Latest reviews

Pros
  • spinny
  • good control
  • cheap
I don't think the manufacturers description is 100% correct in saying it is a non-tacky rubber,because it is tacky.

Server:spin was easily created,due to a tacky topsheet.serves were not very fast.

Serve return:this rubber is not too reactive to incoming spin,and to impart your own spin was easy

Flick:very easy to execute.the slow nature of the rubber actually made it easier to control your shots,especially the flicks

Loop,close to table:Again,the tacky nature produced good loops with a good amount of topspin.it was easy to execute the loops

Loop,away from table:here to,it was good.spin was good.very linear rubber,and was able to stay slightly over the net.it did require a bit more force,but not so much that will tire you fast.

Smashing:not so good in this aspect,as this rubber is not very fast,or bouncy.

In general,I would reccomend this rubber.it is a good performing rubber,that lasts a long time.

It suits my backhand really well.
Speed
7
Spin
8
Durability
9
Control
8
For 896 in Blades
Pros
  • plays very well.
  • cheap
  • can loop all day
Cons
  • nothing!
  • medium speed
Rubbers Used:
1:Haifu Blue Whale 2 pretuned 38deg
2:Kokutaku Blutenkirsche 868 Tokyo

First of all,I was totally amazed by the performance of this blade.it felt perfect in my hand.the handle is comfortable,not too thin and not too thick,just ideal.secondly,this blade is not head heavy,a common occurance in most blades today.

I was able to perform every shot with ease using this blade.Not only that,but the control department cannot have anything less than 10 out of 10.I was winning points left right and centre just by using the control this blade offers,as well as with a bit of help with the rubbers.

Another thing is that although this blade is all roundish,I was able to play away from the table with ease.and to add to that,I had a chinese rubber on the backhand.so to say that this blade is slow is a biit of an exxageration.

Do I need to say anything else?

Finally,,everyone should try this blade.it is cheap and plays very well.maybe I got one of the good ones,but I certainly don't regret trying it out ever.I sometimes even prefer it over my Actium...
Speed
7.5
Control
10
Hardness
6
Durability
10
Pros
  • combination
  • all+
  • All-
Cons
  • expensive
This blade is a unique blade.

the ply build is 6, with 1 side being All+ and the other being ALL-.

it works very well with pipped rubbers,and i enjoyed using short pips especially on this blade.It feels as if it was designed for short pips.

However,do not get worried.Whether you are a Allrounder,to an offender or a defender,this blade will somehow suit you.

as a defender,lp on the bh and a thin sponged short pip on fh will do.
as an all rounder,sp on both sides will do
as an offender, max sponge sp will do.

by twiddling,you will be able to change the pace of the game easily.their is a noticeable difference between the sides.

An incredible feeling is the lightness of this blade.I am actually amazed by all the work of Dr N and how he can make such light but good blades that do not even feel head heavy with rubbers on them.

if you have the money and being an EJ,then why not?give this blade a try,it might suit you!
Speed
6.5
Control
9.5
Hardness
7
Durability
10
Pros
  • Perfect balance
  • durable
  • gud tuning efect
Cons
  • heavy
I acquired this rubber very cheaply,and gave it a try.

Description:Black topsheet with a black sponge.The sponge has a glue layer already attached.

Speed:This rubber comes pre-tuned,and this provides an excellent speed,even though the rubber is tacky.The tuning gives it a very pleasant 'feel',which i was satisfied with.

Spin:Being a tacky rubber,it had excellent spin capabilities.From looping,to chopping,the spin gave trouble to opponents.

Control:A controllable rubber.Not too slow and not too fast,it it perfectly balanced.

I already have this rubber for 3 months on my blade,and the tuning effect has not yet worn of.

For those who like tacky rubbers but also speed,then this is your ideal choice.
Speed
8.5
Spin
9
Durability
10
Control
7.5
Pros
  • controllable
  • cheap
  • long handle
Cons
  • dead feel
I was quite surprised at the amount of control this blade has to offer,even though it has two layers of carbon.

Rubbers used:
Nexy Demian(bh)
Palio CJ8000(Tacky)(FH)

With the cj8000 it felt a bit moderate in speed,and the control was excellent.The tackiness of the sheet allowed me to topspin well,as well as play a controllable short game.

On the flipside,the demian being a bit of a bouncy rubber,had less control,but still a good amount.The demian serves as a good allround rubber.

The blade had a dead feel,like all carbon blades,but that diddnt affect play in any way.

This blade has good potential.even though it is not extremely fast,it will still suit an Allround to offensive palyer
Speed
8
Control
7.5
Hardness
9
Durability
9
Pros
  • can do everything well
  • very good performance2price ratio
Cons
  • non that I can think of
I have tested this rubber on multiple blades,and the results from each blade gives this rubber good impressions.

This rubber does everything well,from chopping,to blocking,to hitting and to looping!

It is supposed to be more of a defensive rubber,but at 1.5mm sponge,consider it a all-off rubber.

Also,this rubber has a good disruptive effect.(Better than the Dr. N Allround Plus).this gives attacking an added advantage.

I definitely assure you that you won't go wrong with this rubber if you are a pimpled player.

Give it a try,it might make you become a short pimple player(it nearly made me;) )
Speed
6.5
Spin
7
Durability
9.5
Control
9
Pros
  • durable
  • strong sponge
Cons
  • doesn't give a good spin reversal
I tested this rubber side by side with the Dr. Neubauer Leopard(sp). This was in 1.00 mm sponge
I tested it over a period of 3 months.

Speed,as you can imagine, wasn't what this rubber is after,but it did provide sufficient enough speed to bring the ball to the table from a distance.

Control...I loved it.very easy to control.

Spin reversal-in this aspect,I think it is lacking.the sp did a better job than this rubber.

Attacking capabilities-there is a chance,as long as your blade angle is wide open.

I am impressed witth the sponge durability.not 1 trace of tearing after swithing it frm blade to blade.

All in all,its a good blocking rubber.maybe not worth the price though.
Speed
3
Spin
5.3
Durability
9.7
Control
8.1
Pros
  • light
  • comfortable
  • not head heavy
Cons
  • very thick
Characteristics:
Weight:59 g
Dimensions:163x162mm(oversize)
Handle:straight
Plies:5
Speed:OFF(according to Dr Neubauer)
Thickness:A whopping 13mm

i used this blade with Dr Neubauer Allround Premium on 1 side and Dr.N Leopard on the other.I first thought that this blade is definitely going to be head heavy,because it only weighed 59g,but i was shocked.it is extremely balanced.

I believe this blade is more ALL than OFF,with a lot of control.The SP paired really well with this blade,and produced a very good disruptive effect.

All in All,this is a good blade for defenders who prefer good control.
Speed
7
Control
9.5
Hardness
6.5
Pros
  • excellent control
  • durable
  • good for technique development
Cons
  • expensive compared to its age
This rubber can do it all.From looping,to hitting to flicking,you can rely on good ol mark v.

It is extremely controllable,very forgiving and durable.1 sheet can last a good six months,with a slight show of wear.

If you are a beginner and would like to learn stroke technique well,this rubber will assist you in it.
It is not very fast,not reactive to incoming spin,and can spin the ball decently well.

The downside to it(the reason I gave it 4 stars)is that the price is a bit high compared to how long this rubber has been in production.

Also,it is not perfectly suited for the new plastic balls.

All in all,this rubber has stood the test of time,and is truly an alltime classic!
Speed
7
Spin
7
Durability
9
Control
9.5
Pros
  • perfectly round
  • durable
  • seamless
Firstly,I have to thank Mr Moon from Nexy for sending me this ball along with my Actium.

This ball was tested side by side with a celluloid ball,and the results I had made me look forward to the poly ball age!

It has a higher bounce than the celluloid ball,and less spin(slightly less,but noticeable).

It is perfectly round.

It has a distinct sound compared to the celluloid too(obviously as the material is different:p)

It took me less than 5 minutes to adjust completely to this ball,and I am really satisfied with it.

I actually even prefer it over the celluloid balls.

EDIT:
I have already played with this ball for more than 3 hours,and there is only a small scratch that indicates damage.So this tells me that this ball is really durable too.

I hope that in the near future,all brands will be as good as these.
Roundness
10
Hardness
7
Speed
6.5
Durability
9
Pros
  • Very cheap
  • Round
Cons
  • not durable
I have been playing with these balls for nearly two years,and my observation is as follows:

Hardness:7/10
Roundness:9/10
Speed:8/10
Durability:5/10
Consistency:8/10
Cost: <$4 for 6

This is the cheapest 3 star ball I have seen in South Africa,going at less than $4 for 6.They are made in China.

The price vs quality is by far the best in South Africa.

On doing the roundness test,6 out of 6 balls were nearly perfectly round.

The only problem is that the balls crack easily if played with often,but then who cares? It is cheaper for me to get Dunlop 3* balls than getting Yasaka training balls.

In my opinion,this ball is well worthed.I do not see myself changing to any other brand soon.
Roundness
9
Hardness
7
Speed
8
Durability
5
Pros
  • beautifully crafted!
  • quality at its best!
  • oversize head
Cons
  • small handle
  • head heavy
Mahomedy13's Tibhar Actium Review

Blade Characteristics:

Weight:91g
Plies:9
Wood Type:Akazie on FH,White Ash on BH
Handle Type:FL
Dimensions:164mm x 157mm
Handle Dimensions:Length-10cm,Width-2.7cm,Thickness-2.3cm
Thickness:6mm
Speed: DEF(according to manufacturer.)



Rubbers to be used:
Forehand:
Nexy Damien,Globe 999 National,Palio CJ8000

Backhand:
Air Scirocco,Darker Vlon-s,Palio CJ8000

Review

Serves:

For serving,I loved to twiddle just to use the unique dual speed characteristic.Using the Air Scirroco,,which has a fairly linear throw,I was able to serve short,not so spinny serves(compared to the other rubbers used).I find that when pairing a tacky chinese rubber(Vlon-s),though the spin is great,the feel is completely dead.The Palio has a hardness of 30 deg,and is a fairly spinny rubber.I found that with this rubber,I had the best ball feel and the most control.Balls were put were they were wanted with the perfect amount of spin and speed required.
Using the fh side for serving,here too,I found that chinese rubbers do not fare that well on fh(I normally use tacky chinese rubbers on fh).The serving with the Nexy Demian was definitely the best on the fh.The rubber has a medium high throw,good spin(its a hybrid-tacky topsheet on japanese sponge).Here too,I was able to serve short spinny balls or fast long balls easily.

Serve Receive:

I used the bh to receive backspin balls,which I would drop just over the net. The characteristic of the white ash allowed me to do some very controlled flicks from the bh,as well as more powerful loops when the ball was longer.I prefered using the bh(using the Palio rubber) due to its very controlled nature,but as soon as the ball was coming long to my fh,I was ready to loop with the Demian,my prefered rubber on this blade!

Short Game:

This was one place where the tacky chinese rubbers played great.Leave out the feeling issue,the rubbers are the best in this department.From backspinning to blocking,the chinese rubbers were the best,no doubt.

Close to the table:

Looping:
If you have the stamina of an Arab horse,then tacky rubbers are just right for you.They become an obstruction in your game play(and I normally use tacky chinese,so it aint that I'm not used to it) as 1)they just make an already head heavy blade more head heavy 2)they drain your strength very fast.You have to really HIT the ball for some good pace,as they are very slow.

The softer rubbers were ideal.they are the best for looping with,especially the Demian.The high throw angle just assisted in making it even easier to land the ball with loads of spin.

Blocking:
This is where the bh side is best suited.using the Palio,placement and control was excellent.

Chopping:
I tried a bit of chopping with lp's,but failed terribly.then I used the inverted,and with the Air scirroco,I had a good chopping game.the low throw assisted me in getting my chops to just go over the net.

Smashing:
Nexy Demian here I come!the rubber was good here.though not very fast,there was good pace in the smashes.
I did experiment by twiddling and using the bh side to smash,and when I did this,I found a new dimension to this blade.the whole blade + the rubbers synchronise perfectly to create '1 solid piece of TT equipment'.I found that there was actually more pace using this side with the sicrrocco

Away from the table:

Looping:
Again,the high throw of the Demian made it my perfect rubber,though the Palio also played well.the increase in effort was not so noticeable,and I once again repeat to myself-this blade is more of an OFF- to All+ blade,and not a DEF.It will make a very good loopers blade,so if you looking for a fine piece of art for looping,then look no further.

Lobbing:
I'm not much of a lobber,but from what I tried,this blade is good enough to lob with.here the Palio took the show in terms of best performance.

My impression(s):

Firstly,I would like to thank Nexy President Mr Moon,Vice President Mr Lee and Nexy Korea for giving me this opportunity to test this fine piece of art. Without them,I would never have been able to experience what I had with this blade.

This blade fascinated me in a way no other blade has for the following reasons:
1)Each ply on this blade is not a single piece.some plies are formed from different pieces joint to create for e.g. the core.Even though this has been used,I have never felt a weakness in the blade in any of my shots.

2)The white ash side was made of 2 pieces of wood. however,when I ran my hand over the joint area,it felt absolutely fine,with no unevenness or splinters. Even when I removed the rubbers,they did not splinter at all.

The blade itself looks beautiful,especially the gem,which serves 2 function:
1)It identifies the fh side,and
2)It serves as a decoration for the blade,which not many companies care about(aesthethical pleasure)

I once again reiterate,if you are a looper/topspinner and is searching for a perfectly controlled blade for looping,then look no further.this blade can do it all,no matter the situation.just no hard sponged tacky rubbers please.
I believe with soft rubbers like T05fx or Rakza 7 soft,this blade will be your dream come true!

Speed
7
Control
10
Hardness
5
Durability
10
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