Butterfly Korbel vs Stiga Allround Classic: Which Should You Buy?
| Butterfly Korbel | Stiga Allround Classic | |
|---|---|---|
| Our rating | 8.6/10 | 8.4/10 |
| feel | medium, soft and flexible all-wood with long dwell | soft, high control |
| handle | FL/ST | FL/ST/AN |
| plies | 5W (all wood) — limba-limba-ayous-limba-limba | 5W |
| speed | OFF- | ALL |
| thickness_mm | 6 | 5.1 |
| weight_g | 88 | 75 |
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Control Is a Tie — Everything Else Isn’t
Start with the one number that should stop you from overthinking this comparison: control. Korbel rates 8.8, the Stiga Allround Classic rates 8.9 — a 0.1-point gap that is functionally zero. Whatever else separates these two blades, it is not how controllable they are; both are genuinely soft, forgiving, touch-first platforms, and Revspin’s aggregated reviewers plus corroborating write-ups on TableTennisDaily agree on that point.
Everything else is a different story. Speed splits by 1.7 points (Korbel 8.3 versus Stiga 6.6) — a large, very noticeable gap. Stiffness splits by the same 1.7 (Korbel 4.8 versus Stiga 3.1), and the blade’s felt heft — rated 7.5 for Korbel against just 2.8 for the Stiga, a 4.7-point gap, the widest in this entire comparison set — points the same direction. Hardness adds another 0.8-point gap in Korbel’s favor. Read together, these four numbers describe two genuinely different tools built on top of near-identical control: the Korbel is a firmer, faster, heftier-feeling all-wood blade that still lets you place the ball precisely, while the Stiga Allround Classic is a soft, light, slow platform that asks you to supply essentially all of the pace yourself.
The actual weight specs confirm the direction, if not the full magnitude: Korbel is listed at 88 grams stock against the Stiga’s 75 grams, and Korbel runs a full millimeter thicker (6mm versus 5.1mm). None of that is a rounding error, and it’s consistent with Korbel’s own reviewers noting it “can feel heavy once thick 2.1mm rubbers are mounted” — a complaint the featherweight Stiga would be very unlikely to draw.
What This Means If You’re Choosing Between Them
Because control is essentially tied, you’re not sacrificing anything on that front no matter which you pick — this comparison genuinely comes down to how much inherent speed and heft you want in the blade itself versus how much you want to generate with your own swing. The Stiga Allround Classic’s own reviewers are candid about this trade-off, calling it “slow by modern standards” with “little inherent power, especially away from the table,” and explicitly not built for “a pure, power-first attacking game from distance.” Its bestFor language targets beginners building correct technique and control-oriented blockers who value feel over pace.
Korbel’s bestFor language overlaps — it’s also aimed at beginners and improvers — but frames itself around “learning to loop and develop feeling before moving to carbon,” implying a blade with more built-in pace to grow an offensive game on. If you’re a brand-new player whose top priority is pure touch and technique with as little inherent speed as possible to manage, the Stiga is the more forgiving starting point. If you already know you want to attack and loop but aren’t ready for carbon yet, Korbel gives you a genuine speed and power head start — 1.7 points of it — without giving up any control to get there.
Should You Switch?
If you’re currently on the Stiga Allround Classic and finding it too slow to keep pace with your improving game, moving to Korbel is close to a free upgrade: you gain 1.7 points of speed and comparable heft, and you lose essentially nothing on control (0.1 points, not perceptible). That’s a rare trade in equipment comparisons, where speed gains usually cost you some placement precision.
Going the other direction — from Korbel down to the Stiga for budget reasons — means accepting a real, noticeable drop in pace and power in exchange for a small consistency gain (Stiga trails Korbel by only 0.4 points here, so don’t expect much). The Stiga’s reputation for value and longevity is real, and reviewers note many owners keep it for years simply upgrading rubbers as they improve, but understand you’re buying into a genuinely slower tool, not just a cheaper version of the same one. Handle options slightly favor the Stiga, which adds an anatomic (AN) option alongside FL/ST that Korbel doesn’t offer.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Butterfly Korbel more controllable than the Stiga Allround Classic?
No — they're essentially tied, 8.8 versus 8.9 on Revspin's aggregated scale. Control isn't what separates these two blades.
What's the biggest real difference between them?
Speed and felt weight. Korbel rates 1.7 points faster and noticeably heftier-feeling than the Stiga Allround Classic, which is built to be light, soft, and slow.
Which is the better first blade for a true beginner?
The Stiga Allround Classic, if your priority is pure touch with minimal inherent speed to manage. The Korbel, if you already know you want to attack and loop and want a speed head start.
Should I upgrade from the Stiga Allround Classic to the Korbel?
If the Stiga feels too slow for your improving game, yes — you gain real pace and heft while losing essentially no control (a 0.1-point difference).