Tibhar Drinkhall Allround Classic

Disappointed. Poor quality top limba ply, average finish. Surprisingly stiff with a frequency response of 1253hz, which places it into off- territory. Dead and unfeeling with hard Chinese rubbers. Standard ST handle sizing, i.e., too small for me. I suggest avoiding this blade when you can buy two or more Chinese ayous limba blades of similar, if not better, quality.

Tibhar IV-S

Tibhar’s answer to the Stiga All-round Classic. The composition is the classic ALL blade composition: Limba - Ayous - Ayous - Ayous - Limba. It’s a really nice blade. As a relative beginner, I used this blade with Evolution EL-S on the forehand and FX-S on the backhand for about a year. This blade has excellent feeling, control, and consistency. The blade I have is quite light, around 78g. This blade was excellent for my level and helped me improve massively. I’d 100% recommend it to any beginners, also to intermediate players looking for a consistent ALL blade with quality control and feeling.

UPDATE: After researching options for beginners’ bats and becoming a coach, one of my players was an absolute beginner. This is the blade we decided on, paired with Friendship 729 Super FX (2mm) on both sides. It’s perfect, and she’s extremely happy with her setup.

I agree with huba667’s assessment. I’ve played with this 84g blade for several hours. It’s well-balanced, and the straight handle is quite thick and provides a perfect fit. I purchased it as a replacement for my lost Butterfly Primorac because it was advertised as All+, but it’s definitely not! This is an All blade designed for players who prioritize control over speed and is suitable for beginners. It can generate some speed, but even with tensor rubbers (I tried Andro Hexer), you have to put in a considerable amount of effort.

It’s quite a good blade. It has a bit of a hollow feel and some vibrations, but exceptionally high control. It played strangely with an EL-S in 1.8 and a Juic 999 Elite (the former rather fast, the latter sluggish as hell), but plays great with T05 and T05FX in 1.7 or TSP Ventus Spin. Andro Impuls works great on BH, too. It feels like it pairs better with softer sponges rather than harder ones.

All in all, it’s a rather slow All (not All+) blade.

Edit: my blade weighs 83 g. I have a second Drinkhall Allround with 88 g that plays way faster and stiffer than the lighter one. I changed to T05 max and T05 FX on the lighter one and now have my perfect blade. It’s controlled, spinny to the max, and also powerful if I need it. I hesitated using the T05 max considering my playing abilities, but on the contrary, it gave me more security.

This is a nice blade from Tibhar. Blades from the Drinkhall series are also good.