Butterfly Timo Boll Spirit

Product information

Brand
Butterfly
Category
Blades
Reviews
14
Last update
Rating
4.93 star(s) 14 ratings
Speed
8.3
Control
8.7
Hardness
7.7
Durability
8.6
User stats

Reviews summary

13
 
93%
1
 
7%
0
 
0%
0
 
0%
0
 
0%
Overall rating
4.93 star(s) 14 ratings

Item details

The Boll Spirit is a 7 ply attacking blade which consists of carbon and arylate.

Latest reviews

Pros
  • Looping
  • Smashing
  • Blocking
Cons
  • Feeling
  • Weight dependant

The standout feature of this blade is its good speed, spin and control. It’s the benchmark which all other carbon blades are based on.

Topspin: you get good dwell time when looping, very spinny and controlled at all speeds.

Counter play: again very good, plenty of spin, power and control at all distances.

Consistency: very consistent with all types of rubber.

Short Game: good for flicks, chopping, pushing, the lot.

Blocking: very good, nice and controlled.

Smashing: smashing is nice and controlled with plenty of power, no complaints here.

Feeling: this is where many players differ in opinion. I personally hate the feeling of this blade compared to other blades as it feels almost like glass, but I know others who find it okay. This isn’t good for developing players as feeling vibration feedback is helpful when learning.

Conclusion: the Boll Spirit is a very good blade which works well with all types of rubber, but really does shine with tenergy 05.

Rubber advice: tenergy 05 fh (max) and tenergy 05fx or 05 bh (max or 1.9).

Should you buy this blade? If you can find it, have the money and want a balanced, fast but yet controlled blade, then yes (most players agree the heavier blades 88g+ play better). If you can’t find this blade but want something similar then go for the Boll ALC, it’s basically the same blade but a notch faster and updated for the plastic ball. If you are a beginner and are learning to loop then I would go with a korbel, virtuoso, Nittaku acoustic or a slower carbon blade depending on your price range.

Speed
7.8
Control
9.3
Hardness
5.9
Durability
9.1
Pros
  • The feeling
  • Balanced
Cons
  • Price
Hi,

Let's start with my playstyle : Modern attacker, forehand oriented, I loop with power and/or spin long balls with my forehand. With the backhand I can loop too but I'm more passive, usually pushing and waiting for an opportunity to attack with my forehand. Sometimes i also like to let the opponent take the initiative and just block his attacks. Changing the gameplay is something I can easily do with this blade (except maybe Joo-Sae-Hyuk's type of defense but I never tried it and I'm noob with it anyway).

I bought this blade 2 years ago with 2 JOOLA Rhyzm 2,1mm on forehand and 1,9mm on backhand. Then I tried it with Tenergy 05 2,1mm on forehand and 1,9mm on backhand.
This blade was my first real big investment in TT material and I don't regret it.
The feeling is really great, I've never felt the ball as well as with a TBS. This gives me a really good control in all compartiments of the game. The speed is there if needed but I can also attack slowly with lots of spin if I want to change the pace. This blade is perfect for my playstyle and I won't change it for a long time.

I can honestly say that my TBS helped me to improve. But I had decent skills before buying it. So if you're a beginner or at a low level, don't bother buying such a blade as you need some skills already to feel the difference with more common blades. Go to train with a simple Banco Magic Light and once the skills are there, having this kind of blade is a NEED.

One last thing : take good care of it, if you damage it, even a little, you will probably feel little vibrations while hitting the ball and that's when you know it won't be the same anymore.
Speed
8.5
Control
9
Durability
7
Pros
  • Backhand Loop
  • Forehand Loop
Cons
  • Far from table
  • Cost
Overall, this is a wonderful blade made by butterfly. Looping on both sides have a lot of control and help create heavy spin, however, lacks some power when very far away from the table. This is a blade made for people who rather play close to mid distance.
Speed
9
Control
9
Hardness
9.5
Durability
10
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