Stiga Legacy Carbon + DNA Pro H/M Review

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Here is my review of the fastest blade ever made by Stiga, the Legacy Carbon blade.

Unboxing

The Stiga Legacy Carbon blade comes in a standard matte black box like other Stiga blades. The black color goes well with the all black theme of the Legacy Carbon blade. On top of that Stiga has chosen to put in a black inlay in a new Stiga Design which fits the overall look of the blade pretty well. In the end of the blade the “Tre Kronor” Stiga logo in metal version can be found. I am personally really a fan of that emblem as it just looks stunning. Initial impression of the workmanship of the blade is that the quality of the blade is in the high end, but then again I would have liked Stiga to round the edges at the wings just to give a nicer finish.

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The sample I got is FL and has these specs:

Composition: Dyed Black Limba-12K Energy Carbon-Pine-Abachi-Pine-12K Energy Carbon-Dyed Black Limba

Orientation of wood and fibre: 0°-90°-90°-0°-90°-90°-0°

Weight: 88g

Thickness: 5.9mm

Handle size: 101x25x35mm, width at narrow flared section is 26mm

Head size: 157x150mm

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I wanted to do a frequency test, but forgot to do it before gluing the rubbers on. I will add it later.

The Master FL handle from Stiga is one of the most comfortable in terms of size and this one would fit a larger hand as well. The finish of the handle is sanded down for a smooth touch.

The fibre material used for the Legacy Carbon blade is called 12K Energy Carbon where the spread tow of the carbon is 88g/m^2 which is in between what is used in the Carbonado XX and XXX series. The former has 60g/m^2 and the latter has 100g/m^2. Stiga explains the 12K means that one bundle of carbon contains 12.000 threads and thereby increases the stiffness and also the sweet spot area of the blade.

Test setup:

For the review of the blade I got the new DNA series rubbers which is the collaboration between Stiga and ESN for the first time. The rubbers are DNA Pro H - 50° in FH and DNA Pro M - 47.5° in BH ending up with a total weight of 193g. It was very noticeable that the DNA M had larger pores than the DNA H which was more dense. I was looking forward to giving this combination a try.

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Drive

When hitting the ball initially, I expected the setup to somehow be like the Carbonado XXX in terms of speed. I must say that I was in for a surprise as the ball bounced off the rubbers. The setup was fast and I mean really fast! The throw of the DNA H rubber was low-medium as for the DNA M it was medium. The setup had a high pitch sound and I would have expected with the Limba outer that it would have slowed down the speed a bit, but that was just not the case. Even though the blade is stiff there was still some vibration from the blade.

Loop

When looping with the setup I noticed straight away that this was a ‘beast’. Looping with the FH together with the DNA H, I over shot the ball quite far off the table. I should adjust quite a lot and with less effort I could hit the table. With DNA M on BH it was more forgiving and it seemed like pairing with the medium hard rubber you had enough dwell to generate more spin. The large sweet spot was very noticeable due to wherever you hit the ball on the blade you would get the same reaction. The arc of the DNA H was low-to medium and with the DNA M it was medium. Loop to Loop away from the table the setup shown to be very consistent and here where the setup belonged..

Block

In the blocking game here the Legacy Carbon and the DNA rubbers was the ‘A’-game. Keyword here is sweet spot and consistency that I could immediately feel. Control was actually quite good as well considering that the setup is fast. Punching with the DNA M on BH was quite good with a high percentage of success. The setup here was excelling in this area.

Short/Flick

The aspect of the short and flick game, here comes the down side of the setup. Due to the stiffness of the blade it was very hard to do short returns as the ball would just bounce off the rubber. You need a very loose grip to the handle to be able to get some effective short returns. Doing banana flicks was also quite difficult as I wasn’t able to get enough grip to the ball due to the lack of dwell. With a high accelerated stroke it was possible, but for a player like myself it is hard to have the consistency doing flicks.

Conclusion

The Stiga Legacy Carbon together with the new DNA Pro series rubbers is a setup that in retail would be 210EUR for the blade and 50EUR for each rubber. That is quite a high price tag for a setup, but having said that, the setup is also for more experienced players that probably do not mind to spend that kind of money on a setup like this. A Viscaria blade together with two times Dignics rubbers would in retail end up to be 130EUR+2 x 80EUR and if you want a signature blade from Butterfly, well the prices are quite equal and if not, even more expensive than the Legacy Carbon + DNA rubbers. For myself the setup is too fast due to the stiffness of the blade.

The rubbers are great and the collaboration is something that Stiga will benifit of in the future.

I would recommend this setup for players that like fast blades and focus on the punching and blocking game. Also for the player that is playing mid distance from the table and likes looping from there.

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This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Super Moderator
Mar 2012
1,864
1,590
5,255
Read 20 reviews

Nice review - thanks!
It must be a beast of a blade; I've used Stiga DNA Pro H and M on a couple of blades and found them quick but not super-fast. Just goes to corroborate Coach EmRatThich's advice that the blade counts for 80% of the playing character of a bat.

Cheers buddy! It is a beast and it is quite surprising as you do not really expect it.

 
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