Review: Nittaku Meister Holz Sieben

Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic

   I had the privilege of testing this masterpiece courtesy of Tabletennis11.com.  For all your table tennis needs, tabletennis11.com is your #1 shop and destination.  Visit tabletennis11.com for more products.  Nice infomercial.

I paired a Tenergy 05 on forehand and T64 on backhand for the sake of this review, as most users here play with either rubbers.

Packaging: Excellent package, a cardboard box with another fancy paper insert.  It made the blade appear very high class.  If only the second insert contains foam instead of just papers, that would make the packaging even more elegant.

Appearance: The Meister Holz Sieben is an 7-ply allwood blade.  The outer ply resembles that of Hinoki, but the print says Spruce Wood, not sure if the two are the same.  The ST handle is slightly enlarged compared to the typical Butterfly ST handles.  But it feels much more comfortable than the Stiga and Yasaka handles combined.  The handle is very nicely designed, the tag at the end of the handle also looks very nice.  The shoulders are factory sanded I believe as they are already sanded when I received it from the previous member.  

Initial Impression: Besides the top outer plies being Hinoki or Spruce Wood, I have no idea what the rest of the composition is.   Although the middle layers do look like some wood that I've seen in a Darker blade, such as the 7P-2A.  The bounce feels like a hinoki wood, except with slightly more power and speed, because of the 7-ply, yet it also has a little bit of vibration.  I think vibrations are inevitable when it comes to multi-ply hinoki blades.

Speed: The speed is faster than some of the popular multi-layered hinoki blades, such as the Tibhar H-3-9, or the Darker 7P-2A.  But it is a bit slower than some of the monster allwood blades like the Mazunov or the Tenor.  But as far as speed goes, I think it is ideal for an allwood blade given that it doesn't weight too much to begin with, at 90 grams.

Spin/Control: Because the blade is all-wood, it does have a bit of flex in it, so it's good for topspin or adding a variety of other spins.  The control also compliments the spin well given the Hinoki-like outer layers.  The soft feel is terrific for the short-game too.

Blocking/Driving: I have always played with blades with virtually no vibrations at all, so I was somewhat unaccustomed to the feedback that it provided every time I hit the ball.  Besides this small complaint, blocking and driving do stand out very well on this blade.  When paired with T64, the ball speeds up a notch, making it ideal for precision backhand blocking.  T05 is good for driving on the forehand, as it keeps the ball in bound.

Overall impression: This is one of a few very high quality allwood blades that I've ever played with.  Everything that this blade does are there for different playing styles and players of all levels.  The Holz Sieben can be used for the offensive two-winged looping game, or even a lack of frill allround game.  This blade is also friendly for players of all levels, from kids, adults, to even seniors, everyone can benefit from the excellent control and speed that this blade offers.