Weight
92g
Thickness
7mm
Plies
5-ply
Head Size
158x152
Handles
FL
Material
Hybrid
Head Shape
Standard
Balance
Balanced
Sardius
Butterfly Sardius is a legendary offensive blade built for pure speed and power. Its stiff 5-ply construction combines Japanese Hinoki outer plies with TAMCA 5000 carbon layers, creating a fast, direct, and low-vibration playing surface. This blade excels in close-to-the-table play, enabling devastating drives, flat smashes, and aggressive loops. While it sacrifices dwell time and fine touch, it offers exceptional precision for players who can harness its raw offensive capabilities. A favorite among aggressive attackers, particularly in Southeast Asia, the Sardius demands a proactive style and rewards powerful, decisive play.
The construction features a balsa wood core sandwiched between two layers of TAMCA 5000 carbon fiber, with outer layers of Japanese Hinoki wood. This combination creates a stiff blade with excellent speed transfer and minimal vibration, characteristic of modern carbon blades. The Hinoki outer plies provide a hard but sensitive striking surface.
TT Sensei Ratings
✦Our expert analysis of this blade's performance characteristics
Sardius is renowned for its exceptional speed, ranking among Butterfly's fastest blades. The stiff construction with TAMCA 5000 carbon layers facilitates rapid ball acceleration, enabling powerful drives and smashes. This high speed is ideal for aggressive, close-to-the-table play where players seek to end points with sheer velocity.
For a blade in its speed class, Sardius offers a surprisingly good level of control, allowing for precise shot placement crucial for aggressive players. However, its inherent stiffness and low dwell time make fine control for spin-heavy shots or delicate touch play more challenging, requiring advanced skill to master.
Sardius has a distinctly hard feel due to its carbon layers and stiff construction, resulting in minimal vibration and a direct connection to the ball. This hard feel contributes to its speed but reduces dwell time and the nuanced feedback found in more flexible blades, offering a crisp, immediate response preferred by some power hitters.
The combination of stiffness, speed, and outer wood plies results in a medium-high throw angle. Shots, particularly loops, tend to travel with a good trajectory, allowing for effective placement and depth, especially when paired with fast rubbers.
Due to its extreme stiffness, Sardius offers a very short dwell time. The ball doesn't sink deeply into the blade, which limits the ability to generate heavy spin through prolonged contact. This characteristic favors players who rely on racket head speed and the rubber's grip rather than the blade's dwell.
The blade is very stiff, providing a solid, unyielding platform for powerful, flat shots. This stiffness minimizes flex upon impact, channeling energy directly into the ball for maximum speed. It is less forgiving than flexible blades, requiring clean technique to control the powerful output.
Sardius is designed to be extremely stiff with very low vibration. This is key to its speed and direct feel, allowing for powerful, fast shots without significant energy loss through oscillation. The result is a crisp, almost dead feel that some players find ideal for power shots.
Built to Butterfly's high manufacturing standards, Sardius uses premium materials like Japanese Hinoki and TAMCA 5000 carbon, resulting in a durable blade that maintains its performance over time. The construction is solid and precise, contributing to its fast, stable, and consistent feel in play.
Technology
Butterfly Sardius features a 5-ply construction with two layers of TAMCA 5000 carbon fiber. TAMCA 5000 is a high-performance carbon material developed by Butterfly known for its exceptional stiffness and speed-enhancing properties. This composite structure, combined with outer plies of Japanese Hinoki wood, creates a blade that is incredibly fast, stiff, and stable with minimal vibration. The technology is engineered to maximize power transfer and provide a direct feel, making it a potent weapon for aggressive attacking play where instant ball response is critical.
Pro Players Using This Blade
Ernesto Ebuen
Ernesto Ebuen, a high-level player, has used the Butterfly Sardius. As a player known for exceptional touch, he leveraged the blade's raw power to complement his delicate game, demonstrating that advanced players with excellent technique can effectively harness its offensive capabilities.
Ludovic Lee Freithofnig
Ludovic Lee Freithofnig, who competes at a high national level, has also been a user of the Butterfly Sardius. This adoption by a competitive player underscores the blade's effectiveness for those who can manage its fast and stiff characteristics in match play.
Professional players in Vietnam
Sardius holds legendary status in Vietnam, where it has seen exceptionally widespread use among professional players. Its popularity highlights its effectiveness for the aggressive, forehand-dominant playing styles prevalent in the region, cementing its reputation as a classic offensive weapon.
Similar Blades
Butterfly Primorac Carbon
Butterfly Primorac Carbon is a close alternative, sharing the same 3+2 ply construction with TAMCA 5000 carbon layers. The primary difference is its Kiri wood core instead of Hinoki, which results in a blade that is slightly slower and offers a bit more feeling while remaining very stiff and fast. It's a good option for players who find the Sardius a touch too extreme.
Butterfly Zhang Jike T5000
Butterfly Zhang Jike T5000 is another extremely fast and stiff carbon blade with aggressive playing characteristics similar to the Sardius. Both are designed for powerful attacking play, particularly flat hits and smashes. They offer comparable speed, with the Zhang Jike T5000 having subtle differences in feel and vibration due to its specific material composition.