Table Tennis Kingdom's Top 10 Blades of 2025
Let’s start with the shakehand rankings. The penhold rankings are less relevant as a reference — especially since many Japanese players use Japanese-style penhold.
Shakehand Rankings
No. 1 — Harimoto Tomokazu Super ALC
We’ve covered this blade’s characteristics extensively — some readers could probably recite them by now. Based on that solid construction and its strong consistency and continuity, we also made a similar-structure “Meow” blade early last year, and the feedback has been very positive — genuinely stable.
The Donic Lindea similarly earned favor over the past year.
Of course, because the survey combines data from Japanese specialty shops and reader feedback, if this were based purely on Chinese data, the top spot would almost certainly go to a Chinese player’s blade.
No. 2 — Outerforce ALC
I honestly haven’t played this Outerforce series and have no real interest. The Table Tennis Kingdom top 10 is based on questionnaires, so it doesn’t necessarily rank flagships — some entries score high because respondents felt the value-to-performance ratio was excellent. The Outerforce series — decent looks, solid performance, brand backing — is one of those.
This blade is around 6.2mm thick, but uses low-density ayous face veneer, so the overall elasticity is actually lower than the Fan Zhendong ALC according to official specs. Relatively speaking, it’s one of the easier blades to control.
No. 3 — Falck Carbon
Not a blade that left a strong impression on me. Inner aramid carbon, but paulownia core — not something I have strong interest in. And the Chinese distributor barely promotes it. Probably has something to do with Falck himself, since he plays a pimple-out style. Honestly though, many Japanese players use it with inverted on both sides and find the feel quite nice.
No. 4 — Outerforce CAF
No standout characteristics, though the price is reasonably accessible.
No. 5 — Zhang Jike Original Carbon (Donic Red Zhang Jike)
When most people feel you need to be an advanced player to get the most out of a blade, that blade may not be so great. To be fair, part of its popularity came from Zhang Jike’s name. But part of the criticism is the unreasonable price.
No. 6 — Hayata Hina T2
Not the H2 — the T2. This is a training blade. Don’t get misled by the name — just buy a budget Galaxy or Sanwei training board instead.
No. 7 — Niwa Koki ZC Inner
Great aesthetics, dependable performance, decent feel. We reviewed it earlier:
Niwa Koki ZC Inner: Relaxed Offense, Also Capable of High Speed and Efficiency
No. 8 — Inspiration Carbon King
Somewhat surprising, especially since Wang Manyu is now on Fan Zhendong ALC. But this Zhongshan-made soft outer aramid carbon is actually quite competent — solid dwell feel and backhand performance. No wonder Liu Shiwen has been using it for years.
No. 9 — Hurricane King
Wang Chuqin’s King.
No. 10 — Falck W7
A pure wood 7-ply. Nothing much to say. Plenty of alternatives on the market.
Here are the top 10 penhold blades for reference, without further commentary:
- Outerforce ALC
- Yasaka Yasashii S (Japanese penhold)
- Harimoto Tomokazu Super ALC
- Swat Power
- Nittaku Soten C
- Nittaku Large Impact R (Japanese penhold)
- Donic Kiso Hinoki Mono (also Japanese penhold)
- Niwa Koki ZC Inner
- Victas Black Balsa V 7.0 (great for long pips, light with good shock absorption)
- Cyber Wavy