Latest reviews

CDS TMX Pro - A deadly weapon in the right hands
Pros
  • Great for topspin
  • Great for blocking
  • Fast
  • Spinny
Cons
  • Control
  • Short game
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.
Speed
9.3
Control
7.5
Hardness
6.7
Durability
10
One member found this helpful.
Best Backhand Rubber
Pros
  • High safe arc
  • Decent Speed
  • Amazing Spin
  • Grip
  • Control
  • Relatively spin insensitive
Cons
  • Not as tacky as H3
  • Price
  • Need to get used to its high arc and lower speeds if coming from tensors
I put a Dignics 09C on the back of my FZD ALC to pair with my H3 Neo Blue sponge (exact same setup as Fan himself lol). Backhand rubbers I have been searching for a long time for the perfect for me. D05 was too quick and spin sensitive for my liking, Fastarc P1 felt weird to me, hard to explain, K3 was good but durability sucked, and H3 was too slow for blocking and too low arc. 09C is everything I want in a BH rubber; the high arc might feel extreme to some but I really like it as I play more forward loops on my BH, it feels really safe and lands more often than not with adequate speed. Since I last used H3 Neo on my Bh, this 09C was a good speed for me. The spin generation for my topspin’s and open ups were too much for my buddy to handle. I struggle with the short game a lot, the 09C is excellent in this area with lots of control and not that spin sensitive at all. The only thing I don’t like is the price: $110 CAD i paid for this. But i’ve heard good things about durability so we shall see how much is value for money. Also it is not as tacky as H3 which some may not like, and not as fast and high arc as Tensors I have used like D05, so if you are coming from tensors be aware you will need a transition period. I would recommend this rubber to anyone of any level who is an attacker on either side, especially Bh. For FH I might twiddle to try out but I prefer H3 Blue for my FH as it provides more spin and control for my topspins, but I think many will love this on FH too!
Speed
7.5
Spin
9.2
Durability
8.5
Control
9.3
joshmak10
joshmak10
40 has more power when you hit hard and is also less bouncy in the short game. Also, having 40 is better for boosting with 2 layers because you don’t want the sponge to get too soft and mushy. I use 40 always considering even going to 41, and i try 39 before but felt like it lacked power
Deep74
Deep74
I think I might just order a couple 40s and see. I’m considering ordering another FZD alc also as It don’t need to mess up my current set up plus also I can try D09C on bh and get that thought out of my system. Plus like I did having 2 lgy blades I used one for training and one for matches and comps so the rubbers were less worn on the matches blade lol. Finances isn’t a issue
joshmak10
joshmak10
Yeah then I’d say try the 40 I think you may like it better.
Fan Zhendong ALC, the best Butterfly Blade
Pros
  • Speed
  • Control
  • BH Flicks
  • FH Topspin
  • Serve
Cons
  • Price
  • Short Game
I bought this blade with FL handle in April of 2023 and have played with it with multiple rubber combos, the first being Rozena both sides, second Dignics 80 FH and Dignics 05 BH and third DHS Hurricane 3 Neo BS Provincial FH and Xiom Vega X backhand (next combo will be Tenergy 05 Hard FH and Dignics 80 BH). This is the first professional blade that i have bought so i do not have any comparisons to other blades. The handle felt nice in my hand, very comfortable. When I played with this blade, it feels quite fast and rather hard, but the control is still there so that i can still land most of my powerful shots. I love this blade for the BH flicks on receive, they came skinny and fast, though i had to practice the BH flick for a while to get used to it. My BH topspin was also good and quite easy to execute. For my forehand topspin, my primary weapon, it was very fast yet still controllable which was a joy to use. As a player who loves the third ball attack, i was very happy to see that my serves come spiny and fast whenever i wished which made my opponents miss or hard to hit. Blocking is just good, not extraordinarily good but not bad either, the ball will go to where you place it but it will be easy for the opponent to return the block. In rallies the blade performs well, though i prefer with the blades speed to try and finish the point outright. I will say that it is hard to control in the short game with the FZD ALC due to how hard it is (maybe i’m just bad lol). It’s a very good blade, possibly the best imo but don’t take my word for it since i haven’t played with other butterfly blades. Just wish it wasn’t so damn expensive lol.
Speed
9.3
Control
8.3
Hardness
7.8
Durability
10
joshmak10
joshmak10
Also might do tenergy 19 instead of Dignics 80 for next BH rubber
H
Hiep Trinh
may I ask what's the best combo of rubbers that you like on this blade?
joshmak10
joshmak10
H3N Blue Sponge and 09c
Top