Butterfly Outerforce ALC

I am a big fan of this blade. I am a beginner to intermediate player; I play sticky Chinese rubber on FH and tensor on BH. I started with a Viscaria, not a good fit for my level. I switched to a five-ply all-wood, which suited me much better, but I did not love the feeling. This blade is a perfect middle ground between the two. The carbon gives you enough punch for good speed, but it is controllable enough to develop and have fun. Highly recommend.

I bought this blade to replace the vyzaryz freeze alc (limba-alc) that I damaged in an accident and couldn’t find again. The outerforce alc has a similar feel to the freeze, a little more control, a little softer. I’m a veteran player with more than 25 years of practice and competition in this sport. I was never able to adapt to the viscaria or timo boll alc, which are very demanding, designed for professionals, hard, and with little ball dwell time. I also couldn’t adapt to the Innerforce blades, which felt too soft and lacked rhythm; the outerforce, freitas, and freeze alc are right in the middle.

This is the worst Butterfly blade with ALC carbon that I have tried. If I had been given this blade without the Butterfly emblem to play with, I would have thought that it was a cheap Chinese blade for beginners costing $10. The blade has a low ball lag when hitting, low speed from the 2nd and 3rd zones from the table when hitting the ball, poor ball control when hitting different zones of the blade; in short, this is the worst model of all ALC blades and cheaper branded manufacturers of other companies.

Blade Review: Outerforce ALC with Tenergy 05 Hard & Tactics LP OX

The Outerforce ALC makes a very solid impression. It feels a bit more controlled than something like the Viscaria—not necessarily less stiff, but with a softer core and softer outer ply. I play with OX long pips and get the impression that during passive play or chop blocks, the blade slightly reduces speed from the incoming ball—which I really appreciate.

I’m not entirely sure, but it feels like the core ply might be Ayous. The more directly you contact the ball, the more you notice it’s a carbon blade—but one with surprisingly good touch. It sits nicely between a spin-focused and a direct feel.

The handle is a bit thicker than usual for Butterfly, which I find very comfortable.

Initially, I tried it with Glayzer 09c, but the setup felt way too slow. I had been using the Innerforce ALC.S for quite a while, paired with Tenergy 05 Hard 2.1 mm and Tactics LP OX. That setup worked well overall, but for me, it had a bit too much flex and vibration.

Now using the same rubber combo on the Outerforce ALC, the setup works beautifully. The long pips harmonize significantly better, especially in active pushes and chop blocks, which are more controlled now. At the same time, I still get plenty of spin from the inverted rubber.

The blade excels in blocking and overall has no major weaknesses. It’s very balanced, offering great control with high speed potential when needed.

In short: I clearly prefer this setup with Tenergy 05 Hard and Tactics LP OX over Glayzer 09c.