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Sanwei PARLA Blade
Weight: 86 grams
Thickness: 7 plies (Limba-ayous x5 -Limba)
Thickness: 5.9mm
Speed: All+ to Off-
Sanwei recently released their newest 7-ply all wood blade under the Trio Series. Sanwei went back to basic and proven design of a typical 7-ply all-wood blade that has been in the market for decades and added their own specifications to it. The quality of Sanwei is one of the best in the Chinese market nowadays with their blades. Their composite blades like the Froster PBO and ALC blades are best-sellers in China and overseas. They have proven all wood blades ranging from the entry-level Accumulator J blades to the more advanced and fast-hitting Sanwei Fextra blades which was recently re-labelled and improved as Fextra One. They released the Parla with a slightly different design but proven feel, speed and spin balance capabilities of a blade.
The blade construction has a semi-smooth finish and can be considered on par with Japan-made blades in terms of quality and looks. From the logo design of at the side of the handle to the logo at the bottom part of the handle, these minor details have been carefully designed and gives an overall simple but beautiful design of the blade. Instead of the Limba-Limba-Ayous-Ayous-Ayous-Limba-Limba wood plies like the old Fextra blade, they opted to use the Limba-Ayousx5-Limba plies and also a thinner blade design to give the blade better flex for spin. The usual thickness of offensive to offensive+ 7 ply all wood blades ranges from 6.2 to 6.7mm. but the Parla has a thickness of only 5.9mm. I used to collect 7-ply all-wood blades in the past and if I remember it right, I had about 30 blades just for that category. I am sucker for 7-ply all-wood blades and also a promoter of using 7-ply all wood blades even for advanced level players because of the blade’s control, speed and ease of usage. The stiffness of the blade is medium. It does not feel hard even with hard Chinese rubbers like Sanwei Target National, the Parla does not in anyway feel stiff. It feels like a 5-ply all wood blade that is on the harder side.
The speed of the Sanwei Parla, in my opinion, is on the offensive minus side. Although it is rated by Sanwei as an all-around plus blade, I felt it is faster than just an all-around blade. I can say it is faster than the Stiga Offensive Classic CR and slower than the regular Clipper wood or both versions of the Sanwei Fextra. The Tibhar Force Pro Blue blade which I consider as a true All-around plus blade is slightly slower than the Sanwei Parla. Therefore, I am rating the Parla as an all-around plus to offensive minus blade in terms of speed. The blade is just a notch faster than an all-around plus blade.
The Sanwei Parla is one of the most balanced blades among 7-ply all-wood blades. It has some stiffness that is above of that of a regular 5-ply all-wood blades but at the same time it is not too stiff to spin easily especially when looping various amount of underspin balls. The older version of the Fextra blade and the Fextra are both very stiff blades. Both blades can be as fast as off+ level blades and that they favor players with above average skills in terms of spinning and handling. The Parla however, is a more controllable blade with lesser amount of speed but it spins really good. The Parla can loop like a 5-ply all-wood blade but offers a faster speed than your usual off-, 5-ply all-wood blades. The 3 best attributes of the Sanwei Parla are excellent feel, balanced speed/spin output and above average control. The feel is excellent because the feedback your hand receives every time you make contact with the ball has the right amount of vibrations. Just to clarify, most people think vibrations and feel are different and would usually say that they do not like a particular blade because it has vibrations while at the same say that a certain blade is good because the feel is right and it does not have any vibrations. Just to correct this thought, all blades have vibrations, it only matters on how little or excessive these vibrations are. The thing that you call “feel” is a product of vibration only that its amount is not excessive and that it does not affect your control with the blade. There are well-known blades in the market that have excessive vibrations that it hurts your hand. I have experienced this with blades that if I do a flick against underspin balls, a certain blade feels like a jolt of electricity suddenly ran into your hand that sometimes it hurts. Also, the Parla being not too stiff, decreases the amount of excessive vibrations in the handle. The Parla functions like an all-around blade. It is good in almost all aspects of the game but it does not have a property that stands out among its other properties. More or less, it is a jack-of-all-trades blade that is slightly faster. Control is on par with an all or all+ blade but produces attacking shots with that of an off- or off blade. If you would want a this to be faster, I suggest gluing Euro or Japan rubbers on it but me using the new version of the Target National rubber on this blade was already really bouncy and spinny.
All in all, a superb blade that can do all. I highly recommend this with intermediate to advanced players due to its control and easy handling. Speed is never a problem if you would choose to glue a hard and bouncy rubber be it Euro or Chinese. The Parla for me is the newest 7-ply all-wood blade that could rival the Clipper Wood but with better control.
