Donic Original True Carbon Inner

My search for an innerforce-type blade led me here. I had tried DHS H301, Ovtcharov ALC, and other similarly structured blades before this blade caught my eye.

The blade is very controlled, making it suitable for aggressive attackers and loopers. Its distinct characteristic is the LONG, LOW ARC TRAJECTORY, which means that all balls when struck properly will 97% go deep into the opponent’s baseline, despite Donic only rating it as AR+/OFF-. While you won’t get the ultra speed of blades like Primorac Carbon or other hard blades, directing and placing your shots with the OTCI is relatively easy and intuitive. Combined with the right rubbers, your topspins will be unstoppable.

My blade weighs 86.7g, and I put Andro R48 (FH) and Fastarc G1 (BH) on it. It immediately became the blade of my dreams. It has all the elements I wanted: good feel (dwell is unexpectedly good), enough speed and vicious spin (mainly due to R48), lightweight enough to do table flicks without hurting my wrist… and most importantly, the CONTROL factor is something I won’t trade for any other blade. This setup seriously plays like a $300-400 high-end racket.

If there is a negative point, I would say the size of the sweet spot is probably not as large as ALC blades. You need to aim to hit the middle-up part for the best feel. But that won’t matter much if you possess proper techniques. After all, the blade itself is quite forgiving even for higher-level plays.

I wonder why there aren’t many reviews or users of this blade. It’s a pleasant blade for a very friendly price. Could it be because it’s made by Donic and not Butterfly or Stiga?

P.S. @revspin please correct the thickness. It’s ~5.6mm, not 6.5mm.

UPDATE SEPT 2022: Yasaka Rakza Z (FH) and Rakza 7 (BH), both 2.0mm - and I can say it is probably the blade of ultimate feel and spin, even better feel than my Viscaria.

Review text:

I was reading up about the Donic range of carbon blades and decided to take a look at the Original Carbon. The reviews were overall positive about how the blade is similar to Viscaria, etc.

Sadly, I was not able to purchase the Original Carbon but got suggested this instead. Because this is a new blade out last year, there wasn’t much to go on as far as reviews.

First of all, I would like to say that this blade is going to suit loopers who utilize placement over power, and this blade is perfect for that. I am a powerful player, but I also rely upon accurate placement to win points. Looping with this blade is surprisingly good from mid-distance as the trajectory is long. I often found my opponent struggling to cope with the amount of spin produced. I paired this blade with Donic Bluefire JP turbo, and the combination worked really well.

Despite the speed rating, I wouldn’t altogether go by just that before choosing a blade because what I have noticed is a lot greater accuracy and winning more points because of this.

Serves were good, and this blade has just the right amount of weight distributed to ensure serves are low and short. Also, the blade does have some dwell time to ensure the rubber can do its work. Blocking is super easy with this blade and is one of its strengths, so if you like to play close to the table, I suggest this is a good buy for you because of the consistency.

Overall, this blade is ideal for players of all levels because it does have plenty of gears and is flexible enough to impart heavy spin. If you are a powerful player like me, you can easily play with a blade that is All+ or Off. because you won’t miss the speed too much. However, if you are a player who relies upon a fast, stiff blade to assist with power, this is not the blade for you.

I will be keeping this blade paired with the Bluefire/Bluestorm series as they work well in tandem.

I’ve been playing with this blade for a year now and I’m very satisfied with it. I’ve noticed a steady improvement in my game since I started using it. I would classify the Donic Original True Carbon Inner blade (fl, 86g) as an off-/off blade. I use it with Xiom Omega 7 Pro rubbers (thickness 2.0 mm, hardness 47.5 °), and the combination works perfectly for me. In my opinion, softer rubbers would not be suitable for a blade with this composition.

I play most of my matches at the table or from a medium distance. This blade offers not only speed and great rotation, but also sufficient sensitivity. It allows for precise ball placement and is forgiving of mishits, enabling me to return seemingly impossible balls back to the table. The Donic Original True Carbon Inner blade’s composition (koto-ayous-carbon-kiri-carbon-ayous-koto) suits my playing style perfectly, and I thoroughly enjoy using it.

Hey, this is my first review ever, but I felt obliged to write this because of the blade’s quality. I played with Donic Waldner Senso V1 before this, which is an all-wood blade. In only three training sessions, this Donic Persson Powerplay Senso V2 has literally become my best blade of all time.

The speed rating of “AR+” given by Donic is false for me. This is a fast blade for an inner blade, even faster than the Waldner Senso V1 for passive shots. But the control is insane, making it very easy to open loops, flips, and counters.

The only flaw when compared to a Butterfly ALC blade would be the sweet spot. The rebound is slightly different if you hit the sides of the blade. In receiving, the control is okay for a blade like this.

Compared to the Butterfly Boll ALC or other outer blades with koto, you can be passive on receiving. I compare this blade to ALC blades because the feeling in the hand is quite close for me (perhaps due to the koto), with less speed and much more control. But those who have tried an ALC blade must understand the feeling, that of having the ball in the hand, this slight vibration. It is still less pronounced on the DOTC.

The throw angle of the blade is not high, so the ball tends to go long.

In terms of rubbers, I played with R48 on forehand and Xiom Omega 7 Euro on backhand. Normally, I don’t like hard rubbers, but I think this wood is better suited to hard rubbers. Having tried the R48 on other blades, I thought that this rubber was average, but with this wood, everything seems easy on forehand, with very good spin when opening compared to the Waldner Senso V1 or Primorac wood.

This blade is really worth testing for the price, especially since I got it for a promotional price of 50 euros in France. Sorry for my average English.

Good!

Unique feel and control. Very little delay/dwell. Promotes punching and hard blocking. Great for general spin variations with plenty of power close and far. Good for close to table counter.

Similar to: - Butterfly Marcos Freitas - But with less delay and lower throw, similar speed - Donic Waldner Senso Carbon - Very similar feel, but faster and less woody overall and less dwell - Joola Santoru Outer KLC - Faster and more potent than the Inner. Similar Kevlar feel.

Used to wooden blades like Primorac, after using Timo Boll ALC for a few months, I couldn’t forget the feeling when blocking. I couldn’t handle the TB ALC; it’s fast but impossible to defend when not in perfect position. The ball is immediately out or up in the sky. That’s where my quest for an inner type started.

This DTCI blade provides everything it advertises: absolutely great with BH block with the typical Koto feeling but not too fast at all, probably in the off- department (some would say all-around+, whereas I think this is more an off- “+”, bordering on, with max gears). With this or the TB ALC, you will know if you can stand Koto or not, it’s very stable but might be weird to loop with at first.

With the DTCI, I will rarely overshoot during topspins or counters. The short game is impeccable and the serves are OK. If you’re still of a wood blade, smashes get a little bit time to adjust because it’s going more straight. With the right commitment, you can do a lot of damage. Flared handle is quite good, nothing remarkable.

All in all, I’m really satisfied with the blade and will use it for the upcoming season. I’m using Fastarc G1 2.0 FH (subject to change) and Fastarc C1 1.8 BH (keeper or 2.0). For curiosity, I’ll be looking for some limba outer ply blades such as the Acoustic Carbon Inner or similar to see if looping can be even easier without losing too much in the blocking game.

Had a robot testing session with this blade. My setup included DHS H3 Neo Boosted on the forehand (FH) and Tenergy 05 on the backhand (BH). The bare blade weighs 88g, with a total weight of 193g after adding the rubbers. For comparison, I also used the Donic Waldner Senso Carbon (WSC) with the same rubber setup.

This blade appears to be modeled after the BTY Viscaria, with differences in the placement and type of carbon layer. The blade profile and handle length and shape are similar to the Viscaria.

Compared to the WSC, this blade is faster and bouncier. On FH drives, full-force shots are crisp and precise. However, on slow to medium shots, the feel is slightly mushy due to the boosted H3 rubber. Despite this, the balls land consistently on the other side without much difficulty. The throw is slightly lower than the WSC, and the control is very good.

On BH drives, the speed is excellent. Due to the slightly lower throw, punch blocks can be executed with power, and passive blocks are effortless. FH and BH loops are also easy to execute, with well-paced shots at close and medium distances. Unfortunately, I lack the space to test long-distance shots. The WSC is known to be weak in long-distance shots.

In terms of pushes, the blade allows for both aggressive and short control pushes. Similar to the WSC, there is nothing particularly remarkable in this area.

On serves, the blade has enough flex to generate good spin. However, the blade truly excels in loop drives with backspin. Hitting the sweet spot results in balls landing with speed, whether cross-court or down the line. Blocking is also effortless with this blade.

Overall, I am interested in experimenting with different rubbers to find the best combination. T05 on the BH is very effective, while H3 Neo on the FH requires some effort to generate pace. This blade is faster than the WSC with a lower throw, offering a good wood feel on slow shots and a carbon feel on hard shots. Update: Razka Z is the ideal FH rubber for this blade.