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Nexy Kanaph Review by Tommy Zai |
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tommyzai
Premier Member Senior Animator Joined: 02/17/2007 Location: Tucson AZ USA Status: Offline Points: 9289 |
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Posted: 10/10/2014 at 9:40pm |
Nexy Kanaph Review by Tommy Zai I’ve been slowly, but surely collecting Nexy blades, and I’m happy to share my initial impressions of my latest possession, my new “wing” — Kanaph. Note: What’s posted on MYTT stays on MYTT, right? My g/f would kill me if she new how many Nexy blades I have hidden behind the secret panel in our bedroom closet.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS EMS delivery (5-days
from Korea to USA) — nicely boxed and protected with foam. The color scheme is deep
purple and black. Overall, the blade is consistent with other Nexy blades — high
quality and nicely finished. To quote another reviewer, Kanaph looks “elegant.”
A great deal of thought and care has been put into the construction. The handle
has a round recessed logo the BH side with a copper or brass emblem stamped
into the butt, which serves as a decorative end-cap. I am not sure if the
handle is solid or semi hollow. The blade feels nice in the hand; however, I
personally would prefer a couple more millimeters in length to bring the butt
past the meat of my palm. The flared handle is not too thick or thin — very
comfortable for most players. The bottom flare is standard, but not as pronounced
as the Nexy Hannibal. It is slightly squared, but has comfortably rounded
corners. If your grip is up high and tight you will need to lightly sand the
blade wings for comfort, which is easy to do. The blade surface of Kanaph is
creamy and void of rough grains — a typical trademark of high quality hinoki.
One light coat of an oil-based sealant is all that I needed to protect it! It’s
doubtful this blade will ever splinter with Tear Mender, table tennis glue, or
glue sheets. BOUNCE TEST I dropped a new DHS 3-star ball (not poly) from 40mm onto the center of the naked blade, which was freely lying flat (handle handing off edge) on a solid wood table.
GLUED UP! *The blade is well
balanced with standard weight rubbers affixed to BH and FH. My normal set-up
features an OX rubber on the BH side, and this blade felt just like my other
favorite blades — no balance issue whatsoever. SOUND The blade produces a nice,
crisp sound “crack” with all FH rubbers tested. The tone is surprising for a
thin blade. Please listen to sound byte! https://www.dropbox.com/s/knz9xzpgbwbjn6f/Nexy%20Kanaph.mp3?dl=0 IN PLAY Kanaph is a high quality carbon blade, with hinoki outer plies and a thick burnt core of unknown origin. The blade strikes a nice balance between speed and control. Compared to other blades, there is a noticeable increase in performance when using the new poly ball. When driving hard, I could feel the enhanced sweet spot and the unique construction at work. “Kanaph is thin, but feels deep, which allows a player to feel the ball as it sinks deep.” I was able to identify two obvious gears, which suited my style of play. Gear one is for control — drop shots, pushes, flips, and other placement shots; gear two is for power — hammering loop drives and smashes. This is a great blade for offensive players, who are looking to maintain power and spin without sacrificing control during this new ball era. I use a combination of passive blocks and punch blocks, the later of which worked out better as gear #2 is engaged. Kanaph excels when the ball sinks deep and catapults. Yet, many players, who like to drop the ball short over-the-net might appreciate passive shots a la gear#1. I found the traction-based rubbers (not the tacky-based) with softer sponges to be a better match as much of the blade’s performance is brought to life by the ball sinking deep and engaging the blade. I would rate the speed of Kanaph well below Qabod, slightly below Inca, and falling between Hannibal and Oscar, but don’t quote me on this. I would need to do a more careful assessment . . . especially comparing Inca and Oscar. Note: As mentioned in previous reviews, my looping ability is not the best; however, I did have the opportunity to rally with Matt Pimple while he demoed his Kanaph. The ball really seemed to jump when he loop drove. I needed to make adjustments and close my bat angle to compensate for his topspin. I highly recommend Kanaph to intermediate to advanced offensive players, who play close-to-the-table to mid-distance. Loopers, hitters, and tactical players will enjoy this blade, especially when using the new ball. Kanaph has a remarkable sweet spot with a nice feel and touch for short game. This is probably due to the combination of hinoki outer plies, burnt core, and overall thinness. It works well with inverted and short pips. I noticed excellent control for my LP placement shots. Kanaph is an good option for players who want the hinoki outer layer feel, but are unable/unwilling to deal with the other beasts on the market. Is this blade “THE ONE” for Tommy Zai? Hmm, probably not, as I don't loop and would like a little more weight and thickness for my punch blocking game. Still, this blade will suit players with a more conventional offensive attacking game and better strokes than I have. Overall, Tommy Zai gives this winged beast two high tosses. Thank you Nexy, for creating another lovely blade! For more information: http://www.nexy.com/shop/step1.php?number=1633&b_code=B20091201071556&c_code=C20091202014952 Note: The product
description for Kanaph is quite interesting. Edited by tommyzai - 10/10/2014 at 10:14pm |
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BH-Man
Premier Member Joined: 02/05/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 5042 |
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Go Tommy !!
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Korea Foreign Table Tennis Club
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arg0
Platinum Member Joined: 07/22/2009 Location: Germany Status: Offline Points: 2023 |
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Great review,
I've linked it in the Nexy Clan thread. |
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tuco
Gold Member Joined: 06/11/2007 Location: ValleyOfTheSun Status: Offline Points: 1432 |
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There are more than a couple of threads regarding reviews on the Kanaph, so I decide not to start another thread and post my findings here. Handle: Straight Weight: 80 grams I have handled a few Nexy blades in the past few
months. Nexy blades are always well
constructed and beautiful to look at; and Kanaph is no exceptions. I am a close to the table push blocker who plays
with OX-LP on backhand and inverted rubber on forehand. The rubbers I use to test the Kanaph are Dr
Neubauer’s Desperado OX and Nittaku’s Renanos Hold 1.9. Initial Impression: this blade is STIFF. VERY STIFF.
I have put off this review for a couple of weeks because I keep putting
the paddle down after a few hits during warm up because of its stiffness. There is a recent thread that a forum member
is looking for a “solidest” blade. Well,
this blade may just suit him. Sorry, I
digress…. During match play when I take full strokes, the
“bad” STIFF feeling is gone. The blade
has just the right feel. The blade is
also very well balanced which promotes better arm speed (or I may just be
playing well that day J). Spin production from loops are good, in fact, very
good. However, you have to give it a
full stroke to get the spin. Half
strokes produce very little spin and often sail long. I would rate it an 8 (out of 10). Spin production is not as good as my current
blades, Re-Impact Smart and Dr N’s Hercules.
It is also not as spinny as the TB-ZLC, which
I had an opportunity to hit with briefly.
The throw angle of the Kanaph is also lower than the 3 aforementioned
blades. Spins from services and short pushes are slightly
better than average. However, the short
game is very controlled and not bouncy as expected from a stiff hard blade. Speed: this blade is FAST. Compared to the TB-ZLC I tried, the Kanaph
can definitely generate faster drives.
Balls over the table just take off with a simple snap of the
forearm. This blade should be rated at
least an “OFF”. I rate control as very high for the Kanaph. I feel like I can do whatever I want with my
forehand. Loops, hits, pushes are going
to wherever I aim. This blade has “gears”
and can be played close to the table or a big step from the table. I don’t play well back from the table so I
have not tested the blade in that regards. Backhand play with LP-OX: well, if you play with LP-OX you would know
slapping your favorite LP on a new blade is not exactly plug-and-play. And it is not with the Kanaph unless you are
used to stiff hard blades with your LP.
So I am not going to comment here. Overall, the Kanaph is a very good blade. The price may seem high, but similar blades
from Butterfly and Nittaku will cost you more. |
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