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Blade Review: Tibhar/Nexy Actium
I am glad to review the latest defensive weapon from Nexy and Tibhar. First, let us take a look at the manufacturer’s statistics.

• Head Size: 164mm x 157mm
• Thickness: 6.1mm
• Layers : 9 Wood
• Weight: 87~89 g
• Grip Type: Straight

Being an amateur table tennis player, I have always been a bit inclined to the beauty of chopping and fishing. Even an attacking player cannot deny the joy of winning a point through fishing or playing defensively.

First of all, I found the blade very beautiful. By design it stands out from the rest of the defensive blades. I asked Nexy for a Straight handle (87~89 g) version and they provided me with the same. The straight handle is very comfortable and easy to twiddle with. I admired the small gem placed at the bottom of the handle. The dark greenish grey color of the handle adds a nice touch to the overall looks.

Setup: Actium + FH: Mark V [max] + BH: Donic Coppa Jo Gold [max]

I chose the two very popular rubbers in India for the initial testing. With one week of testing I am publishing the results [can be updated].

Counter play: Both forehand and backhand counterplay is excellent and has nice feedback. Very good feeling. I can predict where I went wrong immediately.

Blocks: The blade has loads of control. Is this a correct sentence? Okay I repeat once again, this blade has uummmm….Well you can’t go wrong in blocking. If you can’t block properly with this one, time for a technique check.

Loops/Top-spins: Ok…Did you ask me to do a forehand or a backhand loop? Bet me 100 bucks, I can loop anything with this.

Speed: I would rate it as medium-low. [Considering HL5 as the highest in speed, so far what I have used. There may be some other Veyron’s out there, but I haven’t tried those.]

Consistency: Very consistent. Very very consistent. Doesn’t even move an inch.

Serves: I was able to perform controlled serves with lots of spin. And since the speed is not high I was able to place it near the nets.

Push: Fantastic. You mark the area will put it there. There were instances when I tried to push the ball at the edge of the table and trust me I succeeded 3 out of 4 times keeping the ball as low as possible.

Chop: Chopping with Coppa Jo Gold is a bit difficult so I used to twiddle to Mark V. Thanks to smooth edges near the wings it was really helpful. Frankly speaking I was only able to keep the ball on the table and that’s it. I was not able to provide justice to chopping with this one. I am looking forward to a pimple rubber to get an aid. And that would appear in my next testing setup.

Verdict: After one week of testing, I can testify that Actium is a very well made balanced defensive blade which can turn to attacking at any length of the table. The makers knew where to strike and have hit the bull’s eye. I would recommend this blade to the modern defensive players blindly. For those who love in and out attacking style, I don’t think this blade will suit you. But if you prefer all-round style, you are going to love this.

To buy Actium, click here.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this
....Rajd...

TT Rubber – Yasaka Rakza X review
Rakza X, the latest tensor addition to the one of most popular and successful Rakza series of Yasaka. As per Yasaka, the top sheet is made of natural rubber gum which is the usual for any Yasaka rubber.
As marketed by Yasaka, the top sheet indeed provides an excellent grip over the ball. Let us now take a close look at the characteristics and its performance.
Speed: 7.5/10. Excellent speed. Rakza X with grip priority, the close table play becomes very smooth. The medium hard sponge adds power to drive shots and mid distance play becomes easy.
Spin: 8/10. The top sheet provides a good amount of topspin. The amount of spin is in between Rakza 7 (spin priority) and Rakza 9 (speed priority).
Tackiness: 3/10. The top sheet is mildly tacky. This is the same as found in typical Japanese high spin rubbers.
Throw angle/Bounciness: 5.5/10. The rubber has medium to high throw angle. While playing away from the table it produces a beautiful arc and helps a lot on counter topspins.
Sponge Hardness: 5/10. (45-50 degrees). The orange sponge is medium hard which enables to produce good speed and spin at the same time.
Weight: 5/10. It is not the heaviest rubber but not the lightest also. It is medium heavy.
Short game: 8/10.The rubber is perfect for short game. It has very good feeling. Even if you get your shots wrong the first time, next time you won’t.
Availability: Rakza X rubber is available in 1.8 mm, 2.0 mm and Max thickness.
Price: 50 USD (approx.)
Pros:
1. Price with Yasaka quality.
2. Control with power and spin.
Cons:
1. Not good from blocking perspective.
2. Little difficult for close table counters.
Conclusion: The rubber is of high quality. It is going to stay in the market and to become a long time favorite for lots of players with years to come. If you want to improve your spin along with the control then grab on a sheet of Rakza X, I am a 100% sure that you will not regret it.

I bought a concave Maze 83g. I was looking for a blade in the lineage of Viscaria / JZK Dragon, but a little more "gentle" and the outer layer of Limba fills that role quite.


The Maze is dressed in Tenergy 2: T05 1.7 FH/ T64 2.1 BH


The finish is excellent, like all BTY blades . The concave handle is slightly longer and thicker than the Viscaria


fh / topspin, the blade seems very soft, as if I had a rubber of lower hardness.
The sound is also very present, more than on the Viscaria.


The grip and the game hit are relatively easy, relatively speaking.


Speed and rejection are similar to Viscaria (equal weight ).


An excellent blade for an attacker looking rotation, without sacrificing the block control, and power.


a blade for player with a good technical background, who will appreciate the enormous control.

Tenergy 05 Black in 1.7mm on the FH for a "modern" defence game.

The chop is unconventional, even the Chinese rubbers do not chop as good . It is a fact, chop for defense is monstrous, and push is real shots scalpel! Do not ask me why or how, I find that even world rankings do not take the battle of pushes and are embarrassed to start a Tenergy shot , whether serving or table game.

Offensive phase, it is dynamic, it quickly hand, it turns to death. Counterparty when it comes, it comes to 200 per hour, and physical deficiencies are paid when cash. The rejection of angle is really the highest I've tried, again a step above the Vega Pro. This pink foam really working alone at times!

In short, we must be clear and objective. I have tested dozens of rubbers , But I must admit the reality is factual: the Tenergy 05 has something special .

It's a nice ALL+ blade especially for the price. I have a HRT Rosewood V too and the 896 is really more easy to control. Of course it's really more slow too. If you look for a fast blade, this is not the one to get but to play casually or for learning or intermediate players (depending on the rubbers you put on it), this is a very good blade. The blade has a high arc, good dwell and looping and counterlooping is very very easy with it. It's like you can't miss a loop (almost ) but your loops will be slow and will come back more often than with a real OFF blade. That's why I said it's a fun balde to play casually and to loop-loop without a end .
The blade has a nice woody feel with some vibrations (maybe too much for experienced players) and is springy. So this is the downside of the blade, while looping is a breeze, the short game is a little harder. I mean pushes are difficult to keep low and short BUT flicking is also really easy.
So, for a little price (8$ on eacheng), you have a nice quality blade (construction and materials are not bad at all) which will please all the players who plays for fun and maybe at intermediate level (with OFF rubbers) but not at a too much high-level.

This is my favourite blade by far.
My playing style is a close-to-table two-wing attacker and this soft controllable Arylate blade gives me tons of confidence to generate spin in combination with placement. Nice large sweetspot.
Quality of the blade is excellent and durability is great, since I possess and use this blade for many many years.

Strength of this blade are looping and flicking close-to-table. Short play is not a problem either. At mid-distance the Arylate kicks in, so in that respect it's a bit unlineair. It's not a high-speed blade but the selection of rubber has it's influence on the overall speed. Personally I play with the Donic Bluefire JP rubbers but I've been told this frame also pairs nicely with Tenergy.

I possess a FL handle, which nicely fits into my hands, which are relatively small.

Unfortunately it has been discontinued a while ago (2010). However you can still find TB Sparks in the FS section for a reasonable price.
Butterfly Bazelart supposed to be exact the same blade as Spark.

If you want a blade like this but with a little more power, UpsidedownCarl on the forum has advised a TB ZLF. It is a lot like the TB Spark but faster and the Zylon is not quite as soft as the Arylate.
http://www.tabletennisdaily.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?8091-Composite-or-all-wood/page2

Both Keyshot and Innerforce AL are also a little bit harder and faster with simmilar feeling comparing to spark.TB AlC/Spirit are even faster.

Conclusion: This blade is for close-to-table loopers who prefer control above speed. Good blade for players who have passed the beginners stage and are ready to develop their looping skills.

Best rubber for my FH, great speed, great spin... I can play for middle and long distance without no problem

Good rubber, good speed, very controllable. I use this in my BH and I like for playing it for middle distance

A really good blade, I like the feeling of this blade

Offensive rubber that is speedy but still controllable. Good for close-to-table and medium distance play.
Throw seems a little low. Easy to generate lift on backspin.
Good FH rubber

The Butterfly Viscaria is a very good blade. It is not too fast or too hard, it has a good control and it's very durable. For some people it is a bit expensive but it is worth the money.

A nice spinny rubber, a bit slower than Acuda S1. Good for backhand and close to the table play. Not as good for away from the table play, because it is quite soft and gives a low arc.

This blade was my 2nd blade. It has very good control and is highly durable. It is not too hard and is not amazingly quick but its still a relatively fast blade compared to some. For some reason it has a large sweetspot. I would definately recommend this blade to the intermediate standard player who has lots of potential.

I have had the pleasure to play on this table at my club and it's a superb table. The surface is matte to reduce glare and smooth but not slippery.
The bounce is superb and speed is top notch, the ball rly grips the table surface when you hit a topspin shot producing great speed of the bounce.

The table it self comes per-assembled and it can be moved around and set up by a single person with ease.

A great rubber from Donic. I use it with Timo Boll Forte blade in max thickness, and it is great. It has a decent amount of control, and good spin. It is easy to begin the attack, amazing for looping. I won't say it is better or worse than Tenergy, because they are different rubbers, which feel very different. Acuda S1T is better in the short game, but it doesn't give the arc of the Tenergy. Also you can buy 2 sheets of Acuda at the price of a Tenergy.

I have searched for the perfect backhand rubber for me and after using many rubbers of stiga,yasaka,adidas,ltk,friendship,butterfly,xiom but not was perfect suited for me. After seeing a poster of my favorite player Maze i wanted to give it a try. It felt fantastic, it give me the perfect touch to counter loop with backhand and the backhand topspin was amazing. I use this rubber with Tenergy 05 FX on forehand and a customized AnimusBlade from Italy with seven layers.

It is a very good rubber. I use it on my backhand because of it's excellent control and feeling. It is good for improving someones backhand.
It is also good for blocking close and mid table. It generates a lot of spin which is good especially for services and topspin. It's spin
is also good for chops. It's weakness is that it is not durable and its quite costly.

It is a blade that balances all the aspects of an attacking player attributes. It is very fast
but with good control. It is consistent enough and also good for attacking from mid and far table. It's
weight is comfortable for switching between backhand and forehand. It is also good for control. Its only
disadvantage is that it is very expensive,, though it gives you value for your money. I'd advise it for offensive players. Its combination
is generally good with most rubbers.

I would rate this rubber very highly because of the good amount of spin that it produces, It
is also generally good for service variation. The rubber is also very handy in control and you don't have to worry
about its durability. It is also very affordable. Its only minimal deficiency is blocking. Thank you DHS