Carbon fiber VS T700

Hi there, in this article, we’ll be examining the present condition of raw carbon fiber paddles, delving into the specifics of carbon fiber to help you make better-informed choices regarding which carbon fibers are long-lasting, high-quality materials, and which ones are low-grade carbon that may deteriorate after only a few weeks of use.

Currently, the market is flooded with a plethora of paddles that use raw carbon fiber. In fact, USAPA has approved nearly 100 new paddles within the last two and a half months, with about half of them utilizing raw carbon fiber. To put this in perspective, a new carbon fiber paddle is being released every one and a half days. Along with the inundation of new paddles, there is a barrage of technical jargon being used such as T700, Torre-etched, textured, raw, and bonded. It’s important to understand which of these terms are significant in terms of enhancing your paddle’s performance, and also how they can potentially save you money by preventing the need to replace your paddle frequently due to wear and tear.

Let’s take a moment to delve deeper into the meaning of T700, which is probably the most common label for carbon fiber paddles. There seems to be a widespread belief that T700 is a measure of quality and is synonymous with the carbon fiber manufacturer Toray. Toray is a Japanese company that produces high-quality carbon fiber, which is more expensive. If you want to cut costs, you might opt for cheaper, generic carbon fiber. However, the problem with generic carbon fiber is that it tends to get damaged and breaks down quicker than Toray and other high-end manufacturers. This means that paddles using cheaper carbon fiber will lose their spin quicker due to the paddle surface wearing down, and the paddle surface will become less lively in terms of rebounding the ball off the paddle.

There are many carbon fiber manufacturers producing T700 cloth, including cheap, generic ones. T700 is a grade of carbon fiber that refers to the elemental composition of the carbon fibers, in other words, how much carbon is present compared to other elements like nitrogen, sodium, potassium, and other elements bound up in the carbon filaments. T700 is required to have at least 93% carbon, making it a middle-of-the-road grade for carbon fiber cloth in terms of carbon purity. T grades range from 300 to 1100, and the higher the T rating, the higher the percentage of carbon, which makes the cloth stronger. By stronger, they mean tensile strength, which is a measurement of how much pulling force a material can withstand before tearing apart. While tensile strength is important for a paddle surface, resistance to impact damage is also crucial because the paddle will come into contact with a hard plastic ball thousands of times during its lifespan.

At some point, the T grade of the cloth can become too large to be used as a paddle surface because as tensile strength goes up, so does brittleness. A paddle surface needs to have enough tensile strength to withstand the pulling pressure on the cloth as it absorbs and rebounds the energy of the ball, but it also needs enough flexion or plasticity to absorb repeated impacts without fracturing. Finding the right balance between strength and flexibility is key to maximizing the durability of a paddle surface. When the carbon fiber begins to break down, the paddle’s spin potential decreases, and the deflection of the ball off the paddle is reduced. This loss of performance can be noticeable.

In conclusion, with the influx of new paddles utilizing raw carbon fiber and technical jargon being thrown around, it’s essential to understand which terms are significant for enhancing your paddle’s performance and durability. Finding the right balance between strength and flexibility is key to maximizing the lifespan of a paddle surface. Investing in high-quality carbon fiber from reputable manufacturers may save you money in the long run, as paddles using cheaper carbon fiber tend to deteriorate quicker, leading to a loss of performance.