Background: I went to a high level tournament where I watched an European semi-pro player run through the entire tournament without dropping a game, even against 2600 (USATT) rated players. His blade...Butterfly Korbel. I thought if a five ply all wood blade is good enough for him, it's good enough for me. However, I wasn't ready to spend the money on the Korbel, so I bought the Xiom Offensive S as it has the same limba-limba-ayous-limba-limba construction.
Pros: Cost. $30 from TT11. How can you beat that? This blade is a solid Off- but if you can generate your own power, it's plenty enough. This blade has plenty of flex to impart great spin. It's soft and there is great control. It gives off a bit of vibration, but as someone who wants to know where the ball hits the blade, I welcome the feedback. I can loop, flat hit, and even chop with the blade (which isn't my game). I could see this blade being a solid blade for a modern defender (possibly). One of my favorite shots with the blade is the chop block. So much touch and control.
Cons: If you forced me to say something negative, it is once you get off the table, you have to work very hard to get a quality shot on the table. This blade works best at close to mid distance, so I don't see this so much as a con but it's the nature of the blade. If you play further from the table, you might want something faster. Better players would argue it's slow, but again, it's Off-. I don't see that as a con.
Five stars? For me, at my level right now, sure. For someone else, maybe not. However, since playing this blade, I've seen my consistency go up which is resulting in more points for me. Two other players in my club are now playing this blade and their game as greatly improved as has their USATT rating. If you're wanting to play an offensive, looping game, and you are in the 1000-1800 range, I think this a great blade to use.
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