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Hi All,

I played with this blade for about 2.5 years now and thought i'd share my impressions of it.
It is by the far the fastest blade I have ever played with and i suspect that will be true for most people. Compared to a viscaria I would say its about 20 to 30% faster easily. However I wouldn't say that it is uncontrollable, as I found it it super easy to block with and on the forehand side topspin would generally go where I intended them to go. In general opening up on the forehand or countering is pretty straight forward as the blade feels very stable and when the contact is good it the resulting shot is fast enough to either lead to a direct point or an easy follow up shot in most cases.

Additionally, while the feeling/ feedback isn't great its not as bad as it initially seems. When i first got the blade it seemed very dull and muted, however nowadays I am quite conformable touching balls short and it performs well in general over the table play considering the speed. That being said, its night and day when compared to pretty much any wooden blade i have played with and even compared other ALC blades the touch is lacking. This also comes into play when playing opening loops against backspin and sometimes flicking, where i frequently miss due to the pure speed of the blade.

All in all I think its a great blade for players that play relatively flat and have a big forehand with a passive backhand. I've personally found myself to be almost addicted to the feeling of playing a good forehand with the blade, which is probably the primary reason for me sticking with the blade for so long along whit a nice backhand punch. However I suspect that my terrible backhand opening loop has much to do with the speed of the blade since i'm much better at it whit slower blades and have therefore decided to switch to a slower alc blade with the aim of relying less on power and speed on more on spin.

Tried both Genesis II M and S on ZJK Super zlc . Overall great quality , light rubbers (44 grams cut). Found the S version Better then M on my blade. Both versions are harder then expected I would put the S version between Elp and MXp so its more like a medium rubber then a soft one. Great short game ! , very good control low spin sensitivity, low catapult , higher arc then the M version . Could play both backhand and forehand with this rubber depends on your preference. I tried the 2.2 version and my blade is very fast so I wouldn't suggest try the 2.0 versions since they are pretty slow rubbers. Spin was good enough still inferior then Tenergy 05 /05fx but overall greater control. The S version made a lot more sense for me then the M which felt very hard and rigid on my blade. So I would suggest this rubber as a forehand rubber for Fast hard blades and for players who prefer a good spin / controlled game and don't rely on finishing the point early. Or as a backhand rubber again on fast blades for players who don't want big catapult rubbers and value short game / control and spin oriented game.

Tested on ZJK super zlc, which is a hard fast blade, I haven't played with Genesis I, But here are my thoughts about the rubber. It was a lot harder then I expected maybe even harder then MXS, Great control in short game and insensitive to incoming spin since the rubber's tacky surface . Low catapult as expected, good spin but inferior to Tenergy 05 for example I found it pretty slow even at 2.2 in my racket. Good weight (lighter the MXS ) around 70 gramms uncut , great quality overall, medium angle . Did not pair well with my Blade even it was a lot better after 2 thin layers of falco boost but overall felt hard and not "lively" enough. I would suggest pairing it with more flexible blades with higher angle then mine or boosting it so it becomes softer and less rigit.

Overall it's a pretty good racket for beginners although when you become better and have to loop against more spinny balls, it will be very difficult. Also, the rubber is slow so after you loop your opponent will have a good chance to attack you but it's still a good racket for beginners. Durability is trash as the edges of my rubber peeled away after a month despite me having put edge tape on my racket.

[FONT=&quot]Stiga AzaleaAll Around has the following info:[/FONT][FONT=&quot]<o></o>[/FONT]

Plies: 5 (limba-ayous-ayous-ayous-limba)
Weight: 87 grams
Thickness: 5.86mm
Speed: ALL+ to Off-




It is a surprisingly superb even with the concept that it is designed for female table tennis players. The blade rated as ALL+ speed but it feels like an OFF- speed blade sometimes because it feels faster than an ALL+ when you are hitting with it. The Azalea ALL has enough speed to produce above average power shots. This was designed to have a very good feel but at the same time not as slow as the Stiga All Around Classic blade or the Stiga Evolution All Around blade. Imagine if you combine the characteristics of the 2 blades and make it a notch or 2 faster, then you would get the Azalea All Around. The difference between this and the Offensive version – it has the ayous as 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] and 4[SUP]th[/SUP] layers instead of spruce which makes the the blade a bit softer and slower than the Azalea Offensive.
This is a blade you not only can start to develop your skills but also the blade will not disappoint you in terms of performance as I will be explaining more. In my opinion, if the Azalea Offensive blade can totally replace the Offensive Classic and Offensive Classic CR versions, then the Azalea All Around can replace the Evolution all around and the All Around Classic. The 2 Azalea blades are surprisingly offer more than what they have in looks which is to replace the blades they are representing on their specific class.
The best feature of Azalea All- Around is the feel or ball-hand feedback. The A-ALL has a medium soft feeling with minimal vibrations and it does not vibrate much compared to the All Around Classic. It also does not feel hard but feels medium to medium soft when hitting or driving the ball. The Azalea All Around is one great looping machine and it loops better than any off- down to the all around blades in Stiga. The Azalea Offensive is already an awesome looping blade but the All Around version is even better if it is just slow looping where your focus is more on brushing the ball that produces a slow but very spinny ball. The rubbers used were Hurricane 3 and Mantra H for the test and even with the Mantra H being a very fast rubber, you can still brush the ball properly and gives you enough "dwell" when you are looping the ball. This is the blade you can grow your skills especially with spinny the ball at late point of contact. Of all the blades Stiga has produced this is the best blade they have right now for spinny loops and also seem to have the best feel (arguably). It has a medium to high arc when looping, I think the Azalea Offensive version has somewhat a higher throw than the All Around version but the All Around version also has a profound arc when you are spinning the ball that is essential in clearing the net especially with players learning how to brush the ball properly and looping the ball against underspin or backspin.
Doing smashing and driving are all above average and it is quite understandable since this blade is not made for speed but more on control and development of skills but blocking is excellent as the great amount of control makes you feel more confident on your defensive shots. If you are a long pips user, this blade is good enough to learn the use of long pips or even as an advanced type of player you can either attack with long pips or even chop with it. It is good enough to chop using long pips but needs to have an OX version for a chopping LP for better control.
The Azalea All Around is a great blade to start with if you are a beginner and an excellent blade to use even if you are on an advanced level if you use faster rubbers like Mantra H or Calibra LT Plus. This seems to be one of the best all around blades in the market right now with good quality and feel.

Uma madeira para jogadores do estilo allround , muito boa para jogar longe da mesa , e para trabalhar drives pivos e topspins

This rubber, when cut, weighs.... wait for it..... 38 grams. That's right. With a 47 hardness sponge at that.
That is absolutely freakin phenomenal.
With this rubber on both wings the bat feels like air. You can accelerate as if you're holding nothing.

HOWEVER

There are variations, some rubbers can be heavier and so lose the main advantage.
Also, the topsheet is of the new variety (very thin topsheet), so it doesn't bite on the ball. And of course, it is a lower grade rubber, at only $10, so you can't expect that much of it, but it delivers easily over double the price.

I wouldn't use it on backhand because the backhand needs more grippy topsheet, but for forehand you can get pretty much any kind of spin, since it rewards deep spongey contact (like the new thin rubbers in general).

Omega VII Tour
Weight: 74 grams (uncut)
Hardness: Hard
Speed: OFF+
Spin: Extremely High

Omega VII Tour is the hardest rubber and at the same time the spiniest rubber in the Omega VII series. The Omega VII Tour will be out in August and I was fortunate enough to use this ahead of the release date. This is the fastest rubber in the market along with the Joola Rhyzer 48 only that the difference is that the O7T has a 55 degree hardness. I never thought I would use a non sticky ESN rubber this hard. The Vega China was very hard at 54 degrees but this is even harder at 55 degrees ESN scale. At first feel of the rubber before gluing it to the blade, the sponge is very hard but the topsheet feels medium soft. I guess, Xiom designed it as a balance for the hardness of the sponge. When you press against the topsheet, you can still feel your fingers dig into the sponge. I would not call it soft (i.e., the tospheet) but the ball can partially sink to it. It is on the heavy side. At 74 grams, it is even heavier than a DHS Hurricane 3 rubber.

I tested this with several blades like Xiom Stradivarius, Fuga andFeel ZX3 but I spent the testing most with Stradivarius since it has the feel Ilike best. The Feel ZX3 is an awesome blade but since it is Kiso Hinoki, Ichoose to test the rubber more with the Stradivarius because it is a koto outerply blade. No offence to hinoki blade users but this is just a personal preference on top plies that I have for myself. The Omega VII Tour has an extragear or two compared to the Omega VII Asia. The VII Asia is already extremely fast but the Omega VII Tour still has extra speed that can offer. Mind you this is not for the faint hearted. The rubber is not designed for intermediate players or players that are still mastering their basics. It is a beast when you unleash it provided you have the skills because the rubber is the best representative for an all out offensive rubber never caring about defense. This is the rubber you go to when you want an artillery to demolish your opponent’s shots. Onthe serious side, the advanced players will really appreciate this because thepower on the shots is simply above the rest of the ESN rubbers in the market right now. I had to adjust with the rubber in my forehand because it was very bouncy on attacks. This is also because I am accustomed to slower rubbers thatare not as bouncy and not on the level or class of the Omega VII series of rubbers. For the backhand, it was not a big problem because I adjusted to it ina span of 2-3 days. When you are doing topspins, I would caution you to take a step back away from the table the moment comes back because you would need to stay a bit farther from the table because of its long trajectory. The Omega VII Tour shines the best starting at middle distance when you are past the initial attack and are already doing fierce exchanges with counter topspins. Its shines even better when you are far from the table because you will not feel a reduction of power and speed even ifyou will just an all wood blade. When I used this with the Xiom Fuga blade with the Omega VII Tour, the power of the rubber carried it through even at far distance from the table. I recognize that the Fuga is not a slow blade but with other rubbers on it, it would dwindle in its amount of power once you are far from the table.

The thing with the Omega VII Tour is that it does not have the high throw of the Rhyzer 48. The Omega VII Tour has medium or medium high throw when you spin with it but it does not have the profound arc of the Rhyzer rather it has the sharp and long trajectory when doing topspins against underspin or topspins versus block. The spin is one of the spiniest I have tried. It already approaches near the Tenergy 05’s level of spin. If I compare it directly to Tenergy 05, it is almost as spinny but I would trade the Tenergy’s extra spin to the Omega VII Tour’s extra power. In the longer ran especially in rallies, the Omega VII Tour can overtake the Tenergy 05. Also,the Omega VII Tour’s hard sponge gives it a higher potential for spin and especially for power because you can compress more with sponge and the stronger the shot, the more compression with the sponge is needed. The O7T will give you extra juice when the situation calls for a very strong finishing shot whether it is near or far from the table.

The surprising thing about the Omega VII Tour is that it has a lot of gears. It is not linear in every way wherein even at soft or weak shots like drop shots it would be bouncy but in the case of the O7T, the drop shots can be slow. I was surprised that it has a good degree of control on shots inside the table but still needs some adjustments. Blocking is also very stable and I am talking about passive blocks. Active blocking seems to be a bit bouncy and also need adjustment. Nevertheless, despite its overwhelming speed, I would suggest to tame it and tame it with a lot of practice especially as a forehand rubber.If you are an intermediate level of player, I would discourage you to use this in max thickness, even at 2.0mm I still think this would be too fast. This is suited for players who have mastered their shots and have very good control on their counter topspins and other form of attacks. In my opinion, I think we are facing the best attacking rubber that is new in the market right now.

I played the material specialist firestorm on a 2.1 sponge on the offensive blade. I played this rubber for about three trainings in one week. The quality of this rubber I think is very good. It has some space for a pointing finger so you can grip it that can feel comfortable while using it. My first feelings are that this rubber pushes you somehow to the offensive play to the offensive strokes and not so. Passive and defensive game. The spin is very high in my opinion because the pimples are very smooth so you can give much more spin to the ball comparing to the other short pimples that I ever played. I Would say speed is on a high level. It's pontius very elastic and the rubber has a catapult effect....

Spin is good but, dwell time is less than Butterfly Moonbeam AL(not carbon) blade. Thus, you end up with less spin, faster game. It is like you are wasting half of your energy on full stroke. Your racket move has to be precise. Less forgiving... If your legs are not fast enough, you will struggle a lot.

My other problem with this blade is backhand top spin after fh drive, spin or any fast game. I couldn't be successful on backhand top spin as my Arylate blade. Ball always goes out of the table. I need to close the blade. I tried for 4-5 months and still my game no where near with my BTY Moonbeam. So, I am back to it.

I recommend this blade to the people who needs extra power.

edit: OK guys! This blade is very attracting. I accept the fact that it is really hard to resist to not use this blade when you have already. I will give this blade a chance, even if my game worse than BTY Moonbeam AL

StigaNostalgic VII<o></o>
Weight: 93 grams<o></o>
Thickness: 6.39mm<o></o>
Plies: 7 ply (wenge-spruce-ayous-ayous-ayous-spruce-wenge)<o></o>
Speed: OFF+<o></o>
Hardness: Very Hard and Stiff

The Nostalgic VII is avery fast blade and despite being just an all wood blade. The structure is likethat of the Nostalgic offensive but has extra ayous layers that makes it a 7ply blade, In short, it is the Nostalgic Offensive with 2 extra plies.
This is the fastestblade in the series and also the one with the hardest feel. This has a distinctstiff feel intended to have a fast rebound effect when hitting the ball. Stigais saying they have patterned this to have a clipper like construction butinstead of an ayous wood as second layer, they used spruce instead ayous in the2nd and 6th layers. t is lighter compared to the Clipper Rosewood which couldreach up to 95 grams and above. The handle of the Nostalgic VII will not makeit as head heavy as the Clipper Rosewood because there is some weight with thehandle. The Hardwood series have a different surface of their blade headsalso because the eb7 and rw7 both have a thin nct coating.

For its speed, the bladeis one great whacking blade. I glued it with Mantra H and Calibra LT Sound inorder to decrease the weight. The speed is more or less equally fast as theRosewood 7 if not greater. If you compare it to other blades, Nostalgic VII isfaster than Clipper CC and more or less the same speed with Nexy Higgs.The blade is powerful enough in which even at far distance with both the MantraH and Calibra LT Sound, the Nostalgic VII could easily clear the net. If I wouldcompare its speed to composite blades, I would rate it as faster than aCarbonado 90 but a step lower in speed than Carbonado 145/190. If being comparedto common blades from other brands, it is a notch lower than TB ALC andViscaria in terms of speed but there are onstances when you are hitting theball flat with Nostalgic VII that you can feel it has more power.

How is the spin? Itdepends on the rubber you are using because if you are just a flat hitter ormostly do loop drives then the Nostalgic VII is more than good enough for thatparticular type of style. If for example you glue the Mantra H, Calibra LT Plusthen you have one hell of a counter driving and hitting set up. If you like tospin then the catch is to use a slower or softer rubber. With the slowerrubber, I also used the Calibra LT Spin for the Nostlagic VII because it seemsto be a good combination. With the Calibra Spin as a forehand rubber, theNostalgic VII can offer a good amount of spin. If you choose to use a Chineserubber, I would recommend the Genesis S version at it is softer. When I used myHurricane 3 on it, you have to make sure it is boosted and softened. If you usemedium hard rubbers, you would need to carefully select the rubber for it andalso your brushing skills should be good. With soft rubbers like Calibra LTSound, the ball hits the sponge deeply so spinning is not a challenge but withharder rubbers you need to brush up a little bit aside from adjusting to thebounciness of the combo. I do appreciate the Mantra H’s ability to spin verywell when you know how to brush the rubber only that the challenge is that itis very bouncy on a hard blade like Nostalgic VII. Also, by using softrubbers like Calibra Sound, you would also save weight as this blade is on the90’s scale.

The Nostalgic VIIdefinitely recommend this to people who have at least intermediate level ofskills as this blade is for advanced level players. Offensive short pip playerswould love this blade as it attacks very well with short pips due to its hardand stiff characteristics. Smashers and blockers would also love this sincethis is more of a hitting blade rather than a spinner’s blade. If you are aslow looping kind of a player the Nostalgic Offensive/ALL are the ones foryou and not this. Overall, I am quite surprised with the quality and <o></o>
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My review of Yasaka Sweden Classic blade.

Hello guys my name is Pawel here is my video review on the Rakza 9 rubber

I love the sound when I spin the ball very fast. After softer rubber(Donic Bluestorm Z2), balls are going to the net. Rubber requires more brush, quicker bat swinging when contacting the ball. If you start to do lazy spins, you won't get any good result.
To gain more arm speed on spin I started to workout with lightest resistance band by swinging my arm like spin motion.

One week after edit: I got used to speed and hardness. Maybe it's because of booster vaporization. It is very hard to smash high balls or fast topspin away from table with soft sponge. It just doesn't act what I estimate. But hard sponge sweeps away all the uncertainties.

Profile: As club level players say, my topspins are powerful and spinny, strokes are good enough to play at league but my footwork is not enough yet and definitely because of not having enough match experience, I am bad at reading game. Sometimes its like keep pushing running button continuously at Pro Evolution Soccer

I'm extremely happy with this blade. The finish is extremely good (sanded wings etc) and it feels quite light at 82g. The packaging seem to have improved during the past years as it comes in a fairly high end packaging.

Very controllable compared to the Stiga Clipper which I used with the same rubber setup (FH: H3 Neo BH: 729 B2). Extremely well suited for a topspin oriented game.

As the title says. I'm a long time player of the Vega Pro (VP) and after playing the Vega Tour (VT) now for a bit over 30 hours, I will stick to it on my FH.

The additional speed of the Vega Tour come in handy with the new plastic ball. The new top sheet generates even more spin on touch play (slow FH loops, flicks et al).

Blocks and drives are consistent and with high control. With the top sheet being thinner and more flexible, the rubber is a bit more sensitive to incoming spin, but that was true for the VP as well, so for players coming from the VP not a big surprise. It needs adjustment during receive (especially side spin) and block (more active blocking required).

Looking at the specs the new VT comes with all the new "features" of XIOM (Elasto Futura Cycloid and the new carbo sponge) if you believe in these marketing terms.
With it's 45° sponge, it still plays more like a 47,5° sponge. See my review in forum section to see the different composition.
A fact to notice is that the VT is lighter (4 grams cut to a Vega Tour Blade) than the VP, which is good if you like your racket not too head heavy.

All in All a good addition to the Vega Series of rubbers and another example of XIOMs innovative cooperation with ESN.

Τhe racket came in my hands in a nice black with a silver box.
On the back of the package it appears that this blade is one of the fastest woods produced by Donic.
Αfter I removed it from the box, I was really impressed by the quality of construction. the more likely it is not to be made in Sweden. The local dealer told me that it was made in China.
The blade construction is 5+2 plys the top ply is koto and after that is carbon.
Starting to play with the wood immediately can understand that is a very fast blade that comes closest to off + .
The flaired handle seemed a little thin for my taste.
TOPSPIN
the wood shines in this area , giving a medium throw to the ball you can produce easily massive spin.
SHORT GAME
You must be very careful cause the blade tends to throw the ball high and far. I think short game is not the strong part of the blade in many cases the blase was uncontrollable.
BLOCKING
The large sweet spot and the medium stiffness allowed for good feel when blocking.
FEELING
The blade is not as hard as most carbon blades like Butterfly Timo Boll ALC or Timo Boll Spirit.
CONCLUSION
Donic made a great blade for the very well-trained players will yield a lighting fast setup that will require a very high skill level to master.
Many compare Donic Ovtcharov True Carbon with Butterfly Viscaria. OTC is softer ,faster and more difficult to control in short game but it can produce massive spin in spin to spin situation.
A lethal weapon in right hands.

I used this on my Butterfly Moonbeam FL(5Ply+2Arylate) blade's forehand side. Although it is harder on paper compared to Tenergies, it doesn't feel that way. 2.3mm is quite thick. Sometimes you don't engage with wood when hitting ball.

Don't expect phenomenal arc of T05 but Arc is good enough to topspin close and under table like T05. Even after you hit, you see the arc which feels quite satisfying. When you topspin with forward moving, you will get T64 effect.

What I don't get is that why on topspin to topspin game, ball sometimes tends to go to net. I am closed to table player (max 2 meters away), so this didn't bother me much.

Flicks are easier after T64 on Timo Boll ALC blade. I don't think same for push or backspin on the table. Maybe if I get used to, I may overcome that.

According to my dealer Tenergy/Bluestorm price ratio is 1.75 now.

I loved this rubber. It feels me like I have super power. I guess I will stick with it

Edit: I am using this rubber on backhand now. It is not like having super powers now But it is quite good on punches, lifting the ball, wide backhand top-side spin, flicks. Maybe tenergy better at those areas too, except fast hitting.

A lot of information. A few good elements for this rubber. What can be played. Everything in the film.

The Omega Pro is an all wood blade with hard outer plies. It has rosewood outer veneers. Although description on the stats it has hard ebony wood veneers but the other description is it is rosewood. The Omega series boasts of having jointless veneers - meaning unlike other brands which have non-continuous layers of wood, the Omega Pro has continuous plies. The blade feels hard on the surface but when you hit with it it doesn't feel too stiff. Unlike, the rosewood blades of other brands that feel stiff and heavy, the Omega Pro has somewhat of of a semi soft feel on impact. The one I had was with a ST handle and weighed 86 grams only so the blade is light. Other rosewood blades in the market with 7 plies usually have a heavier weight which ranges from 90-93 grams. Thickness of the blade is about 6-6.2mm. The wing part near the neck of the blades needs to be sanded. Good thing the Omega Series has a built in sanding device that is included in the blade box. You have to sand the wing part because it is a bit sharp but this is not a major issue.
The blade is not too fast. If I compare it to other 7 ply rosewood blades, I would rate it as OFF but I sometimes feel that it is an off- blade. It does not feel too bouncy but the when you loop with it it seems to be good enough to spin and has a good "dwell time". When I was looping the ball, I felt that the ball was easy to spin like brushing the ball with a limba outer 7 ply blade. In fact, it feels like just a semi stiff 5 ply blade when you are looping with it. When you smash with it, the hard outer plies is a good combination because you are able to give the ball the needed power and rebound when hitting the ball. The control is superb wherein it blocks well. This is mainly suited near the table and to some extent medium distance from the table. Soft and medium hardness rubbers are the best rubbers suited for the Omega Pro. I have used the Omega V Pro, Vega Asia DF, Vega Asia and Omega VII Pro with this blade and all works really well but to maximize the power I suggest to use the Omega VII Pro all the way since some players would find this blade slow to their taste. The blade has good control wherein beginners can even use this blade with slower and thinner sponge rubber versions of Musa 3 or Vega Europe at 2.0mm thickness.