My personal experience with SANWEI NOVA Carbon, and some tips on how to use this blade.

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Hello everyone! 🙋‍♂️

This is Andrea, and I’m excited to share my journey with the NOVA Carbon blade in this thread. As a mid-level player, I hope my experience can give some inspiration or resonance to players who are using or want to use this blade, which is why I wrote this article.🥰
NOVA Carbon left.jpg
To save everyone’s time, I will write my four combinations at the beginning, and you can see the reasons for my combinations later.
1. NOVA Carbon and Gear Hyper 38° * 2
2. NOVA Carbon and New Target National* 2
3. NOVA Carbon and New Target National( Boost)* 2
4. NOVA Carbon and New Target National( FH/ Boost) and Taiji Plus 2023(BH) 👉 Final choose

When our designers introduced the NOVA Carbon blade, I was immediately drawn to it. The design concept behind it focuses on explosive power which hit my spot exactly. So on the day it was launched, I asked our designer for one.😎

Gear Hyper on each side, a Balanced Combination🙌

Initially, I paired the NOVA Carbon with Gear Hyper38° rubbers on both sides. After gluing them on, I couldn’t wait to test it with the ball machine. I have to admit, this was a nearly foolproof combination. Whether for European or Chinese-style players, this setup felt incredibly reliable.
Splash.jpg
It provided a good balance of spin, power, and speed. When countering my opponent’s looping, I was able to generate great explosiveness. Every shot gave me confidence, and the blade's high power made me feel more dominant in my exchanges.

Facing Challenges, Finding the Best Combination🤔

However, when I took this racket to play against my friend, a key player on a Chinese university team, I quickly realized that there was an issue. While the setup was balanced, I found it difficult to produce the heavy-spin, fast forehand loops needed to break through his defense. As a player with a Chinese-style approach, I rely more on aggressive, forward-moving loops rather than high-arc ones, which made it tough to penetrate his solid defense.

After some reflection, I decided to switch to New Target National on the forehand and had my friend test it as well. The result was clear: using New Target National on the forehand with the NOVA Carbon gave us a lower, faster speed, and more spin. It also enhanced the explosiveness of my counterattacks when reacting to his loops.
乒乓球拍0098 拷贝-SAI-softness_1920.jpg
Upgrading the Backhand;)

At his strong suggestion, I switched my backhand to New Target National as well. Many high-level Chinese players prefer this rubber on both sides because it allows them to produce faster, harder, and spinnier shots, provided their basic skills are solid enough to control it.

When I saw my friend using this setup, every shot seemed to be a spinning bullet, and the low, heavy spin allowed my forward loops to be significantly improved. But when it was my turn to use it, I realized a problem: my basic skills weren’t as strong as his, so my consistency dropped, and I lost a lot of unnecessary points.:cry:

SANWEI New Target National💥( It should be noted that as SANWEI brand, we don't advocate boosting, and can't provide quality assurance for product damage caused by boosting. )

To address this, we decided to boost both sides of the New Target National rubbers. We used Sanwei water glue, applying it twice, followed by Sea Moon oil twice, and then finished with another layer of Sanwei water glue.

After boosting, I immediately tested the setup and was pleasantly surprised. The blade’s explosive power was amplified even further, and the low throw angle that had been causing net balls disappeared. The throw angle became taller and the sponge becomes elastic. After practicing with the ball machine, I adapted to the changes and realized that this setup was the best fit for me.

Weight Considerations: A Necessary Adjustment

Over time, however, I noticed that this setup was a bit too heavy for me. The NOVA Carbon is not designed to be a lightweight blade, and with the added weight of the Sanwei Water Glue and Sea Moon boost, my racket ended up weighing around 192g. While the setup delivered tremendous power, the weight became a challenge.

After some careful consideration, I decided to sacrifice a bit of the backhand power to achieve a lighter combination. I switched my backhand rubber to Taiji Plus 2023, a lightweight rubber from Sanwei that is soft yet provides good spin due to its half-sticky top sheet. After switching to Taiji Plus 2023, the racket weight dropped to 186.7g, which was much more manageable for me. This lighter setup helped me win more matches and proved to be the perfect balance for my game. I now consider this setup to be my main racket.
1734337590959.jpegWeight taiji cutting (1).jpgTaiji Plus Front.jpg
Conclusion: Finding My Ideal Setup

In the end, the NOVA Carbon paired with boosted New Target National rubbers, and now with Taiji Plus 2023 on the backhand, has become my ideal setup. The combination of explosive power, precise control, and manageable weight has made a huge difference in my performance.

I hope my experience could be the combination for you. It’s especially suited for players like me who play with a Chinese-style approach and are striving to balance power, spin, and consistency.

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Thank you for sharing and for the detailed review, @Andrea Jiang !

Just to confirm, is this a 3+2 ply blade?

Also, do you happen to have the measurements for the head size and handle? From the images on the official page, the head appears slightly larger than standard, and the handle seems a bit longer as well. Would love to hear your thoughts!
 
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Thank you for sharing and for the detailed review, @Andrea Jiang !

Just to confirm, is this a 3+2 ply blade?

Also, do you happen to have the measurements for the head size and handle? From the images on the official page, the head appears slightly larger than standard, and the handle seems a bit longer as well. Would love to hear your thoughts!
Hello bro,
How are you?
USE ON WEBSIRE NOVA CARBON.jpg

This is a structure picture of Nova Carbon, you can see it is a 3+2 structure.

For the head size and handle size, pls check:
微信图片_20241217102328.jpg

微信图片_20241217102501.jpg
 
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I'm using Gear Hyper at the moment, and it's my favourite rubber.
When you changed to Target National, did you need to change the technique much? How's the adjustment period like?
Careful dude, this is basically a sales pitch you are responding to. Take with plenty of salt 😉
 
Hi, how are you?

Before I answer , May I know:
Did you originally use the Gear Hyper for your forehand or backhand?
Did you BOOST it?
What is your play style?
I'm a one-sided penholder.
I mainly push/block and attack/counterattack (drive/topspin/smash). I occasionally chop. I don't really loop that much.
I don't boost it.
 
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I'm a one-sided penholder.
I mainly push/block and attack/counterattack (drive/topspin/smash). I occasionally chop. I don't really loop that much.
I don't boost it.
Thank you for your sharing.

I have asked our designer, he said:

When you switch from Gear Hyper to Target National, your spin will see a significant boost, and your aggressive attacks will become even more threatening. However, in contrast, controlling the placement of your pushes may become slightly more challenging, requiring greater precision and practice. Additionally, since you don’t typically boost your rubbers, Target National's throw angle will be lower, resulting in a fast, low, and highly spinny trajectory. This slightly reduces your margin for error but makes it even more difficult for your opponent to counter your attacks.

I hope this advice will be helpful.
 
Thank you for your sharing.

I have asked our designer, he said:

When you switch from Gear Hyper to Target National, your spin will see a significant boost, and your aggressive attacks will become even more threatening. However, in contrast, controlling the placement of your pushes may become slightly more challenging, requiring greater precision and practice. Additionally, since you don’t typically boost your rubbers, Target National's throw angle will be lower, resulting in a fast, low, and highly spinny trajectory. This slightly reduces your margin for error but makes it even more difficult for your opponent to counter your attacks.

I hope this advice will be helpful.
Thanks for your response.

I noticed there are a few different versions of Sanwei Target.
What are the differences between those?
 
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Thanks for your response.

I noticed there are a few different versions of Sanwei Target.
What are the differences between those?
You are welcome,
00056-350x350.jpg.webp
New Target National


For our Target series, there are two types in our official website.

New Target National; Cake blue Sponge+ Sticky Topsheet, this one is good for Pro players who make great spin looping.

Target 3rd Edtion: Chinese Sponge+ Half sticky topsheet, this one is designed for players who prefer the Chinese style of play use more direct force and can maximize the first speed of the baseboard.
 
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Does anyone have experience with both the Sanwei Nova Carbon and either Donic Original / Ovtcharov Carbospeed or Donic Waldner Legend? Any difference? All three have Hinoki outer ply+ carbon + kiri core.

I have the Legend and REALLY like it and would like to eventually get either the Carbospeed or the Nova Carbon. (I like the Legend but this will be an EJ purchase so it MUST be some other blade).
 
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Carbonated is a really fast 3+2. Very stiff and while more controllable with the current ball it is definitely for players who want to play short strokes to create fast and low trajectory topspins. Does that sound like you?
It probably describes my play, rather disappointingly, because in my mind I play like Xu Xin.
But I don't find carbon blades too fast for me, maybe because I use cheaper unboosted Chinese rubbers almost exclusively (H3, 729FX, Sanwei, Mercury II).
 
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Does anyone have experience with both the Sanwei Nova Carbon and either Donic Original / Ovtcharov Carbospeed or Donic Waldner Legend? Any difference? All three have Hinoki outer ply+ carbon + kiri core.

I have the Legend and REALLY like it and would like to eventually get either the Carbospeed or the Nova Carbon. (I like the Legend but this will be an EJ purchase so it MUST be some other blade).
Hello bro,

How are you?

I use Nova carbon for myself and put two Target National / Target National Player edition on both sides.
So I think maybe my experience could be helpful.

I think the Nova carbon is designed for people who need more power or first speed.
The heavy carbon and thicker hinoki surface make it stiff; at the same time, 3+2 structure gives it a straight power expression.

But I should point out that Nova Carbon is not fit for the players who have enough power and want to make an amazing spin looping, or want to perform operations near the table.

Our designers also said to me, This blade is an old school blade. If you are used to the modern 5+2 structure and can release the full power of it, you'd better use the 5+2 one.

But if you can't make your looping not only have the second speed but also have the first speed, you can try it to give you more first speed.

For the rubber, I use the sticky surface rubbers to balance the less spin of the Nova carbon, to make sure the racket can give me enough spin on the near/ middle table.

And now my plan is to use Nova carbon this year, and train my looping to make it more first speed. Then maybe I will replace it with Paramid, and see if I can make the same level of loops.

I hope it can be useful.

Regards,
 
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