Donic Ovtcharov Senso V1 - Including test report

Donic Ovtcharov Senso V1 - A great blade, highly suitable for many players!

With the slogan "A hard nut to crack for any opponent", the Donic Ovtcharov Senso V1 is successfully advertised. Indeed, due to the extremely hard outer veneer, there is much power when doing finishing strokes. However, this TT blade is also a real weapon when doing opening topspins.

In total, there are 7 veneer layers, without carbon. This results in an overall weight of 85-90 g. The special feature is that the Donic Ovtcharov Senso V1 is glued with a special gluing technique developed in Sweden. Tiny carbon particles are added to the adhesive which make it even stronger.

The Ovtcharov Senso V1 is almost stiff. Because of the fine tuning of medium-hard inner veneers, however, there is still more control available compared to completely stiff blades. Hence, this blade is designed for offensive players who score by means of spin, counterspin, and controlled shots.

The outer veneer (finishing veneer) is made of walnut. Walnut is a noble wood, and well-known for its high hardness (Janka: 720), strength (Young´s modulus: 12.500 N/mm²), and quite high density (640 kg/m³). As table tennis veneer (ply), this wood is very direct, fast, and has excellent properties when doing blocks, counters, or finishers.

In case you prefer even more penetrating power, TT-Shop.com recommends you the Donic Ovtcharov Carbospeed. In case the Senso V1 is too fast, and too uncontrolled for you, we recommend you the Donic Ovtcharov Senso V2.

This series of blades called "Ovtcharov" is very popular already, and contains the following versions:

• Donic Ovtcharov Carbospeed: This blade is extremely offensive (Off+), Donic´s speed characterization is 10++.
• Donic Ovtcharov Senso V1: This TT blade is also offensive (Off), but slightly slower than the former. Still, it is very fast.
• Donic Ovtcharov Senso V2: This blade corresponds to the controlled offensive. The speed specification is 9-.

Donic Ovtcharov Senso V1 test report

The following test report regarding the Donic Ovtcharov Senso V1 was written by Martin Alexander. He is a long-time association and national league player. Hence, he really knows what he´s talking about. After studying sports science, he is now working in a management position at a fitness center.

Technical properties:

The Donic Ovtcharov Senso V1 has nice and noble looks. It has 7 plies in total, whereas the outer ply is made of walnut, which is very hard. I tested this blade with a straight handle (with two hollow cavities). The overall feeling of the handle was good. According to Donic, this blade was particularly developed for the time after the prohibition of speed-gluing. After having tested the blade, I really can understand that. I´ll come back to this point later.

The blade I tested weighed 92 g. Hence, it is medium-heavy, however, this was not a disadvantage during the test. Although the handle was straight, there was a balanced and pleasant feeling, with a tiny tendency toward a top-heaviness. The measures of the head were as follows: Height 15.7 cm, width 15 cm, depth 0.6 cm.

Gaming properties

When I´m not testing other blades, I normally use an Off Carbon-blade from Butterfly. Hence, I was really curious about the feeling when using the Donic Ovtcharov Senso V1 (since it does not contain carbon layers, and since - due to its name - one associates a pronounced feeling in conjunction with a speed-oriented touch).

To my surprise, the behavior of the Ovtcharov Senso V1 was faster than my Carbon blade, and it was able to exert more pressure. From the beginning, the high amount of stiffness (due to the hard outer ply made of walnut) enabled very fast strokes, with lots of penetrating power. Then I knew why this blade was designed to serve as a speed-gluing substitute. Due to the high stiffness, however, there were slight decreases in terms of the ball feedback.

Counters and shots were really controllable, and could be served with the necessary amount of precision, and "hardness". When playing soft(er) topspins, the Senso V1 developed a pleasant spin and gaming control. This positively influenced the precision and placement of the balls.

When playing hard(er) topspins close to the table, or form the half distance, the first balls came down a bit behind the table. This was because the trajectory of the balls, and because the balls were accelerated more directly and further forward. Compared to blades with a softer veneer structure, this went hand in hand with a slightly reduced development of rotation. However, in the course of the test, I was able to successfully correct the angle of the bat so that the balls did not go down behind the table anymore.

During blocks, the high stiffness of the Ovtcharov Senso V1 predominates. I was able to successfully place aggressive blocks at a high speed. At the beginning, however, many balls went wrong because of the powerful bounce of the ball away from the racket.

The same happened to flips. Although these could be served with an excellent speed, many of them missed their target at the beginning (because of the immense acceleration, and a lack of sensory feedback). Again, in both scenarios it was important to adjust the angle of the bat as well as the technique according to the ball guidance.

The Senso V1 was consistently positive when playing chopped balls. The strength of the upper material made it easy for me to play aggressive, but - at the same time - also precise chopped balls. Hence, I was able to exert pressure on my opponent from the very first moment on. Next to the speed, I also figured the development of spin to be very positive.

During serves and returns, the Senso V1 also convinced me. Short balls were no problem, and usually reached their desired target (and not the net) due to the very direct feeling for the game.

After a brief change of the techniques used, I was also able to play flips in a precise and powerful manner, with lots of pressure. With this TT blade, spinny serves were also very easy. In my opinion, this was also because of the very pleasant type of handle (straight).

Summary

The Donic Ovtcharov Senso V1 is a highly balanced table tennis blade, with a very good workmanship. Its high stiffness induces a large acceleration of the ball. Hence, it is very appropriate for hard as well as direct strokes. Furthermore, rotational and powerful chopped balls are easy to play.

Because of the hard touch, the feedback of the ball is slightly decreased when playing blocks, and flips. In my opinion, the overall gaming properties would be more sensitive, and with more feeling, when combining the Ovtcharov Senso V1 with slower, softer rubbers.

I can recommend the Senso V1 for players who like the powerful game close to the table, or from the half distance. This mainly relies on the ability of this TT blade to induce powerful strokes.

Advantages:

• + fast and direct game for counters and topspins
• + good suitability for spinny and fast chopped balls

Disadvantages:

• - high stiffness reduces feeling, and the effect to "forgive mistakes"
• - slight deficits when playing blocks and flips (much training needed)