A detailed review of the new Adidas Strike Carbon blade, which is due to be released late 2013.
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Reviews by Yogi Bear (with permission and thanks!):
The new Adidas Strike Carbon Blade
- thickness: 6.7-6.9mm
- speed: off+
- plies: 5 (hinoki-carbon-?-carbon-hinoki)
- weight: 90 grams
- stiffness: hard
The new Strike blade is somewhat different from the the concept and purpose of the blades with rx carbon material because this was designed and built mainly for speed at the same time having some sort of control and softness on the feel. I think, in my opinion, Adidas designed this blade for players who want really fast blades and enjoy attacking with power shots in and out of the table. This is another high quality blade from Adidas and part of the Strike Series blade. The design in red is elegant and beautiful to look at. The blade itself has very good quality finish and the edges and neck are smooth.
This is only a 5 ply carbon blade. The carbon follows the the hinoki top layer of the blade. I don’t have exactly the name of the carbon material used but it isn’t like the RX carbon which is a carbon layer weaved with another high tech material. Adidas simply calls it “high powered carbon”. The carbon layer is thinner in this blade as what i have observed.
I used several rubbers to test this blade. I used an Adidas Tenzone Ultra, Globe 999 national blue sponge and the new Stiga Tour H rubber. All of which are in max thickness. The previous Fibertec Power was already fast but some players wanted a faster blade so Adidas came up with this blade. It looks like its similar to the Fibertec extreme but it feels way different and is much faster.
Strengths:
1. very high speed – speedwise, this is the fastest Adidas blade in their inventory as of the moment. Comparing it to other known blades, this is faster than a primorac carbon, gergely, jun mizutani, black devil, etc. It is somewhat slower than a schlager carbon, sardius and an amultart.
2. good feel and some control – the hinoki top ply offers good feel. not as stiff or hard feel as a walnut or any other wood material but still rigid enough to provide more power to the shots. The “High Powered Carbon” material is really up to something because the speed was really fast. Surprisingly, the blade is very easy to adjust on its speed. I have to admit at first that my shots were going too long when i used the Stiga Calibra Tour H about 4-5 feet away from the table. It didn’t took me long to adjust to the feel and impact of the ball on the blade and adjusted my strokes. It has some sort of a loud sound on impact. Not as noisy as a t-11 or black devil but still loud enough. Honestly, it feels like an Amultart but a bit softer and a notch slower with control.
3. smashing and countering blade – this is the main strength of the blade. more on power and speed and lesser in spin in terms of emphases. The Tenzone Ultra was like a whip when i was smashing balls with it. since this is a counter looper’s blade, staying away from the table is rather easy because the power of your shots don’t change much at that distance thanks to the blade’s potential.
4. spins good despite its speed – strong topspins strokes are still possible with the Strike Carbon. I recommend they use a medium or medium soft rubber if the want to spin more. The tenzone ultra was very good spinning with this, the calibra tour H despite the medium hard make-up was suprisingly spinny against a hard underspin serve made by my friend. The Tour H had a nice high arc when i looped with it. The globe 999 national blue sponge which i tuned and was like made softer was the best when looping at late contact and to a slower loop but packed with great spin. On faster and more powerful topspins the Tenzone Ultra was much better with this blade.
Cons:
1. feels a bit heavy – when using euro rubbers it feels a little heavy for my preference. it is not head heavy though. caution should be considered when you will use a chinese rubber on the other side. the average weight for this blade is 87 grams though maybe i just got the heavy one.
Conclusion:
I am greatly satisfied with this blade overall. it’s somewhat a good alternative to other existing super fast blades from other products. Also, this blade is well suited to people who try out new things and always prioritize speed as the main component in choosing a blade. another great blade from Adidas and it is awesome.
