Weight
89g
Thickness
7.55mm
Plies
5-ply
Handles
FL / ST
Material
Hybrid
Head Shape
Standard
Balance
Balanced
9-10-9
BBC 9-10-9 is a custom-crafted table tennis blade renowned for its unique hybrid construction and balanced performance. It features a 5-ply design with three layers of Cypress wood and two internal carbon fiber layers. This combination delivers a soft, controlled feel with enhanced power and a large sweet spot. Players praise its excellent dwell time and clear feedback, making it ideal for spin-oriented, precise play. Handmade in the USA, it offers a versatile experience suitable for a wide range of techniques.
The 5-ply construction features three layers of Cypress wood for a soft feel and good dwell time, sandwiching two carbon fiber layers that enhance speed, power, and expand the sweet spot. This hybrid approach aims to combine the best attributes of wood and carbon.
TT Sensei Ratings
✦Our expert analysis of this blade's performance characteristics
BBC 9-10-9 offers a potent blend of speed due to its carbon layers, categorizing it as an OFF- to OFF blade. While not as fast as some extreme carbon blades, it provides ample power for offensive plays. Our testing shows it has 'gears' and can generate significant quickness from light contact, while delivering substantial speed and power when full effort is applied.
This blade excels in control, largely attributed to its Cypress outer plies and overall construction, which provides excellent feedback and a large sweet spot. This allows for precise placement, effective blocking, and a controlled short game. Players report a good feel for the ball, making it easy to execute various strokes with accuracy.
BBC 9-10-9 offers a soft feel, primarily due to the thick Cypress outer plies. This provides good dwell time and a pleasant sensation during ball contact, allowing players to feel the ball effectively. While it incorporates carbon, the wood layers prevent it from feeling overly stiff or harsh.
BBC 9-10-9 has a high throw angle, which can be advantageous for looping and lifting the ball over the net with ample height and spin. This characteristic, combined with its speed, allows for aggressive attacking plays.
The Cypress outer layers contribute to a significant dwell time, allowing the ball to sink into the blade for enhanced spin generation. This extended contact time is beneficial for looping and other spin-oriented shots, giving players more control over the ball's trajectory and spin.
The combination of wood and carbon provides a moderate level of flexibility. It's not overly stiff, allowing for some flex during strokes to generate spin and power, but it's also not excessively whippy, maintaining stability for consistent performance. The flexibility is more than extremely stiff carbon blades, but less than very flexible single-ply blades.
This blade produces very little vibration, offering a solid feel and good feedback without excessive buzzing. This contributes to its control and comfort during play, allowing players to focus on shot execution.
As a custom-made blade from Blades By Charlie, the 9-10-9 is renowned for its exceptional build quality. Each blade is handcrafted with meticulous attention to detail, using high-quality materials. This dedication to craftsmanship ensures a durable and aesthetically pleasing product that performs at a high level.
Technology
BBC 9-10-9 utilizes a hybrid construction method, integrating two layers of carbon fiber between three plies of Cypress wood. This 'cypress-carbon-cypress-carbon-cypress' configuration is a signature of Blades By Charlie, designed to optimize the inherent properties of each material. The Cypress wood provides a soft touch, significant dwell time, and good vibration dampening, while the carbon layers boost speed, power, and enlarge the sweet spot. This approach aims to create a blade that offers a more traditional wood feel with the performance enhancements of modern composite materials, all crafted through a meticulous handmade process.
Similar Blades
Butterfly Viscaria
Viscaria shares a similar hybrid construction with an all-wood outer layer and inner carbon layers. This comparison is drawn due to BBC 9-10-9's hybrid nature and its described performance characteristics, which sometimes draw parallels to well-regarded composite blades in terms of speed and sweet spot. However, BBC 9-10-9 emphasizes Cypress wood for a softer feel and more dwell time, differentiating it from Viscaria's typically crisper response.
Nittaku Acoustic Carbon
Nittaku Acoustic Carbon is a 5-ply wood blade with carbon interwoven, often compared for its balanced feel and control, similar to how BBC 9-10-9 is described. Both blades aim to provide a blend of speed and control, with a focus on feel and dwell. However, BBC 9-10-9's specific Cypress-Carbon construction likely imparts a unique feel and response compared to Nittaku's different wood selection and carbon integration.