OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I recently purchased the defplay classic to compare to the normal defplay senso. I noticed however that the core wasn't two balsa plies, but was actually one single ply. It dented from just my fingernail so it was still pretty clearly balsa, but I was confused since the blade was supposed to be a 6 ply blade with two middle balsa plies.

I emailed tabletennis11 (where I purchased it from), and they in turn talked with their Donic distributor. Turns out the current blade is 7 ply now:
Anegre
Limba
Glass Fibre
Balsa
Glass Fibre
Limba
Anegre

I'm overall happy with the blade (was mainly looking to see how balsa plays), so it wasn't that big of an issue for me. Can't really compare it quite yet to the defplay senso because of coronavirus . I've been using it while playing with my dad, but I can't test out chopping against some really powerful loops or looping far from the table with it.

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The only time changing equipment improved my game was when I got new glasses

That's interesting,would I be correct in saying that the old version didn't have glass fibre?
How thick is the new version?

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Tsp Balsa 2.5Tenergy 05 1.9 388d ox red

Am I wrong, in thinking that the composition of the Defplay Senson Classic was Koto-Ayous-Balsa-Balsa-Ayous-Koto .. ?

The two outer layers over the balsa and fibre cores should give a more linear less balsa behaviour compared to the TSP blades which only have one outer layer and can feel a bit hard with thin sponge/ox due to the fibre and bouncy due to the balsa.

What are the properties of Anegre? Usually Limba would be the outer ply where a soft feel is required

some older threads said that the original one was what ootbs said:
koto
ayous
balsa
balsa
ayous
koto

Thickness seems to be the same as before, 6mm. Picture for reference.



The balsa core seems to be a little less than 4mm. I can't spot the glass fibre layers, but tabletennis11 said according to their Donic distributor they're very thin & hard to spot.



Another forum stated that anegre is a hard, firm wood. Probably gives it a bit hardness/stiffness on low impact shots like service return or pushing, where the force of the ball won't engage the whole blade. It certainly feels "crisp" on those shots, even with Stiga Vertical 20's soft sponge on the backhand, but feeling is almost entirely subjective.

Senso & Classic side by side



Edit: Can't figure out how to make the images show up properly, is posting links directly to the images okay?

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The only time changing equipment improved my game was when I got new glasses

What weight is the blade and approx speed. Does it feel stiffer than the original which will help with the poly ball

Don't know the exact weight, but with 729FX Super Soft in 1.2mm and Stiga Vertical in 0.3-0.6mm, the whole thing only weighs 140g. I'd probably say its in line with other defensive balsa blades, around ~70g-75g. It certainly feels significantly lighter than the Defplay. I may pull off the rubbers to put something with a thicker sponge on, and if I do that I'll weigh the blade.

As for its speed, its FAST. I've really only been driving & smashing, but its much faster than the Defplay. I used a Yinhe W6 (wooden off- blade) for a bit, and its speed felt closer to that on smashes. The lighter weight meant I could really flick my wrist for some speed on twiddled backhand smashes.

I can get decent spin on slow brush loops, but haven't tried loop drives because of the sponge size. The FH rubber would definitely bottom out of I tried, plus my forehand loop technique (especially loop drives against backspin) is pretty crap... I've been trying to work on it, but its definitely a work in progress.

I may transfer the sheet of Bluefire jp01 in 1.8mm from my Defplay onto the classic to try to see how it loops, but given my technique + balsa wood (but probably mostly my technique) I don't expect it to loop all that well. I certainly don't expect it to loop better than the Defplay, and I my loops are pretty inconsistent on that to begin with!

It feels stiffer than the Defplay, but I don't have much to go on. Only thing I can really compare it to is the Defplay, which is known as a pretty flexy blade. It might be low or medium flex, I can't say for sure.

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The only time changing equipment improved my game was when I got new glasses

Interesting.
In Donic 2019-2020 catalogue, Donic Defplay Classic Senso was shown as 6-ply. But it is 7-ply in 2020-2021 catalogue. No difference in speed (both 4+).

not sure about the classic but i had 3 of the senso blades.i sold 2 and ive kept one that has a very thin handle(believed very old).
They are not great for looping but they are amazing for chopping on both wings.
I always cut these blades down as they are cumbersome on the f/h if u dont