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Alser Carb 7
Weight: 83 grams (approx.)
Thickness: 5.8-5.9mm (approx.)
Plies: 7 (Limba-ayous-carbon-ayous-carbon-ayous-limba)
Speed: OFF
Hardness: Medium Stiff
Alser Carb 9
Weight: 92 grams (approx.)
Thickness: 6.0mm (approx.)
Plies: 9 (limba-ayous-ayous-carbon-ayous-carbon-ayous-ayous-limba)
Speed: OFF+
Hardness: Stiff
I received the Alser Carbon 7 (Carb 7) and Carbon 9 (Carb 9) after a month of waiting due to our very slow postal and customs offices here in the Philippines. I was a bit excited to try something new and try out this new brand. TTEX.SE has sent these blades to me. These Tranas Woodhouse factory-made blades look very simple at first glance but come out very beautiful the more you look at them.
Out of the box, these light colored blades looked simple with a touch of elegance. You could see that it has this deep beauty in every blade that you can stare at each blade for a long time. Their designs are identical, how I wish they can make a distinguishing look from each blade like these 2 carbon blades and the All Around wood which sadly I didn’t have. They look both the same which could be improved by maybe adding a different color on the handle of one blade. Nonetheless, they are beautiful and have good quality.
The handles are very comfortable especially for bigger hands. The cross-sectional diameter of the flared handle at the base is 3.5cm wide and 2.5cm thick. It is as big as large flared blades of other brands. The Alser handles are probably as large as an Adidas wide flared handle but very comfortable. I have not tried their straight handle blades though so I cannot say how large the straight handles are. The handles are not rough but not too smooth. They are smooth enough and are close to those Yasaka blade handles.
The blade head sizes are both the same with an approximate measurement of 150mm x 156mm dimensions. The blade heads have some sort of very light lacquer finish but not sure. They seem to be almost as those old Avalox blades. I have not experienced any splintering of the outer limba plies when removing the rubbers so I can say the top plies are durable enough.
Anyway, on a bare blade bounce test both blades seemed to have high bounce with a celluloid ball. The Carb 9 has a higher bounce by approximately 4-5cm. I glued on both blades a Victas Double Extra on one side and a Sword King Chinese rubber on the other side. I alternately used both rubbers as backhand and forehand rubbers to test each feel. Both blades have their weights shifted towards the head. Actually, they are not head heavy in a sense but a little shifting towards the tip of the blade. Both blades have above average sweetspots probably similar to the Yinhe T-11’s size.
Construction:
The Alser Carbon 7 reminds me of the Yasaka Ma Lin Carbon and the Carbon 9 version reminds me of the Yasaka Ma Lin Max Carbon. I have only tried the Ma Lin Carbon briefly but have not tried the Max Carbon so I cannot directly compare the 4 blades accurately if pitted against each other.
Speed:
I would say the Carb 7 is an OFF blade while the Carb 9 is OFF+. The Carb 7 is close to the Yasaka Ma Lin Carbon’s speed while the Carb 9 is a lil slower than the Primorac Carbon. I like the Carb 7’s speed better. It is very controllable at the same time maintaining a very good speed. The Carb 7 has average trajectory. It is better close to the table. At mid-distance, I can feel the speed decreasing. The Carb 9 has above average trajectory. In my opinion it is fast and good until middle distance from the table
Feel:
In my personal opinion, the Carbon 7 has really good feel. I like it better than the feel of the Carbon 9 because it has some flex and it doesn’t feel too stiff despite being a carbon blade. The Carbon 9 felt harder but also felt more like an all wood blade maybe because of the 2 carbon layers imbedded deep beside the center core of the blade while the carbon 7 is near the outer plies. The Carb 9 has this hard and solid feel when attacking the ball. Both blades seem to have very little vibration. I could also feel that the Carb 9 felt like a Yasaka Max wood but with carbon and faster.
Spin:
The carbon 7 is very good on slow spinny loops or any other fast hitting loops near the table. It is easier to loop with compared to the carbon 9. Also, I found out that it takes adjustments when using hard rubbers with the Carb 9 so I suggest on the carb 9 in order to have a balance of good spin over the carb 9’s power use medium or medium soft rubbers. The Carb 7 is a good looper’sblade, you can dig the ball deeper into the sponge and is really built for spinny shots. I have also noticed that the Carb 7 has a medium arc when looping and the Carb 9 has low arc when spinning the ball with loops.
Power shots:
This is where the Carb 9 excels. I mean you can smash, drive hard and counter hard near and middle distance it is good however it takes some adjustment to control the beast inside it. When you get the hang of it or if you love blades that give off powerful shots like this blade then it would be walk in the park.
Blocking:
For passive blocking, the Carb 7 is very good while at punch blocks the Carb 9 is much better. For placement blocking the Carb 7 has very good control.
Conclusion:
I am quite biased towards the Carb 7 because of its good feel, light weight and makes spinning easier on my shots. The Carb 9 needs certain types of rubbers to have a good match with while the Carb 7 seems isn’t picky at all. These 2 are very good blades and the price is much lower compare to other carbon blades. The Carb 7 being 83USD and the Carb 9 being 90USD. I wish I could review the all-around blade too. It is the blade I am waiting for since I am an all-wood kind of guy.
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