Donic Waldner Senso Ultra Carbon

Product information

Brand
Donic
Category
Blades
Reviews
3
Rating
4.33 star(s) 3 ratings
Price
$65

User stats

Speed
8.2
Control
8.3
Hardness
7.3
Durability
8.7
Pros
  • Hollow Core Grip
  • Zesty Speed
  • Has Gears
Cons
  • Learning Curve
  • Neck Is Wide
  • Carbon Feel
The Donic Waldner Senso Ultra Carbon is a very affordable Carbon blade at around $60. Senso is Donic's term for hollow handle blades. This reduces the overall weight by several grams, but makes the paddle feel a bit head-heavy. The carbon in this blade makes it peppy but not uncontrollable. This blade might have the slightest lack of control but this is mostly due to high ball velocities. that I would say it is an ideal speed for a proficient attacking player who is looking to move up from All+ or OFF- into solidly OFF to OFF+ speeds. The downside to having carbon layers in the blade is that it minutely deadens the communication of the ball with the hand. This is due to the less resonant nature of the material. It does however have enough grab to lift a backspin ball close to the table with a topspin flick, if performed correctly. Obviously the benefit of the carbon is that it makes virtually any blade faster, and this is no exception. This paddle is zippity quick. I would say it's best for a mid-range looping and flicking style, but it can be used for close pushes and blocks. It narrowly allows you to chop if you are very careful, but this is no defender's paddle. I fitted it with 1.9mm Gambler Mek-Tek Predator Rubbers (similar to Tenergy 05) and noticed immense spin capabilities. It just imparted more spin with less work, every time. Thus a spinney return of serve was effective. My only complaint with this blade is that the wings of the blade that come down to meet the handle seemed to be seated lower than on my other Donic paddle (the Persson Exclusive OFF) and was not sanded to a rounded shape like my other paddle. This is minor but it was less comfortable to hold. I would like to emphasize that this is a great value in a blade for any attacking player but it will take plenty of getting used to for those who have not played with such a fast paddle or simply haven't felt carbon before. Overall this blade is a great purchase that I would highly recommend to any player who wants to test out a carbon blade without paying Butterfly prices.
Speed
9
Control
7.3
Hardness
7.1
Durability
7.9
One member found this helpful.
Pros
  • High control
I was looking for a slower blade after playing a BTY photino.

The feel of the blade is hard, not too fast and with good control. The head size is smaller than my photino.

I used Yinhe Moon on both FH and BH. I noticed the combination was head heavy. IMO, it is good to play close to the table, especially with active blocks. If a ball pops up near the net, I was able to kill the point, due to the low arc.

Away from the table, I find it challenging to counter loop with opponent using the setup mentioned above - lack of speed and due to the low arc unable to clear the net.

If I use this blade again, I will put Acuda S1 or S2. I believe this will be a better setup.
Speed
7.7
Control
8.9
Hardness
8.9
Durability
8.9
Pros
  • light weight
  • control+speed
  • Many gears
Cons
  • Head heavy
I have been using WSUC V1 for 7 years. The beauty of this blade is that it has lot many gears, it can play slow on touch shots and short pushes and can really unleash its power while topspinning and hitting the ball.
One unique aspect of this product is its hollow handle which Donic calls as Senso technology. It is made to give more feedback during ball contact directly to your palm. From user perspective, I would say that this mechanism helps in determining the sweet spot. Since you get an awesome feel when you contact the ball on the sweet spot. This really helps in understanding the quality of the shot which you have executed. I have played with Soft and medium hard rubbers on this blade. If you are more of a spin oriented player then go with softer rubbers. The spin on your serves will surely increase as this blade offers very good dwell time. If you want to add additional punch then go with rubbers like Donic Coppa JO Platin or any new generation ESN rubber which offers longer trajectory and more depth.
Due to its hollow handle, this blade tends to be head heavy. So be cautious on what rubbers you choose for this blade. However, I personally feel having the weight more towards the head gives better results more oomph for those who snap fast with their forearm on their topspin strokes.
This blade is more suited for players who play close to the table and at mid-distance. Farther away from the table, it looses power and needs much more effort to hit the ball.

Update
--------
After moving away from this blade for approximately 1 year, my game started suffering. I have again started using this blade and I see immediate improvement in my strokes. I think it is the amount of control which you get along with the speed which inspires you to hit without hesitation. I will give this blade full marks now in terms of control and versatility.
Speed
8
Control
8.7
Hardness
6
Durability
9.2
One member found this helpful.
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