Xiom Cho Daeseong TMX PRO

A Power blade

Hello, TT11 blog readers!

    After testing the Xiom An Jaehyun TMXi Pro (TMXiP) – an awesome 5+2 inner ply composite blade that balances speed, spin, and control - I was excited to get my hands on the Xiom Cho Daeseong TMX PRO (TMXP). Designed for South Korean national team player Cho Dae Seong, this 5+2 outer ply composite blade packs serious power, making it an excellent choice for advanced offensive players who thrive on speed and aggression.

    The TMXP utilizes Trimetrix (TMX), a high-tech composite weave combining X-carbon, Axylium, and Zephylium - Xiom’s versions of Arylate and Zylon. According to Xiom, the outer TMX placement enhances sharpness and explosiveness, while the PRO-sized head boosts inertia for extra power. This means stronger, faster shots with heavier rotation - ideal for players who want to dictate the pace of the game.

    Xiom rates the Korean-made TMXP as follows in the categories of catapult, ball grab, repulsion, and precision categories: 9.3/7.6/8.3/9.0. For comparison, here are the ratings for three other top-end Xiom blades: Hugo Calderano HAL (8.7/7.5/7.7/9.1), Ice Cream AZX (9.7/8.5/8.5/7.7), and TMXiP 9.4/7.9/8.2/9.1. These numbers suggest that the TMXP is a very fast blade with a strong catapult effect and short dwell time, rendering it likely that it will excel at quick, direct, and powerful strokes.

    The TMXP arrives in a stylish trapezoid-shaped box, which features the unique blade logo on the front and the blade name on the front lip. No other text is displayed on the aquamarine and purple box.

    The blade itself has a light straw-colored surface with prominent dark vertical grain and fish scale pattern, characteristic of a koto outer ply. Cho Dae Seong’s name and signature are displayed on the FH side, while the backhand side features the TMX logo and branding.

    The handle is an eye-catching mix of dark grey, orange, mint green, deep purple, and cream in a bold striped pattern - a look that gives associations to retro 1970s aesthetics. The FH side of the handle features a metallic burgundy oval tag depicting the blade logo. The BH side of the handle also features a metallic oval tag, listing Cho Dae Seong’s name, “TMX,” and the TMX logo in black font on a burgundy background. A holographic “Xiom Beyond” tag is located at the base of the handle. Though the blade is beautifully crafted, I noticed the TMX weave protruding slightly, and the wings aren’t sanded as smoothly as expected. A bit more finishing work would have made the experience even better.

    The TMXP has the following ply composition: thick Kiri core, thin ayous (?) ply, a relatively thick TMX weave, and a thin Koto outer ply. The blade’s playing surface has the following dimensions: 158 mm x 152 mm x 5.7 mm (height x width x thickness). The ST handle, which is a hybrid SQST/RST shape, has the following dimensions: 100.7 mm, 27.5 mm, and 22.3-22.6 mm (length x width x height). My TMXP sample weighed 88 grams. Bouncing a ball on the naked blade produced a resonance frequency of 1523 Hz, as compared to 1371 Hz for the TMXiP with the inner TMX construction, indicating that the TMXP is in the high OFF or even OFF+ range. The center of gravity is tilted towards the head, being ~3.5 cm from the top of the handle.

Testing Procedure

     I paired the blade with well-used sheets of DHS Hurricane 3 (H3, black, 2.15 mm, 40-degree) and Spinlord Waran II (W2, red, 2.0 mm) short pips on my FH and BH, respectively. I used the Revolution 3 normal viscosity glue to attach the rubbers and tested the blade over several sessions, playing a mix of regular and match-like drills against my regular high-level practice partner (two-winged looper), using Neottec Neoplast Pro 40+ training balls throughout this test.

First Impressions

    Just like the TMXiP, the TMXP has a lovely, slightly head-heavy balance, yet feels nimble. The ST handle provided excellent stability on BH shots, but felt slightly restrictive on FH loops.

Driving

    The TMXP produces a direct but non-metallic feeling on FH drives. I felt some vibrations travel up to the palm of the hand, which increased my feeling for the ball. However, the TMXP is a seriously fast (high OFF) and rather bouncy blade with a relatively short dwell time. Accordingly, my FH drives had long and flat trajectories, with a narrow margin for error. Thus, several of my shots grazed the top of the net and/or overshot the table. My short pip BH drives felt crisper still since the W2 is significantly softer than the H3. The TMXP blade felt better suited for the short pips than the H3.

Looping

    My FH warm-up loops with the TMXP were fast and flat, but not particularly spinny due to its short dwell time. Although the blade feels stable, its fast and bouncy nature frequently caused me to overshoot the table. My FH 3rd ball attacks were fast and furious and felt great, but once again, I had a greater frequency of shots go long, as the relatively low spin levels failed to dip the ball before the endline. The fast and bouncy nature of the TMXP reduced my confidence in my FH during random match-like situations.

    The TMXP felt very stable in FH-to-FH loop-to-loop rallies far from the table due to its large sweet spot. Its massive power reserves meant I had to hold back to prevent overshooting the table.

    The TMXP felt awesome on long-distance BH fishing shots with my W2 short pips. The crisp, solid, and fast nature of the blade gave me the confidence to rip through the ball, leading to dangerous shots. I rarely overshot the table, presumably because less power is typically imparted on the ball on BH shots. In fact, the TMXP seemed to have just the right amount of speed for me to land these shots with good consistency.

    In contrast, I had to exert more caution on my BH 3rd ball attacks against long pushes. Being closer to the table meant that more of my 3rd and 5th ball attacks went long. Those that didn’t were flat and dangerous.

Blocking

    The solid and stiff nature of the TMXP was great for warm-up FH and BH blocking. The shots were consistent and quite flat. In-match blocks were lightning fast and dangerous. The use of a wristy motion triggered additional acceleration, leaving the blocks out of reach for my practice partner.

Smashing

    The fast, solid, and bouncy nature of the TMXP, coupled with its large sweet spot, renders it supremely well-suited for flat hitting. My smashes were very fast and virtually unreturnable.

Flicking

    Along similar lines, the TMXP also works well for flicking, especially pancake-type flicks. The resulting shots are fast despite relatively little physical effort. I enjoyed particularly high confidence when flicking with my BH short pips.

Pushing

    This is the shot category where I struggled the most. Long pushes against backspin serves, played as part of regular controlled drills, were no problem, as I consistently used soft hands. These pushes were deep and relatively flat. My struggles arose during more random situations, when I had to switch between firm hands (as used in loops and smashes) and soft hands. If I happened to push using slightly firmer hands (or pushing against a dead ball), the ball would careen beyond the table. This is likely a question of getting more used to the blade, but even after five hours of testing, I was still making many simple mistakes.

Conclusion

    The Xiom Cho Daeseong TMX PRO is a very fast and responsive blade that caters to advanced mid-distance attackers, though the blade still supports over-the-table shots like flicks. The feeling is woodier than other 5+2 ply composite blades in this speed category, such as the Stiga Carbonado 290 or the Tibhar Felix Lebrun Hyper Carbon. The other TMX-offering from Xiom, i.e., Xiom An Jaehyun TMXi Pro, is better suited for players staying closer to the table as it is slower and higher-throwing than the TMXP. I want to be clear: the TMXP is an excellent blade - it simply doesn’t suit my playing style, which is a little more balanced and predicated on me using a strong arm swing on my FH side.

About the Reviewer

     Patrick 'Pong Professor' Hrdlicka is a table tennis enthusiast with a Ph.D. in chemistry who combines his analytical and experimental skills with his love of table tennis in order to test and review a wide range of table tennis equipment.