As one of the most famous and successful table tennis players in Europe, Waldner’s career has undoubtedly been extremely illustrious. In fact, there are many blades named after Waldener, many of which are classics.
Donic Waldner Legend Carbon Blade is a blade released by Donic Company several years ago. As we all know, the number of blades named after Waldner is large enough to form a football team. This racket, in the name of legend, once again evokes endless memories of this legendary ping pong player.
So let’s have a look at the performance of this blade.
Who is Donic Waldner Legend Carbon for?
Donic Waldner Legend Carbon is especially suitable for offensive players who are close to the table and tend to control the game. The blade has great speed and spin but with nice control. It’s suitable for both beginners and advanced players that can help them improve their understanding of table tennis.
Review of Donic Waldner Legend Carbon Blade
Appearance and composition
The design of the blade is very creative. One of the most attractive things is the yellow and blue wave pattern. I am not sure if there is any special meaning to these wavy patterns. The handle of the racket is also made up of yellow and blue, which feels comfortable to hold in your hand.
However, the most amazing thing about Donic Waldner Legend Carbon is its structure. The blade has a 3+2 structure, which is quite not common nowadays. This structure is widely used in the 1990s, but currently, the blades normally have a 5+2 structure.
According to the official statement of Donic Company, the core is made of Kiri. The outer layers are Kiso Hinoki and the middle ply is carbon. So the overall composition of Donic Waldner Legend Carbon is Kiso Hinoki–Carbon–Kiri–Carbon–Kiso Hinoki.
As we all know, Kiri is kind of soft and is widely used to be the core of the blade to give better control. But Hinoki is really hard and the finishing veneers made of Hinoki give great speed to this blade. Thus, before beginning the test, I guess that this blade might have both great speed and control.
The blade weighs only 84g and has a thickness of 6.3mm. 84g is the weight of an all wood paddle. As a carbon blade, Donic Waldner Legend Carbon is quite light and proper for loopers or attackers.
Speed 8.7/10
I put Donic Bluefire m2 on the forehand and Tenergy 64 on the backhand to do the test. As the blade is stiff, the speed is stupid fast when I first hit the ball. The blade gives me a clear feel and feedback that I can adjust the strength that I exert to control the speed and spin.
Also, as the Donic Waldner Legend Carbon is quite light, I can feel it’s much easier to exert more strength and hit the ball at a faster speed. Even though the absolute speed is not as fast as Super Viscaria, players can control it much better. It has the great feel of the wood blade but with the amazing speed of the carbon blade, which is quite incredible.
This blade has super great performance in close-to-table games. Players can both forehand and backhand loops, drives, smash, and other techniques. The blade has a larger sweet spot and the carbon also accelerates the ball.
After taking several steps back, I try to loop from a further distance. My feeling can be described as one word: dependable. I can feel that the ball is bounced out clearly and has a relatively higher arc over the net. The speed declines a little, but still reliable and leaves opponents little time to react. Players can get high-quality feedback even under lower gears.
Spin 8.3/10
Donic Waldner Legend Carbon has great vibration, which means it has a great ability to generate spin. Especially when matching with a softer and spinny rubber such as Bluefire m2, huge amounts of spin can be generated.
During the topspin rallies, the blade gives me a crisp feel when I hit the ball. The blade has more dwell time and can generate strong spin and faster strokes during topspin rallies or counterattacks. After several consistent loops, the ball becomes quite spinny and it’s hard for my opponents to return back.
Besides, through the test, I find that this blade has quite a high error tolerance. It’s somehow like DHS w968. Sometimes even if I am not in the perfect place and can’t hit the ball perfectly, the ball can still reach the table, which quite makes me surprised.
Control 8.5/10
Control is the greatest strength of Donic Waldner Legend Carbon. Most of the carbon blades are not suitable for beginners as they will struggle for controlling the ball with great initial speed. However, Waldner Legend is an exception that is ideal for both beginners and advanced players.
The blade is stiff but linear so that players can have clear feedback from every single stroke. During the rallies, players can switch perfectly between the forehand and backhand. The loops or drives can be super fast but under great control.
The most amazing part is the short games. As we advanced players do lots of drop shots to not leave our opponents open up the game so easily. Normally the one who has the better control in the games can have better chances to attack and larger possibilities to win the game.
The super clear feel of Waldner Legend can help me do short pushes or long pushes with super great precision. I am sure for players who are not good at controlling the ball, this blade will improve their understanding and basic skill to a higher level.
Defense 8.2/10
According to my feeling, Donic Waldner Legend Carbon has better performance in active blocks due to its great control. The blade can do both backhand and forehand blocks quite perfectly. During the games, players can change the route of the ball with ease during the defense.
As the blade has a vibration, players have to be used to it during the blocks and adjust the tiny movement of the wrist and arms to control the ball better. Otherwise, during some passive blocks, the ball might go higher or even be overshot.
When it comes to chopping, I find that the spin is quite great as the blade is light and it’s matched with a spinny rubber. However, the stiff blade with carbon makes the ball sometimes too fast and I am not used to it. It’s not an ideal choice to use this blade do chopping.
Topspin and backspin
Relatively speaking, Donic Waldner Legend Carbon is more suitable for topspin players. Even though it’s also easy to lift up the heavy backspin, for those pros the games usually end in topspin rallies.
When I use this blade for some games with my teammates, I usually lift up the ball first and then make advantage of its great speed in topspin rallies to win the point(I do this when I don’t use long pips). If I use long pips it would be another thing lol.
Pros and Cons
What I like about Donic Waldner Legend Carbon
- The clear feel of the ball
- Great control
- Amazing performance when playing near the table
What I am not satisfied with the Donic Waldner Legend Carbon
- The backhand sometimes lacks sufficient power
- The arc sometimes is quite flat that players need to adjust the movement
Match suggestion
Players can choose harder or softer rubber according to their playstyle and needs. This blade is already kind of stiff so if you want more control at the expense of speed, you could choose softer rubber. But if you are crazy about violent and powerful strokes and you have marvelous basic skills, then you could consider a harder rubber.(Click the link to read our relevant reviews about the rubber)
Forehand: Donic Bluefire m2, DHS Hurricane 8, Andro Rasanter R42
Backhand: Butterfly Rozena, Butterfly Tenegy 64
Conclusion
Donic Waldner Legend Carbon is the perfect choice for all the close-to-the-table attackers who like to dominate and have an edge over their opponents. This fast and lightweight offensive blade offers great control, thanks to its larger sweet spot, crafted with special care.
Its wood plies – Hinoki outer ply combined with carbon layers inside and a soft inner ply give it great stiffness ideal for topspin play. If you are not good at controlling the ball or want to improve your basic skills, then I would suggest that you try this great blade.
Donic Waldner Legend Carbon is a true reflection of the legendary career of this table tennis artist.
