Nittaku Meister Basaltec Outer

After 9 months of using this blade, I have been amazed by its capabilities. I have experimented with various rubbers, including Dgnics 09c, Rakza Z, Battle 2, Tenergy 05, and 64, among others. Most recently, I have used DHS Hurricane 3 National 39 Degree on the forehand and Nittaku Fastarc G1 on the backhand. This blade is ideally suited for spin-oriented players. The 3D Handle technology from Soul Spin Technology provides an exceptionally comfortable grip. It shares similarities with the Jun Mijutani ZLC and Zhang Jike Super ZLC, but offers greater control. This may be attributed to the incorporation of a layer of pine wood. Beyond the comfortable grip, I particularly appreciate the soft and precise feel during looping and topspinning, which generates tremendous ball spin despite the blade’s stiffness and medium hardness. It has become my favorite blade, although I intend to explore the Maister Basaltec Outer in the future. I extend my gratitude to Nittaku (Japan) and Soul Spin Project (Germany) for this exceptional product.

I have tried a lot of blades for a longer time from Soulspin Manufacturing. This one is probably the best. It is fast, stiffer, controlled, spinny, and feels perfect in the hand. What more can you want? Normally, outer fiber blades feel a bit dull. Not this one. I tried it with several totally different rubbers, except bouncy stuff, and all worked fine. It is not cheap, but it is worth it.

It’s overrated. It’s a good blade of course, but there are much cheaper blades with the same quality.

Very expensive, but among the best blades I’ve ever played with. https://www.tabletennis11.com/other_eng/nittaku-basaltec-outer.

Such a wonderful blade that is pure class. The touch is very, very nice for a composite blade. It feels great to be able to hit precise and powerful shots with confidence.

There are faster blades out there. However, I know of no other blades that come close to reproducing the Basalte’s combination of pace and control.

With T80 on FH and Sriver on BH, looping and counterlooping were simple at any distance. The beautiful craftsmanship is icing on the cake for a blade that I feel is worthy of its lofty price.

A surprisingly unique blade with multiple rubber combination possibilities. This blade, along with the high-end Butterfly blades, is the beginning of a new wave of blades for table tennis players. These blades offer more than the “frying pan feel” or poor-quality wood veneer of mass-produced cheap blades that dominate table tennis today. Table tennis is now entering another phase similar to tennis and golf, offering players not only new technology but also extra attention to manufacturing, quality control, and equipment that provides a wider range of playing possibilities. Like golf and tennis, these new blades will have a higher cost basis than the older blades, but it’s a change that table tennis needs to attract and hold new players to the game. Using rare wood or extremely old-growth wood to make blades and charge a high price will become less attractive as these newer, more technology-driven blades capture a wider market share.

This blade offers players something very different in blade construction and generates a wider band of rubber combinations and playing styles that a player can adopt without buying another blade. It is fast and has a soft stop, creating control and speed options that can be easily varied with various rubber combinations. Hat tip to Soul Spin and Nittaka for teaming up to produce this blade.

First and foremost, this is an exquisite piece of TT art. Starting with the box, which has a sliding panel that retracts as you draw the tray holding the blade out, and continuing to the spectacular straight-grained spruce of the outer layer and the attractive multi-piece handle with laser etching. Every edge you touch is beveled and polished. The ST handle is asymmetric, with a thinner piece on the forehand side and a thicker, rounder piece on the backhand. I found my thumb resting perfectly on the tapered part of the handle and had a more solid grip than any other ST handle I’ve tried.

The sense of luxury continues when you start playing. The sweet spot is large, and even the edge provides enough power to stay in the rally. I liked the sound and feel, as it was nice and woody.

There is a lot to like about this blade. The speed is pretty good, but the hardest hits don’t have the same catapult effect as carbon or Zylon/carbon, which makes the results more predictable, so I gave it a very high control score. I originally used DHS NEO rubber on this, but I don’t think that’s the best fit, as the combo feels a bit dead. Rasant and Tenergy were both a big improvement, with Rasant getting the nod as my favorite.

The target customer for this blade is well employed, appreciates craftsmanship, and has a controlled offense game. It works well with Tenergy or Tensor rubber for loop, smash, and drive but is pretty stiff, so people used to more flex will need to adjust.

Update: I put the blade away for a while after this review. Recently I took it out and put some Donic Acuda S1 Turbo on my backhand, and it was a brilliant match. The speed of the rubber makes for fantastic put away shots, and the control of the blade keeps the placement sharp. I can easily adjust spin and power as needed.

Very good for playing away from the table and provides good control when playing near the table. The vibrations are pleasant without being jarring (other bats have too much vibration at times) and it feels solid when playing.