Tibhar Drinkhall Power Spin Carbon

Great Timo Boll ALC clone. Mine felt better than the couple of TB ALC’s I’ve tried. Worth considering if looking for an outer ply blade.

Firstly, this blade is said to be an arcylate carbon blade, but it does not appear to be the case. The carbon looks like that of a regular blade. The blade is stable on the backhand, similar to my BTY Viscaria. However, on the forehand, I found it to be unstable and not performing as expected. It became difficult to topspin, and I may need to adjust the angle. My Viscaria plays exceptionally well with DHS Hurricane 3 and Yasaka Rakza X on the backhand. I do not favor this blade as much and believe I will continue using my Viscaria.

Review:

Equipped with 85 grams, Andro R50 on both sides with a thickness of 2.0 mm.

This blade has exceptional speed, fantastic control, and is effortless to use. I’ve previously utilized the Hurricane Long 5, Long 3, Fang Bo 1 and 2 and 2x, and TBALC, but none of them can compare to the R50 in any of these aspects. If I had to draw a comparison to another blade, I would say it possesses the speed of the TBZLC with the control of the Long 3. It requires minimal effort to execute loops and spin low balls, is extremely easy to block with, and makes it almost improbable to go off the table during passive or active blocks. Lobs and countering come naturally with this blade.

I particularly appreciate how its exceptional control allows me to brush off the receive or my third ball, leaving my opponents struggling to keep the ball on the table. If it does land, it’s often high and easy to counter. This blade is essentially a Viscaria on steroids, and I would highly recommend it over the Viscaria any day. It is also more reasonably priced.

However, one potential drawback is that the short game can be slightly challenging when flipping. I noticed that even when attempting to flip heavy backspin, I would occasionally overshoot the edge of the table by a small margin. This could be due to my technique, as I have not previously encountered significant issues in this area. It is possible that the R50's hardness contributes to the difficulty in holding and spinning the ball effectively in these situations. I will continue to experiment with my technique and update my review if I find a solution.

A good blade offers excellent control and impressive speed, making it very comparable to the popular Viscaria blade.

Better than Spirit, Viscaria, or other Butterfly Arylate Carbon blades.

Pros: - Good speed - Lightweight - Excellent for topspins and smashes

Neutral: - Blocks and feeling are decent

Cons: - Not recommended for beginners - Feeling is only decent to great for upper-intermediate or advanced players

Conclusion: Compared to the Victas Koki Niwa Wood, this blade is faster and lighter, but the latter offers slightly better control and feeling. Overall, it’s a good attacking blade.