I bought a Cho Daeseong TMX blade from Xiom. This is an outer carbon blade with a top ply of Koto and the TMX Carbon (ALC-ZLC-X Carbon combined). My blade weighs 84g. Im really excited to have this blade because as many of you know or not know, Cho Daeseong is my favourite player and I think his blade may be one of the most aesthetically pleasing. I put a DHS H3 Neo Provincial Blue Sponge on FH and Xiom Omega 7 Pro on BH, CDS’s setup.
First Impressions
When doing normal warmup FH to FH with my training buddy, I can tell this is a fast blade. It’s definitely faster than my previous DHS Hurricane King acB. It feels quite similar speed to Viscaria honestly, but the feeling is better for me. I can be relaxed during warmup and the blade will deliver quality to the ball.
Forehand
Loops with my forehand took some time to get used to, as this is a fast blade with a relatively medium-low arc. However, once I got used to it, my forehand loops were fast and deadly. It wasn’t as spinny as say a W968 or a acB, but still very spinny. I felt a little uncomfortable with the forehand in matches, but I will get used to it.
Backhand
I think this blade, like most outer carbon blades, shines the best with BH. Very easy to play with, especially with the O7P, which I love. Fast, spinny, but not out of control. I felt confident to just rip my backhand and my buddy would have trouble getting the ball back.
Short Game and Flicks
I don’t know why, and I’m being completely honest, but I prefer this blade in the short game than Viscaria, using the same rubbers (BH on Vis was D80). It took some time to get used to, and felt a bit bouncy, but once I did, it was decent enough to touch short, but not great like a W968. BH flicks were very good with this blade, as I could easily grip the ball and send it over the net fizzing with speed and spin. FH flicks were just okay, you need to be precise with the racket angle or else you will overshoot the table or into the net.
Counters
Counters are good with this blade, but like the FH flicks, you need to time it well to land it on the table or else you will overshoot or send it into the net. I don’t think outer carbon blades are as good as inner carbons at counter topspin, but they still do the job.
Blocks
Blocking as expected was very easy on both sides. As a fast blade with great feeling and catapult, I can block strong topspin from my buddy with ease and give him quality. Just put the blade there and let it do the work. You will love the feeling.
Conclusion
This is a fantastic blade, with great speed and spin, while not being too overly hard to control. It is similar to Viscaria but with a better hand feeling and better design in my opinion. It feels more crisp on attacking shots than a Viscaria but also has a feeling of softness that the Vis doesn’t have (hard to explain). I will say though, this is a blade for upper intermediates and above, as any player lower level than that will struggle in the short game and just controlling the blade in general. But if you can control it, you have a deadly topspin and blocking machine to play with. I hope this review helps you consider whether or not the CDS TMX Pro will be your next blade, and Xiom have done fantastic to make a very beautiful blade perform brilliantly.
Product information
