Nittaku Acoustic Carbon Inner

Blade quality is excellent. The handle is a little cubic comparing to popular designs, slightly narrow yet a little thick. It is really good if you like it but some may understandably not if one is used to the design of other big brands. Would suggest getting the large handle version if one likes a filling grip. Weight leans on the heavy side plus it is rather head heavy, a point to consider especially for penhold version.

Medium speed overall. OFF-/OFF depending on rubber pairing. It is not a slow blade by itself but it can act as a relatively slower one. First speed is pretty good, second speed is average/slightly below average.

Control is excellent. Inner carbon layer activates in a linear fashion so there is no sudden jump in gears. The gear spectrum is quite wide, starting from very low to medium high+. It feels soft in low force range and has good backbone in high force range. There is always good support but the ball will not shoot out super fast in high gears. Vibration is quite low but feedback is clear and steady. Dwell time is pretty high and trajectory is medium.

During a game, I carelessly sliced very hard on the table edge while saving a short ball but the blade is only mildly damaged. The veneer received a tiny few mm crack (seen only when rubber was removed) and there is a vague mark on the side. I expected way severer damage but the layers surprisingly stayed sturdy. A personal point on durability here.

This is a classic blade! Medium speed with power for enough offensive blade. Very good feeling and a little bit of vibration. The feeling of the blade is not to hard.