Donic ‘Original No.1’ is one of two blades those had represented Donic blade range before the launching of ‘Anders Lind HexaCarbon’. (One is this model, and the other is the ‘Senso’ version of this model.) When this blade was launched, its name was ‘Ovtcharov No.1’, and ‘Ovtcharov No.1 Senso’ which is the top model within the series was the blade for Dimitrij Ovtcharov. Afterwards, the name of this blade was changed to ‘Original No.1’ in summer 2021, because Dimitrij Ovtcharov contracted with Butterfly in spring 2021. (‘Ovtcharov No.1 Senso’ was also changed to ‘Original No.1 Senso’.) ‘Original No.1’ is an inner-type fiber blade whose artificial material is Acryl Carbon which is similar to Arylate Carbon or Aramid Carbon. (And, the artificial material of its ‘Senso’ version is Premium Acrylic Carbon which seems to be better than ordinary Acrylic Carbon.) Because ‘Original No.1’ provides better weight balance than its Senso version which is somewhat head-heavy, there are many players who prefer this model to its Senso version. Donic is recommending ‘Original No.1’ and ‘Original No.1 Senso’ for intermediate or highly skilled players.

‘Original’ No.1′ can be dealt as the ordinary version of ‘Original No.1 Senso’. Because ‘Senso’ technology which is the signature technology of Donic is not applied, its overall impression is closer to that of DHS blades. In many aspects, ‘Original No.1’ looks close to DHS ‘Hurricane Long 5’. The handle design is inspired by the number ‘1’ which is a part of the name of this blade.

The construction of ‘Original No.1’ looks like the typical construction of inner-type fiber blades with Limba top layer. And, it also looks similar to that of DHS ‘Hurricane Long 5’ but there are differences. The top layer is Limba, the middle layer and the center layer are Ayous. Acrylic Carbon which is a special material woven with acrylic fiber and carbon fiber is inserted between the middle layer and the center layer. Overall thickness is around 5.8mm which is a bit thinner than current version of DHS Hurricane Long 5. Current Acrylic Carbon of this blade is different from the one when this blade was first launched. When ‘Original No.1’ was launched, Acrylic fiber was arranged only in vertical direction and Carbon fiber was arranged only in horizontal direction. However, in current version both of Acrylic fiber and Carbon fiber are arranged in both of vertical direction and horizontal direction. We can see the same kind of change on DHS ‘Hurricane Long 5’. It can be assumed that the change in the weaving structure occurred around the same time.

The size of head is around 158mm x 150mm which is a bit longer than the common head size of most of recent offensive blades.

The width of FL (flared) handle is around 26mm (at head side) ~ 27 mm (at bulge) ~ 26mm (at narrowest point) ~ 34.5mm (at the end). And, the thickness of FL handle is around 21.5mm (at thumb) ~ 25mm (at the end). The size of ST hasn’t been measured yet. The shape and size of FL handle are close to those of the FL handle of DHS ‘Hurricane Long 5’.

On the foreside of head, the logo depicting ‘1’ is printed along with the product name. Below that the name of artificial material, the construction and the recommended playing styles (= OFF-/OFF) are indicated. The name of artificial material is written as just ‘carbon’ instead of correct name ‘acryl carbon’. Donic doesn’t use the signs such as OFF- or OFF for expressing speed level but for indicating the recommended playing style. ‘OFF-‘ means continuous offensive style which lays emphasis on the safety, and ‘OFF’ means ordinary offensive play which is more aggressive than OFF-. If the blade fits for very aggressive playing style, it is indicated as ‘OFF+’.

At the foreside of handle, transparent plastic lens of ordinary shape is applied. Donic logo and the product name are printed in the lens. The shape of lens is different from what has been applied for most of Donic blades since late 1990’s. The short and wide lens which can be seen at DHS or Stiga blades.

Instead of squared aluminum plate with Donic logo is not applied at the end of handle. Instead, Donic logo is engraved directly at the end of blade. That is because aluminum plate can’t be applied for its ‘Senso’ version.

Nothing is printed on the backside of head.

On the backside of handle, ‘D.O.’ logo which is motivated from the initials of Dimitrij Ovtcharov is applied in inlaid form. Even though the name of blade was replaced from ‘Ovtcharov No.1’ to ‘Original No.1’, this inlaid logo has not been modified. This inlay method is the unique technology of DHS which is also applied to many models in DHS ‘Hurricane’ series.

For long time Donic blade range had been represented by many blades of ‘Persson’ series and ‘Waldner’ series. But now Donic is signing new top players and releasing new signature blades those will newly represent Donic, such as ‘Anders Lind HexaCarbon’ (left) for Danish Anders Lind and ‘Skachkov Carbon’ (right) for another European top player Kirill Skachkov. Both of those two are signature blades for top players but provided in reasonable prices. Although the player’s name is now missing, ‘Original No.1’ (middle) was originally name after German player Dimitrij Ovtcharov.

Each of the three blades has its own unique personality because the three blades were designed according to the characteristics of the players who use them.

The strong contrast between the black handle and the yellow part that is inspired by the number ‘1’ is impressive.

The overall impression of the appearance of ‘Original No.1’ is quite difference from those of the other Donic blades. It is close to those of DHS blades.

Donic is a top European maker which has provided rubber and blades to many top players for long time, winning many big titles including 17 WTTC titles. The box of ‘Original No.1’ displays the slogan ‘DONIC CREATE SUCCESS’ along with the number of big titles won by players who have used Donic products.

Donic ‘Original No.1’ looks like a blade which is based on DHS ‘Hurricane Long 5’, but it provides a bit different characteristics from ‘Hurricane Long 5’. Like the base model, ‘Original No.1’ also transfers very sharp feeling to the fingertip and fits for continuous but aggressive topspin. Although top players prefer its Senso version whose weight center is placed toward head side, it is expected that ‘Original No.1’ will be better than its Senso version for ordinary players because it is less head heavy. But, like its Senso version ‘Original No.1’ is also the blade for skilled players who have sufficient strength of muscle and who can hit the ball precisely and strongly. Entry players may feel that it is somewhat heavy and not powerful although it provides good control. If the player plays with topspin and prefer inner-type to outer-type, ‘Original No.1’ would be one of the highly recommended blades.

Following are the performance indices of Donic Original No.1 (avg.weight = 88.7g) :

– Ep = 1.75

– Ec = 1.44 (Ec/Ep = 0.82)

– Vp = 1.14

– Vl = 1.31 (Vl/Vp = 1.15)

Please note that above are average values and can be updated by further measurement.

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this website’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to TTGearLab with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.