Tibhar Zodiac Libra ZAC

My blade is 83.4 grams and 6mm thick; the blade is very head heavy. I can tell that D09C is OK, and the best was Xiom Omega VII China on both sides or Tenergy 05.

This is a blade for flat hits and blocks. So, you need a lightweight, grippy rubber with huge dwell time.

When you hit topspin with a normal closed angle, rubbers like D09C are poorly activated, and the outcome is just normal and far from great; you cannot add power. The blade only shines when you make a flat hit, and only then it sends the ball. It feels sometimes dull, sometimes empty (the core is not solid, hence lightweight), sometimes unresponsive. It actually reminds me of balsa blades like T11s; it is $25, and the feeling is 60–70% like this blade. It is fantastic in blocks, though—automatic and very safe. The handle is VERY comfortable for medium hands, but if dwell time is short: fast rebound. I measured the Hz from this blade, and it was VERY inconsistent; it was usually 1350Hz and sometimes 1500Hz. Usually, my blades (I had 20+ blades) have 1 peak in Hz, but here I had almost 2 peaks! BH and FH transitions are excellent, as the handle allows some freedom. Rubbers like Hurricane 3 Xiang Peng are very grippy and could be good for backhand, but they are too heavy for this blade and lack flat hit. Rubbers like D09C are decent here, but on Viscaria or Stiga Inspira CCF they are A LOT better, so pick this blade only if on forehand you attack with a flatter hit and brush upwards (and do not cover the ball on top like Chinese style); rubbers like Xiom Omega VII Pro or Xiom Omega VII China will suit this attack style perfectly, as those rubbers give increased dwell time and have excellent sponges for flat hits. This blade is strange, to be honest; its price should be less than 100. Sometimes when I block, I think: “Oh, this blade is so controllable, comfy, and solid…” but sometimes I try to attack on BH, and there is a metallic sound, and the ball does not spin, rebounds too fast, and flies far away—it is just a bad feeling.

Pros: High control, good feeling, covers a lot of playing styles, but it’s mostly directed towards looping, high quality material and box.

Cons: Not very powerful, head heavy with heavy rubbers because it’s slightly oversized. You need to consider the weight, as it can go over 200 grams, which for me was unplayable.

Personal dislike: The FL handle is big and square, which feels very uncomfortable for someone with small hands.

Besides this, the blade is very good and (almost) worth the price.

Great blade, hard feeling, but not extremely fast, still fast, great precision and control, my FL version weights about 82 grams, highly recommended.