Freitas ALC
| Everyone's rating |
[Hardness] Medium hardness [Performance] Speed and Spin are excellent. |
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Averages reviews points
- Speed: 9.22
- Spin: 8.48
- Control: 8.44
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Pre-Order - The brand new FREITAS ALC blade makes use of the proven Arylate-Carbon fiber, lending the blade its characteristic ALC-touch
In combination with the softer outer veneers, Freitas ALC blade will fit to any versatile spin-based play
The high-class design and workmanship of this hand-crafted blade underline the high aspirations Marcos Freitas posts to his personal blade
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Specifications
- Producer
- Butterfly
- Product code
- 36841
- Size
- 157 × 150mm
- Weight
- 88g
- Material
- Ali rate carbon five plywood (Wood, ALC, 7 ply wood)
- Thickness
- 6mm
Players use Freitas ALC
- Soft hitting feel despite outer ALC material with good ball retention
- Excellent balance of speed, rotation, and control
- Particularly suitable for players who retreat and play from mid-to-back court
- Weight variation between individual units
- Requires technique adjustment for front-court play
User reviews
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Table tennis gentleman (Experience: ６〜１０ years) Outer carbon with great dwell feel
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2019/02/28
I went from a single-ply blade → 5-ply → inner carbon → 5-ply → and finally this blade, and I settled here because I really liked the feel on contact.
Even playing at around 70% power from mid to far distance, shots still land forcefully in the opponent's court. Because of that, you do have to adjust your power close to the table, but it's not what I'd call difficult — just a bit more careful than with wood.
Since it's an outer-carbon blade, I was worried it would fly too much, but thanks to the limba top layer and the ALC construction, the feel on contact was softer than expected, which put me at ease. If you're moving over from wood or inner-carbon blades, choosing a softer rubber like Rozena, Vega Europe, or Vega Asia might work out nicely for you.
The grip is a bit on the thin side. When swinging the backhand, your wrist can compensate so it goes where you want, but on the forehand there's a bit of space left in your hand. I hold the blade fairly shallow so that's how it feels to me, but if you grip deeper, or hold it at a standard depth, it probably won't be an issue.
The trajectory of your shots is somewhat flat. Since I prefer a flatter trajectory, pairing it with Tenergy 64 gave me exactly the ball flight I wanted. If you prefer a bigger arc, Tenergy 05 would be your best bet — that's actually the exact combination Freitas himself uses.
Overall Speed Spin Control Touch Hardness little hard
Recommended rubber (Forehand) Tenergy 64
Recommended rubber (Backhand) Tenergy 64 FX
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Zootopia (Experience: ６〜１０ years) A blade with great reach
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2019/02/12
Stops and pushes feel a bit soft/muffled, and the trajectory ends up floaty as well. Loop drives really grab the ball, but since they carry so much distance, I think you need a fair amount of practice to control them. Once you get used to it, you can rally consistently from away from the table on both wings without much effort, so I felt this blade suits players who are good at playing from further back, or who like to build points slowly.
Overall Speed Spin Control Touch Hardness Little soft
Recommended rubber (Forehand) TENERGY 05
Recommended rubber (Backhand) Rakza X
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Namazudou (Experience: ４〜５ years) For mid/far distance — tricky control up close?
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2019/01/15
This is a blade where the limba surface gives you a "soft grip" on the ball, and the arylate carbon "launches" it.
The distance and the extension after the bounce are considerable, but there's almost no sense of the ball automatically settling onto the table on its own, so it has trouble with control when playing close to the table.
Because of this, I'd recommend it for players whose main playing area is mid to far from the table — the type who ride out rallies with lobs and fish shots and then counter-drive when they spot an opening. On the other hand, I wouldn't recommend it much for players aiming for "fast table tennis" who rely heavily on drives and smashes close to the table.Lobbing
It's really easy. Since you get good distance even with a weak touch, you can hit high lobs even from an awkward position.Blocking
It's easy. Once you get the feel of grabbing the ball and launching it, you can produce blocks with a nice straight trajectory.Smash
You can hit really fast, heavy smashes. However, because you get so much distance, over-hits become more frequent.Drive
Counter-drives from mid to far from the table are easy to hit. For drives close to the table, the weaker your impact, the more likely you are to hit long.Short game/over-the-table play
Since the ball tends to pop up even with a weak touch, it takes some getting used to and adjustment.Overall Speed Spin Control Touch Hardness Little soft
Recommended rubber (Forehand) Fastarc C-1
Recommended rubber (Backhand) RASANTER R42
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Penguin (Experience: ４〜５ years) Great grip
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2018/12/30
My impression using it: the first thing I noticed was how good the grip is — every backhand technique was easy, and the feel on contact was great too, to the point that power seemed to naturally flow in on impact. That said, being an outer-carbon ALC, the feel on contact is on the hard side, so opinions will probably be split.
Drive: ◎
Speed and spin are both really good, and the backhand feel in particular is great; on the other hand, I felt the forehand tends to pull in unnecessary tension.
Smash: ○
Not hard to do, but not especially easy either — I guess that's just how it is for an outer-carbon blade.
Block: ◎
Doesn't feel difficult, though if you're coming from wood it might fly on you.
Stop/push: △
It feels like a typical outer-carbon ALC. You'll feel some difficulty, but it's manageable once you get used to it.
Chiquita: ☆
This is easy enough that you could call it a blade made for chiquita — the grip naturally rotates into a backhand hold, and it just flows.
Both power and spin are really good.
Serve: ○
Doesn't feel difficult, but it'll be tough if you don't already have a feel for putting spin on the ball.
Summary
Overall the backhand strengths really stand out. I think hard rubbers suit it well, but with tacky rubber you'd probably need a lot of power to handle it. The match with Tenergy felt almost perfect.
This is a blade I'd want everyone to try at least once.Overall Speed Spin Control Touch Hardness little hard
Recommended rubber (Forehand) TENERGY 05
Recommended rubber (Backhand) ROZENA
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Oh (Experience: ２〜３ years) Amazing speed
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2018/12/23
I'm using tacky rubber on it, but it still flies a lot, drives go in easily, and it's easy to put spin on the ball.
Overall Speed Spin Control Touch Hardness Little soft
Recommended rubber (Forehand) HURRICANE PRO Ⅲ TURBO ORANGE
Recommended rubber (Backhand) Flyatt Spin
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Ping-pong-kun (Experience: ６〜１０ years) Feels really good
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2018/11/25
This was the first outer-carbon blade I ever bought. Before this I'd been using 7-ply blades and inner-carbon blades, so at first it flew way too much and was hard to keep under control. But once I got used to it, it feels great to hit with and is easy to control. I'd been struggling to find a blade that really clicked with me, but I'm planning to stick with this one.
Overall Speed Spin Control Touch Hardness little hard
Recommended rubber (Forehand) V＞15 Limber
Recommended rubber (Backhand) ROZENA
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Wood Blade User (Experience: ２〜３ years) This is...
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2018/11/12
This thing is insane!
Whether you smash into it hard or graze it with a topspin drive, the best drives just slam right into the court!
Even on the backhand, if you catch the ball early you get a lightning-fast counter that cracks in with that metallic sound!I'd definitely recommend it for intermediate-to-advanced players who like to play aggressively!
I normally use wood blades, but the feel on contact was mild enough that I could handle it without any issues!
For rubbers, I think Tenergy 05 or 80, or Fastarc G1, are a great match, and on the backhand Rozena or 64FX would be the best fit!The price isn't too high either, so definitely give it a try!!
Overall Speed Spin Control Touch Hardness little hard
Recommended rubber (Forehand) TENERGY 05 HARD
Recommended rubber (Backhand) Tenergy 64 FX
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