XIOM Hayabusa Z+

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This review was originally posted in the general "Hayabusa blade" thread; however, I decided to make a thread for this specific blade in case anyone ever wanted to search it in particular. Please feel free to add other reviews, opinions, etc. here if you want. Here is my review:
I finally got a chance to hit with my Hayabusa Z+ I purchased from fatt.
It is a FL handle and weighs (if I remember correctly) 84.6g. With my rubbers on it (TopENERGY Soft, max, and Renanos Hold, 1.9mm) it weighs a light 176g. 

Compared to my regular setup (see sig), it was ever so slightly head heavy. And I mean slightly. Not nearly as pronounced as my Carbo 7.6 but more so than my NR-70. TopENERGY Soft is a pretty heavy rubber (in the BWII black sponge range) so I'm quite confident that with "normal" weighted Tensors this blade would be even better balanced. And again, it's not bad to begin with, just noticeable. 

Despite the minor head heaviness, it's overall weight is less than my main setup by almost 10g. So I felt much more maneuverable with this setup, like I was playing with a wakizashi rather than with a katana . The blade also has a nice feel upon contact. It feels a lot like an all-wood blade with sharp feedback from the koto. The vibration is crisp but it is very short-lived. 

It is quick for how thin it is, although it is not as fast as my NR-70. Normally I prefer ST handles. Although I was excited by the fact that this particular FL handle felt nice in my hand, upon playing with it I realized I wasn't nearly as comfortable as I'd hoped to be. This FL is about the size of a Stiga Master FL. Not smaller, but not much bigger if at all. Without it filling my hand like my regular ST, I felt like the blade was unstable in my hand. This is no fault of the blade but simply my own preference... but it may have tainted my review in general. Hopefully not. 

Keeping serves and drop shots low were no problem. This is not a bouncy blade at all. Looping and hitting had very good speed. However, I think this blade matches better with Japanese (and presumably Euro) rubbers, as I liked my backhand with this blade much more than my forehand. While the speed was good, the spin was a bit diminished compared to my NR-70. It wasn't a ton worse but it was noticeable enough that all three of my training partners made comments about it. I should add though that I was using a new sheet of hard, tacky rubber which often requires some time to break in, so the spin may be there at a future date. 

I do like this blade, but it's not love at first sight. It performs very, very well. I will continue to toy with it in my spare time, but for me and my game it does not perform as well as my NR-70. I am grateful to fatt for putting it in my hands and I plan to add more observations to this thread in the future. This blade may eventually make it to the For Sale section... but not quite yet. 

Edited by Anton Chigurh - 11/21/2012 at 2:32am

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Anton Chigurh Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Premier Member Joined: 09/15/2009 Status: Offline Points: 3962	Post Options Post Reply Quote Anton Chigurh Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: XIOM Hayabusa Z+ Posted: 11/21/2012 at 2:31am
	This review was originally posted in the general "Hayabusa blade" thread; however, I decided to make a thread for this specific blade in case anyone ever wanted to search it in particular. Please feel free to add other reviews, opinions, etc. here if you want. Here is my review: I finally got a chance to hit with my Hayabusa Z+ I purchased from fatt. It is a FL handle and weighs (if I remember correctly) 84.6g. With my rubbers on it (TopENERGY Soft, max, and Renanos Hold, 1.9mm) it weighs a light 176g. Compared to my regular setup (see sig), it was ever so slightly head heavy. And I mean slightly. Not nearly as pronounced as my Carbo 7.6 but more so than my NR-70. TopENERGY Soft is a pretty heavy rubber (in the BWII black sponge range) so I'm quite confident that with "normal" weighted Tensors this blade would be even better balanced. And again, it's not bad to begin with, just noticeable. Despite the minor head heaviness, it's overall weight is less than my main setup by almost 10g. So I felt much more maneuverable with this setup, like I was playing with a wakizashi rather than with a katana . The blade also has a nice feel upon contact. It feels a lot like an all-wood blade with sharp feedback from the koto. The vibration is crisp but it is very short-lived. It is quick for how thin it is, although it is not as fast as my NR-70. Normally I prefer ST handles. Although I was excited by the fact that this particular FL handle felt nice in my hand, upon playing with it I realized I wasn't nearly as comfortable as I'd hoped to be. This FL is about the size of a Stiga Master FL. Not smaller, but not much bigger if at all. Without it filling my hand like my regular ST, I felt like the blade was unstable in my hand. This is no fault of the blade but simply my own preference... but it may have tainted my review in general. Hopefully not. Keeping serves and drop shots low were no problem. This is not a bouncy blade at all. Looping and hitting had very good speed. However, I think this blade matches better with Japanese (and presumably Euro) rubbers, as I liked my backhand with this blade much more than my forehand. While the speed was good, the spin was a bit diminished compared to my NR-70. It wasn't a ton worse but it was noticeable enough that all three of my training partners made comments about it. I should add though that I was using a new sheet of hard, tacky rubber which often requires some time to break in, so the spin may be there at a future date. I do like this blade, but it's not love at first sight. It performs very, very well. I will continue to toy with it in my spare time, but for me and my game it does not perform as well as my NR-70. I am grateful to fatt for putting it in my hands and I plan to add more observations to this thread in the future. This blade may eventually make it to the For Sale section... but not quite yet. Edited by Anton Chigurh - 11/21/2012 at 2:32am
	Neo H3 40D\| Offensive S \| Tenergy 80

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singody Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Silver Member Joined: 01/11/2011 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 591	Post Options Post Reply Quote singody Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 12/27/2012 at 5:26pm
	I played with my Hayabusa Z+ Cpen for three sessions in passed two months, then I want to share some experiences about its performance in my traditional one-side Cpen game with inverted rubbers. Z+ is supposed to be a fast blade with excellent control. Yes, it is. Z+ is definitely not one of the fastest blades we can easily have, while it provides me fascinating control in loop, block and push. I think there are more new blades focusing on quick loop and drive in medium and close to table; and Z+ is one among them. Artificial materials within Z+ do not make too much "modern" taste like carbon and fiber. But, the vibration is too much for me, since I need solid touch when playing. This is the only drawback for me. I think there are two reasons for that: 1 This Cpen blade is only 75g, not around 85g in XIOM ad. It is meaning that the materials cannot provide me "solid" feeling, although control is really good. 2 My playing style is one-side Cpen with no rubber on backhand. As we know blade with only one side rubber could give the clearest or sharpest feeling to player. Then I stick a piece of super light spongy at 6g on backhand, it feels better. But that is not perfectly what I want it to be. I think people doing RPB will not have this vibration problem due to soft touching given by backhand rubbers that are always soft version. In terms of rubbers doing well on Z+ blade, I will recommend Xiom Omega IV pro, Sigma I Euro, YASAKA Rakza 7, Nittaku Fastarc S-1 and any other Japanese rubbers, which can neutralize the vibration of blade itself. But if you are used to German rubbers and prefer sharp or clear feeling, you would love it with no doubt. Anyway, Z+ is one of the newest high end blades from XIOM, giving players really really good speed, spin and control combination, while it does feel "sharp" as showed in XIOM rating.
	Handmade ZLC. 厌倦源于过度求新，满足来自用心重复。 My Feedback: http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=41593&title=feedback-singody

vvk1 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Gold Member Joined: 11/14/2009 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 1925	Post Options Post Reply Quote vvk1 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01/20/2013 at 3:50pm
	Is it just me, or the finish of the handle is not as smooth as on Xiom V1 or Strad?

watchski Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Super Member Joined: 08/11/2012 Location: Alpharetta, GA Status: Offline Points: 185	Post Options Post Reply Quote watchski Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01/20/2013 at 9:01pm
	Nice pics fatt.
	Blades: Ross Leidy (Nemesis) Ross Leidy (Canxan) Ross Leidy (Rapscallion) Infinity VPS Rubbers: Nittaku S-1 Tenergy 80FX 1.9mm

watchski Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Super Member Joined: 08/11/2012 Location: Alpharetta, GA Status: Offline Points: 185	Post Options Post Reply Quote watchski Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01/20/2013 at 9:44pm
	I will sell it if anyone wants it?
	Blades: Ross Leidy (Nemesis) Ross Leidy (Canxan) Ross Leidy (Rapscallion) Infinity VPS Rubbers: Nittaku S-1 Tenergy 80FX 1.9mm

AllezCho Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Super Member Joined: 03/24/2010 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 434	Post Options Post Reply Quote AllezCho Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01/20/2013 at 10:53pm
	Hey watchski, how do you like that setup? I'm curious since I use the same rubbers and it'd be nice to get a comparison between the Viscaria and Z+.
	Viscaria T05/T64

ZApenholder Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Premier Member Joined: 03/04/2012 Location: . Status: Offline Points: 4804	Post Options Post Reply Quote ZApenholder Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01/21/2013 at 2:42am
	What a beauty!! now you just need Xiom rubbers hehe

lakatos Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Beginner Joined: 05/07/2013 Status: Offline Points: 13	Post Options Post Reply Quote lakatos Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 05/15/2013 at 4:21am
	May I ask if the Z+ is a faster blade then the ZXi ?

watchski Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Super Member Joined: 08/11/2012 Location: Alpharetta, GA Status: Offline Points: 185	Post Options Post Reply Quote watchski Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 05/15/2013 at 6:35am
	I play with the zxi daily and it feels more solid (less vibration), more control, and faster than the z+ They are both nice blades but the zxi does feel a tad faster but close.
	Blades: Ross Leidy (Nemesis) Ross Leidy (Canxan) Ross Leidy (Rapscallion) Infinity VPS Rubbers: Nittaku S-1 Tenergy 80FX 1.9mm