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This is an amazing rubber. It may be 1 or 2 generations older than the Xiom Omega VII rubbers but this one still can compete with newer rubbers. This rubber is almost good in everything because:

1. Vega Asia DF was released a few years ago but it still packs a punch when doing topspins and hard smashes. This rubber is very fast. It is as fast as Rasanter 45 rubbers although harder rubbers like Omega V or Vii pro can be faster on stronger shots due to having a property where you can compress the sponge more without hitting the wood or "bottoming out". Softer rubbers seem to bottom out but the Vega Asia DF seem to have no bottoming out effect observed. This is an excellent attacking rubber for both backhand and forehand since it is a good alternative for newer attacking rubbers that are much expensive. It has enough power near and far from the table.

2. Very spinny even for polyballs. The DF or Dynamic Friction formula for the Vega Asia DF produces very good amount of spin despite being overshadowed by its cousins. Most people find the Vega Pro version spinnier but I found out that the Pro version is inclined more for people who are very good in brushing the ball in order to spin. The Vega DF is very spinny and easier to spin despite having not so developed skills or techniques. The Vega DF has an improvement over the old Vega Asia version in which it is a few notches spinnier but nothing more. The old Vega Asia is as fast as the DF version but the difference in spin can be felt by a lot of players I have asked to use the rubber also. I had the non df and df versions at hand at the same time on the same blade for comparison.

3.I think you can buy Vega Asia DF as low as 33-34USD. If you cannot affod the Omega V or VII rubbers, then this is a good alternative rubber. It may not be as fast as the newer ones but it offers more than what it is priced. Like the Musa 3, the Vega Asia DF is a low cost but high performance rubber.

4. I find the Vega Asia DF as a very good backhand rubber. It blocks better and has more control than Tenergy 64 though a tad less spinny. It is easier to block very strong attacks with the Vega DF in both forehand and backhand. You cannot chop with it defensively since this is an attacking rubber but all other strokes are fine with Vega Asia DF.

Using this in ST L-Size with T80 (FH) and T05 (BH) and loving it! It's just so much fun to play with. The flexibility and control is special. First bought the regular handle size and quickly realized it's too small for me. Passed that one to a friend and ordered the L-Size right away.

Photos here:

https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/showthread.php?17386-Nittaku-Violin-ST

Omega VII Pro is a speed machine, that still has high control. If you like to loop drive, this is a rubber to consider.

Short game is a challange as the catapult kicks in early.

I can't match the comment on forgivingness and spin though. Spin is high no doubt, but it requires a decent technique to generate this spin. If the ball is not hit in right moment, there is more speed than spin and a good chance to overpace.

Omega VII Pro requires active play the whole time, but rewards you with difficult to return loops and blocks. Underspin is also dangerous because of the lower bounce after second contact.

Nice rubber again from XIOM. A unique rumber in the market that will surely finds its crowd of fans....

An incredibly good board. Very low price. High quality. Speed in the OFF-/OFF range. Arylatecarbon for more players.
If it was promoted by a player, it would be many times more expensive. We have developed a review with a friend from the first division:

Hi All!

Not so long time ago, my inner equipment junkie self settled down with Donic Bluefire M1 on my FH side. With Donic Bluestorm Z2 out I tried that one too, but unfortunately I lost my love towards Z2 due to reasons listed on it's product review page. And also I went to try some chinese made but good FH rubbers. So I came across this AK 47 RED version. To be honest I loved the T05's bite on the ball, but I don't have enough time and skill to fully utilize that rubber. I loved MX-P but felt it a bit numb and unpredictable on counterloops. M1 was a perfect alternative to that, was a bit livelier, than MX-P, and the feeling was better. I will make my comparison to these rubbers. The rubber was tested on an ALC OFF blade.

So AK 47 RED feels a bit lighter on the blade than M1 or MX-P. It did not require any transition or modification from me or anyone that I showed the blade. They stated that the rubber feels lively (compated to Tenergy 05/05FX) and easy to play. The ball touch feels a bit more rigid than T05 and a bit harder than M1, but less softer than MX-P. Bouncyness is tricky, because the catapult effect is reduced, but the spin sensitivity is high, like a Baracuda level.

Serves are very spinny, because the tad less catapult effect it is easier to keep short. In other areas there is nothing special to say. This rubber plays like a modern attacking rubber fully comparable to any european modern tensor. Loops are really loaded with spin. Some of my opponents mentioned, that their flight curve is less predictable. It is a tad slower than the MX-P.

I tried the unboosted version. After 20 hours of play The rubber shows no signs of usage.
Black max on standard 151x159 butterfly head is 44g.

Update: After three months of usage. I still have the rubbers, I tried different applications, tried to boost it and experimented a bit with the glue layers. First of all after three months, a training camp and two championships (around 70-80 hours of play, 3 regluings) the rubebrs look fine. There is a matte abrasion under my thumb on the FH black rubber, but no abrasion on the surface of the rubber. The red rubber looks like a used one, there is a strange matte pattern on it, which does not show the sweet spot. Some sort of fluid spill pattern, maybe one of my cleaners did this. I also ordered a spare pair of rubbers, my other red sheet does not show any symptoms like that after 2 months. So the colour change on my red sheet was probably because of me. So the durability is good.

Regluing is tricky, because the rubber is factory tuned even if it's not advertised. The glue (revolution no 3.) can be peeled of (4 thin layers) easily from the sponge with minimal or no damage. The first glue was more softer than expected, and the rubber shrunk a bit (way less then euro/jap tensors) and it curved in. So it was likely boosted. The second glue layer was more crispier, when I removed it. So I had to reboost my rubber a little to make the curve a bit flatter. The optimal glue layers are 3+2 for a decent OFF- speed on an ALC blade. Boosting the rubber gives it more speed, but also flattens the ball flight curve a bit more, than expected.

Crash tests were performed (unintentionally). The upper rubber is quite durable to direct table edge hits. It may show a bit abrasion on the surface. However the sponge is quite fragile. It really breaks. A misplaced banana flick may cause an inch (2,54) cm tear in the sponge, while the surface looks fine. But considering the price of the rubber I don't really care if I have to replace it 2-4 times a year. So it is similar to Baracuda sponge as far as I can remember.

Overall impressions:
When brand new the rubber shines with 3+2 layers of glue, personally a single layer of booster can be beneficial to the rubber but nothing more. When regluing the rubber deserves a little boosting, just to conserve the original factory boosting. Serves are quite good, lot of spin can be generated with brush type movements. Huge control over every type of situation, good no pin game and good spin game.

I tried this rubber with a Butterfly blade. The rubber gives you very good control. It also has a very nice sound when you smash. I find that the rubber shrinks after about 2 months even though it is still glued to the blade. If anyone has tips to prevent rubber shrinkage that would be awesome.

Lets start with Pros. Handle fits your palm like a dream, i used Korbel and that blade was a dream however i bought this one because Korbel updated its version and now it feels like a cheap ugly blade " dont know why they change the design because they made it worse" However that's other topic. Handle is smooth and and easy to hold and it gives you so much feel when hitting the ball. Control of this blade is lovely even when i used BryceHighSpeed, Rhyzm 48 and Donic BlueFire M1 those rubbers just gave me more feel rather then speed. Talking about speed pairing Hadraw Sk with these tensors would make this blade your favorite, as this blade is OFF - i would say it makes perfect balance with fast rubbers. It gives you feel to do whatever you want with that ball. Speed of this blade is well balanced. Paired With Rhyzm 48 this soft blade gives lovely feel you can play close and far from table. There is not downsides i would say and improvement that Butterfly could make. The weight of this blade meant to be 85 grams, mine came as a 95 however with the handle shape it felt lighter due to comfort i say. The price is high but for this top end blade its nothing, i think this blade is for players that tend to get too fast blades like Viscaria and need more control rather then speed and for someone who is developing into being top class player and uses ALL round blade. If you do have money to spend please do get this instead of Viscaria or Timo Boll ALC as this would give you a taste of what Table tennis really is all about.

My latest Butterfly Blade (bought it last week)

After a long thoughts (maybe for about a year of choosing my next blade) I've decided to buy Marcos Freitas ALC.. My other options were: Tiago A ZLC, Kenta M, Viscaria.

The conclusion is that I am satisfied with this great Marcos Freitas.. and yes it's quite the same with my M.Maze that I used in 2011 to 2016..

At First, I fell in love when I saw the box, and the Blade inside. I will say that Butterfly has a good development in the product and packaging designs. Its truly mark up the class of the products nowadays..

At the store, I asked the shop assistant to open several products, and my choice end to Marcos Freitas ALC. I asked him to open 4 Marcos Freitas ALC, and I chose the one that has a nice top layers.. It has those small vertical patterns, (I don't know what those patterns named).. I felt I am comfortable with the one that I chose so yeah although its a quite expensive one, but I ll try..

Sample of Price Comparison of Butterfly in my country
TB ALC 160
Viscaria 140
Kenta 160
Marcos 200
Zhang Jike 210
Tiago 250

I am using my rubbers removed from my TB ALC, they are Tenergy 05 for my Forehand and T80 for my Backhand. My review will be based on my comparison of my TB ALC and Marcos Freitas with the exact same Rubbers.

Marcos Freitas ALC >< Timo Boll ALC
Feel: It has not so stiff feel >< Felt Stiffer
Speed in drives: It is slower, the ball lands in the center during warm up >< it is faster, the ball lands more to the end lines
Vibration: felt more vibration feel >< felt less vibration
Spin Producing: It produces more spin >< very Spinny
Service: Easier to make short and low serves >< A good blade for brushing contact
Receive: Easier to have short returns >< must be careful in receive, may give higher ball and opponent attacks
FH Top Spin Loops: the ball lands more on the table Somehow the ball goes like diving down towards the end line >< a good medium-high throw, it is best to brush the ball from table to net height, gives a nice arc, play well from 2 3 4 steps from the table
Very Suitable for close to table, most of my attacks lands on table >< Suitable for mid and away from table, it has more speed, power shots from close to table may make the ball fly off sometimes
Less incoming spin sensitive >< More incoming spin sensitive
Blocking and counter topspin is my game, my blocks and counter are safer lands on the table, gives my opponent that surprised faces >< Good for blocking, it returns with a good low arc and sharper balls to the opponent.

My Conclusion for my play:
I is good to have T 05 for both sides for my Marcos Freitas ALC *suitable for hard sponge/rubbers
I is better for me to use T 80 for both sides for my Timo Boll ALC *suitable for softer sponge/rubbers

Their main differences are the speed and feel.

Both has good control, good design.

I am using Marcos Freitas ALC as my main Blade since it gives higher possibility of the ball lands on the table for my play.
I am using Timo Boll ALC with my previous Tibhar Evolution ELS and FXS rubbers, I like this setup too..

Have fun!

One of a good blade from Butterfly

I used M.Maze ALC from 2011 to 2016.. It was a very fun blade to play with..

I tried different rubber combinations.. My faves were with T05 for its speed and loops.. DHS Skyline 3 in the forehand is very well for looping and short received, its more difficult to block speed incoming balls since a passive block will resulted the ball goes to the net, it needs an active shot with Chinese tacky rubbers...

It was suitable for hard sponges rubber as well as medium ones, maybe because of the softer outer layer that gives more dwell time and control.. Tried Stiga Boost TC and TS with it but seemed too soft.

A well play blade for close table attacks, service receive, short push, blocks, loops form 3 4 steps away from table, and I like the handle, its kinda different with my TB ALC, felt a bit bigger

My Biggest regret was I sold it to a friend, now I wanted it back, nowhere to find a new one since its being discontinued..

But then, I just bought Marcos Freitas last week because Marcos have been using M.Maze ALC for 10 years and now having his own blade with the same construction, but Freitas personal design..

See you in MF Review..

I have used this rubber on my forehand for a while.. Very fast and i can get a lot of spin. I like how Paul Drinkhall uses this rubber which made me decide to buy it in the end. The only thing is its not as fresh a few weeeks later, but lasts a good amount of time. THis rubber is definately not one to boost puhahahaa

Hi TTD. I would like to talk about the equipment am using and why I selected them..I am using tenergy 05 rubbers. I selected tenergy 05 because I am a player who likes to loop and block alot, and I discovered that tenergy 05 has high spin on it and is very explosive as long as you angle your blade right..it’s still the best and the fastest rubber in the world. Is it worth for the price? I believe it’s, it will definitely take your game to the highest level if you knows what it takes.

Hi TTD. I would like to talk about the equipment am using and why I selected them..I am using timo boll ALC blade with tenergy 05 rubbers.

I selected timo boll ALC because of the speed and control. It’s a very nice blade and it’s suitable for my style,It had improved my game beyond a reasonable doubt. This is my 3rd carbon wood after using gergely tamca 5000 and kreanga carbon. I have been using it for 2yrs and I would like to say it’s really good,fast and it has a great control.

I recommend it for players who likes to block and loop like timo boll..you can always try it with tenergy 05.

So hey! I've been ejing for a few months now constantly changing blades looking for that holy grail that will finally put a stop to this madness (LOL). The Cedric Nuytinck blade was given (at a discount) to me by my trusty Tibhar supplier here in the Philippines. I immediately removed the Evos that were glued in my previous blade (Yinhe Venus 14) which were a 2 weeks old MX-P and FX-P. To complete my Cedric Nuytinck experience, I replaced my FX-P with a new sheet of MX-P rubber thus replicating the setup of Cedric himself.

Looking at the bare blade reminds me of the Powerspin Carbon with a high quality finish. The box says that the blade was made in Japan and I am currently confused about the composite used. In the blade it says ZC (zylon carbon?) however in the catalogue it says zylon fiber but upon closer inspection you can see the weaves of zylon fibers and carbon (make up your mind Tibs). I will compare it with PSC(Powerspin Carbon), both blades have MX-Ps on both sides.

During fh drives I can feel the control of the blade as it is slightly slower than the PSC, the PSC is more direct and more powerful however I am more comfortable with the CN because control . During loops this is where I found the blade to be very good as in really good. With the PSC you can produce bullets that can pierce the opponent's defenses with a loud cracking sound from WW2. With the CN blade the loops have a long trajectory that dives once it reaches the other end, the sound is also very distinct it is like a deep and crunchy cracking sound which tells me that I made a quality shot. You can be creative with your shot its like there is a new horizon for attack.

I have no problems in my backhand, due to the softer nature of the blade it is easy to absorb the incoming spin and counter the hell out of it. BH loops have a high trajectory that is enough to clear the net. I am also more comfortable with the CN blade because with the PSC blade a miscalculation means ball flying outside the table however once again the PSC is faster and more direct. Another thing is that my backhand now is more passive, more on blocks and placement the reason for my bias reasoning lol

Flicking with the CN blade feels like cheating because of the dwell plus the power of the MXP, bang!. As demonstrated by Paul Drinkhall in reviews the PSC is much faster but requires a higher skill level to produce those quality shots. I am just a mortal who tries to copy it lol

There is on thing that I observed with the CN blade, when you are looping with it or doing power loops the blade feels slow the shot feels slow but in actuality it is the opposite. It is just like driving in a car where 80 km/h feels like running on 40. Whereas with the PSC you can see the bullets or just an illusion made by the loud cracking sound. The CN blade just like the PSC pairs really well with MXP, as CN and PD plays with them. It is very natural that Tibhar will make a blade that pairs really well with their flagship rubber, MX-P!

The price tag is justified because the Cedric Nuytinck blade is one of the best blades that Tibhar has made, you can really feel that the blade is high quality even better feel than say my Mizutani. Name makes a difference in perception so does my ball feel

To conclude, the blade is made for players looking for a
- softer ZLC alternative
- very controlled composite blade
- modern weapon to whoop some ass
- another reason to buy a new blade lol

This is my first ever review. As a background, I started playing TT over a year ago to see if I can be a proficient in a new sport in my early-30s. I play a bunch of other sports since I was a kid.

I bought a Korbel Japan when I was starting out based on reviews that say it's a do-it-all offensive blade. I found this to be true and it helped me a lot in learning the basics quickly. The slightly larger head size helps with the feel and control - it's also great for trying out new rubbers as it these would certainly fit most other blades after the Korbel.

It's hard but has more flex compared to, say, a Viscaria. Limba outers offer a bit more dwell too. I started out using this with Hurricane 3 Neo on FH and Acuda P2 on BH. I later changed to Hurricane 8 mid and Tenergy 05. I still have this setup and use it when I want a great workout with the longer FH strokes. Sometimes, I would use the T05 side for FH loop drills and I really enjoy it - less direct than harder 5+2 blades but more controlled and with a nice arc. I find that with Korbel and T05, I can take the ball much later.

The comments about the handle being too thin are quite true though, honestly, I only noticed this when I bought a Viscaria. Some grip tape on the thinnest part took care of it. I'm 6'1" and have fairly large hands.

All in all, a great blade for someone to learn the sport with and progress. I would advise people to try it and stick to it until you find that you absolutely need more power and are willing to sacrifice some control. I've seen a lot of guys at the club I play in use this at a very high level.

R47 is softer than the R50 that I use on my forehand, but with its medium sponge still made for good players. My backhand was never as good as my forehand, and to keep a bit of control I need a rubber just a bit softer.

With 47 degrees Rasanter R47 still has a lot of power and catapult. But indeed it is easier to control.

This is one of the favourite rubbers for many players, because the speed is high and the spin reserve is also good. This leads to a very good compromise.

R50 is the hardest of the Rasanter series. Normally, it is more orientated to top players. You need already a good technique and quite much power in your stroke to use it. Otherwise it is hard to wake up all the spin and speed inside.

If you have such a technique, you can have in response the huge spin that it can deliver. I love it!
People who already saw me playing and know my game know that, in forehand, I am gripping a lot the ball to give it maximum spin. This is the perfect rubber for that.

All over the speed glue era I played with blades without any synthetic fiber. But when speed glue got banned my preferences changed a lot. I played harder rubbers than before and also my blade became harder and faster.

This blade with the synthetic fiber right under the outer ply fits perfectly to me. It is of course very offensive but I still manage in keeping control of the ball. I like especially the impact of the ball when I have to make a backhand block for example. It feels like I can „ navigate it“ wherever I want. The ball throw is quite high, which provides additional control. And the counterspin is also not difficult. I think this is also a result of the high ball throw and this very special feeling when you hit the ball. It feels like having a „turbo“ in your racket that explodes when playing a topspin.

I played all my carreer with straight handles, so of course I did the same choice here. During the rally I very often change the way how to hold the racket. A straight handle helps a lot for such actions.

First off, some background, so you the review it with a pinch of salt if you disagree:


I’m an amateur player with a soft and bouncy balsa 5-ply blade with Mark V max sponge on both sides. My game is heavily spin-oriented with equal emphasis on backhand and forehand.


I tested the rubber when my coach recently got it pasted on his stiff Yasaka carbon blade. I made the following observations.


Spin:
The rubber is insanely spinny. As in, very, very spinny. The spin I could impart on my serves was arguably greater than what I’d managed when testing an Andro Rasant, and by a noticeable margin. The rubber surface doesn’t have any tack, and is instead quite grippy.


However, it also seemed to be very insensitive to incoming spin. This made passive blocking a bit of a chore for me, since I come from the more spin sensitive Mark V, where I keep a more closed bat angle to block topspins. On the other hand, receiving spinny serves was like a dream in comparison, even when compared to the controlled Skyline 3-60 or the Andro Rasant. With some bat angle changes and a bit more activity while blocking, it became extremely easy and consistent. I almost couldn’t tell the difference with each passing topsin from a short-pips rubber.


The spin when topspinning was incredible. In this department, I felt the Andro Rasant had an edge, but not by much. When brushing the ball, the Mantra produced a much higher amount of spin, but slightly less so when compressing the sponge. However, it was still a significant step-up from the amount I could produce with a soft blade + Mark V setup, so I guess that says something.


Speed:
The rubber is very fast, and the ball flew off the bat like a bullet. I don’t think I need to say much here. The M version was about as fast as the Andro Rasant, perhaps slightly slower. The Rasant performed far better when smashing, however. On low loop-drives, the speed of the rubber was greater than a Skyline 3-60 with a full-body stroke. But despite this, the most surprising aspect was the huge amount of control I had playing with the rubber, due to the lack of a pronounced catapult that is present in the few ESN rubbers that I’ve tried.


Control:
As mentioned, the rubber shone here. Not only were my serves and pushes much, much, much more controlled than with any other of the mentioned rubbers that I’ve tried, the rubber was also extraordinarily accurate. The low flight arc of the ball was quite disturbing at the start, but this didn’t adversely affect the gameplay for anyone but my opponents, who were shocked to see the ball dip low and flat almost as if it were a very fast floater. Oftentimes, I thought that I was going to overshoot the table, used to the greater arc of my own setup, especially on higher power shots, but despite coming from a much slower set-up, my shot accuracy was actually far greater.


Conclusion:
An extremely spinny, quick but simultaneously controlled rubber from Stiga, with a low ball arc and admittedly very pleasant aesthetics. The latter was what sold me on ceasing my research into a rubber upgrade for when I purchase my next setup. The rubber topsheet is firm - but easily breakable and nowhere half as sturdy as a Mark V or Rasant - with a creamy and smooth texture, and appealing logo and branding text.


Overall, a definite must-try. Also, my coach says that the rubber lasts him 6 months if he doesn’t bang it anywhere, and this is with coaching, tournaments, etc. I suppose the high proportion of natural rubber in the topsheet means the grip lasts a long time, though the creamy aesthetics, unfortunately, don’t.

Blade: Hugo Calderano OFF+
Weight: 84g
Thickness: 7.2mm
Type: Wood OFF+
Composition: 5 ply (Fineline, Ayous, Kiri core)
Rubbers used with the blade: Target Pro 47

What’s going on guys it’s Dan from TableTennisDaily, in this review we are joined alongside the incredible World Number 15 Hugo Calderano to review his latest personal blades with Cornilleau! It was really exciting to take on Hugo with his own blade, the Brazilian star is sending shock waves across world right now, recently reaching the final of the Qatar open defeating wonderkid Harimoto, China’s Lin Gaoyuan and current world number 1 Timo Boll at the Qatar Open.



Written Review

The Hugo Calderano Foco blades come in OFF- and OFF+ variations are both constructed out of wood. The Calderano blades both have striking aesthetics and both have a tiger logo embedded onto the surface of them. Both the OFF- and OFF+ are built with 5 plys of wood and both have the exact same composition with fineline as the outer layer, followed by an Ayous layer and then the core being kiri. The only difference between the two, are each blades kiri core and Ayous layers. With the thickness of these layers on the OFF+ being thicker than these same two layers on the OFF-. The overall thickness of the OFF+ is 7.2mm whereas the thickness of the OFF- is 6.2mm. The OFF+ weighs 84 grams and the OFF- weighs 81 grams. Throughout the review we used the Target Pro 47 rubbers on both sides of our blades.


Speed

Here we’re both are using the OFF + and after using the Gauzy OFF blade the day before, it was noticeable the Foeco was quicker. The speed of the foeco was surprising especially for a blade that doesn’t utilize carbon, whilst still not as fast as a traditional carbon blade the Foeco does still pack a decent amount of speed.

I was massively impressed at Hugo's arm speed which was rapid but still so relaxed and efficient. The ridiculous amount of spin and speed he produced was insane!


Control and Feeling

I absolutely loved the Focco blade on my backhand side where the blade feels very comfortable and produces a really clean ball. One of the foco blades key characteristics is its high feeling and control. Although the foco is quick, the medium hardness of the blade gives you a good amount of feeling, which assists with accuracy and touch. This feature of the Foco blade really helped me when active blocking and countering against Hugo on the backhand side.

The high amount of control the Foco gives you can be attributed to the fact that it is an all wood blade. Allwood blades as a general rule, have higher control than carbon blades due to increased dwell time. This OFF+ blade did still sometimes shoot off my bat to quickly for me to control, but a lot of that was down to the sheer amount of quality spin and speed Hugo produced on all of his shots.


Dwell

In this area of the review we test the blades dwell time with some open ups. The blade has a medium hardness and really grabs the ball well when spinning up against backspin. I was able to block Hugo’s first spin up but I had no chance after that. When I got the chance to open up I really appreciated its ease of use. Because the Foco off+ is an all-wood blade It gave me more dwell on the ball as the ball sinks into the blade surface more. As I am very used to carbon blades this wood blade made me realise how much more control on the ball I actually have when playing with something slightly slower and less responsive. Of course with a traditional carbon blade you can play stronger on follow up attacks, but this all wood blade does allow for slightly more control, giving a greater margin for error.

Because the blade is made of wood and has a medium feel you get a lot of dwell time in the short game especially with flicks and serves.


Counters

The Foco is really effective for playing counters. You can feel the ball on the bat and it doesn’t shoot of so fast where you lose out on control. I have found in the past when countering with fast carbon blades the ball can shoot off the end of the table easily. The Foco OFF+ however allows me to do this much easier, again with more time and margin of error.


CONCLUSION

Thanks to Hugo Calderano for his time in reviewing his personal blade, and to the fantastic Ochsenhausen training center for letting us use their fantastic facility to find out what the Cornilleau Foco blade is all about. The calderano Foco blades are packed with control and feeling. The OFF+ version although fast, has a lot of control due to its all wood composition. It has a medium feel so it works well when you want to produce spin and the ball sinks into the blade well.
The OFF- is more of an entry level blade and would be good for those who want to develop their strokes and it has a similar medium hardness to the OFF+. Young junior players would suit the OFF- after moving on from an all round blade as it will be a little step up in terms of speed but still maintain high control.

We would recommend the OFF+ for fast attacking players that prefer blades with an all wood construction over blades that contain carbon. Because it is a wood blade the foco off + is geared towards having more control and feeling. Although this is an OFF+ blade, it is not as fast as modern carbon blades such as a Boll ALC or a Stiga Carbonado.

The OFF+ works well from mid distance to away from the table, its ease of use is superb as the ball propels quickly with high amounts of safety in your strokes. Hugo said in the review, this is what allows him to play big backhands from away from the table. The Foco OFF+ gives him that ability to give him pace and arc in his shots. Like with the Gauzy blades I found I could use snappy shots like the backhand punch shot really effectively.

Due to the medium hardness of both blades we would recommended pairing it with medium to hard rubbers. The Target Pro 47 worked very well whereas the Target Pro 43 was not as effective, as it was too soft.

What I find most impressive with the Foco blades are the price points. Because Cornilleau haven’t focused on using more expensive carbon materials and have focused on purely using wood instead, the blades are just under 40 euros each. So if you are a fan of all wood blades this presents some great value.