Yogi's Nexy Zealot Review

Nexy Zealot

Weight: 89 grams

Test Rubbers: Reactor Ckylin Blue Sponge, Adidas P7

Speed: Off- to Off

Hardness: Medium Stiff

Plies: 5 (walnut or burnt koto??? outer plies with Spruce layers)

I received my Zealot for the forum testing last week and immediately glued rubbers on this blade. I am not gonna talk about the quality anymore because as far as quality goes, Nexy has proven itself to have high quality finish and excellent manufacturing process for their products. The handle is smooth and the blade surface is untreated. 

I bounced the ball with it and it produced a medium pitched sound, not too low and not too high of a sound. The ball bounced about 6-8 inches when it hit the bare blade. Nexy Zealot reminds me of several blades that are almost similar to its feel but slightly different characteristics and construction. I find the Zealot almost similar to the Avenger 5, Stiga Intensity NCT and Yasaka Extra Offensive. In terms of surface hardness, Stiga intensity has the hardest surface because of the NCT coating on the blade surface with the Avenger 5 having the softest feel. In overall hardness, especially when you hit the ball, the Yasaka Extra offensive has the hardest overall feel. The Zealot feels not too hard that you can pin with it well shots also not too soft that you can hit hard, solid shots with it.

Spin, the Zealot is highly rated for me in term of doing spin. Both the P7 and Ckylin produced medium to medium high arcs on my shots. I found the Ckylin not suited for the blade but still I could spin with it well. The P7, however for both forehand and backhand was a good combination for looping and I was using the Nexy 3 Star polyball for the test. The Zealot has a good "dwell" when looping. I just wished I would have tested it with my DHS H3 provincial instead and I would have enjoyed it much better than the Ckylin. The blade produces a long medium arc when looping. Looping with it is a bit easier because the trajectory is long a bit forgiving that you won't hit the net. On loop drives or looping the ball off the bounce, the sharp long and low arc of the ball is juts beautiful to see. 

Anyway, the blade is very balanced not too much speed yet fast enough but the great thing about the Zealot is that it is so easy to loop and spin with. It doesn't feel too hard like the Yinhe Pro 5w blade but it is fairly fast. It loops like a 5 ply limba blade but with more solid shots coming from it. I would recommend medium to medium hard rubbers on this if you want a looping set up that is fast. Even with MXP for the your forehand, the blade is still very controllable on the offensive side and even blocking. The speed of the MXp can be balanced by the Zealot's good control and you still loop with this blade despite the very fast rubber. Overall, I am deeply impressed by the Zealot.