Butterfly Timo Boll ALC vs DHS Hurricane Long 5: Which Should You Buy?
| Butterfly Timo Boll ALC | DHS Hurricane Long 5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Our rating | 9.0/10 | 8.6/10 |
| feel | medium | hard, powerful |
| handle | FL/ST/AN | FL/ST |
| plies | 5W+2 Arylate-Carbon | 5W+2 Arylate-Carbon |
| speed | OFF | OFF+ |
| thickness_mm | 5.8 | 5.9 |
| weight_g | 86 | 89 |
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The biggest gap here is weight, and it is not close
Weight carries the largest single delta in this comparison at a full point (86g vs 89g on the radar scale, matching a 3-gram real-world gap), and DHS Hurricane Long 5’s own cons list is blunt about it: heavy, around 89 to 93g uncut, with a known hollow feel on the commercial version compared to the premium W968 build. Control is the second-largest gap, and it runs in Hurricane Long 5’s favor by 0.6 (9.3 vs 8.7) - an unusual result for a blade rated 0.4 points lower overall (8.6 vs 9.0), and one explained directly in its own pros list: outstanding control for an OFF+ blade, because the inner carbon keeps soft touches, blocks, and pushes safe and predictable.
That inner-carbon detail is the real story of this comparison. Hurricane Long 5’s own cons list states plainly that it is not actually faster than outer-carbon blades, and feels slow if your looping technique is not developed - an implicit contrast with exactly the kind of outer-carbon build that gives Timo Boll ALC its more direct, immediate power. Speed backs this up: Timo Boll ALC trails by 0.5 on the radar (9.0 vs 9.5) even though Hurricane Long 5 is rated OFF+ against Timo Boll ALC’s OFF, meaning the nominal speed class actually favors Hurricane Long 5 while the felt-power story, per its own reviewers, tilts the other way.
Built around a specific rubber, not a general-purpose blade
Hurricane Long 5’s bestFor and pros are explicit that it comes alive with tacky Chinese rubber, delivering an elite looping, counter-looping, and serve-and-receive game specifically in that pairing. Its cons list is equally direct that it strongly favors Chinese rubber on the forehand, and players who dislike tacky rubber may not get along with it. That is a meaningfully narrower recommendation than Timo Boll ALC, which pairs well with tensor rubbers generally and is famously matched with Tenergy 05. If your rubber of choice is a European or Japanese tensor rather than a tacky Chinese sheet, Hurricane Long 5’s core advantages, per its own review base on Revspin and TableTennisDaily, may simply not apply to your setup.
Handle options are a small but real practical difference: Timo Boll ALC ships in FL, ST, and AN (anatomic), while Hurricane Long 5 is only listed in FL and ST. If you specifically play with an anatomic handle, that alone rules Hurricane Long 5 out regardless of anything else in this comparison.
Stiffness, feel, and who should switch
Stiffness favors Timo Boll ALC by 0.7 (5.8 vs 5.1), and the qualitative feel descriptions match: Timo Boll ALC is described as medium feel, while Hurricane Long 5 is described as hard and powerful with a woody, natural feel where the carbon only engages on hard hits and powerful blocks. Hardness itself is nearly tied (6.2 vs 6.1, a 0.1-point gap that is not meaningful), and consistency is close as well (9.3 vs 9.1).
Switching from Timo Boll ALC to Hurricane Long 5 only makes sense if you are already committed to tacky Chinese forehand rubber and want more control and a higher, safer arc on your topspin game close to the table, and you are willing to carry 3 extra grams and give up the AN handle option. Switching the other way, from Hurricane Long 5 to Timo Boll ALC, makes sense if you are finding Hurricane Long 5 slow because your technique is not yet generating enough pace on your own, per its own cons list, or if you use tensor rubber rather than tacky Chinese sheets and want a blade that was actually designed around that pairing. Reddit’s r/tabletennis threads on both blades reflect this same split: Hurricane Long 5 discussions cluster around Chinese-rubber setups, while Timo Boll ALC discussions span a broader mix of tensor and hybrid setups.
Frequently asked questions
Is DHS Hurricane Long 5 only good with Chinese rubber?
Its own bestFor and cons say it strongly favors tacky Chinese forehand rubber and comes alive specifically in that pairing; players who dislike tacky rubber may not get along with it.
Which blade has better control for blocking and the short game?
Hurricane Long 5, per its own pros list describing outstanding control for an OFF+ blade thanks to its inner carbon construction keeping soft touches, blocks, and pushes predictable.
Does Hurricane Long 5 come in an anatomic handle?
No - it is only listed in FL and ST, unlike Timo Boll ALC, which offers FL, ST, and AN.