Weight
88g
Thickness
6.8mm
Plies
9-ply
Head Size
158x151
Handles
FL / ST
Material
Hybrid
Head Shape
Standard
Balance
Head-Heavy
Lialox
Nittaku Lialox is a premium table tennis blade engineered with advanced Swedish wood technology, offering a compelling blend of power and control. Its unique hybrid construction provides a softer touch without compromising offensive capabilities, making it suitable for players seeking a versatile tool. This blade excels in various strokes, from powerful loops and smashes to precise blocks and controlled pushes. Its balanced feel and consistent performance make it a strong contender for intermediate to advanced players looking to elevate their game with a reliable and dynamic blade.
Lialox features a complex 9-layer construction consisting of 5 wood plies, 2 carbon plies, and 2 aramid fiber plies. This hybrid design, utilizing Swedish woodworking techniques, aims to provide a softer touch and excellent dwell time due to the aramid and wood layers, while the carbon layers add power and speed for offensive shots.
TT Sensei Ratings
✦Our expert analysis of this blade's performance characteristics
Nittaku Lialox is rated as a fast blade, with our analysis placing its speed around 9.1. This strong offensive capability is attributed to its hybrid construction, enhanced by the carbon layers, which allow for powerful smashes and fast attacks while maintaining a surprising degree of control.
Despite its high speed, Lialox maintains an excellent control rating, averaging around 9.1. This balance is a key feature, allowing players to execute precise shots and maintain consistency even during aggressive play. The construction contributes to a predictable and reassuring feel on contact.
Players report the feel as medium-hard and rigid. Despite the presence of aramid and carbon, many note an unusually softer touch, indicating a feel that is not overly stiff, allowing for good ball feedback and control.
Based on player reviews describing good looping capabilities and a balance of speed and control, the throw angle is likely medium-high. This facilitates powerful, arcing shots suitable for modern offensive play.
While not given a specific numerical rating in source data, the blade's construction with multiple wood plies and aramid fibers suggests a good dwell time. Our assessment places it at a 7, allowing for enhanced spin generation on serves and loops, and providing a solid feeling on impact.
The flexibility rating is around 5.0, indicating a medium level of flexibility. This allows for a good balance between stiffness for power and flexibility for control and spin.
Information on vibration levels was limited in source data. However, the combination of wood, carbon, and aramid layers in a relatively thick blade typically results in a well-dampened feel. TTSensei experts assess it as having medium-low vibration, around a 4.
Lialox is highly regarded for its quality, with an overall rating of 9.4. This reflects excellent build quality, durable materials, and consistent craftsmanship, which are hallmarks of premium table tennis blades from Nittaku.
Technology
Nittaku Lialox utilizes advanced Swedish Wood Technology, a testament to renowned craftsmanship. Its construction is a sophisticated hybrid design featuring 5 plies of wood combined with 2 plies of carbon fiber and 2 plies of aramid fiber. This intricate layering aims to harness the power and speed typically associated with carbon blades while retaining the softer touch, enhanced dwell time, and superior control often found in all-wood blades. The aramid fibers provide a comfortable feel and good vibration dampening, contributing to the blade's overall balanced performance.
Pro Players Using This Blade
Li Xiaoxia
Li Xiaoxia, a highly accomplished Chinese professional player known for her powerful all-around game, reportedly used Nittaku Lialox. The blade's combination of speed, control, and feel would have complemented her dynamic playing style, allowing her to execute powerful offensive shots while maintaining the consistency and accuracy required at the elite level. Her use of the blade before signing with DHS suggests it was a favored piece of equipment during a significant period of her career.
Similar Blades
Nittaku Acoustic
Nittaku Acoustic is often mentioned in comparison to Lialox. Many players find Lialox offers better topspin while maintaining good performance in other areas. Both blades are known for their quality, but Lialox provides a slightly different feel and potentially more power due to its hybrid construction, while the Acoustic is a highly regarded all-wood blade known for exceptional control and feel.
Butterfly Viscaria
Lialox is sometimes compared to Butterfly Viscaria in terms of speed and feel. Our testing shows Lialox's speed is similar to that of Butterfly's ALC blades, suggesting a comparable performance bracket. Both are hybrid blades, but Lialox's specific composition of wood, carbon, and aramid offers a distinct, slightly softer feel and control profile.