Can anyone point me towards any evidence that carbon blades are superior to all-wood? I'm looking for independent scientific data rather than subjective opinions. Thanks for any help.
You’re chasing ghosts here.
The question contains an assumption. It assumes a complete partial order is induced by the relation ‘superior to’.
This entails comparability, ie either X is superior to Y or Y is superior to X. Note that ‘superior’ is a rather absolute notion.
Out here in the real world, neither notion of absolute nor comparability holds water.
Counterexample for ‘absolute’ is: blade X may have desirable properties in one aspect, and lesser ones in another - in relation. There is a correlation between speed (desirable often but not always) and control. Flexibility helps in some part if the game, rigidity in another. And composites typically ofter a larger or less pronounce sweet spot - but give less feedback. You get certain things at the expense of others. And which tradeoff is the superior one, then? None. It depends.
Comparabilty is indefensible for similar reasons. X may have more speed, where Y might have more gears.
You can of course recreate the marketing fallacy here. It has the structure: most (or many) people bought (use) X, therefore X is the best (very good).
You can do that in many ways. Following that reasoning, you’re likely to find some popular affordable blade with Friendship on it as the superior blade, in one path of reasoning. In another, zooming in on the broader body of top players, you’ll find Viscarias with Tenergies as the superior thing du jour: and if you narrow that down, you’re more likely arriving at a DHS blade with H3 covered in pixie dust a the superior item.
It’s a mistake. There is nothing superior, it’s all messy and fluid tradeoffs and interdependencies.
