For the past few weeks, I have been testing the TIBHAR Felix Lebrun Hyper Carbon blade. I’ve been getting some pretty decent results in my local league matches, so I wanted to share my thoughts about the blade, its playing characteristics and what playing style it is best suited to. I have been using the blade with TIBHAR MX-P 50 on the forehand and TIBHAR Quantum X Pro on the backhand.
Construction
The TIBHAR Felix Lebrun Hyper Carbon has 5 layers of wood and 2 layers of carbon. It’s an inner carbon blade, meaning the carbon is placed next to the core wood ply. The outer ply a limba wood, giving it a slightly softer feel. It’s advertised as 85g, but mine was a tiny bit heavier at 86g. I ordered a straight handle blade, which I find to be relatively slim. If you like a fuller handle you may need to put some grip tape to bulk it up a little.
Speed
Let’s start with speed. I would describe the blade as medium-fast, with quite a large gear range. With the combination of inner carbon and the limba outer play, it actually feels like a medium paced blade when playing controlled shots and short touches.
But there is plenty of speed when I play more aggressively. In particular, I really like this balde for closer to the table attacks. It has a medium trajectory, which means the ball has a nice lift over the net and lands deep on the other side of the table.
Further from the table it performs well. I’m not great at attacking from mid-distance, but even for me I can generate enough pace to hit winning shots. For players with more dynamic strokes, you will get even more speed from the blade.
There are definitely faster blades available, but this has decent amounts of speed for any attacking player. And I have found the speed to be really stable and consistent. I’ve not experienced any sudden drops in speed or unexpected kicks. I feel confident I know how speed will be generated based on the effort I put in.
Spin
Spin generation is one of the blade’s standout features, largely thanks to its Limba outer plies. Limba has decent “dwell time” – the fraction of a second the ball stays on the bat – which means I am able to grip the ball well and get some decent spin.
I’m really pleased with my ability to loop backspin. Many times I have surprised my opponent (and myself) when my loops have been returned way off the end of the table. This has given me more confidence in using my loops – not only are they going to land on the table, but the spin is going to be heavy and challenging for my opponent.
The blade also performs really well in counter-topspin exchanges. The softness of the outer play absorbs the incoming spin, but when the carbon layer is activated, the ball is returned with really decent levels of both spin and speed.
I wouldn’t describe myself as a really spinny player, but even I have enjoyed success with generating more spin than usual. For players whose game is based on heavy rotation, you will have a lot of joy playing with this blade.
Control
One of the reasons I really like this blade is that, along with its decent levels of speed and high spin generation, I find it really easy to play a controlled game. I can serve tight, return spinny serves, touch short, block very well and even chop when further away from the table.
The construction of the blade – inner carbon and outer limba ply – means the blade isn’t ridiculously fast all the time. When I want to slow the game down, then I can do so. When I want to play controlled attacks, I have confidence the ball won’t shoot off the end of the table.
I always get a good feel for how controllable a blade is, based on how easy I can block with it. I spend a huge amount of time blocking during my coaching sessions, so I get a lot of practice! The TIBHAR Felix Lebrun Hyper Carbon is a dream to block with. Very rarely do I block shots long. And when I do, it’s usually a technical fault rather than the blade. It just absorbs the incoming spin so well and with the medium trajectory, returns the ball safely over the net, with a decent amount of speed.
Who should use this blade?
The TIBHAR Felix Lebrun Hyper Carbon blade is a very good choice for an attacking player, who uses lots of topspin. You’ll get a lot of joy with this blade. It’s fast, but not uncontrollably so. And the spin generation is impressive.
If you play more of a mixed game – control and attack – then this could be a good option for you too. It does have a decent gear range, meaning you can play both a slower game and a faster game, with good reliability.
I really like the blade and will continue to use it for the remainder of this season and when I play in the World Veterans Championships in June. It seems to be a good fit for my all-round playing style – good control, decent speed when I play more aggressively and excellent spin generation.
The blade is widely available, but as always I recommend buying from Bribar Table Tennis. The blade is available with a straight, flared and penhold handle.
Personalised equipment advice
If you would like personalised equipment advice, I recommend you join Tom’s TT Academy. In my academy, you can ask me anything about rubbers and blades and I will respond with my recommendations. You may also get recommendations from other academy members too.
In addition to equipment advice, you will also get access to a wide range of exclusive coaching content, including
- in-depth courses
- training drills
- tactical toolkit
- video analysis
- live sessions
- fitness videos
- robot training videos
- member discussions
- pro match analysis
- skill challenges
- and lots more!
You can access all this content for less than £1 per week. New content is added regularly. Join hundreds of table tennis players around the world today at www.tomsttacademy.com