Aryl Carbon sits directly under the face veneer on twelve Loki blades, the widest-used fibre in the range and the closest match to what most players mean by ALC.
Why outer placement changes what the fibre does
Where inner fibres like Aramid Carbon sit hidden between wood plies and mainly absorb energy, Aryl Carbon sits right beneath the striking face. That position means it engages on every shot, not just hard ones, so it does more work shaping ball speed and trajectory than an inner layer at the same fibre density. Carbon’s job in the weave is high energy restitution — it snaps back fast, adding pace and a crisp, direct rebound.
Polyarylate fibre is woven alongside the carbon specifically to control that stiffness: on its own, a thin outer carbon layer can feel harsh and unpredictable, throwing the ball off at an unforgiving angle on mishits. Arylate extends dwell time fractionally and dampens the highest-frequency vibration, which is what gives Aryl Carbon blades their characteristic crisp but controllable ‘crack’ on contact, rather than a dead or a glassy one.
Loki blades built with Aryl Carbon
Twelve published SKUs use outer Aryl Carbon — the largest single-fibre group in the range, from a £49.99 entry blade to four-figure-tournament-tier signature builds. Four representative models below; the rest share the same 5W+2 ARC layup.
Loki W81 Wei Shihao ARC
- TypeOFF+
- Layers5W + 2 ARC
- Weight88g
- Speed / Control13.0 / 12.0
Loki Telson Speed
- TypeOFF+
- Layers5W + 2 ARC
- Weight86g
- Speed / Control13.0 / 11.7
Loki Zhao Zihao ARC
- TypeOFF+
- Layers5W + 2 ARC
- Weight85g
- Speed / Control13.3 / 12.4
Loki Liang Jingkun ARC
- TypeOFF+
- Layers5W + 2 ARC
- Weight87g
- Speed / Control13.5 / 11.8
Also built on outer Aryl Carbon: Yuan Licen ARC, the W81 Player ARC Special (Athlete Version), and five further hand-picked Special Version editions of the Wei Shihao, Zhao Zihao, Yuan Licen, Zhouyu and Liang Jingkun blades above.
Common questions
Is Aryl Carbon the same as ALC?
Functionally, yes — Aryl Carbon is Loki’s name for the same polyarylate-plus-carbon weave that other manufacturers market as ALC. The material family and outer placement are the same; exact fibre density and resin ratio vary by brand and are not published by any manufacturer, Loki included.
What playing style does outer Aryl Carbon suit?
Close-to-table offensive looping and driving. Every published ARC blade in the range carries an OFF+ rating, which points to committed attacking players rather than all-round or defensive styles.
Is an Aryl Carbon blade legal for Table Tennis England and ITTF events?
Yes. The 5-wood-ply-plus-2-composite construction keeps natural wood as the large majority of total blade thickness, meeting the ITTF construction rule for legal blades.
Related composite fibre guides
Build a bat around outer Aryl Carbon
Pick one of the ARC blades above and match it with two rubbers in the Racket Configurator, or browse every outer-carbon blade in the range.