Been some time since my last review. Got the items Tibhar sent me and I have chosen this blade series plus the Samsonov force pro to review. 

Stratus Samsonov Carbon

Handle: Flared

Weight: 87 grams

Thickness: 5.5-5.6mm

Blade Head Dimension: 151x156mm

Plies: 7 ( limba outer plies with carbon kevlar 3rd inner plies)

Speed: Off to Off+

The SSC (samsonov stratus carbon its a bit long for a name i have to shorten it hehe) is a high quality carbon arylate blade from Tibhar. It was released some time ago but I was curious on how this blade performs sp I asked Tibhar to send me this. Basing on the pics I saw in our forums, this was used by Samsonov himself before he transferred to the Force Pro Blade.

it looks like the SSC blade has outer limba plies + ayous followed by a 3rd carbon kevlar layer. I need to confirm this with Tibhar first. i was surpised when i saw this. Basically, it has the same construction with the Stratus Powerwood but was added with 2 carbon arylate layers.

I slapped a Tibhar Grip-S Europe red max and a Grip-S Europe Soft. I also used a Tibhar 5Q which is my favorite Tibhar rubber for the purpose of using a very fast euro rubber. The SSC was fairly fast when i used the grip-s europe  on my forehand. it was sure spinny though same thing with the europe soft but with lesser speed. The set-up really came alive when i placed my black 5Q on it. It was fast in a way that it was faster than the TBS or ALC by a notch or two. The feel wasn't super stiff which I like. Tibhar says its off+ but when I loop with it, it felt like it was an easy controllable off blade but when i smash or counter with it it felt like an off+ blade. Its good for looping and countering up to mid distance from the table. Near to the table, its very controllable and your shots will have great accuracy. 

Overall, a good looking, high quality blade with great performance in terms of speed and control. The carbon kevlar layer added stability and control in blocking while the limba layers added good feel when hitting the ball. The price even is a very affordable that other carbon arylate blades. 

Tibhar Stratus Powerdefense

The only defensive blade in the series but nevertheless still not a slow blade. I gave it to a 2300+ rating equivalent chopper friend of mine and we both tested it.  We used a 5Q, Adidas P7 and a TSP curl P-1 long pips for the set up.

I can only chop 2-3x in a row because im not a chopper using long pips but i can play long pips hitter style in my backhand. My first impression on the blade is that its comfortable to the hand with its straight handle. The powerdefense's handle length is shorter than its predecessor, CO-S-3. Nevertheless, its still a good defensive blade. It was easy to use the long pips hitter's style. Flicks and drives using the long pips were easy to do in a way that you accuracy is good and the ball clears the net fairly. The one thing that surprised me was its speed. Coupled with the 5Q or P7 on the forehand it was a very fast blade for an ALL+ blade. It behaved like an off blade when attacking with loops or drives. Both me and my friend agreed also that this is much easier to use than his Butterfly Joo See Yuk blade. He had an injury using the latter and was looking for a replacement and I gave the powerdefense to him. The powerdefense has a softer feel than the JSY blade. my chopper friend was happy with it because he can attack better due to the lesser weight. I have tried his JSY blade a lot of times and it felt as if you have 2 max rubbers on both sides in terms of weight. 

Overall a very affordable defensive blade that gives you qualities found in more expensive blades. Our both concern was that it had a shorter handle but its only a minor thing.

Tibhar Stratus Power wood

I have heard a lot of good reviews on this blade and so being a Tibhar product reviewer I had to get my hands on one of this. A lot of limba-ayous construction type blades have been produced because of the design that enables the user to have enough speed coupled with good control and feel. In terms of reference I have to compare this to a Peter Korbel blade with some improvements. Again, I used a Tibhar 5Q on the forehand and Grip-S Euope on the backhand for this test. 

My first impression doing forehand to forehand drills and looping with a closed angle was a definite WOW! It felt very fast like an Off blade. It has the feel of an offensive classic blade from stiga but lacks the vibration, the balance of a Peter Korbel Blade but faster and gives stronger shots. For 40 euro blade, its performance can be worth like those more expensive high end all wood blades from other brands. This is both a looping and hitting blade. On loops, it gives you a wonderful feel and control to produce those spinny loops. On hitting and countering, this blade is very controllable near the table. 

This blade was designed near the table especially for loopers. Mid-distance wise you can feel a reduction of speed. Faster rubbers like the 1Q or 1Qxd should be used. The 5Q being a medium rubber IMO was tailor-made for this blade. The Grip-S europe being a chinese rubber excels in slow spinny loops or if you wanted a more controlled set up when using the powerwood. I bet the neo H3 would also be good in this set up plus a 5Q or 1Q on the backhand. This blade has a high throw.

Im loving this blade. The sigma Sensitec was good and was faster than the powerwood but this has more feel. The powerwood is faster than the xeon sensitec blade fyi. Also, the powerwood is a very good blocking blade. I tested it using it as a feeding set up for some of my better students like 2000-2100 equivalent ratings and it blocks good against powerful topspins. Overall, Im gonna keep this and use it with 5Q on both sides.

 

they are very different for custruction

the PW like a thicker Peter Korbel and for sure OFF/OFF+ blade

the SSC is thinner than PW, has Balsa core and is a Off-/Off blade

Actually the real name is Stratus Samsonov CB and CB means Carbon Balsa 

Can you please compare the power wood to xeon sensitec in terms of the feel when you loop, drive, or even smash a ball? Does it give a loud sound and a good feel? Stiff or flexible?

Which do you like better between the two mentioned and why? Thank you. 

if you are in a tight budget yes i would recommend the ssc. though i would recommend this for the ma lin carbon. you might want to test using carbon kevlar rubbers first since the ma lin carbon is pure carbon and the ssc have carbon kevlar, they have different fee.

black devil is faster and ligther  at 80 grams average though the black devil has a smaller head size

the powerwood is more flexy, has more feel. sound is almost the same, xeon felt harder but powerwood seems faster