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First up, this review should have been for Jaguar Leopard blade, however the wrong product was sent by the seller. Living in NZ it is almost a necessary evil to buy online with the risk that that entails, however it's a bit disappointing.
Ariex is a Taiwan manufacturer that specializes is constructing blades from Japanese Kiso Hinoki. Many companies these days use other sources of 'Hinoki' (e.g. Sanwei uses Canadian 'Hinoki'), but as far as I can tell, this is genuine Kiso Hinoki.
The particular model I received is a 6.5mm thick 5-ply Cheetah model. The construction uses a thicker centre ply with two thinner outer plies. Ariex rate the speed of this blade as 8.5. (The model I ordered, 'Leopard', is a 6.8mm 5-ply where the plies are of equal thickness. Rated by Ariex at 8.0 for speed)
The build quality is excellent. The plies have tight grain and are indistinguishable from my Nittaku Septear.
The blade is slightly slower than my Septear, which is a 7-ply Kiso Hinoki blade and 6.7mm thick. The Septear has an audibly slightly higher frequency. The Ariex I would rate as a mid off- speed blade. The blade feels very similar to the Septear. I wrapped the Cheetah with Tibhar Hybrid K3 (max) and similar Xiom rubber.
Strengths; The blade makes attacking short balls easy. Hitting clean winners with short, fast backhand strokes was very satisfying. It is very easy to open up attacks and position the ball where you want, particularly at angles. Against lower level opposition this is a very safe way to accumulate points. The handle is super comfortable (the Septear handle is a bit small/thin).
Weaknesses: Forehand attacks from 1.5m distance sometimes lack the power to win the point outright. I tend to dominate rallies with loop drives to the corners, diagonally and straight. The blade is OK at this, however I miss the speed of my Sanwei 75 inner.
I recommend this blade for beginners and intermediate players who like to rally to win points. For more aggressive players such as myself, I would like something a bit quicker. I may order a custom Kiso Hinoki blade from Ariex that is a bit thicker and more powerful. 7.5mm 3-ply hinoki?
Available here for ~$75 USD plus postage
Ariex is a Taiwan manufacturer that specializes is constructing blades from Japanese Kiso Hinoki. Many companies these days use other sources of 'Hinoki' (e.g. Sanwei uses Canadian 'Hinoki'), but as far as I can tell, this is genuine Kiso Hinoki.
The particular model I received is a 6.5mm thick 5-ply Cheetah model. The construction uses a thicker centre ply with two thinner outer plies. Ariex rate the speed of this blade as 8.5. (The model I ordered, 'Leopard', is a 6.8mm 5-ply where the plies are of equal thickness. Rated by Ariex at 8.0 for speed)
The build quality is excellent. The plies have tight grain and are indistinguishable from my Nittaku Septear.
The blade is slightly slower than my Septear, which is a 7-ply Kiso Hinoki blade and 6.7mm thick. The Septear has an audibly slightly higher frequency. The Ariex I would rate as a mid off- speed blade. The blade feels very similar to the Septear. I wrapped the Cheetah with Tibhar Hybrid K3 (max) and similar Xiom rubber.
Strengths; The blade makes attacking short balls easy. Hitting clean winners with short, fast backhand strokes was very satisfying. It is very easy to open up attacks and position the ball where you want, particularly at angles. Against lower level opposition this is a very safe way to accumulate points. The handle is super comfortable (the Septear handle is a bit small/thin).
Weaknesses: Forehand attacks from 1.5m distance sometimes lack the power to win the point outright. I tend to dominate rallies with loop drives to the corners, diagonally and straight. The blade is OK at this, however I miss the speed of my Sanwei 75 inner.
I recommend this blade for beginners and intermediate players who like to rally to win points. For more aggressive players such as myself, I would like something a bit quicker. I may order a custom Kiso Hinoki blade from Ariex that is a bit thicker and more powerful. 7.5mm 3-ply hinoki?
Available here for ~$75 USD plus postage
ARIEX JAGUAR CHEETAH 橫、直拍系列 - 艾銳斯運動事業有限公司
獵豹系列 CHEETAH SERIES 採用日本木曾檜作為主結構的檜木夾板，具備輕量化與高彈性的出色性能表現，設計以3層的365，5層的565與7層的765，三款具有大芯概念的夾板結構。將純木結構球拍的攻擊性能上，尤其以速度的表現更具有殺傷力。 CHEETAH SERIES 獵豹系列
ariex-sport.com
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