Nexy Karis M and M+ reviews

NoFootwork wrote: Can someone provide a comparison between Xiom Sigma 2 Pro and Karis M and Karis M+.  Thanks.

NoFootwork wrote: NoFootwork wrote: Can someone provide a comparison between Xiom Sigma 2 Pro and Karis M and Karis M+.  Thanks. I hate to quote myself but I don't think any one has responded to my question regarding Sigma 2 Pro vs. Karis M and Karis M+. There has been some discussion about Xiom Omega V Asia in this thread, but will appreciate any feedback regarding Sigma 2 Pro and Karis.

Thanks to Andy Smith for the offering of some karis m and karis m+ for a trial.

Blade: Tibhar Stratus Powerwood (modified head - very balanced)
FH: Various:
BH: Karis M 2.0mm

Had a bit of a knock with Karis M+ on fh.
Mostly I tried Karis M on bh in 2.0mm!!

Mostly I would echo what other people have said about using the Karis M

Ease of use
Relatively insensitive to spin (compared to H3N which I have been using)
On the TSPW I found the speed ok when I smashed off took the ball early
Very easy to topspin with wristy bh, very safe arc - not sure about the speed
For me it was easier to hit with as I could hit the ball really hard in a controlled manner.

Basically the rubber felt good on my blade to knock with. I also tried with Yasaka Goabiao and that had no speed problems at all.

Most weeks I have a knock with a very good bh pimple (hellfire) and spinny fh H3N guy. For approx. 2 months he has been getting the better of me. I have been using H3N on bh and various on fh on various blades but mainly TSPW.
So last night knocking was excellent, great control against the pimples
Good openers - Good blocking against his insane slow spinny fh.
Better returning of serves.

The Karis M was excellent for bashing through his pimple shots, something I have lacked recently with H3N, super arc on proper wristy bh, definitely felt a little more comfortable returning serve
All this bearing in mind this was only my second go with the Karis M.

I'm not sure how spinny it is compared to other stuff, probably a little less but it certainly has spin on the TSPW.

Im very close to settling on this for my bh.

I need to test against attacking players with good countering bh to see if I can get enough on the ball to make it hard for them.

Overall though first impressions are a very good rubber as stated by others.
My decision now is whether to use this or Victas 402 limber on my bh.

For reference I had EL-S on my fh and the combination of rubbers and blade worked well


Edited by mog1111 - 01/30/2017 at 5:39am

I like Karis, so I bought some more sheets of M in 2.2mm, red and black.  I'm seeing some variation in sheet size and weight though.  The 2.2mm sheet of M in Red is quite a bit heavier than the black one while having smaller dimensions  - it's very nearly the same weight as the black test sheet of  M+ in 2.2mm I had, and the sponge feels harder than the black sheet of M.  I've put the data in the Reporting... thread.

Baal wrote: Oh oh. That is not a good sign.

I may have slightly changed my opinion on the karis m.

knocked with it tonight and I might just have played bad but I felt I lacked spin and penetration. Not sure it is going to be the answer I am looking for. my opponent just blocked and countered all my backhands.

Baal wrote: I have a couple of new sheets coming and I will be sure to weigh mine.  If there is QC problem, people need to know.

AndySmith wrote: I like Karis, so I bought some more sheets of M in 2.2mm, red and black.  I'm seeing some variation in sheet size and weight though.  The 2.2mm sheet of M in Red is quite a bit heavier than the black one while having smaller dimensions  - it's very nearly the same weight as the black test sheet of  M+ in 2.2mm I had, and the sponge feels harder than the black sheet of M.  I've put the data in the Reporting... thread. http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=34743&PID=965248

I have received two new sheets of Karis M to try on my favorite black tag Viscaria (a little faster blade than the ZJK-ALC my first sheets are on). 

Before gluing I checked weight.  The black sheet weights 67 grams uncut.  The red sheet is 61 grams.  They are exactly the same surface area. 

This is a big difference, around 10%, and it suggests that there may be quality control problems.  And based on what Andy wrote, it is not systematically based on color.

Now I wish I had checked this on the first sheets.

I used them last night in a match and they were noticeably different. Not as much as M to M+, but somewhere in the middle. I just used the harder one on my FH and was very happy, but it's a bit like buying Rhyzm 425 and getting something closer to regular instead. Karis EL. But the obvious problem is what do you get next time?

im giving upon Karis, for me I just seemed to offer up to many easy balls, I think it might be better on a faster or stiffer blade, but did not really work for me apart from against pimple players
it was good and stable for blocking though.
not a bad rubber just does not suit my style

mhnh007 wrote: I thought the variance in weight after cut of +/- 2g is the norm, specially on pre-boosted rubber.

Nexy is just the branding, they don't manufacture. So question is do regalis or other new rubbers from this OEM have the same kind of variance?

My thoughts on this are that I don't think this rubber is pre-boosted.  Nothing about it plays that way, or smells that way.  But...  I don't know for sure.  And again, I still like playing with it, including my new sheets.  However:

The weight differences I saw between 2 uncut sheets of the same size amount to 10% of the weight!  Where is that extra weight coming from?  There are three plausible possibilities.

1.  One sponge is thicker than another.  A 10% variation in that would be ridiculously unacceptable (it would take a 2.2 mm down to almost 1.9).  Just looking at it, it doesn't seem like that is the case.

2.  Sponge hardness variation.  Andy mentioned his played harder on one side. I couldn't quite feel that.  Will see later.  I prefer the black side on my FH, but maybe it's placebo.

3.  Variations in amount of factory applied booster.  Possible, but as I mentioned above, not my favorite choice, but this could also affect how hard it feels.

Of course one can not completely exclude some variation in the top sheet but that seems a lot less likely.

As to whether this is factory or Nexy, it is true that a factory in Japan makes the rubber, but Nexy decides whether or not to put it in their package and then sell it with their name on it for $50 per sheet.  Maybe they don't know about this variation.

Now they do or will soon (I hope).  I actually sent Nexy a PM about this, so I hope he will comment.  I don't know how often he checks in here, but he has a couple of long running threads.

fatt wrote: Maybe the testers received sheets that did not pass QC? I am still waiting for my 2 sheets btw.

I have bought, personally used, and personally redistributed lots of sheets from Nexy USA.  My informal notice of the anomaly came when switching rubbers across blades and noting that the weight changes were sometimes inconsistent.  But like I said, I never had a serious problem playing with the rubber itself.  I do agree that the QC should be addressed for a premium rubber.  I have pretty much committed to using it this year but it was things like this that stopped me from sticking with Big Dipper and that was much cheaper.