Rajd1234's Tibhar/Nexy ACTIUM Blade Review

[rajd1234]

Blade Review: Tibhar/Nexy Actium

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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.

First 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...

P.S.: I will edit this review after trying with pimple and tensor rubbers.

 

[Der_Echte]

A defensive player or even an attacker (Hey, we still gotta receive serves) is concerned about the quickness (or lack) of rebound, especially on BH side.

Which side did Nexy say was for the soft defense BH?

I had my paws on an Actium, but mailed it to a top amature modern defender I know right after I got it.

I might ask him to send back my way.

I really think this blade has a lot of potential for an attacking player like myself who prefers to play close to the table and use soft BH defense sometimes or at times counter attack with BH in rallies. A softer feel and not over speed OUGHT to be very good for opening topspins vs underspin balls. That is why I think this blade could be useful for my style of offensive and allround play.

 

[rajd1234]

So I have been playing with Actium with over a month now.
This time I decided to try it with Xiom Omega IV Pro Max on my FH and RITC Friendship 755 OX on BH.

The parameters remains same as above.

Counter play: The counter play is good with the O4Pro.

Blocks: Effective blocking all over the table. Nice and easy.

Loops/Top-spins: Again I can loop anything with this.

Speed: FH--> I would rate it as medium-low. BH--> Low

Consistency: Very consistent.

Serves: I was able to perform controlled serves with lots of spin. Little bit more spin with O4Pro.

Short game: on FH this is very good. on BH with LP it was difficulty for me. But if you are used to it then not a problem.

Chop: Chopping with 755 OX is very good. I was able to keep the ball on the table with BH. In fact I loved chopping the ball with this blade.

Verdict: This is a modern defenders blade. Defenders try out to believe it.

P.S.: I am not going to trade this blade ever. Thanks Nexy for providing me this beautiful piece of woodwork. I will treasure it always.

...Rajd...