Reviews by Machine_Head

Here is my review of the Nexy Kanaph. I have been playing with this blade since early December and I have already logged around 60 hours with it.

Design/Cosmetics
The Kanaph is a beautiful blade. Initially I wasn not a fan of the purple and black handle color but seeing it person changed my mind, this blade is very pretty to look at. The bottom lens has a unique design, it adds to a more premium look. The hinoki top ply is very smooth and I do not see any imperfections. The burnt core gives this blade a racing stripe look.
I was told by our local reseller that I should give the straight handle a try. He was right. The straight handle is very comfortable. It is not as chunky as other straight handles that I have tried, in fact it is rather slim. It fits my average hands like a glove.

Feel
I really enjoyed the feel of this blade. The hinoki top ply gives the blade a soft feel while the carbon layer and burnt kiri core give it a crisp, sharp feel. I find the feel a bit odd, but in a good way. It is both soft and crisp at the same time. When hitting with medium low power the hinoki top ply feels sort of like a damp layer of wood, abosorbing the impact of the ball. Compared to the Nexy Oscar where you can feel which part of the blade face the ball is hitting, I can feel the impact on the whole face of the blade. So the Oscar feels sharper while the Kanaph feels duller. Which one is better is purely subjective.
On more powerful shots, you can feel the ball dig deeper into the blade. In fact, you can almost feel the core of the blade communicating with your hand. I really enjoyed this feeling since I always know how much power I am putting out unlike some other composite blades that feel numb. The feeling that I am getting is not really typical vibration associated with all wood blades, rather it is more like haptic feedback telling your hand how hard you are hitting and at what angle.

Control
This is a very linear and controllable blade. There is no sudden catapult, no wierd speed jumps, you get what you put out. This feeling of control encourages you to hit harder and faster. I did not feel like I have to hold back, in fact, I feel like I want to hit harder every time. Looping from mid to far distance is a dream. The length and direction of the blade is easily controllable. Short game was also exceptional. On passive shots, this blade is dead. It is not bouncy at all. It is possible to drop the ball very close to the net when recieving serves.

Speed
Since the Kanaph is linear, it is like you are playing with 4 different blades - an ALL+, OFF-, OFF, and OFF+ blade. With passive shots this blade is dead, the ball does not bounce very far. Once you increase the power output the blade starts to come alive. If there is a chance to really rip it, the blade can be an OFF+ - very fast with a direct trajectory. With my stroke during counterlooping, the blade feels right in the middle of OFF range.

Looping
From what I read, I was expecting Kanaph to be more of a hitting blade than looping. But I was surprised the blade did really well in this department. Spin generation is very easy, control is exceptional, ample dwell time, yet crisp and sharp feel at the same time. One thing to note is the arc. The arc seems to be on the low side. Using the same sheet of Sigma 2 Pro on the Lissom and Vege Pro, the arc during loops seem to be on the low side. I tried an Omega V Europe and the arc seems to be even lower. With my normal looping stroke I was hitting the net a lot. I therefore had to do a more vertical stroke to clear the net. But when I switched to Omege V Asia the arc seems to be high enough to safely clear the net during looping rallies. Aside from the low arc, I consider this my almost perfect looping blade.

Conclusion
This is an exceptionally good blade from Nexy. The playing characteristics and feel of the Kanaph are what I have been looking for in a blade. I currently have the Lissom and Vega Pro but I am contemplating selling them both because the Kanaph has the control of the Lissom and the stability and power (actually even more power) of the Vega Pro. If I really have to say something I do not like about the Kanaph it is the arc. But after playing quite a bit with it for the past weeks I have already adjusted very well. So I guess this is my perfect blade. No more blade ej-ing....for now...

I have been wanting to get a Nexy blade for a long time now but recently a local distributor started bringing them in. Finally! I decided to get the Oscar since I have never owned an ALC blade. I glued a Xiom Sigma 2 Pro for my fh from my Xiom Vega Pro blade and a new DHS H3-50 soft for my bh.

I have been playing it for a week and here are my impressions.

Quality/finish (10/10)
The blade is very high quality.The hinoki surface is smooth. The handle is well sanded. There were no ALC fibers sticking out. Personally, I do not really like the color and design of the handle but this is just my preference. I had to sand the part of the head where my hand rests because it is quite sharp. I do mind this because I like to sand it to my personal taste anyway. The handle is also quite chunky. I have a medium-small hand and the blade can feel a bit chunky for my hand but after playing it for a bit, I have gotten used to it already.

Feel (10/10)
The blade is very well balanced. Even with the 2 rubbers, I don't find the whole setup to be head heavy. The hinoki top ply is thick and soft. With the same sheet of S2P on the Vega Pro, the rubber feels hard, I can barely feel any compression. Also, S2P gives a buzzy, electrocution type of vibration with VP. On the Oscar, the same sheet feels soft, kind of like a degree or two softer. Although the feel is soft, but it give a sharp feeling. It is very odd (but good). I can almost tell where the ball is hitting on the face of the blade. This is very good for control. On weak shots, it feels soft and subdued, but with more powerful shots, the blade feels crisp and direct. I thoroughly enjoy how it feels.

Speed (high end of OFF?)
The Oscar is a fast blade and the S2P makes it even faster. But it is still very possible to do slower more controlled shots. It is possible to push short, it is possible to serve short, it is possible to do a high arcing, slow, spinny loops off a chop, but all the while I can sense that there is a hungry wolf waiting to attack. Once I get past a certain power threshold, the blade turns into a different animal. The speed category goes up a notch. We all know Xiom Axelo is a fast blade and the top end of the Oscar is close behind. The thing that sets them apart is that the trajectory of the Axelo is very flat and the Oscar is arcing. Loop drives are piercing and smashes are direct.

Spin capability (very high)
I am not an TT equipment expert nor an expert in physics, all I am doing is recording my observation. I never bought in to the idea that the blade can have an effect on spin until now. I am comparing the exact same sheet of S2P on VG and Oscar. Serving backspin with the Oscar, I can stop the ball from going off the table more consistently vs VP. My coach, who never had problems with my serve was pushing the ball in to the net a number of times. In doing actual game scenario such as I would serve backspin, he would push long, I loop back, and he block; he would on a number of times block the ball high and long. I can't recall this has every happened before. He even commented that my spin is very strong. I don't understand how different a blade design would affect spin but my theory is that that top ply is soft therefore grabbing the ball for a micro-second longer thus imparting more spin. I really don't know. My theory could be wrong but the results are observable.

Block (very stable and accurate)My previous benchmark for a good blocking blade is Xiom Axelo. With that blade I feel like I am blocking with a wall. But the speed off the block is faster or fastest. With the Oscar, I can get vary the speed a bit more and I can also control the direction better.

Conclusion
This is an excellent blade - very high quality and very good playing characteristics. If I am forced to find fault it would be the color of the handle and the design of the lens - I am just not liking it. This is a blade I would keep and play with until it breaks. If anybody plans to buy the Oscar, I would suggest go with slower rubbers. The S2P can be quite a handful.

Hope my review is helpful.

This rubber needs break a couple of days of playing to break it. After the break in period this rubber is very spinny but the spin is a bit hard to generate. You have to have good brushing technique to generate deadly spin. The Tenzone is a very quick, direct and powerful rubber. When you hit through the sponge as you brush loop you get deadly shot to finish the point. Control is bit challenging though. You cannot do half baked shot or else the ball will go long. A full committed swing is necessary.

All in all, I like this rubber. I think it is better paired with a bit slower and softer blade.