I don't understand that so many players still think this is a super fast blade. That is really weird. Speedwise I would put it in the (lower) off range. It's first and foremost a blade that supports a close to the table/mid distance topspin game. It was made for that. It has a woody, natural feeling to it,. The carbon only kicks in when you hit hard or when you block powerful shots from your opponents. This blade is very balanced indeed. I would recommend it to anyone who loves 5-ply allwood blades but looks for something that is more stable in blocking and counter spinning (especially with the 40+ plastic ball). The only down side is the price, apart from that, it's a really good blade.