Weight
90g
Thickness
9mm
Plies
1-ply
Handles
ST
Material
AllWood
Head Shape
Standard
Balance
Balanced
Hinoki 1-Ply
Ariex Hinoki 1-Ply is a premium blade crafted from a single piece of select Kiso Hinoki wood, offering a unique blend of speed, control, and feel. It delivers a direct connection to the ball with satisfying resonance, making it ideal for players who value natural wood performance. This blade excels in powerful attacks while maintaining excellent touch for short game play, providing a distinct playing experience rooted in traditional craftsmanship.
This blade is constructed from a single, solid piece of premium Kiso Hinoki wood, a hallmark of traditional Japanese table tennis blades. This construction method is known for imparting a unique feel, speed, and sound to the blade.
TT Sensei Ratings
✦Our expert analysis of this blade's performance characteristics
Ariex Hinoki 1-Ply is exceptionally fast for a single-ply wood blade, often described as OFF+ or comparable to hard carbon blades. This speed is a defining characteristic, making it excellent for smashes and aggressive drives with a solid impact that players enjoy. It maintains consistent speed even from mid-distance from the table.
Despite its high speed, the blade offers a surprisingly good level of control, particularly in the short game like drop shots and pushes. This is a testament to the inherent qualities of Kiso Hinoki, which allows for precise touch shots. However, players need to adjust to its speed to maintain control during fast rallies.
Ariex Hinoki 1-Ply provides a solid and hard feel upon impact, characteristic of dense, single-ply Hinoki. This direct feedback allows players to feel the ball distinctly, which is crucial for developing touch and executing precise shots.
Ariex Hinoki 1-Ply produces a low, long, and sharp trajectory on its shots. This characteristic is common for fast, dense wood blades and is well-suited for aggressive drives and smashes.
Single-ply Hinoki generally offers good dwell time, allowing the ball to sink into the wood for spin generation. While Ariex Hinoki 1-Ply is very fast, its Hinoki construction still allows for a decent dwell time, especially when paired with appropriate rubbers.
Dense single-ply Hinoki blades typically have a medium to medium-stiff flex. This allows for powerful energy transfer during hard hits while still retaining some feel for softer shots.
As a thick, single-ply Hinoki blade, it can produce noticeable vibration, which contributes to its distinctive feel and sound. However, the quality of the wood and construction aims to provide consistent audio resonance.
Ariex is known for high-quality craftsmanship, especially with Kiso Hinoki. The 'Excellent Grade' is specifically highlighted as their top-tier offering, featuring uniform wood grain, consistent resonance, and beautiful aesthetics, rivaling blades from more established brands.
Technology
Ariex utilizes a unique, patent-pending manufacturing process to bond two pieces of Hinoki wood together to create a single-ply blade. This technique aims to achieve a uniform wood grain and consistent audio resonance across the entire blade surface, ensuring a high-quality and reliable playing surface. The brand emphasizes using premium Kiso Hinoki, selecting only the top 10% of harvested wood for their blades, contributing to their reputation for excellent craftsmanship.
Similar Blades
Butterfly Senkoh 90
Players report the Ariex Excellent Hinoki is significantly faster than the Butterfly Senkoh 90, another 1-ply Kiso Hinoki blade. This suggests Ariex Hinoki 1-Ply is a more offensive-oriented option within the single-ply Hinoki category.
Darker Speed 90
Our testing shows the initial feeling of the Ariex 'Excellent GT' 1-ply Hinoki blade reminds players of the Darker Speed 90. This comparison suggests Ariex aims for a similar level of craftsmanship and playing characteristics found in respected Japanese brands like Darker.