PiMPLEPARK CASTRO

• second blade of the German brand PiMPLEPARK
• all-wood blade with nine special wood veneers
• well suited for defenders and players with long pimples

• blade weight: approx. 90-97g
• blade length: 15.8cm
• blade widht: 15.6cm
• blade thickness: 5.7mm
• blade construction: nine wood veneers

PiMPLEPARK is probably one of the few table tennis brands worldwide which, already since its foundation, has focused on the development of rubbers and blades adapted to the new plastic ball. Following the Murus, the Castro is the second blade of the German brand.

Castro is a word used in Romance languages and is derived from the Latin word castrum, which means fortress. PiMPLEPARK’s developers had a clear vision in mind when creating this blade: The Castro was supposed to provide a solid fortress for players. Therefore, this is a very controlled, yet relatively fast defensive blade which we would classify as a Def+ or All.

In contrast to the Murus, the Castro does not feature additional materials, such as carbon or arylate. It is an all-wood blade with a quite unusual veneer structure. The blade consists of nine very well-matched wood veneers. The Castro offers very high control and a medium-high bounce. The well-matched veneers lead to very good spin characteristics and superb feel. The blade creates relatively little vibration and is minimally top-heavy.

The Castro has been specially developed to suit the following types of players:

1. Disruptive players close to the table using ox rubbers
   During disruptive play with long pimples (preferably in the ox-version), the Castro enables unpleasant stop blocks and excellent attacking options with the long pimple side. The reversed pimple side, on the other hand, allows for high-rotation counter-attacks thanks to the good spin characteristics and the sufficiently high speed. Aggressive pushing can also be performed with high precision. Needless to say, the Castro can easily be combined with the two rubbers developed by PiMPLEPARK, the Cluster and Wobbler, and, of course, with other long pimple rubbers.
    
2. Modern defenders playing distant from the table with many offensive strokes 
   Its high control yet sufficiently high speed also makes the Castro an interesting alternative for modern defensive players. The blade provides enormous spin when defending distant from the table using classical reversed rubbers, such as Epos, or long pimples, such as Cluster. When playing close to the table, the Castro’s very high control make it particularly effective during blocks, which can be performed with high precision so as to prepare counter-attacks.

The Castro is slightly more defensive than the Murus. Despite not featuring carbon, it works very well with long pimples. The Castro is available with straight and flared handles. Weighing approximately 90g, the Castro is not quite a lightweight. However, this is not problematic, since most players will combine this blade with an ox rubber or a thin light sponge rubber on the backhand side