Customer review for Victas ZX-Gear In

External Review for Victas ZX-Gear In on February 16, 2020

I would call this a control looping blade. I have power only when I want it. The speed and spin are there when looping but otherwise the bounce is toned down and controlled. Granted, you have to swing, so it is suited for loopers.

This is a flexible composite blade. Two limba layers, then a zylon/carbon weave "Zexion" layer next to the core, hence the "IN". The finish quality is very high. There are no asymmetries, all the layers have even thickness all throughout. The FL handle has a nice shape, slightly bigger and more squared than HL5. It is on the heavier side, mine weighing 90g. The bounce has a sturdy, muted, woody sound. Overall it feels hefty and sturdy when I hold it, like a good tool.

I currently use a lightly boosted h3 on fh, and rakza7 on bh. It has high throw angle, consistent large sweet spot, and wooden feel. If the ball bounces farther from the center, you can feel the difference, but the bounce remains consistent. You get a LOT of Speed + Spin by looping. Smashes are not very fast. It seems like the zylon/carbon layer only activates parallel to the blade (spin/brush) and not very much perpendicularly (smash/hit). This gives "power only when needed" kind of control. With correct form, you can simply "unleash" on the ball and it will 100% go in, great for when you start to move away from the table. Great at blocking and counter looping because the perpendicular component of the incoming ball is absorbed (like in the smashes). I can really hit over the top of the ball without it going into the net. You can even attack against underspin this way too, so over the table shots are much easier, including fh. Also, it's easy to keep pushes short, low, and spinny.

My friend who uses HL5 says they are similar. He felt ZX-in had not as much speed when he got farther from the table. Compared to Yasaka Ma Lin Carbon, yet another "inner" carbon blade, ZX-in has more dwell and higher throw angle. I'm able to hit more over the top of the ball.

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