I have used Omega III BIOS 2008 2.0 rubber on my forehand and XIOM Guillitine Long Pips 1.2 mm on the back hand. I was amazed at - as well as many of the people who have experienced my forehand top spin loop shots – the ability of the blade to generate fast and spinney loops. When I compare XIOM Aigis with other defensive blades like TSP 3.5 Balsa Fiber DEF+, the Aigis shines better in top spin play. The Aigis is made of pure wood - Limba outer layer - and does not have any carbon.
The XIOM Aigis blade is a semi-large blade and has a medium hard feel. There is a large sweet spot, but you can feel it only if you have used medium hard blades before. The handle is almost square with rounder corner. The cut at the top on the handle helps to rest the thumb. I have not found any problem in twiddling the paddle in between the rally after few hours of play. The handle structure helps the cut defense better. I have not found any handle vibration or at the face of the blade in a normal game - see later when I have used Tenergy on this blade. The five plies on this blade can absorb any vibration. The players who have used rounded handles may feel little uneasiness with the square handle. I primed the blade with Joola Blade Varnish before putting the rubber on. I have removed and put back rubbers at different times, and have not seen any problem like fiber of the blade tearing a part from the blade.
The XIOM Aigis helps mid distance cut stokes from the floor – the cut stroke can cause the ball to fly straight high over the net and falls down suddenly because of uderspin.
There are defensive players who don’t have forearm movement while blocking or cutting – they depend on the long pips to do the work. The XIOM Aigis will disappoint such players – the cut strokes need good forearm movement. Such players who don’t have a stroke while defending need to use no sponge long pips like TSP Curl P1R to do the work for them. The blade fits very well to an active player.
The XIOM Aigis fit the defensive players who play little further from the table – use cut defense and top spin attack on the forehand. The XIOM Aigis also suit players who block the backhand and hit or smash from the forehand close to the table.
I would probably consider XIOM Professional Classic Aigis as a DEF + blade. I’m currently using this blade, and have found XIOM Aigis to be a perfect weapon for modern defensive and classic defensive players – best suited for modern defensive play. It is also suited for players who do backhand defense and forehand attack.
When I have used this blade with Butterfly Tenergy, I could find few things that have surprised me. The Butterfly Tenergy is a hard rubber with very hard sponge. The blade face had a lot of vibrations while hitting back the speedy top spin loops - there was no control while hitting back. I have not seen this behavior when I was using softer rubbers.
The price of the XIOM Professional Classic Aigis defensive blade is $65.
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Xiom Aigis is a very soft blade (not medium hard) and it is very flexible too. It has a hollow feeling and vibrates very heavilly (also with softer rubbers). Dwell-time is high and you can make great spin with it, especially far off the table.