Sanwei Echo Blade

Sanwei ECHO Blade

Weight: 84 grams

Thickness: 5.9mm

Plies: 5 (limba outer plies and thick ayous core)

Speed: All+

It is not very often that a good blade comes along that distinguishes itself from other known all-around blades in the market. Sanwei released 2 of the best all-wood blades in the market this year namely the Sanwei Parla for an off- to off all-wood blade and then the Sanwei Echo which I consider now as top 3 of the best all-around blades presently in the market. I have considered the Banda All-Around (new version Chinese-made) and the All-Around S from Xiom as the 2 other top all-around blades in the market. The Sanwei Echo has a very good quality construction and finish that it does not feel rough for your hand. The wing part near the neck of the blade, in my opinion, still needs some sanding but overall the blade looks like a blade made from either Korea or Japan. This is also the cheapest blade among the top 3 blades coming from the all-around range that I have mentioned. Sanwei puts the price at 25USD so I think it is really a good deal. With rubbers like Sanwei T-88 Ultraspin at around 10-15USD on both sides, you can have a decent beginners or entry-level setup for about 50USD depending on your area.

You can grow in skills with the Sanwei Echo. If you are a beginner or an intermediate level player the Sanwei Echo is a good blade to use and combine with either slow rubbers or for more advanced level very fast Euro/Japanese rubbers. I will discuss the characteristics of the blade one by one and equate it to the level of play and also the type of shots that the Echo can excel in. Being an all-around blade, this blade has very good control that a beginner can develop his/her basic skills. The limba outer plies ensures that the blade has a softer feel on impact when combined with its ayous core.

 The limba outer plies of the Sanwei Echo are perfect for beginner Chinese rubbers such as Sanwei Ultraspin because it creates a balance between a medium hard Chinese rubber and a medium-soft blade. Beginners find it easier if the total hardness feel of both the blade and rubber will not feel to stiff or hard because of under developed strokes so they would need a more responsive blade with good feel but at the same time have good control. For more advanced players that need a medium-soft blade to combine with hard and fast rubbers to balance control, speed and spin, the Sanwei Echo is also suitable with this type of combination. I have tried German-made rubbers with the Sanwei Echo and even with ESN rubbers that are 52.5 to 55 degrees rubbers (About 10 +2, -2 degrees compared to Chinese rubber hardness), I would say that I have a fast set up but with good control because the balance between the softness of the blade and hardness and speed of the rubbers used I still there. I think this is a solution for players looking to try very fast and bouncy rubbers but at the same time do not want the feeling where a player feels that the ball is not being gripped by the rubber enough to produce spin, then using an all+ blade with off+ rubbers will somewhat balance the 3 important factors mentioned.

The Sanwei Echo has a medium-high arc when looping and this is not surprising coming from an all+ blade that feels medium-soft. Looping underspin is very easy for advanced players but more importantly, when a developing player uses the Sanwei Echo, the combination of good feel and softness will enable a beginner to properly brush the ball without worrying about the ball leaving the racket too early upon contact. This also ensures easy learning of the brushing technique when doing topspins. One area that more advanced players will look for is that this blade performs average when smashing high balls. Due to the blade’s innate softness, the only solution is to pair it with harder rubbers probably around 38 degrees and above basing on the scale used by Chinese rubbers or 50 degrees and above is using ESN rubbers.

Overall, this is one of the cheapest all+ blade in the market right now but I am confident to say that this belongs to the Top 3 all+ blade I have ever tried.