JOOLA Hugo Calderano ARY-C

TL/DR: A mid-distance monster: essentially a reinforced, more elastic Harimoto ALC, more stable, less vibration/feedback, with a thicker ayous core engaging the ARY-C earlier while retaining the inner-composite feel. 1. Structure Standard inner-ALC layup: Ayous core / composite / Ayous medial / Limba outer, as with THALC, W968/HL5 and Innerforce ALC. The green ARY-C is JOOLA’s Vectran/Carbon equivalent to Butterfly ALC. Build quality is excellent. Head size matches THALC at 158×152mm, adding dwell, control and inertia away from the table, but reducing close-table manoeuvrability. Both are ~6mm, but HCARYC uses a thicker core and thinner outer/medial veneers, increasing stiffness, stability and top-end speed. 2. Speed Like most inner composites, it has clear gears. Touch play is controllable: less forgiving than THALC, but closer to it than TBALC, Viscaria or outer-composites. BH flicks are clearly better than THALC, easier to wrap the ball and exploit short wrist acceleration. 3rd/5th-ball attacks are faster, with a slightly lower but still safe arc. THALC excels at safe, spinny 3rd balls; HCARYC offers similar confidence while rewarding faster swings with heavier, more piercing shots. At mid-distance and beyond, HCARYC clearly wins, producing deeper, faster loops with less effort. 3. Feel/Control THALC is better for passive blocks, control and feedback. HCARYC excels in active/punch blocks thanks to greater stability. Its vibration damping is closer to TH Super ALC: much quieter than THALC’s woody, tactile feel. Despite reduced feedback, it is not bouncy at low speed and retains the geared inner-composite character. 4. Use Cases HCARYC rewards precise technique and strong acceleration. Beginners/intermediates moving from 5-ply wood should favour THALC for its woody feel and easier control. For technically sound intermediates and above, HCARYC is highly rewarding. It is faster than THALC but generally below TBALC/Viscaria, though its top-end gets close.