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A few impressions of the newest GEWO product, named after - and currently even used by - Aleksandar Karakasevic.
I had this blade ordered by a GEWO contract player friend in order to get a nice discount, yet forgot to mention any weight limits. With a catalogue weight of 92 grams mine arrived with 95, fair enough but for me on the wrong side of the average.
There is a print "quality made in Hungary" on it. Hmmm... What can I say, it is not Butterfly or XIOM, but that doesn´t mean it is too bad. No sharp edges, just a lens pressed into the wood and the end of the handle smoothed with little respect for detail, with a blurry blue line on it. But what can you expect for 125 Euro? Well, hold it next to a Viscaria that sells for 130 here, and you´ll know what I mean.
The playing characteristics are quite nice, though. Whatever the "new harder premium carbon" used really is, GEWO have identified it as an Arylate Carbon when asked by a fellow player, while King Kara compares his blade to Mizutani in a WhatsApp conversation in another thread, so you might want to speculate it is some sort of ZLC. Outer veneer is 0,8 mm Limba for sure, so maybe that is where the Mizutani comparison comes from, feeling more than actual materials used.
And yes, it plays nicely controlled, not as fast and crisp as many other ALC variants, just if you like it or not you´ll have to decide for yourself. Surely with 95 grams there´s no lack of power, and surely with under 90 there´d be even more feeling.
To me, it is important how a blade is balanced and how the handle behaves in my hand. Having played it with R53/R48 and Omega Hyper/Vega China combinations it is a bit too head-heavy for my liking and exceeds 200 grams overall with both rubber setups.
But it is interesting to see how well it behaves with both, neither being too fast/springy and bitchy for the ESN rubbers nor lacking the power for the Hybrid/China combo, it just feels good with both.
BUT is it my new blade, or should it be yours?
Well, it depends on what you are looking for. It´s really a blade that feels nice and controlled, so instead of all the "soft carbon" offers out there or the usual suspect Waldner Senso, if you want carbon but not so fast, check it out.
I was not looking to replace my Treiber CO, and wouldn´t. The Treiber feels even better (bit crispier, still not too stiff/glass-like) - and it wins the overall comparison by being of a better quality for less money.
But at 85 to 89 grams, I´d test another Karas just to see what that does.
I had this blade ordered by a GEWO contract player friend in order to get a nice discount, yet forgot to mention any weight limits. With a catalogue weight of 92 grams mine arrived with 95, fair enough but for me on the wrong side of the average.
There is a print "quality made in Hungary" on it. Hmmm... What can I say, it is not Butterfly or XIOM, but that doesn´t mean it is too bad. No sharp edges, just a lens pressed into the wood and the end of the handle smoothed with little respect for detail, with a blurry blue line on it. But what can you expect for 125 Euro? Well, hold it next to a Viscaria that sells for 130 here, and you´ll know what I mean.
The playing characteristics are quite nice, though. Whatever the "new harder premium carbon" used really is, GEWO have identified it as an Arylate Carbon when asked by a fellow player, while King Kara compares his blade to Mizutani in a WhatsApp conversation in another thread, so you might want to speculate it is some sort of ZLC. Outer veneer is 0,8 mm Limba for sure, so maybe that is where the Mizutani comparison comes from, feeling more than actual materials used.
And yes, it plays nicely controlled, not as fast and crisp as many other ALC variants, just if you like it or not you´ll have to decide for yourself. Surely with 95 grams there´s no lack of power, and surely with under 90 there´d be even more feeling.
To me, it is important how a blade is balanced and how the handle behaves in my hand. Having played it with R53/R48 and Omega Hyper/Vega China combinations it is a bit too head-heavy for my liking and exceeds 200 grams overall with both rubber setups.
But it is interesting to see how well it behaves with both, neither being too fast/springy and bitchy for the ESN rubbers nor lacking the power for the Hybrid/China combo, it just feels good with both.
BUT is it my new blade, or should it be yours?
Well, it depends on what you are looking for. It´s really a blade that feels nice and controlled, so instead of all the "soft carbon" offers out there or the usual suspect Waldner Senso, if you want carbon but not so fast, check it out.
I was not looking to replace my Treiber CO, and wouldn´t. The Treiber feels even better (bit crispier, still not too stiff/glass-like) - and it wins the overall comparison by being of a better quality for less money.
But at 85 to 89 grams, I´d test another Karas just to see what that does.
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