Some Thoughts on Stiga Cybershape Carbon

What is Stiga Cybershape Carbon?

On November 1, STIGA released its annual innovation-Cybershape Carbon. At first glance, this paddle is pitch black and strangely shaped; it doesn’t look like a product of normal thinking. Therefore, even some ping-pong enthusiasts are not optimistic and think it is counterintuitive.

Product data

Material	Wood + Carbon fiber
Style	Off+
Weight (g)	85 ± 5
Veneer	5+2
Control	45
Speed	145

Shaping the future

In fact, since the 1980s, traditional table tennis paddles have been dominated by oval shapes. There are only a few Japanese square rackets or niche rackets and alien rackets. Such a hexagonal racket is indeed unheard of. Grandstanding is not what a manufacturer like STIGA thinks. What STIGA wants to achieve is to break the routine and shape the future.

This racket is indeed very morphed. The hexagonal surface is like divergent thinking, full of a sense of technology. For a brand that has always been committed to “excavating the original power of wood”, the launch of such an “alien” paddle is indeed a bit of a subversion.

STIGA’s vision for Cybershape Carbon is: shaping the future. Through the change of bat shape, its performance is more prominent, and it is more suitable for developing new balls. I think this is just the first step, and it may have a more far-reaching impact.

So, is Cybershape Carbon just a novelty, without practical significance? Soon, our doubts were crushed.

Currently, there is already a wave of national team players who have used Cybershape Carbon in the European arena. And the record is pretty good. Sweden’s rising star and runner-up of the World Youth Championship, MOREGARD Truls, became the earliest supporter of Cybershape Carbon. He defeated Franziska Patrick in the German League and won consecutive wins in the WTT field until he met the more skilled Wang Chuqin. His teammate Joe Persson and the British team and the French team and the Danish team all have players who started to use it.

Before using Cybershape Carbon, let us imagine its possible performance.

Upgrade of Inspiration Carbon

From the structural point of view, Cybershape Carbon is very similar to Stiga Inspira CCF, which looks like a combination of built-in Carbon and Kiri wood core. CCF is a solid and linear paddle, biased towards the near middle stage and fast arc type. The backhand is firmer than the previous STIGA paddle, and the shot is smoother. The exceptional performance is outstanding, and the speed is quite fast. Both the backhand and defense appear to be more balanced and stable.

The carbon fiber is placed on both sides of the wood, maintaining the original pure wood feel and control performance.

Increase sweet spot

First of all, for some players that the paddle may be too heavy, let’s answer it first. The paddle only increases the area by 5%, but lighter wood and carbon fiber materials are used, so the paddle is not heavy. Each side of the rubber is about 2g heavier than the traditional paddle. It is acceptable.

For table tennis, the best hitting area comes from the upper half of the floor. In this part, the swing speed is faster, and it can accelerate and rotate more. So the area here has been enlarged.

Although the total area has only increased by 5%, the official test result is that the best hitting area of ​​the FL/ST paddle has increased by 11%, and the CS paddle has increased by 9%. In addition, the traditional circular paddle hitting area can extend 2.5 cm to the goal table, while Cybershape Carbon can reach 6.5 cm. This is very beneficial for controlling the ball in the table, and it is also conducive to short shots.

Enhanced rotation

After the sweet spot increases, it will undoubtedly help the rotation of the shot. Athletes are also more able to perceive the ball’s position for the “angular and angular” paddle, and at the same time, it is possible to create a better spin. According to the official statement, “Athletes can choose to serve from six angles according to the desired spin.”

After the debut of Cybershape Carbon and a slight trend among European players, imagine that entering China will attract young players because young people are often more open-minded and can accept new things. So, will Cybershape Carbon have an impact on the future table tennis market?

Final words

If there are players from the Chinese national team, the impact will be valuable, but I don’t think it’s possible. This is enough to illustrate the power of idols. If it is just a tiny craze, it will at least trigger the inspiration switch of prominent brand manufacturers. There must be imitators, and those who learn from and propose new “shapes” must be. Over time, “alien” is no longer rare and strange but is accepted by the market. Then, there may be more and more explorations of the shape of “theoretically enhancing the sweet spot of hitting”. “Shaping the future” is no longer a single slogan; it has become a reality.

From http://www.cnpingpang.com/

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