Pure wood, ZLC or ALC

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Hello TableTennisDaily Community!

Can anybody tell me in details what is the difference between the pure wood, ZLC and ALC blades? I've been looking, but I couldn't find the answer. Thought I might here.

Thanks!
 
A table tennis blade consist of layers of wood, normally 5 or 7 layers. Almost always an uneven number. The core is usually the thickest layer and the fibers are runnining top to bottom, the next layer has the fibers running left to right and the next one top to bottom. This makes the blade stronger than if all fibers were oriented the same way.
ZLC and ALC are thin layers of carbon that is put between the layers of wood normally one per side.
In general more layers makes a blade harder an harder blades are generally faster than softer ones. Adding carbon layers makes it harder still. Fast blades are difficult to play with. Less margin for errors.
As a beginner you do not want a blade or rubber that is too fast this will be detrimental for your progress as a player. A layer all wood blade with a rubber like MarkV is appropriate fo a beginner.

Cheers
L-zr
 
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A table tennis blade consist of layers of wood, normally 5 or 7 layers. Almost always an uneven number. The core is usually the thickest layer and the fibers are runnining top to bottom, the next layer has the fibers running left to right and the next one top to bottom. This makes the blade stronger than if all fibers were oriented the same way.
ZLC and ALC are thin layers of carbon that is put between the layers of wood normally one per side.
In general more layers makes a blade harder an harder blades are generally faster than softer ones. Adding carbon layers makes it harder still. Fast blades are difficult to play with. Less margin for errors.
As a beginner you do not want a blade or rubber that is too fast this will be detrimental for your progress as a player. A layer all wood blade with a rubber like MarkV is appropriate fo a beginner.

Cheers
L-zr

I'm not that beginner to be honest, I'm just getting used to and informed about these things and facts regarding table tennis. I'm more of an intermediate- player just gathering some information to be somehoew up-to-date.

Thanks!

 
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From the perspective of a 40 year old adult learner:
Pure wood: all you'll ever need. 5 ply only please.
ALC: What those who are lucky enough to have played from a young age with good coaching play with. Makes the ball go fast.
ZLC: See ALC

Thanks!

 
says Table tennis clown
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A table tennis blade consist of layers of wood, normally 5 or 7 layers. Almost always an uneven number. The core is usually the thickest layer and the fibers are runnining top to bottom, the next layer has the fibers running left to right and the next one top to bottom. This makes the blade stronger than if all fibers were oriented the same way.
ZLC and ALC are thin layers of carbon that is put between the layers of wood normally one per side.
In general more layers makes a blade harder an harder blades are generally faster than softer ones. Adding carbon layers makes it harder still. Fast blades are difficult to play with. Less margin for errors.
As a beginner you do not want a blade or rubber that is too fast this will be detrimental for your progress as a player. A layer all wood blade with a rubber like MarkV is appropriate fo a beginner.

Cheers
L-zr

ZLC and ALC have never been , are not now and will never be """layers of carbon """
They are at best layers of a composite material containing carbon.
Thank you

 
says Table tennis clown
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Nitpicker you know what I’m talking about.,
You are welcome…

Nitpicker ??😁
C'mon I did not call you names, i could have called you an ignorant SoB but i did not.

You order a chocolate icecream and i bring you strawberry Icecream you would moan about it
and I could then say :" What are you moaning about , Ice cream is ice cream."😁


ALC and ZLC are not just other names for Carbon

 
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I'm not that beginner to be honest, I'm just getting used to and informed about these things and facts regarding table tennis. I'm more of an intermediate- player just gathering some information to be somehoew up-to-date.

Thanks!

You’ll notice something when you are here long enough: Everyone says they are “intermediate”, or “not beginner”.🤣🤣

 
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You’ll notice something when you are here long enough: Everyone says they are “intermediate”, or “not beginner”.🤣🤣

At every stage in life, at every phase, you are a intermediate or not beginner compared to the others in that same stage/phase.
I see myself as a beginner when I'm surrounded by "proper pros" in terms of coaching colleagues I surround myself with.

 

Nitpicker ??😁
C'mon I did not call you names, i could have called you an ignorant SoB but i did not.

You order a chocolate icecream and i bring you strawberry Icecream you would moan about it
and I could then say :" What are you moaning about , Ice cream is ice cream."😁


ALC and ZLC are not just other names for Carbon

😂😂​​​​​​​😂
My friend, let me educate You.
Since most additives to a the construction of a table tennis blade are made of different components containing... wait for it... "CARBON".,, It is not uncommon that these are referred to by their common component (CARBON) as a family name. Thus the (not 100% correct) name carbon layer can be utilized...

Cheers
L-zr

 
says Table tennis clown
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😂😂​​​​​​​😂
My friend, let me educate You.
Since most additives to a the construction of a table tennis blade are made of different components containing... wait for it... "CARBON".,, It is not uncommon that these are referred to by their common component (CARBON) as a family name. Thus the (not 100% correct) name carbon layer can be utilized...

Cheers
L-zr

sure sure everything is made from carbon , even us.

But sticking to Table tennis blades, next time you order a blade from Sergio and you are after a ZLC innerlayer,
you better don't tell him you want a carbon blade....................
are you getting this ????

 
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sure sure everything is made from carbon , even us.

But sticking to Table tennis blades, next time you order a blade from Sergio and you are after a ZLC innerlayer,
you better don't tell him you want a carbon blade....................
are you getting this ????

Ha ha,
We had a conversation about the difference between all wood blades and blades with carbon layers in general...

 
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ZLC and ALC have never been , are not now and will never be """layers of carbon """
They are at best layers of a composite material containing carbon.
Thank you

Agreed indeed, that's why I always make sure to talk about "non-carbon composite" materials, like blades with glassfiber, Zylon only in the BTY ZLF blades, or the new Donic ones with flax cloth. The BTY Biside and Keyshot were filled with Arylate (say vectran) only plies, as the famous Timo Boll Spark for example.

 
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ZLC and ALC are thin layers of carbon that is put between the layers of wood normally one per side.
In general more layers makes a blade harder an harder blades are generally faster than softer ones. Adding carbon layers makes it harder still. Fast blades are difficult to play with. Less margin for errors.
As a beginner you do not want a blade or rubber that is too fast this will be detrimental for your progress as a player. A layer all wood blade with a rubber like MarkV is appropriate fo a beginner.

Cheers
L-zr

Nope sir, nope: carbon-COMPOSITE please, and those are NOT thin layers of carbon at all: the Donic Waldner Senso Carbon or the Yasaka Ma Lin Soft Carbon are filled with THIN carbon ONLY layers, of you need a true example.

 
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it's not nitpicking, you're talking to someone who wants to be informed, information needs to be precise and accurate, or it's fake news, period.

ALC is a composite material, carbon is not a composite material it's a chemical element that can be used also as fibers, the Donic WSC and Yasaka MLSC are not built with carbon fibers for instance, and Arylate/real name Vectran is a liqui-crystal polymer fiber. ALC is therefore a composite material made of 2 different materials. Arylate/Vectran does not belong to the carbon family, as it can be used alone without carbon. Same goes with Zylon that is a synthetic polymer, or Kevlar/para-aramid that is a synthetic fiber created by DuPont's chemist Stephanie Kwolek.

All those non carbon material can be used alone without carbon, so it's not right at all to throw them in the carbon family. It's the carbon-composite family, end of discussion.
 
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