NEXY Calix II Review by Tommy Zai

• Handle:  Flared
• Weight:  88g
• Thickness:  ~5.3 mm (my eyes aren’t what they used to be)
• Size:  156mm x 150mm
• Plies:  5W+2C = Burnt Mahogany/Ayous/Carbon/Kiri/Carbon/Ayous/Burnt Mahogany
• Hardness:  7/10
• Flex:  3/10
• Speed:  OFF
• Range:  Short to Mid+
• Sealant:  One light coats of MinWax, oil-based, satin
• Rubbers Used for Testing:  H3 Neo, T05, Winning NP-8, and LPs on BH

Bounce Test:  Ball passively dropped from 40cm rebounded up to 34cm

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fj2c4547pco7s0r/Nexy%20Calix%20II.mp3?dl=0

     "Calix II by Nexy is a cocoa beauty that is well balanced in weight and playing characteristics — perfectly suited for the seasoned attacker." — Quoting Myself

     As with all Nexy designs, Calix II looks like no other, except for a resemblance to its kinfolk Calix I and Qabod. Calix II resembles dusk and dawn simultaneously. The color scheme of the blade is predetermined by the mahogany top ply with a handsome design of charcoal gray, red, white, and a silver inlay logo. The blade is a standard size, and is finished cleanly. The only sanding I needed to do was on the wings/shoulder to prevent blistering, as my grip is unusually high. The blade features a semi-hard burnt mahogany top ply, standard sub-ply, thin carbon layer, and a hardened core. The blade has lots of “talk” through the handle to the hand without any annoying vibration. The handle design is sleek-looking and has a nice gentle flare. It will probably be just the right size and shape for most players. 

     The top ply is a little softer than the burnt walnut used for Qabod, which in part explains the slightly better control and feel with a tradeoff of less speed. Calix II excels close to the table and at mid-distance, while Qabod can be used to rally from a mile or two off the table. ;-). Calix II is fairly thin, yet stiff with little flex. It is slightly thicker and more stable than Calix I, which has pronounced gears and extra flex. Calix II is a more versatile blade than the Qabod, which is a rocket launcher. I consider Calix II a super-charged version of Calix I with increased zing, better for blocking, all the control, gears that are more subtle, and just enough flex to provide adequate dwell time for spinning the ball. Many 5-ply blades have a small sweet spot in the center and become quite weak towards the edges. That is not the case with Calix II or Qabod. During my bounce test of both blades, the ball rebounded nearly the same all over the playing surface. This series of blades have a HUGE sweet spot. They also have a woody feel and feature Nexy’s “dual speed” property for gears. I would rate Calix II at OFF or OFF-. If I had to compare this blade to another manufacturers design, I would say it falls somewhere between the Butterfly TBS/ALC, and Yasaka Ma Lin Carbon.

     I demoed this blade with soft Euro/Jap rubbers and a hard Chinese rubber. Both work really well and rubber matching, in this case, would probably be more dependent upon player’s style of play. As previously mentioned, Calix II is versatile. With the Euro/Jap rubbers (Tenergy, Evolution, etc.) the gears were less pronounced and played more linearly, With the Chinese rubber (H3-Neo), the two gears were more obvious. 

     “Calix” is the Latin word for the cup (chalice) that is the Holy Grail. It’s clear that Nexy set out on a mission — a quest to design something extraordinary — a thin composite blade that that has power, speed, and a wood feel. All three blades of this series (Calix I, Calix II, and Qabod) are a success in this regard. The original Calix has many outstanding qualities, and version II offers a different spin (pun intended) with a more linear gear ratio, i.e., dual speed effect. Qabod features enhanced speed, but still has enough power and speed.

     I highly recommend Calix II to any intermediate to advanced player, who is looking for a composite blade that gives them power, control, spin, and great ball feeling without feeling like a composite blade. This is a do-it-all offensive beast that does not take long to tame. Tommy Zai gives Calix II, II thumbs up!! Thank you, Nexy, for designing another extraordinary weapon for the serious table tennis player!

     For more info:  http://nexy.com/shop/blades/55-calix-ii.html

I somewhat agree with you. After spending more time with the blade I've increased my speed rating to a solid OFF. However, Calix II is slower than Qabod, which is OFF+. I think the B-Fly ALC blade speed rating would fall somewhere between the two Calix versions, and the JM blade would fall between Calix II and Qabod. It's difficult for me to compare the Clipper to Calix II . . . they are so different in so many ways, but I would probably rate its raw speed potential about the same as Calix II, but less than Qabod and less than JM. Keep in mind, the Clipper is a 7-ply all-wood blade.

I would give the same ratings.