Customer review for XIOM Zetro Quad

External Review for XIOM Zetro Quad on June 25, 2011

Ok, I'm a two wing looper that is working on being a better flat hitter over the table to finish points. I'm probably a mid 1900's to low 2000 player who relies on strong serve and serve return to set up points. The ability to spin the ball is far more necessary to me than the actual overall speed of the setup I'm playing. I play a fairly Chinese style of forehand with a punchy backhand on a fairly athletic 6'5" frame.

The Xiom Zetro Quad is a beautifully crafted blade. It's a very unique construction. Think of a Stradivarius, or TBS in which they changed out the Arylate Carbon with just carbon and shaved about a mm off of the core. After that slap a thin layer of Zylon on it and put another mm of Hinoki on the top. This comes out to a solid 7 mm thick blade. Typically I play a thinner blade, but I had read that this is a pretty snappy flexible blade, and that kept my eye on the blade till I finally broke down and got it.

Serves: This is the one area where I seem to do pretty well with any blade as long as it's not a ridiculously stiff blade. The Zetro Quad is not ridiculously stiff, so it was really pretty good on the serve side. It's very controlled. It is easy to apply quite a bit of spin, and surprisingly it's pretty easy to keep the ball nice and short.

Loops: Doesn't matter what kind of loop. The brush loop is nice and easy. I actually think the brush loop is more rubber type dependent than it is blade dependent. Loop drives are absolutely great with this blade. They are very crisp and have a lot of bite on them. It doesn't produce quite as much kick off the table as the Stradivarius, but it isn't devoid of it like a lot of carbon blades. Since getting the Zetro Quad I have really gotten a better understanding of using the entire table as it pertains to looping. Short angles, heavy driving angles have been very easy and controlled with this blade.

Counters: This is the stroke that I have been pretty poor at most of the time. I took some time playing with a very stiff blade to work on this stroke just go get a good idea of how it could help me in game play. Then switched back to the Stradivarius which was so flexible that this stroke was just very difficult to control. After having gotten the Zetro Quad I have found the best balance of being able to flat drive the ball, and loop all in the same blade. This has been a difficult search, but I'm very satisfied in retrospect. I have no intentions of switching from this blade anytime soon.

Blocks: I haven't found any blade to be difficult to block with. All of them require a blade angle adjustment. This one really controls the table well. It's quick and controlled all at the same time. I have made great improvement in blocking since getting this blade in that I use a lot more of the table with blocks too. I don't think this is a result of blade change as much as the game is slowing down for me mentally and more things naturally occur to me in fast play now. What used to be a concerted effort is now instinctual.

Pushing: Very controlled, soft outer plies really make this a fairly strong point of the blade. I can really play this stroke a bit more aggressively and it seems to reward me for doing so. It allows me to dig in and spin the ball well even on fairly short pushes.

Chops: Can't do it. Don't ask.

Summary: This is a great blade that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to anyone at any time. It's on the low side of OFF+ and high side of OFF. I would say it's slower than Primorac Carbon, and faster than Viscaria or Maze. I like that this blade has thick hinoki outer plies. This makes this blade a great match for Euro, Japanese, and Chinese rubbers. I know it sounds like I'm a homer for this blade. I didn't really point out what this blade does poorly, which makes me sound not objective. Since I have gotten this blade I've improved on basically every stroke, and all strokes have been easier since getting them. If there's a negative it's that if you are looking for a legitimate OFF+ blade this probably isn't it. Like I said it's on the low side of OFF+.

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