Butterfly Innerforce ZLC vs Yasaka Ma Lin Soft Carbon: Which Should You Buy?
| Butterfly Innerforce ZLC | Yasaka Ma Lin Soft Carbon | |
|---|---|---|
| Our rating | 8.5/10 | 8.1/10 |
| feel | Soft-medium; woody feel with ZLC carbon layers near the core | medium-soft and flexible for a carbon blade, with clear feedback and a large sweet spot |
| handle | AN / FL / ST | FL/ST/AN |
| plies | 5 wood + 2 ZLC carbon (inner ZLC construction) | 7-ply (5 wood plus 2 very thin carbon layers) — same outer veneer as the Yasaka Extra |
| speed | OFF | OFF- |
| thickness_mm | 5.7 | 5.8 |
| weight_g | 84 | 87 |
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The Innerforce ZLC is the rarer choice: discontinued, soft-medium woody feel, exceptional dwell, and control-rich balance for advanced topspin players. The Yasaka Ma Lin Soft Carbon is modern, accessible, medium-soft for a carbon blade, offering excellent blocking, clear ball feel, large sweet spot, and strong value.
Choose the ZLC if you’re advanced, find it at reasonable cost, and want the rare woody carbon experience. Pick Ma Lin Soft if you’re improving intermediate to control-oriented attacker, want forgiving carbon that doesn’t punish technique gaps, prefer blocking and flicking feel over raw power, and value accessibility.
FAQ
Which carbon feels more like wood?
ZLC decisively—its inner-carbon placement yields woody softness. Ma Lin Soft is medium-soft and forgiving, but clearly carbon.
Which blocks better?
Ma Lin Soft: exceptional blocking and unusually clear ball feel for carbon. ZLC blocks well but prioritizes topspin.
How much dwell-time difference?
ZLC: excellent high-dwell topspin support. Ma Lin Soft: short dwell makes heavy spin harder without perfect technique.
Which is more forgiving overall?
Ma Lin Soft: large sweet spot, medium-soft feel, and forgiving miss-hit response. ZLC demands better contact to shine.