Xiom Zeta Offensive and Offensive + Carbon Blades

Zeta Offensive Carbon +

I have tested this with Xiom Omega VII Pro, Vega Intro, Vega SPO and Musa 3 rubbers. The ZOC+ blade weighs 84 grams in my end although I have heard others having 85-87 grams. The thickness is at 6.1mm. The blade is medium stiff. It feels stiffer than the Feel AX blade and a tad faster but it almost has the same feel. I am not sure if the top ply is made of Walnut or colored Limba. Central ply looks like Kiri. The ZOC+ feels light, balanced but never hollow. Although it is labelled as OFF+, I would rather rate it as OFF only because it is not faster than Viscaria. I would rate it as fast as Viscaria. On a bare blade doing ball- bouncing, the height of the ball bouncing against the bare blade is medium high. A little bit higher than Feel AX or almost the same bounce as Viscaria or Xiom Stradivarius. The ZOC+ is a "do all" all-around offensive blade. If I love the Feel Ax and I still do, I switched to the ZOC+ immediately because the control never really decreased in my part but I felt an increased in speed by a few notches indicating that the ZOC is a faster blade than the Feel AX. The ball feedback with the ZOC+ is excellent and it does not feel too hard nor too soft. The blade is rigid enough to give you the power and speed but it has a softness innate to the blade when you are hitting with it. The Zeta series blades have actually one of the best handles in the line of blades for Xiom. The handle is just right including the wing part. If I compare it with the Feel Series blades, the wing part of the AX and other blades are wider and you need to sand them. The Omega series have also good handles but they feel too slender at times and with the Zeta blade handles, they feel just right.

The ZOC+ is an excellent attacking blade with balance on looping and driving. Looping the ball is as easy as looping with the Feel AX but it feels much faster. The blade feels bouncy but not too fast. It has more than enough speed that you need for powerful shot but it has control like that of an off- blade. Smashing is very good but the best qualities of the ZOC+ is looping, blocking and inside the table strokes like  flicks and drops are all easy to execute with it. After using this, this has been my main blade with much preference compared to the Feel AX, both have the good flex in looping but the Zeta Offensive + blade is just a step better. Power wise, the ZOC+ is limited to the middle distance from the table and farther from the table it loses some amount of power on your shots unless you place a very fast rubber with it like Omega VII Pro. The Zeta Offensive + can be used by players that are in the intermediate level when it is paired with the Vega Intro 2.0mm or Vega Elite 2.0mm rubbers in which control is really abundant. Advanced and even elite players will greatly love the Zeta Offensive Carbon + because it is dynamic, fast, controllable and excellent in every shot. Also, the blade costs about 60-65usd so the price for its performance is really good.

Zeta Offensive (all wood 7 ply)

The ZO7 is almost similar in construction with the Xiom Solo and the Feel S7 blades. All of them have koto outer plies. The Solo blade is the lightest and has the most flex but also the slowest while the S7 is the heaviest at 93-95 grams but also the fastest. The ZO7 is just in the middle in terms of speed and weight. Mine is about 87 grams with very good quality finish. Thickness is about 6.2mm. If I compare it to the S7 then the ZO7 has a smoother quality finish but it feels softer than the S7. The handle of the Zeta Offensive blade is one of the most comfortable handle in the Xiom line of blades. The Xiom Solo and other older generation blades have very good and comfortable handles but with the Omega and Feel series they seem to have different designs on the handles. The winged part of the Omega series seem too small for me while the Feel series seem wider. I do not have any problems with this especially with the Feel blades’ wing part because all you need to do is sand the, like the one I did for my Feel AX. The Zeta handles however look awesome in blue and the handle design seems just awesome to hold.

The Zeta Offensive 7 ply blade offers enough speed. I would put the speed at equal level with the Stiga Clipper CR with more surface hardness and equal stiffness. The Koto feels harder than the Limba outer plies of the Stiga Clipper CR.  It is fast enough that even if you use a Hurricane 3 unboosted on the forehand at middle distance, there is still power on your shots. I have used the Vega Intro, Musa 3 and Vega SPO in this blade and all are very compatible. The blade can just do about everything and is ideal for all-around type playing style player. It blocks well, smashes well and spins also well. It might not have the flex of the Xiom Solo but looping with it is also good. For 48 usd a piece, this blade is a steal in terms of performance because the speed is very good, with good looping ability and the quality is more than compared to its price. The blade is not choosy on what rubbers to use with it. From hard to soft inverted rubbers, the ZO7 seems to be just fine but if you need more power you would need a rubber like Omega 7 Pro especially if you stay away from the table always. The ZO7 is more of a close to the table blade.