, typically weighing around 80 grams.
Performance Characteristics
- Feel and Dwell: The blade is characterized by a soft, flexible feel that provides significant dwell time. This allows for excellent control in the short game, including pushes and touch play.
- Speed and Power: While it offers sufficient speed for aggressive flat hitting and smashes, it is not an ultra-fast blade. The speed is variable, with some users noting it can feel slower on soft shots and faster on hard impacts. It is generally considered most effective close to the table or at mid-range; power can feel lacking when playing significantly away from the table due to its light weight.
- Feedback: There is a distinct level of vibration associated with the balsa core. While some players appreciate this for feedback during blocking and touch shots, others may find the feedback inconsistent, particularly when making contact away from the center of the blade.
- Versatility: Its soft construction makes it highly compatible with a wide range of rubbers, including long pips and anti-spin, due to its ability to dampen incoming pace while remaining reactive for offensive strokes.
Structural Notes and Maintenance
- Build Quality: The blade is lightweight and features comfortable handle options, including thick anatomic and straight designs. However, the outer plies are thin and fragile, making them prone to splintering during play or when removing rubbers.
- Maintenance: Users strongly recommend applying a protective sealer to the blade surface before attaching rubbers to prevent damage to the outer wood. Care should be taken during use to avoid table contact, as the edges are susceptible to chipping and the handle construction has been reported as fragile.
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Recent Reviews
#1 — April 2021
It’s a good blade if you are a beginner, but the price is high for a 3+2 blade. I was disappointed that the carbon in the blade doesn’t speed it up. It’s not as fast as some all-wood blades from STIGA, and the price is too high for a blade that lacks speed. On the positive side, the blade offers great control.
#2 — August 2019
Pretty good and really bad at the same time.
Feedback is horrible, like non-existent. Also found it too light. Tried it with softer rubbers like Bryce FX… never again. Tried it with pips, not so great. Tried with harder rubbers…, finally got it to work. The rest of the review will be based on harder rubbers to keep things fair.
The problem with this blade is that it feels inconsistent. It reacts differently to different types of speed. When you hit hard it acts fast, but when you hit it softly it feels slow. So far great… in theory. But then your opponent gives you a fast ball and you want to return with something soft. Suddenly it’s weird because you’re used to a slower feeling on those shots but the fast ball makes the blade feel faster. Or vice versa you push a slow ball to the end of the table and notice it’s damn hard to calculate how much power you need to put into the ball because it reacts so differently on every pace. Getting used to this is a nightmare that won’t end.
In general: Close to table it’s hard to keep a tight play when either you or the opponent really loves to switch up the tempo. Away from the table I find it hard to chop but easy to attack with. It really gives an extra kick when you hit hard. Feels lacking when spinning and the sweetspot is small. Blocking can be done passively. Drives and spin can also be somewhat deceptively with this blade. When you play a diagonal shot but don’t do through the complete motion it goes straight ahead…
#3 — February 2018
I used the blade for 4 months. However, it is very soft and weak, and I am not satisfied with it.
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