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Welcome back to another blade review! If you follow this blog regularly, you know that I have reviewed many Xiom blades recently, including the Hayabusa series, the Ice Cream AZX PRO, and several members of the TMX/TMXi series, such as the Hugo TMXi PRO (HTP). I have generally found Xiom blades to be of excellent quality and have therefore been looking forward to testing the Xiom Hugo Calderano Hyper Axylium (HAL), which the “Thrill from Brazil”, Hugo Calderano (2025 World Cup Men’s Singles champion; silver medalist at the 2025 World Championships), is currently using.  

 Welcome to my test report of the Nittaku Hina Hayata H2 (HH) blade. According to Nittaku, the blade’s outer limba ply renders it easy to feel the ball impact and facilitates delicate touch play. 

In this post, I am reviewing the Nittaku Hammond Z2 Special Version (Z2S), i.e., the softer version of the regular version of Nittaku Hammond Z2. 

This time, I have been testing two blades from Andro’s TP Ligna series, i.e., the Andro TP Ligna CI OFF (LCI) and the Andro TP Ligna CO OFF (LCO). 

Here is something I didn’t have on my “TableTennis11 testing bingo card”….testing antispin rubbers! I tested four antispin rubbers – in this order: Yasaka Anti Power (YAP), Nittaku Best Anti (NBA), Juic NeoAnti (JNA), and Donic Alligator Anti (DAA). 

This test report is on two members from Xiom’s recently released Omega VIII series, i.e., the Xiom Omega VIII Pro (O8P) and Xiom Omega VIII China (O8C). 

This time I am testing two 5+2 inner ply composite blades from Double Happiness (DHS), i.e., the DHS Hurricane Long 5 Golden and DHS Hurricane Wang Chuqin. DHS blades are very popular with Chinese National Team members and recreational players alike.

This time, I am reviewing the Victas V > 22 Double Extra (V22) and Xiom Vega Asia Hybrid (VAH) rubbers, which are both 50-degree rubbers. While this is my first review of an inverted Victas rubber, I did recently review two other rubbers from Xiom, i.e., the Xiom Omega VII Guang China (O7GC) and Xiom Vega Pro H (VPH). I was particularly impressed by the VPH, finding it to be a predictable offensive rubber and an excellent choice for intermediate-level offensive players, as it supports all aspects of the modern game, from looping and pushing to counter-driving.

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.

Balls are an essential part of our sport. I returned to the sport in 2014, right when the switch from celluloid 40 mm balls to the new plastic 40+ balls was starting. Initially, the quality of the seamed 40+ balls, in which two halves are fused together, was very poor as they lacked consistent roundness, felt light, broke easily, and represented poor value. I strongly preferred seamless balls from XSF and YinHe back in the early days of the 40+ era, as these balls were much more consistent and harder. A couple of years later, 2017-2018, if memory serves me right, a second generation of 40+ plastic balls was introduced, which are based on Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) as the key polymer. That completely changed the landscape, and to my knowledge, most 40+ balls are now ABS-based.