There is this thing about equipment. It is the case in many sports, even fields. My sister is an artist and an art professor and she goes crazy with paint brushes and different kinds of paint. So.....it is not just TT. But it is worth understanding that, for TT, most players at a level lower than extremely high, the choices that matter are simple and not specific.
Like, if most players below the level of an elite amateur (someone on the verge of semi-pro level) used an all wood, All+ or Off- 5 ply blade and a simple middle of the road rubber (same rubber on both sides unless you are using a hard tacky rubber on FH) that allows you to do all strokes, those are the most important details. Every brand has a few versions of the blade I just described and every brand has a few versions of the rubber I just described. Which model you choose for blade and rubber is less important than that you use something that fits the description above.
If the OP had tried the blades in question he would be able to say, "I really like this one better than the other one." And that would be the real way to choose. But without trying first hand, either blade will be excellent. Either blade will help him develop and improve. Either blade will help him improve a bit faster than the awesome but expensive and fast blade he currently has (IFL ALC).
But that blade he already has was still a good investment because, the value will not go down much. It may even become more valuable over time. And he will be able to go back to it in a few years and feel how good that blade is. But, he has made a hard but intelligent choice in realizing it is too fast for him.
I also have a feeling that an Off- blade would be fine as well because the difference between All+ and Off- is not so big. But, the blade he chooses will be good for him for many years; even if at some point he upgrades to something faster or goes back to the IFL ALC.
But the important thing is, he is looking at the right equipment, and at a certain point, there is not much more he can do to find just the right blade if he cannot try the different options for himself. Other people's opinions of these blades will be based on their actual skill level, how good they are at feeling things and how they uniquely feel things. So everyone will have different opinions about how various blades feel. Which is why reading online reviews of equipment can easily get you in trouble if you take what people say to seriously without knowing who is saying it and their level of touch and feel.
BTW: an example of this in action: Blades that are: Limba-Spruce-Ayous-Spruce-Limba.....I love how they feel. There is something great about how they feel to me. Spruce gives this great feeling when it is under Limba. But I like the playing characteristics of blades that are: Limba-Limba-Ayous-Limba-Limba better because they grab and hold the ball a little harder since the second Limba ply makes the Limba-Limba blade construction have less spring, less bounce, and even less feeling of character. So for me, the blade that feels better on the offhand offensive shot, does not play as well or allow me to do quite as much with the ball. But I am not going to expect that other people will feel the same thing or have the same experience.
