DONIC Balsa Carbo Fleece

Donic Balsa Carbo Fleece - The big brother of the Balsa Carbo Fibre

The new Donic Balsa Carbo Fleece combines the materials Carbon and Balsa. Both materials seem to be a contradiction, but they result in a unique feeling. The blade composition is based on 7 layers and further contributes to this. The core veneer of the Balsa Carbo Fleece is made of Balsa with a thickness of 5 mm. Carbon is surrounding the Balsa core, and Limba is located on top of the Carbon layer. Finally, the outer ply is made of Yaya.

Below we want to further introduce these wood types / materials, and also what characteristics they represent.

Donic Balsa Carbo Fleece - The veneers under closer examination

The core veneer of a table tennis blade is also called heart or soul of the blade. Therefore, it mainly contributes to the overall gaming properties. In the Donic Balsa Carbo Fleece, the core veneer is made of Balsa. Balsa is a tree native to neo-tropical regions (Central America, South America, and the West Indies). The tree reaches a height of about 50 m and the trunk exhibits a diameter of up to 2 m.

Balsa is very light (density 130 kg/m³), not very strong (Young´s modulus: 2,600 N/mm²), and soft (Janka hardness: 88). Hence, this wood is perfect to reduce weight: The Balsa Carbo Fleece only weighs 70-75 g! With the three handle types available, it lies comfortably in your hand. Furthermore, the softness of the wood causes very pleasant overall gaming properties: good control, much safety, and much feedback. Balsa is also known to exhibit a good catapult effect.

Carbon fibers (Carbon Fleece) are surrounding the core veneer, which is very similar to the Balsa Carbo Fibre. Carbon is a synthetic material made of Carbon (C) and is very light, but at the same time very strong! Therefore, Carbon significantly increases the stiffness of the blade, and reduces unpleasant vibrations. This also causes a higher speed and in an improved precision.

The next layer is made of Limba. Limba trees are usually native to regions south of the equator. The trees exhibit a height of up to 45 m and the trunk reaches a diameter of up to 1.5 m. Limba is medium-hard (Janka hardness: 430), medium-dense (520 kg/m³), and quite strong (Young´s modulus: 9,400 N/mm²). This emphasizes the suitability of this blade as an offensive blade. Furthermore, Limba is known as a topspin wood, which is also quite fast, but not very elastic / springy. Nevertheless, Limba has a soft feeling and quite a bit of control, which contributes to the unique feeling of this blade.

In the Balsa Carbo Fibre, the third layer is made of Awan, which is definitely softer and slower than Limba. This highlights the increased offensiveness considering the Donic Balsa Carbo Fleece.

As it is also the case in the Fibre blade, the outer ply of the Donic Balsa Carbo Fleece is made of Yaya. Yaya, also called Lati or White Wenge, is a tree (height approx. 30-46 m, trunk diameter 60-120 cm) native to West and Central Africa. This wood is quite heavy (785 kg/m³), and hard, but softer than e.g. common Wenge. Hence, the "outer shell" of the Balsa Carbo Fleece is clearly an offensive one. Taking into consideration all three offensive materials (Limba, Carbon, Yaya), you can see that this blade is really an offensive weapon.

Donic Balsa Carbo Fleece - Summary

The Donic Balsa Carbo Fleece is a table tennis blade suitable for all offensive players who prefer a variable and modern way of playing. This blade is also very light and provides quite a unique feeling for the ball. Despite all this, you have always sufficient power to do hard attacks! In case you prefer a slightly heavier and slightly slower (more control) blade, you might consider the Donic Balsa Carbo Fibre.

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