Re-Impact Dr Barath blade

New for 2013 - based on the latest Dream / Perfect technology!

The Dr.Barath All (224) is dynamic in FH and BH, with medium catapult. The blade suits all technical levels but is especially well suited to top-players who have mastered both conventional and dynamic play.

These new Dream combination blades automatically control the speed on the backhand side when used for chopping and blocking. The Barath can be played in reverse (=twiddled), which makes it a 422 blade [note: the numbers 2 and 4 indicate plies. K.] with a much faster 2nd level of play. Ball-control is even with control=20 still amazingly good. Serving you should use the 2nd level of play, as this more direct type of play enables placing the ball very short.

All Dream combi blades offer an excellent low throw (flat curve for the ball’s trajectory). They merely differ as to their respective catapult level. Dream and Smart are completely without catapult when used for chops and passive blocks. Smart reacts with catapult only in the FH, not in the BH. And Barath 224 or (reversed) 422 offer completely controlled catapult on both sides.

Explanation note from Re-Impact:

Both sides of the blade have the same speed value. However the blade is regulating speed on both forehand and backhand, for downward strokes, ie passive blocks or backspin strokes, establishing a speedvalue of 3-5. With upward strokes like active blocks, drives, smashes, the blade allows speed 9 on both sides. Control is about 40.

In the 2nd level of play (when you flip the bat over), speeds are getting even higher than in the 1st. Here the blade allows with downward strokes speed up to value 7 on both sides, and speed up to value 12 with upward strokes. Also, the ballcontrol is lower here and feels like about 25 points.

The Barath is a combination blade, because one side is more rigid and one much softer. The differences are very significant and because of this the blade is of interest for players using pips or anti on the backhand.

The standard version of the Barath is called the 224, and the other version is the 422, which is simply the 224 the other way around so that the levels of play (as described above) are swapped. A left-hander can therefore simply buy a right-handed 224 and play it the other way round (forehand and backhand are swapped).

The 224 is great for players using long pimples or any on the backhand. The 422 version is ideal for pips-players who use SP on their backhand.

For the choice of inverted rubber, thin and softer Tensors (or other tensioned rubbers) no greater than 1.8mm have proved to work very effective.

Technical data:

Size - standard (not oversized, approx W=157mm, H=152m)
Weight ~60-65 gr,
Combination blade Speed FH 9 or 3-5, BH 9 or 3-5 (see note above)
Rigidity=65-70%,
Thickness=13.2 mm
spin = over 240%

Note: Weight indication is supplied by Re-Impact, and is a rough indication of the weight for the 'Standard' size blade. The 'Medium' and 'Large' size blades will be a little heavier. Since wood is a natural product, there will always be some variation in weight. If the actual weight is important to you, please contact us and we can advice what weights we have in stock.

You can find some reviews of this blade in OOAK Forum here.

NOTE: Since these blades are part of the Dream/Perfect series, they will have either a Dream or Perfect logo on the handle.

These blades are custom made, one by one, in Germany by one of the most high regarded blade design and manufacturer Re-Impact, and are not mass produced like most other blades in current times.

What's so special about Re-Impact? Are they worth the money?

Re-Impact (aka Rendler) is a specialist blade maker based in Germany. The Geniuses behind the company are brothers Achim and Eugen Rendler (Eugen unfortunately passed away in 2009) who's expertise is well known in Germany, and by other manufacturers. Several other manufacturers use Re-Impact to make their own blade and re-badge them, and these are usually sold at higher prices. Dr Neubauer gets some of their top specialised blades made by Re-Impact, as they know very well these blade cannot be mass produced and require the experience of a top blade maker.

A description of what sets the Re-Impact custom blades apart from other mass produced blades is given below:

"The competition blades by "Re-Impact" have something that other blades will never have;

Maximum control. Re-Impact products are built like musical instruments. You can hear and feel what is transferred at each ball contact harmonically. Because of that, even offensive blades have a excellent combination of Offensive and Defensive abilities and can therefore be used for all basic strokes. Our blades also have
More spin creation potential than the competitors blades. The ability to produce spin by itself is a popular measurement between each of our blades. This is achieved through a complex harmony between the inner layers of the blade and the asymmetric construction, which creates a targeted vibration which is transferred to the upper plies which is then transferred to the rubber which increases spin.
Our blades have a enlarged sweet spot similar to carbon blades with the difference that our blades have no plies of any material and are 100% made from wood. Re-Impact are competition blades which are 100% in compliance with the ITTF technical leaflet T 4. Therefore we only produce blades that are 100% compliant with ITTF rules.
The thicker the blades are, the higher the catapult-effect. Re-Impact products produce speeds like the rubbers would have been fresh glued because the catapult effect of the blades is very strong! The physical properties of the plies used in the construction are not being restricted. The physical vibration between the layers is passed from one to another layer without producing a linear vibration like in other balsa woods. The catapult properties are always controllable. Because of that, the choice of the right rubber at some models is very important in order for the rubber and blade to be in complete harmony to prevent rubber and wood working against each other..
Re-Impact blades produce reduced feedback due to their asymmetric Racket shape. The goal is (also through very light weight of the blades), to take load of f the arm and shoulders. They feel like a feather in active play.
Some of the Re-Impact blades have two different sides of play, and are specifically designed for left or right handers. How is something like that possible? It's actually very simple. The ball always arrives at the blade diagonally. The wood is always less elastic in the direction of the wood grains if the direction of movement is against the direction of the wood grains. At Re-Impact, the thickest layer is cross-glued. The 'body vibration-impulse conductor system' (KSLS - System) is developed in a way that the audible and sensed vibration are always directed against the direction of the wood grain. You visibly can determine the KSLS system through the cuts in the handle area on one side only. If you have a right handed version in front of you, the cuts are on the right side of the handle if the blade is laying on the table. For some of our other blades, the cross direction of the main ply runs diagonally from right top to left bottom and the speed from forehand to backhand is completely identical because both of the KSLS-System which directs the vibration against the wood grains, which increases feel and reduces speed.
Some of our combination blades have little catapult on the backhand and high catapult on the FH. Because the backhand is designed to be slower it has the best ball feeling and is great in taking the pace off the ball.

For those blades that consist predominantly of Balsa wood, it is wise to offer some protection from damage. A thick edge tape or several layers of normal edge tape is highly recommended.

Due to the high catapult behavior of the many of the re-impact blades, often a reduction in sponge thickness is recommended. With a thinner sponge you get better control and feel of the ball on the blade, and the blade already offer more catapult effect compared to regular blades, so a thicker sponge is not required.

Re-Impact blades offer: