Latest reviews

The SPW is a great racket and has a cool design on the handle but turns brown pretty quick if you sweat at all. The speed is great and when I hit with it correctly the ball hits the table. I use right now rising dragon 2.0 on both sides and it works great for the bh but not so much for the FH. (All suggestions welcomed). The only negative I have is the wings at the handle. They are pretty deep and it can get to rubbing your middle finger if you hold the grip to tight. I sanded mine bc it was rubbing a blister. The head is a little heavy at first but you get use to it fairly quick.

Blade = 89g
Rising Dragon FH & BH - do not recommend for FH
total weight 201g

This was my second blade after the YEO 7 Power with the same rubbers. I use reverse penhold backhand (RPB) and my playing level is currently around 1700 US rating. This is a very underrated blade. Similar to the Yasaka Sweden Extra, but with a noticeably bigger sweet spot (due to the harder outer surface).
In comparison to the YEO 7 Power:
-More dwell time. I could immediately feel that it was easier to lift underspin balls with this blade, especially on the backhand. My coach even commented that my loops were more spinny after I switched to this blade.
-More control: Blocking is much easier due to the slower speed. Looping half-long underspin balls out of position is also much easier to keep on the table, since the blade is slower and has more dwell. I probably earned 30% more points as before because I had a lot fewer unforced errors due to this blade.
-Not lacking in power. From mid and far distance, this blade does not lack power as long as your technique is good (using hips and forearm snap). Having faster rubbers that have higher throw angle will also help (I use boosted hurricane 3). I can backhand loop (RPB) far from the table as well if I add wrist and a little body.
-Sweet spot is around the size of a baseball. It’s slightly less than YEO 7 Power, but let's be honest: YEO 7 Power has a HUGE sweet spot that can rival that of the Butterfly ZJK super ZLC. So the sweet spot on this is a good size for an all wood blade, but you can definitely tell when your contact is clean or not – helped me realize when I should slow down a bit on the loop to control the contact point.
-Feeling is very noticeable – When you hit the sweet spot, it’s about the same amount of vibration as the YEO 7 Power. But the feeling itself isn’t really crisp in quality like the YEO 7 Power. It’s more like a low-frequency tuning fork (that doesn’t vibrate as long).
Notes:
-You might have to add a coat of lacquer to the edge of the blade since the soft center layer of wood might stick to your edge tape and peel off in little bits. Also, if you accidentally hit the table when “pushing” no-spin short serves, the edges of the red outer layer might break off just a little bit (a millimeter or two). But it’s very minor and I haven’t had issues with delamination in the couple months I’ve had this blade. (And for this price, replacing it 9 times in a row would still be less expensive than a high-end butterfly blade)
-The value is PHENOMENAL. I got it on sale for $29 from TT11. This is an unbeatable price. Will buy again for sure.

Essentially, this blade (made by DHS for Donic) is the Hurricane Long V but without that slender handle. And at a much better price point. Great for those who like Long V style blades.

This rubber was likely the best of the generation of ESN tenors that came out almost a decade ago (Baracuda, Hexer, Genius, Xplode, Energy Xtra, Vega Pro) and one of the very last to be released. Nittaku rubbers tend to be sold at a price premium in most parts of the world so this rubber has been far less popular than it should have been. This had changed in recent times at it is now available at discounted volume deals at many European retailers. This and the improved performance of ESN rubbers in general with the plastic ball is encouraging people to revisit the generation.

Fastarc G1 is like Tenergy 05 with less catapult - it is better than Baracuda in this regard as Baracuda was painfully slow and harder to block with. Fastarc fixes some of those issues.

It works well on all kinds of blades and rubbers and I use it on hard piles like wenge/Lati and Koto. It generates good spin and will reward many players. This is now my favorite rubber and will spend a long time on my paddle. I feel confident enough in the grio and the spin that I suspect it will be a long while before I use something else. It is like Omega V Asia but easier to play with and faster, which would have helped me had I known about this a year or two ago. It also has some of the spin qualities of rubbers like Hexer and Genius. It doesn't have the catapult of Vega Pro that I didn't like.

If you like any of those rubbers, give this rubber a try. You may or may not prefer it, but its quality is worth testing it as you may be pleasantly surprised. The fact that it is now cheaper in Europe is a plus as well.

To me this is top spot rubber! I decided to use it for my forehand and it was best decision!
I use the 2.1 mm sponge and my attacks are precize and fast!
Serves are full of spin, even pimple out players have huge trouble bringing my serves back. When I use my chop serve, most of the players put it into the net first few times. The touch play is also excellent, the ball makes what I want it to do.
I had problems when I tryed the maxx version, that was not good - but I am too much used for the 2.1, max is just too fast for me.
The rubber stayed in its qualities for 4 months (which is half of season here) and then I decided to change to a new one.
I am very happy with this one!

Xiom AXZi Ice Cream Blade
Weight: 91 grams
Thickness: 5.7mm
Plies: 7 (limba – limba – ALC – Kiri – ZLC – Limba – Limba)
Speed: OFF+
Stiffness: Medium Stiff


The Ice Cream Blade that I was really waiting for has arrived!! Good thing Xiom sent me the blade as soon as they have it stock. This is the one that I really liked because of the inner composite construction of the blade. I am also a limba kind of player because I love using DHS Hurricane 3 in my forehand. The AZX is a good blade but it was too fast for my style of play and it is more of an advanced or high level player. The AZXi, although even if it is a fast blade, it is suited for players who have developed some skills but not necessarily competitive type of player levels. The quality is as good as the AZX but when compared to older blades, the Ice cream blade series seem to be a notch higher in terms of quality, construction and finish. I would like to commend Xiom once again for taking into consideration in which I suggested to them that they need to change the shape of the neck and handle of the new blades as what other people who have also told me about the handles of the Feel Series. I used the Xiom Omega VII Pro as my backhand rubber and the Hurricane 3 as my fh rubber. I also switched the rubbers for the 2 sides just to test them also. I placed the Hurricane 3 first in the ALC side since I am the type of person who likes the ALC because it is not too fast nor too hard compared to pure carbon layers or ZLC layers. I also boosted the Hurricane 3.

I tested the ball on the bare blade and bounced it a few times to try and check the sound of the blade. I immediately saw that it has a lower bounce compared to the AZX. It also has a lower pitch compared to the AZX. Immediately you can tell the gap of speed even with the ZL layer. When I first used the bat for table drills for about 30 minutes, I immediately love the ALC layer using the Hurricane 3 because this is the feel I am always looking for in a blade. The ball feedback to hand is just right and no bad vibrations whatsoever. The speed is very good and above expected speed level. I thought this was slow at first but it is speedy enough. I would compare the speed as in the level of Viscaria or the Stardivarius if not faster. This is on the ALC side. The ZL side is more or less on the sped of the Innerforce ZLC.

The thing that sets it apart from the Innerforce ZLC/ALC is that for me the AZXi has a better feel. I could feel that it has more flex despite having 1 ZLC layer. This is one of the feel good blades in market right now. It feels right on everything and it’s like it is so nice to hit with. I find it easier to loop at first and it did not take a lot of effort to adjust especially the ALC side. The AZX has control but not as much as the AZXi. On the ALC side the arc with the Hurricane 3 was medium. It was not as high ast he AZX that I have observed. Even using the Omega VII Pro, the arc of the ball when I was spinning it it was medium to medium low but with a longer trajectory. The trajectory of the AZXi was not as long compared to the AZX and I think this was the main factor why the amount of control that I have for the AZXi is much better compared to the AZX. The AZXi loops really that good especially the arylate carbon part because it is very forgiving on your strong shots. The ZL fiber side has also good control but it is more direct and hard hitting. Several players in the club like both ZLC and ALC side of the blade. I prefer the ALC side myself but a lot of them love both sides especially when they used the Omega VII Pro as a forehand rubber. There was a high level player who tried the Hurricane 3 on the alc side and he really like it that he was hitting counters with the blade the minute he was using it in drills. At least with the AZXi, the Omega VII was also very forgiving and when you are loop driving very low balls, you could still have rooms for mistakes and the ball still hit the target. On the backhand, it is already given that the ALC is very controllable, the ZLC on the other hand need some fine tuning for players like me because it feels harder and offer more rebound power even just on blocks. Some people would prefer the ZL on their forehand for more power and just use the ALC for their backhand for more control. People like me prefer the ALC because we wanted to have more control and Hurricane 3 is much better with ALC in my opinion.

All in all a very good and balanced blade which personally for me rates high in control and speed but at the same have a very good feel. Had this been an ALC blade on both sides, I think I would be the happiest guy in the world right now. For other people they cannot just say anything bad against the blade because they really like it. I think people also are saying that the prices of both blades are kinda high but these two blades are still lower than several ridiculously high-priced blades. I am sure these 2 blades can outperform those blades.

Weight: 87 grams
Thickness: 5.8mm
Speed: OFF+
Plies: Koto - ALC - ??? - Kiri - ??? - ZLC - Koto
Stiffness: Stiff

I admit I am one of those people that is very much curious why in the world did Xiom name this and the AZXi as Ice Cream blades. I specifically ask Xiom about this and I was a bit laughing on their honest answer. The reason why they call these blades as ice cream blades is that it is like ice cream wherein remote places or villages do not have them. The AZX and AZXi are not the first composite blades in the market but Xiom claims that they are the first successful composite hybrid blades. According them, other existing blades of similar construction seem to be not balanced. One thing I am thankful about Xiom is that they listen to their consumers. People who have used the Feel series blades are saying that they like the older design for the neck and wing part of the blade more than the new design. Guess what, I told Xiom about this and they have shown that they have listened to the request. With the AZX, the neck and wing part was reduced and not as wide as the Feel series blades. It is actually closer to the older blades like that of the Stradivarius. I measured the flared handle at this base where it is the widest and the cross sectional size is 25mm x 33.5mm using an electronic caliper. Just as an added info on the blade, the orange side is the ALC side with a letter "A" mark on it while the ZLC side is the one with the purple sie with a letter "Z".

This is a very fast blade. People might think the ALC side is the slower compared to pure carbon blades but it is not. I saw their pdf files about the blade and they describe it as the ALC being the faster side while the ZLC is the slower side. I immediately asked them why they rated it that way and I got an answer where they said they made the ALC layer thicker to balance the blade. I used several rubbers in the test - DHS Hurricane 3, Omega V Europe and Omega VII Pro . I tested this for 3 days and I was careful to use the same rubber on each side with the exception of the Hurricane 3 just to test the characteristic of each side. Speedwise the ALC side is very bouncy. it is almost as bouncy as the ZLC side. I can surely say that the Viscaria is much slower than the ALC version of the AZX. At first, I tested the Hurricane 3 first because it is my preferred rubber in the forehand. I was surprised that it was really bouncy. If I compare it to the Timo Boll Spirit, the AZX is faster though the stiffness is less comapred to the TBS blade. The ZLC side is more or less identical to the ZJK ZLC blade. I cannot fully say which of the 2 is faster. Anyway, I have observed the ALC side during drills and matchplay that the throw when looping the ball is is a bit high. Honestly I had to do some adjustments with the throw and the long trajectory of the ALC side. The AZX is a very fast blade. I had to step back middle distance from the table because even with a Hurricane 3, some of my loops are going off the table. It took me a few rounds to adjust the the H3 and the AZX combo. The ZLC side on the other hand is the opposite of what I was expecting. I thought this was the faster side but it was very controllable despite the great amount of speed. The ZLC side has a bit lower throw compared to the ALC. I would say the throw is about low to medium arc in the table with long trajectory. If comparing the 2 sides it would be approximately like this - ALC high throw, long trajectory, ZLC low throw, long trajectory. Both sides are almost as fast but differ in the throw. Both sides are powerful even far from the table and not just at the middle distance from the table. When I used the H3 on the ZLC side I think it was more controllable for me because of the lower throw. I also adjusted easily with the ZLC side. DO not get me wrong, I like the feel of the ALC better than the ZLC and this is a personal preference but because ALC is much thicker in this case, I preferred the ZLC side.

I changed the rubber to Omega V Europe which is a medium soft rubber and also the Omega VII Pro which is a thick sponge, thin topsheet rubber. I could see the purpose of this blade the moment I used German rubbers on it. It is an all out attacking blade whether you are into ALC or ZLC, it does not matter. Both sides of the hybrid blade will give you more than enough power for your offensive shots far and middle distance from the table. It is just a question whether you would want a high arc or low arc long trajectory. The Omega VII Pro actually works well with both sides with the ZLC side more controllable. When you are hitting through the sponge using the Omega VII Pro, you would love the feeling of hitting the ball all the way deep into the sponge. The O7P gives you a good amount of control when using it in the Ice Cream blade when used on each side. I would not call this a looping blade because despite producing heavy amount of spin, it favors more of a direct hitting and counter looping strokes. Control is more of a personal issue wherein it needs to be used by a player who practices a lot and this should be used and highly recommended for advanced level type of players. It is a fast blade that rewards you with powerful shots that enables you to finish the point quickly any distance from the table. For blocking, it favors more of the active or punch blocks than passive blocks.

The blade concept is quite new to me and I was a bit confused with the ball felling at first because even if one side is different from the other, it produces some sort of a hybrid feel by both composite layers. You would need a bit of time to have the feel sink into your senses and then that is the time you can truly appreciate the blade. Is it a good blade? Yes not just good, it is awesome. Imagine that you can have the performance of ZJK ALC/Viscaria on one side and ZJK ZLC on the other side. All you need to do is just decide which side will be your forehand or backhand.

The master class of the Nexxus series.

The GEWO Nexxus XT Pro 48 will amaze you: whether fast, powerful opening topspins or slower, spin-focused rallies: no problem with this high-end development. You will virtually feel how the ball "digs into" the rubber. Finally, you will be able to attack your opponent with a heavy- spin opener. Precise topspins, versatile attacking, variant-rich serves/returns - this spin-focused power rubber leaves nothing to be desired. The grippy and flexible top rubber sheet provides for maXXimum coupling of the ball in all attacking actions.

This XT version is a little faster than the EL version, most suitable for the backhand.

The Nittaku Acoustic was one of my first blades, so I didn't have much experience and didn't know what to expect. I hesitated a bit to buy it because of its price tag, wondering if it was going to be worth it. I bought a blade with flared handle.
It has beautiful colors and design (with an acoustic guitar silhouette print on it)
It was really easy to adapt to it, which was quite unexpected (but nice) since I had changed from a beginner set up.
Many players complain about the small handle (as I've seen on other reviews on other websites), but I thought that it was really comfortable and helped me produce spin.
I'm really satisfied with this wooden blade as it helped me to up my game. I wasn't even close to my table tennis club partners, but now I can play against most of them and win!
I used it with Mantra H on both sides, which gave me a lot of speed! The blade was especially good to block. Maybe because of the vibrations and feeling this blade provided! It was also great for my short game and for my looping game.
Overall, it was a great offensive but really controllable blade. In my opinion, worth the money.

It's great rubber on its own but I found it disappointing in several aspects especially when you compare it to previous version of Target(Ultim/Force).
I'll try comment on its performance while comparing some aspects to Target Ultim 47.5/50

Weight:
Although not as heavy as some Chinese rubbers and Tibhar Evolution series, it's still pretty heavy (u can check Dan's review) which is quite a letdown especially when u compare to Target Ultim which was (almost) 10g lighter per uncut sheet ... even lighter than Target Pro S39.

Loop:
Very high dwell time thanks to very flexible topsheet, even more than Ultim which I already found to be pretty elastic already. This makes hard loops very controllable while really powerful when u need it (easier than Ultim as well). Under stronger impacts (drive-loop) Spin is also one of highest among Euro rubbers alongside Victas V>15, Omega VII and you don't need aggressive Chinese strokes to extract the most out of it.
Softer loops however, especially lifting backspin , could be an issue sometimes. The topsheet is very grippy only when it deforms up to certain extents, meaning on slow loops the rubber doesn't deform enough to offer sufficient grip for highest-level of spin, it's still stronger than most cheapish/last-gen rubbers, but definitely much less impressive than drive-looping with it.
Target Ultim in contrast, has excellent surface grip which allow incredibly spinny slow loops. Spin is about just as high as Target pro in drive loops but you would need more accurate shots than Target Pro to keep the ball in play as well as getting the spin you want.

Block/Punch:
Not best / direct rubber for this due to elastic topsheet, but still top-class control with lots of speed on tap when needed. Not too spin-sensitive. I would say it's friendly than quite some top-class rubbers such as V>15(also pretty good in blocking), MX-P and Tenergy (except T25) in this aspect.
I do find myself blocking/hitting even better with Target Ultim though due to stiffer topsheet.

Serve+Short games(chop, flicks):
This is the most disappointing part for me as short games is my biggest strength as well as my favorite "shots", and Target Pro felt like a significant downgrade from Target Ultim.
As mentioned earlier the topsheet lacks a bit of grip until the ball dwell into the deeper "layers" of it, meaning that to get the most spin out of the serves, you would need to do high-toss serves just like Hugo Calderano would do. If the opponent was returning the ball short with low/no spin and u want disturb the game flow by adding strong backspin to the ball it would also be a pretty difficult task. In Dan's video you might've seen Can Akkuzu chopping the ball with plenty of backspin in short games but that's because Dan gave him strong backspin in advance which makes deforming the topsheet for the receiver quite a bit easier to do. Flicks are easy with plenty of safety margin because of soft topsheet, but again it's a bit hard to generate strong spin unless your stroke really lets the ball "drill" through layers.
Target Ultim on other hand, can easily generate very strong spin in short games thanks to very grippy top layer. Medium-toss serves are more than enough to generate incredible spin and with some practise it's feasible to generate REALLY short ghost serves. It's also very easy to keep the ball short and flicks are more direct on harder impacts (again thanks to stiffer topsheet).

Conclusion: If u must buy Target Pro as Ultim/Force is discontinued, I suggest picking the hardest 51deg sponge version to get the best "surface spin". Also to extract the most out of Target Pro, you would probably need a blade which is pretty slow in lower gears as well as having a REALLY stiff top ply in order to allow the ball to have the best dwelling time on the topsheet, but even then the Target Pro does not really offer more spin than the previous Target Ultim/ Target Force. Pro is more friendly / easier, and maybe a bit spinnier in topspin rallies under very strong strokes (thanks to high dwell time) but that's about it, and even that seems a bit pointless in my case due to the massive weight addition to my racket setup which actually upsets my racket balance as well as reducing my stroke speed(as well as spin) and my forearm's agility when it comes to counteracting unexpected shots(I don't have the pro's stamina after all ). My range of toss height variations for my serves, which I often used to throw off my opponents, was also being reduced, as well doing some crazy moves during short games which was possible with Ultim but not with the Pro.

Target Pro is still a pretty good rubber that can compete with many top-class rubbers out there, but having moved back to my Target Ultim right after the Pro, I still see no reason why Cornilleau had to make all these changes to the topsheet.

Mine's at 86 grams.

One of my favorite blades.
It's build is very smart. The koto outer ply is hard and crispy, sort of 'insulating' the rest of the blade from ball impact and vibration, so weak shots are short (serves are especially easy to keep short and spinny, as well as short returns).

It synergises extremely well with soft and medium-hard rubbers too (for example, T05 which is most commonly used with it), making those ultra spinny on serves especially, because it's relative stiffness/hardness helps you maximize the effect of those rubbers.

The grip on the Viscaria is the most comfortable of any blade I've held except the LSW. Pretty much the same. The handle fills the hand perfectly and allows for a solid grip without any effort, and the way the wings are made allow you to hold it further up if you want without the blade digging into your hand.
A solid comfortable grip also allows for easier topspins.

The blade is relatively hard and stiff. Much more so than most wood blades and limba/ayous type blades. It's solidity helps you maximize the effect of the rubbers, providing a more stable counter-force to the ball so it can sink deeper into the sponge, which is why people are impressed with it's spin capabilities (this is the main factor here. Not flex or softness, since it doesn't have much of either compared to most blades).


All in all, one of the best blades in the world and the one most commonly used (by a huge margin) by professionals as well.

My NBF is a great looking blade but a little on the heavy side at 95g, frequency at 1378Hz. So I slapped on a 2.0 T05FX on one side and a 1.9 Rozena on the other. Total weight 182g, 20g heavier than my Darker Speed 90(blade freq of 2131Hz) but still manageable. I do feel the effect after a half hour of play time. The ball contact sound is not as crispy and firecracker as the DS90 but still good. This blade handles the T05FX and Rozena better than the DS90 did, it hits/loops/blocks more powerful than the DS90 but somewhat slower due to it's heavier weight and lower blade frequency. Very nice short game, good control, great power FH loop/hit from mid-range. BH loop/hit is good and powerful at first but harder for me as time goes by because of it's weight. It does play more like an all wood than a composite blade. I do feel some flex, less than that of the DS90. My next test is to put on a couple of thinner rubbers and see what the weight is and how it react to thinner rubbers.

An absolutely excellent backhand rubber (and forehand if you like a light setup and soft feel with tons of spin). The best I know.

It's an old rubber so it has the old style thicker topsheet. But in this case it's one incredible topsheet. It's bulletproof in terms of durability, the longest lasting rubber other than the xiom vegas of the same generation and chinese sticky rubbers, and also incredibly grippy, biting into the ball and spinning the shit out of it. You can very easily feel how it bites into the ball with every shot which is an excellent feeling, also giving you a ton of control over placement.

It's a very light rubber as well, weighing about 40 grams cut

Hi
I didn't own the rubber myself as this is really quick and I don't play at that level of standard to tame the beast down .
I got a chance to try it on one of friend's set up .
Blade : Butterfly Jun Mizutani
FH : T05 Hard
BH : T05 Hard

My the set up which i use is considerably slower Nittaku Ascoustic (FH : R47 BH : 42). So below is review from that point of comparision

Forehand counter : The set up was really fast so ball just sprung away too quickly. I didn't get time to feel the ball so ended up hitting longer.
After few adjustment i was able to get it right and felt my counters were very powerful but then i was hitting from one spot so most of the time i was in correct position. I doubt in match situation i can manage that with consistently.

Forehand loops : Again the loops were very spiny with low throw angle so many times i end up kissing the net (not bad in matches ). I realize the importance of proper weight transfer when playing with this rubber as when i went slight off position my shots where all over the places.

Push/Chop : I am not much of chopper so can't comment on this aspect much. Pushes with rubber was bit tricky as i ended up over compensating it. The best part was the push went deep on the table making it difficult to loop.

Block/Punches : This is the area which it suited me the best as that is my forte. The blocks were very effective as ball traveled fast giving little time for opponent to react but again it required higher skills to block really spiny balls. Punch blocks were really fun not sure if the hard sponge helped it but i was able to punch with lot of power even above average spiny balls.

Control : It is very subjective as it varies from player to player but for my level i was always going to struggle.

So my take is this rubber is really good only if you have sufficient technique and really quick moment to get in correct positions.

I will stick to my set up and keep improving my technique before going all out

Been playing this blade with goldarc-8 (50 deg Max sponge FH, 50 deg med sponge BH) and it has turned out to be a lovely combination.
As others have also reported, the blade has lots of gears which enables one to play a large variety of strokes comfortably, be it close to table or mid distance.
the control is superb !! I am able to play backhand over the table flicks/topspins very comfortably without overshooting. The blocking is one of the best i have experienced, due to the outer koto layer. I can even punch block slightly high balls perfectly. The slower gears also help in drop shots (2 bounce) , which are very helpful against defenders. Forehand/backhand topspins/counter-topspins from close/med distance are very controlled.
Throw angle is slightly medium, and dwell is also medium. So make sure your rubbers are grippy enough to lift the ball.
The small issue i think with the handle design is that the flare is not so much, when compared to butterfly viscaria or stiga blades, but that could be a personal issue, based on my hand anatomy etc.

You may try the goldarc-8 (47.5 deg max sponge) for BH. Should also be a good combination.
Cheers !!

I picked up the blade for an amazing 26€ which was a real steal. The finish is excellent and I didn't have to sand the wings (which I almost always do). I've got Tibhar Hybrid K1 on my forehand and Stiga Mantra S on my backhand.

The blade plays quite similar to the Butterfly Korbel but is a touch slower. Excellent dwell time during loops but takes some getting used to in the short game. Extremely easy to block with.

The head/blade shape and the wings are a bit unusual (quite similar to the Banda blades of the early 90ies) and takes some getting used to. The handle is quite thin and longer than most other ST blades that I have tried. The handle is really compatible with my backhand but the forehand grip took some adjust compared to the normal Stiga FL handles that I'm used to.

The whole review in the film. The possibilities of this rubber are shown. You can turn on Polish subtitles.

We inserted subtitles in English:

Hello! I made video about this blade. Please watch and enjoy the video.