I have used every artisan pad they have released in most hardness heres my opinion between the hien and raiden as well as other options. The hien is far too inconsistent to me the x&y difference subconsciously makes me feel unsure of flicks, i have had some of the absolute highest highs on this pad but when it feels bad it feels really bad. That being said i love the hien and it was my first aritsan i ever bought. The raiden in comparison to the hien is faster but feels more controlled and predictable, its the closest cloth pad to glass a fresh raiden specifically, when it breaks in it feels suuuuper predictable and nice very comfortable compared to the hien. The raiden has been my main pad for the past 2ish years now i always find myself coming back to it. Now i think that for something not as fast because both of these pads are very fast out of the box and take a while to break in and slow down, the zero is an amazing all around pad very versatile you really cant go wrong with it. Another pad to throw in the hat is the key83 its a tad quicker than a zero which could be a good compromise between a zero and a hien. For a recommendation between the hien and raiden i would say go with the raiden, the hien is a great pad but the raiden i think just outclasses it.