The Truth About Composite Table Tennis Blades (It's Simpler Than You Think)
PongGenius
12,828 views
Carbon, Kevlar, ALC, ZLC, Textreme, Hyramid... table tennis blade marketing has spawned over sixty different composite material names — and most of them are the same handful of fibers wearing a different costume.
In this video, I build a simple mental model — a map — that lets you decode any composite blade's marketing name and predict how it'll actually play, without needing an engineering degree. We cover:
Why composite materials were added to blades in the first place (and what changed in 2000)
What a "sweet spot" actually is, and why stiffness makes it bigger
The six core fibers behind almost every composite blade on the market: Carbon, PBO, Dyneema, Aramid, Arylate, and Fiberglass
How hybrid blends like ALC and ZLC are built, and why brands give the same blend a dozen different names
By the end, you'll be able to look at any blade's spec sheet and know exactly what you're paying for.
🔗 Try the new version of PongGenius, my data-driven blade comparison and recommendation engine: https://ponggenius.com
#tabletennis #pingpong #tabletennisblade #compositematerials
📊 Comparing blades and rubbers for your next upgrade? → https://PongGenius.com
My Training Playlists
📋 Playlists: — Full Training Sessions: [ • Full Table tennis training sessions | Pong... ] — Footwork Drills: [ • Footwork Drills | Pongbot Nova S Pro | Pon... ] — FH Loop Drills: [ • Forehand Drills | PongBot Nova S Pro | Pon... ] — Looping Underspin balls Drills: [ • Looping underspin balls Drills | PongBot N... ]
My Equipment
Robot PongBot Nova S Pro: https://amzn.to/423VNRt
PongBot Nova S Pro Carry Bag: https://amzn.to/4dfBXca
Filming Setup
Phone Tripod: https://amzn.to/48vNtxt
Racket Setup
Blade: Yinhe 970XXA
Rubbers: Rakza Z (Max Thickness) https://amzn.to/48yeX5w
⚠️ Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you
Music used in the video
"Hard Boiled" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
"Shades of spring" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
20 Comments
A thin, flexible blade with composite materials reinforcing the wood is a good compromise, because you can have the geometric properties of a flexible blade, but an elastic modulus that's higher than if it was just wood.
Rather than the material itself, what matters more is the thickness of the layer, the width of the layer, how it's weaved, how much and what kind of binding material is used, what kind of pressing load is used etc etc etc.
In the end the wood used and composite material used is almost meaningless unless you look at the system holistically. I have a Limba inner and a Koto outer blade from the same manufacturer that measure similarly and feel basically the same most of the time.
The Truth About Composite Table Tennis Blades (It's Simpler Than You Think)
PongGenius
12,828 views
Carbon, Kevlar, ALC, ZLC, Textreme, Hyramid... table tennis blade marketing has spawned over sixty different composite material names — and most of them are the same handful of fibers wearing a different costume.
In this video, I build a simple mental model — a map — that lets you decode any composite blade's marketing name and predict how it'll actually play, without needing an engineering degree. We cover:
Why composite materials were added to blades in the first place (and what changed in 2000)
What a "sweet spot" actually is, and why stiffness makes it bigger
The six core fibers behind almost every composite blade on the market: Carbon, PBO, Dyneema, Aramid, Arylate, and Fiberglass
How hybrid blends like ALC and ZLC are built, and why brands give the same blend a dozen different names
By the end, you'll be able to look at any blade's spec sheet and know exactly what you're paying for.
🔗 Try the new version of PongGenius, my data-driven blade comparison and recommendation engine: https://ponggenius.com
#tabletennis #pingpong #tabletennisblade #compositematerials
📊 Comparing blades and rubbers for your next upgrade? → https://PongGenius.com
My Training Playlists
📋 Playlists: — Full Training Sessions: [ • Full Table tennis training sessions | Pong... ] — Footwork Drills: [ • Footwork Drills | Pongbot Nova S Pro | Pon... ] — FH Loop Drills: [ • Forehand Drills | PongBot Nova S Pro | Pon... ] — Looping Underspin balls Drills: [ • Looping underspin balls Drills | PongBot N... ]
My Equipment
Robot PongBot Nova S Pro: https://amzn.to/423VNRt
PongBot Nova S Pro Carry Bag: https://amzn.to/4dfBXca
Filming Setup
Phone Tripod: https://amzn.to/48vNtxt
Racket Setup
Blade: Yinhe 970XXA
Rubbers: Rakza Z (Max Thickness) https://amzn.to/48yeX5w
⚠️ Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you
Music used in the video
"Hard Boiled" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
"Shades of spring" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...