Yasaka Falck Carbon and W7 Blades Review

Yasaka Falck Carbon
Weight: 88 grams
Thickness: 5.91mm
Hardness: medium stiff
Plies: 7 (Limba outer-inner carbon-ayous or kiri core)
Speed: Off to Off+

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I finally received the 2 Falck blades after some time of waiting. I had to wait for the 2 blades since the stocks were not available at that time. The 2 blades were really worth the wait and I even kept one as another one of my go to blade. The Falck Carbon is not the blade that everybody expected it to be. I and other people have speculated that maybe Yasaka will just make a remade Ma Lin Soft Carbon or maybe the Ma Lin Carbon but it was a great surprise upon seeing that the Falck Carbon is an inner carbon blade. I was surprised that it has an inner carbon. It felt significantly harder and stiffer than the Ma Lin Soft Carbon and the speed seem to be near or equal to that of the Ma Lin Carbon. The carbon layer does not look like a standard carbon because it has a cross weave of a lighter material which doesn’t look like a carbon blade but near to maybe aramid or another similar material. The blade has some flex but it is way more stiffer than the Ma Lin Soft Carbon. I would say the speed will not exceed that of the Harimoto ALC. The Alnalde is much faster than the Falck Carbon. When I bounced the ball on the Yasaka Ma Lin Soft Carbon and Falck Carbon, the Yasaka Ma Lin Carbon was obviously slower and had the lower bounce. The sound of the ball bouncing on the Falck Carbon had a somewhat higher pitch but not enough to be equal with other harder carbon blades probably because of the inner carbon structure. I understand Yasaka has their own speed and control ratings but in my own opinion, the Falck Carbon is not in the speed level of Tamca Carbon blades because for me, it should not be faster than Koto ALC blades. It’s between off and off+. I am saying this because the speed is not that of a true off+ blade if you will compare it to hard pure carbon blades. Maybe it is time to introduce speed classification of Off++ and Off+++ blades since most of the Koto-ALC blades nowadays have an off+ rating already.

I think the Falck carbon is an all around style attacking blade. It is fast enough to attack from shots away from the table provided you have the right type of rubber used but still the control is good enough that it feels you are just using an off blade. Maybe this is the sensation that I am feeling that the blade is not too fast probably because of great amount of control the blade has. At 5.9mm thickness, the blade is not too flexy but also has some stiffness in it that the speed is balanced with the amount of spin you can produce when you are looping against underspin. I used the Rakza X and Rakza 7 for the test and despite the Rakza X being a very fast rubber, the control I got was really that of an Off speed blade. Too bad my Rakza Z EH has already eroded. I think it could have been a great looping combination with the Falck Carbon Blade as the limba outer plies and semi-flexy structure permits great looping possibilities with the blade. The feel is very close to the IF ALC blade but there is some sort of extra softness with each ball bounce when I was looping the ball. The speed is probably almost in the same level when I last used the IF ALC but in my opinion I felt a better amount of control with the Falck Carbon Blade. I have observed that when using the Rakza X and Rakza 7, the arc was medium to medium low.

The control is awesome because my shots seem pretty accurate despite using Rakza X which is considered a very fast rubber. At far distance from the table, I did not feel any reduction of speed and power when doing loops away from the table. In my opinion, the blade is much suited until mid-distance from the table for optimal use unless you are using a very fast rubber on both sides. Other strength of the Falck Carbon is that its stability when blocking strong topspins is on par with other hard and heavy blades. Also, I have used a short pip rubber in the backhand and I felt it was better than the Yasaka Ma Lin Soft Carbon because I felt that the YMLSC is too soft for my liking with short pips. I understand that Mathias Falck likes the set up but the Flack Carbon has more stiffness and I believe the stiffness adds a little bit extra juice in your shots and pairs better with short pimpled rubbers.

Overall, this is a great alternative to Innerforce ALC blade because it offers a lot of potential for a well-rounded attacking style of play. Yasaka has made another high-quality blade. The design is very simple but it plays above than what I expected it to play. I highly recommend this blade even to just intermediate players because of its superb control provided they use a 1.9mm or 2.0mm rubber. This carbon blade is very forgiving even for intermediate level players.

Falck W7
Weight: 86 grams
Thickness: 6.55mm
Hardness: medium stiff
Plies: 7 (Limba-ayous)
Speed: Off to Off+

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This is my favorite blade in between the 2 Falck blades. I am intending to keep it and I have been playing with it heavily since it sparked my interest on using a 7 ply all wood blade again. I was once an all wood 7 ply blade collector. I used to collected selected 7 ply all-wood blades before but got tired of them and gave away most of them. I always had a thing for 7 ply all-wood blades due to their balance of speed and control. Tranas Woodhouse has always made excellent 7 ply blades for Yasaka and for other brands and the Falck W7 is their latest 7 ply all-wood blade. The W7 carries the classic 7 ply all wood feel that all wood users love. The blade has a simple design with a 2-tone color reminding me of the Swedish flag due to having blue and yellow colors. Like the Falck Carbon, the W7 has some factory sealing and I do not think they need any more sealing. I have so far removed and glued 4 rubbers in each side but I did not observe any wood splintering or delamination. The handle is big with a dimension of 26mm x 34.96mm at the base of the flared handle and a measurement of 23.5mm x 28.5mm at the neck part of the handle. It is big but it does not feel as big compared to that of the Fextra or Force Pro Black blade if you base it on the feel of holding the blade.
I used several rubbers for this test such as the Rakza X, Rakza 7, Rakza Z EH and RITC Battle 2. The Rakza Z EH was a little worn out because of heavy usage. I had to use the Battle 2 rubber as a representative of tacky rubbers being used for the blade. Anyway, the blade is fast. It is almost in the level of an Off+ blade. The blade is thick at 6.5mm producing enough speed even at far distance from the table but like its carbon sibling, the W7 is ideal at middle distance from the table. You can still use it effectively at far distance from the table but you would need faster rubbers like Rakza X. For speed comparisons, I would rate it as faster than the Xiom Solo, regular Clipper. It could probably be a little faster than the Clipper CR that I owned years ago if my memory does not betray me. I would rate it almost as fast as the Fextra but then Fextra is a level or 2 stiffer than the W7. The Force Pro Black is definitely faster and has a more profound stiffness.

The Falck W7 is your do-it-all offensive blade. Even with faster carbon and carbon arylate blades today, using a 7 ply all-wood blade like the W7 will not diminish your powershots away from the table. This can be compensated with faster rubbers. Even at higher levels, the W7 could sustain heavy counter looping away from the table. I have observed a medium high to medium arc when looping. The strength of the Falck W7 is in its easy adaptability when using different kinds of rubbers. I have used other rubbers other than the ones I have mentioned and the W7 seem to be compatible with them. I have even used a soft short pimple rubber in the backhand and never had much difficulty using it. It is not super high on the speed and power compared to composite blades but the amount of power and speed it produces is enough for most people even at advanced levels. The weight goes towards the tip of the blade. Some will find it head heavy but I prefer this kind of set up since I loop heavily in the forehand and the head heaviness favors my stroke. If you will be using a Chinese rubber on this blade, you would need some arm strength but if you are using the Rakza Z EH version, the effort lessens. Overall, the W7 is very forgiving on all types of shots especially with powershots. For drops shots and short pushes, the control is a given strength since this is an all wood blade.

This is highly recommended to at least intermediate level players and up to competition players. This is one of the type of blades that you can never go wrong when choosing if you are conscious about the balance of speed and control. It’s very versatile and compatible to different types of plays. From an all out offensive type of player to defensive blockers, the blade is on a class of its own. I’ve had the Yasaka Max Wood in the past but I seem to like this better because it is not as heavy but still has the same classic 7 ply all wood feel and everything.

 
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Yasaka Falck Carbon
Weight: 88 grams
Thickness: 5.91mm
Hardness: medium stiff
Plies: 7 (Limba outer-inner carbon-ayous or kiri core)
Speed: Off to Off+

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I finally received the 2 Falck blades after some time of waiting. I had to wait for the 2 blades since the stocks were not available at that time. The 2 blades were really worth the wait and I even kept one as another one of my go to blade. The Falck Carbon is not the blade that everybody expected it to be. I and other people have speculated that maybe Yasaka will just make a remade Ma Lin Soft Carbon or maybe the Ma Lin Carbon but it was a great surprise upon seeing that the Falck Carbon is an inner carbon blade. I was surprised that it has an inner carbon. It felt significantly harder and stiffer than the Ma Lin Soft Carbon and the speed seem to be near or equal to that of the Ma Lin Carbon. The carbon layer does not look like a standard carbon because it has a cross weave of a lighter material which doesn’t look like a carbon blade but near to maybe aramid or another similar material. The blade has some flex but it is way more stiffer than the Ma Lin Soft Carbon. I would say the speed will not exceed that of the Harimoto ALC. The Alnalde is much faster than the Falck Carbon. When I bounced the ball on the Yasaka Ma Lin Soft Carbon and Falck Carbon, the Yasaka Ma Lin Carbon was obviously slower and had the lower bounce. The sound of the ball bouncing on the Falck Carbon had a somewhat higher pitch but not enough to be equal with other harder carbon blades probably because of the inner carbon structure. I understand Yasaka has their own speed and control ratings but in my own opinion, the Falck Carbon is not in the speed level of Tamca Carbon blades because for me, it should not be faster than Koto ALC blades. It’s between off and off+. I am saying this because the speed is not that of a true off+ blade if you will compare it to hard pure carbon blades. Maybe it is time to introduce speed classification of Off++ and Off+++ blades since most of the Koto-ALC blades nowadays have an off+ rating already.

I think the Falck carbon is an all around style attacking blade. It is fast enough to attack from shots away from the table provided you have the right type of rubber used but still the control is good enough that it feels you are just using an off blade. Maybe this is the sensation that I am feeling that the blade is not too fast probably because of great amount of control the blade has. At 5.9mm thickness, the blade is not too flexy but also has some stiffness in it that the speed is balanced with the amount of spin you can produce when you are looping against underspin. I used the Rakza X and Rakza 7 for the test and despite the Rakza X being a very fast rubber, the control I got was really that of an Off speed blade. Too bad my Rakza Z EH has already eroded. I think it could have been a great looping combination with the Falck Carbon Blade as the limba outer plies and semi-flexy structure permits great looping possibilities with the blade. The feel is very close to the IF ALC blade but there is some sort of extra softness with each ball bounce when I was looping the ball. The speed is probably almost in the same level when I last used the IF ALC but in my opinion I felt a better amount of control with the Falck Carbon Blade. I have observed that when using the Rakza X and Rakza 7, the arc was medium to medium low.

The control is awesome because my shots seem pretty accurate despite using Rakza X which is considered a very fast rubber. At far distance from the table, I did not feel any reduction of speed and power when doing loops away from the table. In my opinion, the blade is much suited until mid-distance from the table for optimal use unless you are using a very fast rubber on both sides. Other strength of the Falck Carbon is that its stability when blocking strong topspins is on par with other hard and heavy blades. Also, I have used a short pip rubber in the backhand and I felt it was better than the Yasaka Ma Lin Soft Carbon because I felt that the YMLSC is too soft for my liking with short pips. I understand that Mathias Falck likes the set up but the Flack Carbon has more stiffness and I believe the stiffness adds a little bit extra juice in your shots and pairs better with short pimpled rubbers.

Overall, this is a great alternative to Innerforce ALC blade because it offers a lot of potential for a well-rounded attacking style of play. Yasaka has made another high-quality blade. The design is very simple but it plays above than what I expected it to play. I highly recommend this blade even to just intermediate players because of its superb control provided they use a 1.9mm or 2.0mm rubber. This carbon blade is very forgiving even for intermediate level players.

Falck W7
Weight: 86 grams
Thickness: 6.55mm
Hardness: medium stiff
Plies: 7 (Limba-ayous)
Speed: Off to Off+

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This is my favorite blade in between the 2 Falck blades. I am intending to keep it and I have been playing with it heavily since it sparked my interest on using a 7 ply all wood blade again. I was once an all wood 7 ply blade collector. I used to collected selected 7 ply all-wood blades before but got tired of them and gave away most of them. I always had a thing for 7 ply all-wood blades due to their balance of speed and control. Tranas Woodhouse has always made excellent 7 ply blades for Yasaka and for other brands and the Falck W7 is their latest 7 ply all-wood blade. The W7 carries the classic 7 ply all wood feel that all wood users love. The blade has a simple design with a 2-tone color reminding me of the Swedish flag due to having blue and yellow colors. Like the Falck Carbon, the W7 has some factory sealing and I do not think they need any more sealing. I have so far removed and glued 4 rubbers in each side but I did not observe any wood splintering or delamination. The handle is big with a dimension of 26mm x 34.96mm at the base of the flared handle and a measurement of 23.5mm x 28.5mm at the neck part of the handle. It is big but it does not feel as big compared to that of the Fextra or Force Pro Black blade if you base it on the feel of holding the blade.
I used several rubbers for this test such as the Rakza X, Rakza 7, Rakza Z EH and RITC Battle 2. The Rakza Z EH was a little worn out because of heavy usage. I had to use the Battle 2 rubber as a representative of tacky rubbers being used for the blade. Anyway, the blade is fast. It is almost in the level of an Off+ blade. The blade is thick at 6.5mm producing enough speed even at far distance from the table but like its carbon sibling, the W7 is ideal at middle distance from the table. You can still use it effectively at far distance from the table but you would need faster rubbers like Rakza X. For speed comparisons, I would rate it as faster than the Xiom Solo, regular Clipper. It could probably be a little faster than the Clipper CR that I owned years ago if my memory does not betray me. I would rate it almost as fast as the Fextra but then Fextra is a level or 2 stiffer than the W7. The Force Pro Black is definitely faster and has a more profound stiffness.

The Falck W7 is your do-it-all offensive blade. Even with faster carbon and carbon arylate blades today, using a 7 ply all-wood blade like the W7 will not diminish your powershots away from the table. This can be compensated with faster rubbers. Even at higher levels, the W7 could sustain heavy counter looping away from the table. I have observed a medium high to medium arc when looping. The strength of the Falck W7 is in its easy adaptability when using different kinds of rubbers. I have used other rubbers other than the ones I have mentioned and the W7 seem to be compatible with them. I have even used a soft short pimple rubber in the backhand and never had much difficulty using it. It is not super high on the speed and power compared to composite blades but the amount of power and speed it produces is enough for most people even at advanced levels. The weight goes towards the tip of the blade. Some will find it head heavy but I prefer this kind of set up since I loop heavily in the forehand and the head heaviness favors my stroke. If you will be using a Chinese rubber on this blade, you would need some arm strength but if you are using the Rakza Z EH version, the effort lessens. Overall, the W7 is very forgiving on all types of shots especially with powershots. For drops shots and short pushes, the control is a given strength since this is an all wood blade.

This is highly recommended to at least intermediate level players and up to competition players. This is one of the type of blades that you can never go wrong when choosing if you are conscious about the balance of speed and control. It’s very versatile and compatible to different types of plays. From an all out offensive type of player to defensive blockers, the blade is on a class of its own. I’ve had the Yasaka Max Wood in the past but I seem to like this better because it is not as heavy but still has the same classic 7 ply all wood feel and everything.

Thanks a lot for the review. Both sounds very interesting.

You mentioned Falck C as being almost same speed as Ma lin Carbon. So which One is the slightly faster one? I've always Imagined the MLC to be an OFF- to OFF blade. It's thinner, so I Imagine it to be the slightly slower one?

The W7 sounds like the logical upgrade from BT777 to me. They're both limba/ayous, having throw angle on the higher side, and being relatively lightweight, but W7 is a bit thicker, without being too thick and you rate it as being OFF to OFF+. Wheras I'd rate BT777 as OFF- to OFF. Is this also your experience?
My only worry is that you mention W7 as being head heavy. My BT777 at 87g is slightly headheavy, but not too much. I do prefer the perfect weight balance of my 85g BT555, but it's just not fast enough. Mine plays like ALL to ALL+. My old one played exactly like OFF-. Similar speed to PPP. BT550 Played ALL+. And Walder Allplay and Yasaka Sweden played like ALL.

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Maybe it is time to introduce speed classification of Off++ and Off+++ blades since most of the Koto-ALC blades nowadays have an off+ rating already.

But only if there is no all++ and all+++ at the same time, with off-- and off--- corresponding. ;)

I read too much of that "is it still all+ or is it already off-?" type stuff, regardless of weight differences and everything, and I am sure if needed in the range of blades a slower off (off-) blade will be branded an all+, so just the manufacturer has one. One more "+" or "-" will make people go even more crazy.

Butterfly has just got rid of the extra "+" and "-", which makes both Primorac and Primorac Carbon "off" blades. For more detail, refer to reaction and vibration properties. The range may be very broad, but it surely works, too.

Both reviews are very nice, and if the price of the Falck Carbon wouldn´t put me off so much I might be tempted more now, than before reading your review.

The W7 is one that, with a good discount, could be bought for a test.
 
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But only if there is no all++ and all+++ at the same time, with off-- and off--- corresponding. ;)

I read too much of that "is it still all+ or is it already off-?" type stuff, regardless of weight differences and everything, and I am sure if needed in the range of blades a slower off (off-) blade will be branded an all+, so just the manufacturer has one. One more "+" or "-" will make people go even more crazy.

Butterfly has just got rid of the extra "+" and "-", which makes both Primorac and Primorac Carbon "off" blades. For more detail, refer to reaction and vibration properties. The range may be very broad, but it surely works, too.

Both reviews are very nice, and if the price of the Falck Carbon wouldn´t put me off so much I might be tempted more now, than before reading your review.

The W7 is one that, with a good discount, could be bought for a test.
Well, I guess if it's a good clone of Long 5/W968, then it could be quite affordable actually [emoji848]

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But only if there is no all++ and all+++ at the same time, with off-- and off--- corresponding. ;)

I read too much of that "is it still all+ or is it already off-?" type stuff, regardless of weight differences and everything, and I am sure if needed in the range of blades a slower off (off-) blade will be branded an all+, so just the manufacturer has one. One more "+" or "-" will make people go even more crazy.

Butterfly has just got rid of the extra "+" and "-", which makes both Primorac and Primorac Carbon "off" blades. For more detail, refer to reaction and vibration properties. The range may be very broad, but it surely works, too.

Both reviews are very nice, and if the price of the Falck Carbon wouldn´t put me off so much I might be tempted more now, than before reading your review.

The W7 is one that, with a good discount, could be bought for a test.

The thing is that if you will remove the + or - in a category, there is a noticeable difference with blades epecially to equipment sensitive people. I do not agree with the numerical rating for speed. Maybe if they can test the blade using a radar gun with a constant rubber then measure the velocity, I would agree with it but it is just too much work.
 
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The thing is that if you will remove the + or - in a category, there is a noticeable difference with blades epecially to equipment sensitive people. I do not agree with the numerical rating for speed. Maybe if they can test the blade using a radar gun with a constant rubber then measure the velocity, I would agree with it but it is just too much work.
A brand should just compare their own Stuff to the other bigger and well-established companies. Look at the others category ratings and then decide where their own products is sitting. This should be done for the sake of the costumers. But I know that it can be a bit tempting to be egoistic and rate it just as you feel like and think it should be instead of doing an actual comparison to get a proper rating that the player can count on.

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The thing is that if you will remove the + or - in a category, there is a noticeable difference with blades epecially to equipment sensitive people.

Yes, that is why I chose a pretty drastic example myself with Primorac and Primorac Carbon, for most obviously being on the - and + sides of "off" respectively.
And I could agree with off++ and off+++ categories, just not with more detail in between the other categories, because really I don´t think anyone is so equipment sensitive they could distinguish between all+++ and off--. However, they surely would ;)
 
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But I can see that Falck Carbon is sligthly more expensive on tt11 right now than Long 5 (150€). But compared to the original price of 200€ for Long 5 and 160€ for Falck Carbon, that's still a bit of money to save. On Spinfactory FC is 170€ and Long 5 is 200€. I don't know about the difference in build quality though. But if it's Coming from Woodhouse A/B, then I trust that it's great quality :)
I actually thought that Falck Carbon was 90€ for Some reason, hmmm [emoji848]
Well, but W7 is only 50 compared to BT777, which is usually between 65 And 80€ [emoji4]

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You got the wrong one. The ovtrarov/original No 1. https://www.tabletennis11.com/other_eng/donic-ovtcharov-1
Is Donic’s competitor, now only 100 eur before 25% discount.
Aarh yeah, he didn't write what version, and I don't know about these blades [emoji23] but Yeah sure, that looks more like it. But in the picture on tt11 the edge looks a bit rough. Even someone who bought mentions the slightly bad build quality. But price wise, it's better than Falck Carbon I See. I guess the senso version at 200€ is great quality one and probably more compareable. I would get the Falck Carbon over those 2 then.
But W7 is probably more me and I wanna try it out with some of the slower rubbers that I really like.

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SO... I "accidently" ordered myself a W7 to try out [emoji16] Just to figure out where my limit/ceiling goes. To see If I can handle it, maybe with cj8000 or/and Factive rubbers. Was my original reason for buying a BT777. Expected it to be off+ like Avalox categorise it as, so that It would be too fast for me. But ended up being an easier blade for me to play with compared to BT555. Or maybe I'll just find the W7 a little too stiff and thick for my liking as I experienced with Clipper before the plastic ball. I didn't find it too fast though, because I had to put in some strength to get out the speed as far as I remember.

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