Butterfly Lin Gaoyuan ALC vs Stiga Cybershape Carbon: Which Should You Buy?
| Butterfly Lin Gaoyuan ALC | Stiga Cybershape Carbon | |
|---|---|---|
| Our rating | 8.7/10 | 8.4/10 |
| feel | Soft — flexible ALC gives a more wood-like feel than other carbon blades; high dwell time | Medium-stiff with woody feedback; head-heavy balance; larger sweet spot placed further up the blade |
| handle | Shakehand (FL, AN, ST options); shorter anatomic handle than Viscaria | Flared (Classic) or Concave (Master) |
| plies | 5 wood + 2 arylate-carbon (ALC) — 7-ply construction with koto outer layers and inner arylate-carbon fiber | 5+2 carbon (CCF Close Core Fibre — carbon layer sits directly on wood core) |
| speed | OFF (Butterfly rates Reaction 118, mid-fast; equivalent to OFF/OFF+ class) | OFF (Stiga speed rating 9.0 out of 10) |
| thickness_mm | 5.7mm | approx 5 mm |
| weight_g | 84-87g typical (Butterfly spec approx 87g) | 85 plus or minus 5 g |
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The Lin Gaoyuan (8.7) is a soft-ALC oval blade with maximum dwell and a large sweet spot. The Cybershape Carbon (8.4) is a head-heavy hexagonal inner-carbon design with a lab-verified larger sweet spot positioned higher on the blade, excellent blocking comfort, and speed comparable to Koto-ALC class.
Choose Lin Gaoyuan if you prefer traditional oval shape, maximum dwell for looping, and broad rubber compatibility. Choose Cybershape Carbon if you’re an advanced blocker and counter-attacker who wants a distinctive hexagonal shape, superior blocking comfort on both wings, and a head-heavy balance that naturally accelerates your drives.
FAQ
What’s different about the hexagonal shape?
It aids serve angles, bat-angle awareness, and blocks exceptionally well. The service feel is different from ovals and requires adaptation.
How much better is blocking?
Cybershape is lab-verified for superior blocking comfort and exceptional backhand counter-blocking. Lin Gaoyuan blocks well but Cybershape excels.
Which has better dwell?
Lin Gaoyuan significantly outperforms Cybershape for dwell. Cybershape has short dwell, challenging for heavy looping styles.
Is Cybershape suitable for loopers?
Not ideally. Its short dwell and head-heavy balance suit fast counter-attackers and backhand-dominant players, not topspin loopers.