Tibhar Samsanov Aplha

Had a chance to play with one at the club yesterday.  While warming up, going through drills with a guy we ended up swapping bats for a while.  I got his Tibhar Samsanov Alpha with Radid D.TecS 2.0 FH/BH and he got my 25 year old Stiga Hans Alser with Mark V 2.5 FH/BH. 

The first thing I noticed was the weight:  his bat felt light!  I was surprised as many have commented on how light my old Stiga feels.  Maybe the difference in rubber thickness?

The second thing I noticed was that it wasn't quite as fast as my bat.  Maybe the rubber thickness again? 

It did have nice control though and I think I was more consistent on my backhand using it than my own blade!

It also had a very loud "pop" when hitting the ball - almost like a fire cracker going off.  Much higher in pitch than the lower thunk my bat makes.  I asked him if it was speed glue and he said no, but then hinted it was something that causes the same effect.  Maybe one of the new substitutes?

He mentioned he had gone through quite a few blades before settling on this one.  Overall it seemed like a very nice bat and one I could easily get used to.  This and playing with my son's bat that also has 2.0 rubbers got me thinking I may like the thinner rubber better. 

Anybody else out there use the Samsanov Alpha?  Opinions?