Tibhar Drinkhall Powerspin Carbon

So the ejing began again, after playing with Force Pro Black Edition for some time, I decided to try Paul Drinkhall's signature blade. It is named the Powerspin Carbon but I named it Paul Drinkhall Spirit, as it is Tibhar's blade designed for Paul who used Timo Spirit previously. Obviously, the PDS is faster than the TMS even I can't believe my eyes that in Dan's review the balls were shooting like rockets. I finally began to realize when I used PDS with Evolution rubbers that even mortals can create ballistics.

Rubbers used:
FH: Evolution MX-P
BH: Evolution FX-P

Spin and Power:
The first time I hit with the PDS, I can already feel the power of the blade using only short strokes. The blade is really direct that I can shoot the ball anywhere I want. Using brush stroke, the balls produced are really heavy and fast. When using power, the ball blasts off from the blade with incredible speed. A single powerloop can end the point outright because the ball is really low and fast. When the ball is blocked, it is very easy to reloop and continue attacking.

Blocking:
Like all composites, minimal effort is needed when blocking and what I like about the PDS is it's ease in countering balls. A loop can be smacked to humiliation. The blocks with PDS is very stable, I can vary my blocking from counter the chop block next with ease. The blade is better if the user has very active strokes.

Flicking, Pushing:
As shown in Dan's review, flicking is made easy with this blade due to it's direct nature. When I first used PSC, I used it with H3 NEO and pushing is very deadly because the ball is loaded with heavy spin and the ball is very low. When I used it with MX-P I had trouble at first but adjusted afterwards. The blade is also very good with the two types of flick, the chiquita (sidespin) and the drive due to it's dwell and a kick of power at the end of the stroke.


Conclusion and comments:
- Paul Drinkhall Spirit works well with the Evolution rubbers (not a marketing scheme)
- Due to the blade's power, I can't control MX-P sometimes
- For really aggressive players that want to attack everything they see
- Control is a plus, specially when looping
- Ballistics, ballistics, ballistics!! when timed well

This blade can compete with Butterfly's ALCs because PDS has more feel than Viscaria and Timo Boll. Comparing it with the Timo Spirit, the Drinkhall Spirit has more dwell, more feel, faster and more powerful. Another plus is that the PDS has minimal artificial feel (ultra carbon vibration) and I really like it as an allwood lover.

Drinkhall Carbon Powerspin Blade
Weight: 86g
Thickness: 6.2mm
Type: Carbon OFF
Composition: Koto, Carbon, Ayous, Kiri
Rubbers tested with blade: Evolution MX-P

Hi everyone, in the review video below I am with Paul Drinkhall the 2016 World Team Bronze Medallist, and we are looking at his personal blade with Tibhar, the Drinkhall Powerspin Carbon.

Video review:


Written Review:

This blade is comprised of 7 plys and made up of 5 layers of wood and 2 layers of arylate carbon with a simple and clean design. Paul worked with Tibhar to develop him a blade that gives him outstanding control with high end speed and good shock absorption on impact.

The blades handle and surface feel very smooth, and is very comfortable to hold. The blade weighs 86 grams which is reasonably light and has a thickness of 6.2mm.

Myself and Paul use the Tibhar Evolution MX-P rubbers on both sides of the blades.

Topspin:

At the beginning I noticed the power I could generate with this blade the ball literally rocketed off the bat. I could topspin with a lot of speed whilst maintaining the control due to the direct arc. The blades crisp sound and carbon feel is very evident. Similar to the Drinkhall all round blade review i had difficulty controlling Paul’s extreme topspin shots due to the intense speed and spin. It is so impressive how Paul gets so much quality on the ball with such small, compact strokes. Paul had tried many samples in the build up to making this blade and he said this final version had the best balance between speed and spin for the advanced player.

Speed & spin:

During 3 point forehands I liked how I felt confident going for power on low balls. Even when Paul dropped back from the table I felt I was able to keep the pressure on him without using too much effort.

Combining the blades with the Evolution MX-P rubbers gave us both a large amount of spin. The Powerspin Carbon has sufficient dwell when playing against backspin to produce a lot of spin on the ball. I also liked the arc I could produce when I slowed the game down and went for maximum rotation on the ball.

Short Game:

We both had good feeling when touching short over the table, again one of Paul’s strength is his short game with flicks and close range attacks and found no problem hitting directly through the ball with pace.

Counter Spin:

Counter topspin worked well due to the direct nature of the blade playing close range shots.

Away from table:

Playing against Paul’s forehand topspin from away from the table was not easy however when I timed the ball well and connected accurately I could produce a great topspin.

Conclusion:

The Drinkhall Power Spin blade has definitely been designed for fast attacking close range play. The blade is very suitable for players who like to play aggressive on flicks and 3 ball attacks, something which Paul is renowned for. Paul really is a world class player and, when playing with him, it amazed me how much precision and timing he had in all of his shots. Although this blade is great at aggressive shots, he noted how he felt he could hold attacks well when passive blocking. This well balanced blade we would recommend it for players who are proficient in technique and have a fast stable attacking game. This blade is definitely a top of the range blade from Tibhar, stacking up well with other premium carbon blades.

Photos from the review:

Blade Composition


Blade Weight


Blade thickness


Me and Paul