Best budget 1 ply JPEN (~$70)

[Marc!_]

I can get the Yasaka Hasha V and maybe Xiom Power Hinoki now (its a stretch), as well as Ariex Phoenix Vocational (kind of a stretch).
Any other suggestions or what I should pick between these

 

[Doralikesmath]

I have the Xiom Power Hinoki blade, bought it like 10 years ago for 80 euros, and it feels and smells very nice. Very fast and always feels amazing to play with. Never used the other two, but visited the Ariex workshop before and they have a great stock of Taiwan cypress so I guess their Jpen blades are nice as well.

 

[netdriver]

either an ariex or a xiom

i own a hasha V and it is nothing to write home about, not really the fastest jpen despite the 10mm thickness

 

[Marc!_]

I've looked everywhere for Ariex Vocational Phoenix and Xiom power seung hinoki
Ariex can be found on their website for quite cheap maybe $80 (ariex-sport.com)
Xiom power seung can be found one some weird website for around $80 as well (Spinart.in)
Theres a TMOUNT tigersword blade I found for ~90 (kind of out of my budget but if its good i can try it i guess?)
I'm not familiar with either websites. Do you guys think these websites are reliable? And any reliable websites I can get a cheap price for the same product?
I'm also open to other JPEN 1 ply recommendations (preferably 10mm+) around the same price ~70-80 USD
Also if I'm getting a rubber for the JPEN what recommendations for it? (preferrably around $30 and not higher, ik FastarcG1 and Ten 05 are ideal but still any cheaper ones?)

 

[Marc!_]

Is the Xiom Power Hinoki OR Tmount KTS Tigersword better?
Theyre both 10.5mm

 

[barusu]

Your question is so niche, idk if you will get any answer.
And 1 ply hinoki quality varies a lot. I heard that's why Darker is producing less now, because they only want the highest quality possible.

It would be the best if you can go to a store and inspect the blades by yourself. But good luck finding that 😓

 

[Marc!_]

Your question is so niche, idk if you will get any answer.
And 1 ply hinoki quality varies a lot. I heard that's why Darker is producing less now, because they only want the highest quality possible.

It would be the best if you can go to a store and inspect the blades by yourself. But good luck finding that 😓

Thanks for your comment. So is it kind of a luck of the draw with cheaper blades since they don't specifically have quality control?
And if I get a "bad batch" will it still be playable to a reasonable degree?

 

[barusu]

Thanks for your comment. So is it kind of a luck of the draw with cheaper blades since they don't specifically have quality control?
And if I get a "bad batch" will it still be playable to a reasonable degree?

They do have quality control, but wood is a natural product. Many plies blade is easier to QC bcs you can tweak the glue, wood quality combination, etc. Even better for them are carbon blades.
The producer of hinoki one plies can only hope that the wood comes from an old and healthy tree that wont break in the process.

 

[Marc!_]

They do have quality control, but wood is a natural product. Many plies blade is easier to QC bcs you can tweak the glue, wood quality combination, etc. Even better for them are carbon blades.
The producer of hinoki one plies can only hope that the wood comes from an old and healthy tree that wont break in the process.

That make sense. Ig they can't control how the wood grows really.