First impressions after 6 hours of systematic training with AZX
So the first 6 hours of systematic training with the AZX are done and I can state, that I'm more than impressed by the IceCream AZX.
Using a phrase from one of my favourit songs.... I don't like "IceCream", I LOVE it....
Coming from XIOM Vega Tour (which is a marvolous blade and I still have it), I had no problems at all to switch to the AZX.
First I played the IceCream AZX with two Vega Pro MAX rubbers to see the differences of the ALC and ZLC side. I started with ALC on FH and ZLC on BH as recommended by XIOM. The first thing to notice is the sharp and direct feedback of the ball contact. You can clearly notice where you hit the ball on the blade, without and vibrations though. It is really a very short impulse that you feel. I personally like this, as it helps me to improve my shots. The impluse is also there on the ZLC side, but not as noticable as on the ALC side. Since this is my first contact with ALC I'm not sure if this a general feature or a speciallty from XIOM IceCream.
The new handle is a real improvement, especially over the Feel Series handles. Although I have larger hands and the FL handle is a bit smaller, it is very compfortable and I have had no problems with it even after longer practice sesssions.
I do notice the difference between ALC and ZLC in playing, but even after 3 hours with the Vega Pros I can not really state what it really is. I just noticed that ALC on FH works best. I tried ALC on BH, but this does not really worked at all. Either I overshoot or the ball is hitting the net. It was really difficult for me to play ALC on the BH. ZLC on VH was no big issue, but ALC is still better. The ball trajectory seems to be really good for my VH loops.
I need to admit that my AZX is 91g and this means an extra 7g on the blade, which by surprise made it a faster blade compared with the Vega Tour but on par with the FEEL ZX III, I own. The IceCream is a bit stiffer than my Vega Tour, but I guess this is also because the IceCream is new and my Vega Tour is already 2 years old.
After the first systematic training, I liked the IceCream so much, that I glued my O7 Pro Max rubber on the VH, while leaving the Vega Pro on BH. I even played with the blade in one of my competition matches. IceCream blade with O7 works really well. My FH loops were a bit longer, than with the Vega Tour but still on the table. Only little adjustment was needed, because of the extra speed.
I need to admit that I had to change my FH technique because of the plastic ball. When I tested the O7 Pro for the first time (still on celluloid) it really didn't work out for me. As yogi_bear stated in the O7 thread, you need to hit the ball differently to use the potential of the rubber. Over summer I worked on the timing (hitting the ball earlier) and that did the trick with the O7 Pro. The new technique seems to work better with the AZX, than with the Vega Tour also, which is why I'm so happy with the IceCream.
I made a difference experience than yogi_bear, as I felt really confident with the IceCream blade in any situation. Very linear in all aspects, no "kicking" effect or suprises in any of the shots. No problem with controlling the length or placement of my shots.
Next test will be the O7 Pro on BH and O7 Tour on FH. On the Vega Tour Blade the O7 Tour was a bit to much from a speed perspective, but maybe with the IceCream I will be able to manage. We'll see...
I promise to report back, when I did the test.
I'm really glad that I was able to get a AZX for testing and that found a worthy replacement for my Vega Tour. The Feel ZX 3 was close, but at the end I returned to the Tour. From the "specs" of the blade I would have not anticipated this. The Vega Tour is a Hinoki/ZLC blade and I was a bit scepticle if Koto toplayer would work for me, but it does.