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This rubber is a beautiful alternative to Fastarc G-1 for those who prefer rubbers of medium softness.
It provides a lot of safety for looping backspin balls and has a great balance of speed, spin, and control.
Another bonus: It weighs less that G-1, as expected. Perhaps I am imagining this, but the top sheet seems just a little softer than that of G-1.
A great, well-balanced rubber.

Just to be clear: This review is for the D40+ balls (Ding Ning's picture on the box).

These are very good balls. In my mind, the Nittaku 3-star Premium 40+ is the standard of 40+ balls. This DHS ball is a good alternative, and the ball plays consistently and has good speed. I can tell the difference between these and the Nittaku ones right away, as the Nittaku balls sounds should higher pitched when bouncing/hitting. This gives the impression that the Nittaku ball is harder than these DHS balls.

I have played with it for a few weeks and like it more now than when first trying it. The first two balls out of the box didn't feel right, somehow. Now that I am used to how a non-damaged ball plays, this is a really good ball, and though a little different in feel from the Nittaku Premium 40+ it is still excellent. Very spinny, not overly bouncy, pretty consistent, though consistency could still be improved. I am changing this review back to 4-star, as I find that too many of the new balls have issues straight out of the box. Some sound broken. When the balls are first-quality, they play wonderfully; but, too many in the box should have been caught at the QA stage.

Due to the good initial reports about the Azalea blades (Allround and Offensive) from yogi_bear and others, I decided to purchase the Offensive version and put a pair of modern offensive rubbers on it. Currently I am using GEWO Nexxus EL Pro 43 and 38 on this blade. I concede that my perception of this blade versus others is influenced by the performance of these rubbers, but the blade makes its character known at any rate.

For an introduction to the Azalea series, please consult yogi_bear's fine review of the Azalea Allround.

Let's get the appearance question out of the way right up front: This blade has some lavendar/pink detailing. It does not really look like a "women's blade" however, and if you skip this blade because of how the handle looks, I can only say that you are really missing out. The key question you should ask is, "Do I want a lightweight blade with good power and control?" If yes, then do not hesitate to try this blade.

The Azalea Offensive has replaced the Ayous second/fourth layers with Spruce, and this is very effective in giving real power to your shot once you try to put some pace on the ball. During pushes and light chops, you feel the Limba top layer, but with topspin counters and blocks you feel the Spruce engage the ball. The effect is well managed and fairly linear in feel.

There is some vibration when hitting toward the end of the blade, as expected, but the vibration is well managed. The control is not simply due to the softer Limba top layer but also to the light weight of the blade, which makes quick adjust of position and angle so easy, and makes the blade not too bouncy. The power is sufficient for mid distance, but this is not a pure power hitting blade. The sound of the blade during aggressive hitting is pretty high pitched, but not so metalic as with a carbon blade. I have a feeling that the Azalea Offensive lies between the Azalea Allround and the Infinity VPS V, sharing the light weight of the Allround but having some of the harder feel of the Infinity during aggressive play.

I am very happy with this blade and rubber setup. If you like the feel of a lightweight blade but need some power in your shots, you owe it to yourself to try this beautifully designed and constructed blade. Highly recommended!

-- Tim