Need Help! Xiom Blades vs Butterfly

zetro quad would be a close bet from xiom blades, stradivarius is more flexy and slower compared to TB zlc, v1 is even more slower. both MMaze and TBS are slower and has more flex compared to zlc but control and looping game is better

olvarox said:

Hi everyone

Yesterdaynight something terrible happened during training...
I totally destroyed my 1-month old long-anticipated and well loved Timo Boll ZLC blade by counterlooping... against the table next to me (instead of the ball...)

As my wife will surely disagree with me concerning buying another 150€ blade on such a short notice, I'm desperately looking for a similar blade in a lesser price range.

I came upon these Xiom Blade series, all-appraised by the online community (all hail to google) and quite a lot cheaper than Butterfly, and I wonder which Xiom blade would fit me, since I dearly loved this ZLC blade.

So I wonder if anyone could advise me on which Xiom blade I might purchase that would be similar to the TB ZLC (or maybe the Jun Mizutani ZLC).

Here are my handpicked options:

N°1: Xiom Zetro Quad
N°2: Xiom Stradivarius
N°3: Xiom V1

If you would consider any of the Stiga or Andro blades would fit me even better, I would like to know your opinion, since these are the three brands I can get some pretty good reductions on, considering my dealer-client agreement.

As a side question: "How would the TB Spirit or the Michael Maze-blade compare to this ZLC blade?"

Thank you all for helping me out...
An extended "please-help-me-stretched-out-hand" goes to Carl Horowitz

yours Sincerely

Olvarox

Click to expand...

Since you are used to composite blade, I would suggest the following in the order of power and control:
1. Axelo - more power less control
2. Strato - power and control (ideal choice)
3. Ignito - less power and more control

try timo alc, viscaria, or zhang jike blade, great for looping, control and almost no vibration

The new adidas blades, they are good

The Hinoki series are probably as close as you are going to get especially the Zetro Quad. half the price of the TB ZLC and just as good. i have both of them in my arsenal

fongchengloy said:

Since you are used to composite blade, I would suggest the following in the order of power and control:
1. Axelo - more power less control
2. Strato - power and control (ideal choice)
3. Ignito - less power and more control

Click to expand...

Fong, if you say in that order, I would believe you..coz maybe I know who you work for hahahaha

So how about that friendly match that you're going to give me mate?

olvarox said:

An extended "please-help-me-stretched-out-hand" goes to Carl Horowitz

yours Sincerel

Olvarox

Click to expand...

Hey olvarox, before I go ahead and answer in more detail, I wanted to find something out. If you were going to get another blade and money was not an issue, would you get the same blade? In terms of play, while you were using the Timo Boll ZLC did you feel like it was pretty much exactly what you wanted or were you thinking you would like to try other blades like the Jun Mizutani which is also a ZLC?

I have a few ideas of how to handle this issue. But before I give them I want to know how you felt about that blade. How was it for close to the table? How was it for serving, for short game, for third ball attack, for mid distance looping, for when you get backed up and have to play defense?

By the way, that really sucks that that happened. I am sorry that you had such a good blade and such an expensive blade destroyed due to closeness of tables or how ever it happened.

Two more simple questions:

1) What rubbers did you have on the TB ZLC?

2) Are they destroyed as well, or can you pull them off and put them on another blade when you get one?

Okay, here goes. You gave me some very helpful information. First, it is good to know that you have a backup blade that might not be fast enough for your game but could hold you over till you get what you want. It is also good to know that you can take the rubbers from the ZLC and put them on another blade which might save you some money when you get your next setup. You also gave me info that tells me that you have played with a blade that has Hinoki in it, which is a good thing to know if you are interested in the Xiom Zetro Quad. What was of concern to me about that blade is that it has a Hinoki top ply and the TB ZLC has a Koto top ply. Koto plays very differently than Hinoki and the two will not feel very much alike in terms of blade feel. But, of the blades that you listed from Xiom, it is definitely the one that is closest to the speed of the ZLC.

None of the blades you mentioned, Michael Maze, TB Spirit, or the Xiom blades are as fast as the TB ZLC. But, of the blades you mentioned, the Timo Boll Spirit would be the closest to the ZLC in play, feeling. It would be slower. But the wood is the same. The Arylate/Cabon is different. But the Xiom Zetro Quad might be better for you because it would be faster than TB Spirit, still not as fast as the TB ZLC but a lot closer to that speed.

So here were the ideas I had.

1) If you are just buying a new blade and that will be your blade for the foreseeable future, go for the Xiom Zetro Quad. It actually might be a really good blade for you. A little slower than the TB ZLC, a little more control for touch as a result of the Hinoki, it will go well with the rubbers you have been using. Coming from using a Hinoki blade before the TB ZLC, the Xiom Zetro Quad might really be a great fit for you.

2) I am not sure this would be the best thing but it is definitely a good blade. The Timo Boll Spirit is really hard to go wrong with. It will feel like a Timo Boll ZLC without the steroids. It will have a similar feeling in terms of play. But it will be noticeably slower. The truth of the matter is, it is a solidly offensive blade, so it is really more than fast enough for most players. But in comparison to the speed of the TB ZLC, it will feel slow. It is not a bad option. But I think, the feeling of Hinoki with Zylon and Carbon (Xiom Zetro Quad) might be a better fit for you.

3) If you are thinking of ultimately buying another TB ZLC, keeping your old setup, using it for a few months, and putting approximately 30 Euro a month aside, and wait 5 months to buy another TB ZLC.

4) If you get a big discount on Stiga you might look into getting a Stiga Carbo 7.6. It is considerably less expensive than the Xiom Zetro Quad. It is a similar speed, but a different feeling. Carbo 7.6 is faster than TB Spirit, but slower than TB ZLC. It is a pretty good blade with excellent touch and feeling for a blade with Carbon. This option is for, if, down the line, you are thinking of getting another TB ZLC as well. With a discount, the Carbo 7.6 might be pretty inexpensive. And it is really a very good blade. It has a great feeling. Stiga blades are sort of delicate though. Part of why they have such good feeling is because of the fact that they are delicate. With the Carbo 7.6, if you can get it with a regular handle instead of a WRB handle (hollow), the handle will be more sturdy, so that is worth it, if you can get that.

Anyway, I hope that helps. I think that the Xiom Zetro Quad might be a great blade for you. Ultimately, it might even fit your game better than the TB ZLC. Hinoki-Zylon/Carbon might be just the thing for how you play. More touch without sacrificing speed. I also think, in spite of the fact that it would be different than other blades you have used, the Stiga Carbo 7.6 might be a good weapon for you to try, especially if you wanted to spend a little less, since you are able to get a decent discount on Stiga products.

Hope this helps, and good luck finding the right weapon.

From Stiga i would recomend Hybrid wood it has a bit softer wood feel but outstanding control for its speed, and Carbokev where the carbon layers are deep in the blade so its a fast carbon blade with some wood feel and great control for a fast blade.

olvarox said:

As a side question I still wonder how the mizutani ZLC would compare to the TB ZLC...

Click to expand...

i own a MJ blade and i also had a chance to hit a few balls with the TB ZLC and from what i recall MJ is slower than ZLC, it has better control though, if you are looking for similar power with TB ZLC then MJ may not be a good choice, its still fast though, just not TB ZLC fast.

your previous post got me curious, why would you say "its no use buying the same blade twice"

ok got it unfortunately i havent tried kinetic supreme or any andro blades, but ive tried looking it up and they do have the same composition and might actually play the same but im not sure, if there are any players in you club who owns a zetro quad maybe you can hit a few balls with it then compare. have you considered pure carbon blades like gergely and primo carbon? maybe a tad faster than zlc, some says they all have the same power, control is also ok but not great, but also manageable with decent technique, specially gergely