Reviews by Dan

Hey guys! In this video we’re joined with the European Team Champion and World Number 40 Joao Geraldo who loves to test equipment!

So the World Number 1 and 2022 World Champion Fan Zhendong has his own signature ALC blade out now with Butterfly. We tested the blade to see how it stacks up to other blades we have tested including the Viscaria which this blade is based on. I used Tenergy 05 on my forehand and Dignics 05 on my backhand, Joao used the Dignics 05 on both his forehand and and backhand.

Butterfly's Tenergy 19 is here and everyone wants to know how it compares to Tenergy 05. Well in this video we find out! Dan uses his Timo Boll ALC blade and Tom used his Hybrid Wood. Let’s see how Butterfly’s latest rubber performs!

I'm a big fan of this ball, not to sure why it's not used more. It's used a lot here in the UK in local league and VETT events.

What's going on guys, today I'm joined alongside the German table tennis powerhouse Dimitrij Ovtcharov! In this video we compare the new Dignics 09C to Tenergy 05.

Find out Dima's thoughts on Butterfly's new tacky rubber and on how he thinks it compares to Tenergy 05.

Hey guy's

Here's our latest comparison review where we compare the Dignics 09C to the Hurricane 3:

Hey guys, here's my latest review on the Dignics 09C rubber by Butterfly!

Unfortunately there’s no practice footage in the is review due to the lockdown but rest assured we had tested it thoroughly.

I highlight 5 key things you need to know about this rubber:

Here's 5 things you need to know about the new Dignics 80 Rubber by Butterfly! Hope you enjoy this new style of review:

I used the Timo Boll ALC during the review and Tom used the STIGA Hybrid Wood.

Enjoy

Blade: Tomokazu Harimoto Innerforce ALC
Weight: 90g
Thickness: 6mm
Type: Carbon
Composition: 5W+2C (Limba, Limba, ALC, Core, ALC, Limba, Limba)
Rubbers used with the blade: Tenergy 05

Rubber: Butterfly Dignics 05
Weight: 68 grams
Blade used:
Dan: Timo Boll ALC
Tom: Stiga Hybrid Wood

Hey guys! Here's our latest review of the new Dignics 05 rubber by Butterfly! This is a new series by Butterfly using the their latest tech, Spring Sponge X. We compare this to the popular Tenergy 05 and more.

I'm joined by Tom in the TableTennisDaily Studio where we give the rubber a full in depth analysis on how it performs!


Written Version:

Initial inspection:

I've been looking forward to reviewing the new Dignics 05 for a long time. Right out the packaging its got that premium feel you get with Tenergy, high tension rubber. The sponge is a reddish colour and using Butterfly’s latest technology the Spring Sponge X which is meant to be more elastic than Spring Sponge, found in the popular Tenergy series.

The Sponge hardness of Dignics 05 is 40 degrees which sits between Tenergy 05 at 37 and Tenergy 05 hard at 43 degrees.

For me the most interesting thing about Dignics is that the topsheet is meant to be grippier which I find exciting. Comparing here to a Tenergy 05 it does feel the surface is more tackier.

The weight of Dignics 05 is 68 grams so sits at the same weight to Tenergy which is 68 grams.

Okay guys so I used the Dignics on my Timo Boll ALC blade to give this a fair test and tom used it on his Stiga Hyrbrid wood blade. Lets get to the action.


Topspins:

So 10 years after the release of Tenergy 05, here we go Butterfly’s latest high end rubber, the Dignics 05. As always we started with topspins and this rubber is something else. The sheer amount of grip you get during topspins is incredible and immediately noticeable.

What's so unique about this rubber is the arc, it’ pretty direct but with tons of spin, usually you only get this amount of spin with rubbers that produce a higher arc like Tenergy 05 or rubbers with lower arc but with less speed like Hurricane 3. This made my shots very effective and hard for Tom to block as they came in sharp and spinny.

Where I particularly loved this rubber was on my backhand side, it really is a joy to use and really stood out to me. I found it to be extremely consistent and the grip gave me the safety in my strokes. I have found for example Tenergy 05 can be hard to control at times on my backhand due to its responsiveness.

Due to the grip the rubber produces it works really well from mid distance to the table, you can take a step off the table and feel very confident in your strokes.


Spin

Okay guys as expected with a rubber with this amount of grip, playing topspins against backspin with Dignics 05 was fantastic, tons of spin and bite on the ball. Interestingly, playing against backspin reminded me of using Tenergy 05 hard as you can really accelerate into the ball as you have a lot of control. At first I found that due to the slightly lower arc the ball sometimes went into the net which meant i had to slightly adjust my stroke and brush the ball more, to get it on the table.

The amount of time Dignics 05 holds the ball onto the rubber was again extremely noticeable and very useful during shots over the table such as the backhand flick, allowing you to produce a lot of rotation on the ball and play hard and fast. This is where the rubber really shone for me and allowed me to pick up the ball even when it was low with a lot backspin.


Passive play:

When you’re on the backfoot in the rally Dignics 05 has superb amounts of control when you need to block. When Tom attacked I was able to literally just put my bat behind the ball without adjusting my angle that much, and the ball went over sharp and effectively. I am very use to Tenergy 05 and when I block on the backhand side I have to make quite a bit of adjustment, with the Dignics 05 it felt quite a bit easier due to the less responsive, and solid impact.

The stability and control that Dignics 05 gives you when playing away from the table is fantastic, in particular this really helped with my backhands away from the table as the ball doesn’t just fly out so easily which is what happens usually when you use fast rubbers.


Short Game:

Here we try some short touches over the net. Dignics 05 allows you to play passive shots like this very easily due to the grip and control. Although it’s great for this area we still had to have soft hands and solid technique to feel the ball well over the net.This rubber is also not only good for touching, serving with this rubber is superb, you can really get a lot of spin keeping it short with ease

Like with backhand flicks, forehand flicking is also very effective with the rubber whether that is guided or aggressive flicks, its very strong here off the short ball. The ball doesn’t just fly off the end of the table and you have a lot of control to play with high quality.


Conclusion:

Alryt guys, there was the review of the Dignics 05. Thanks to Butterfly for sending us this new gear in the post. This new high end rubber by Butterfly to me doesn't knock Tenergy 05 off the top spot however i would say it joins it there, it’s got its own uniqueness.

Dignics is simply different and I feel caters for a broader range of players. Tenergy is for advanced players and so is Dignics but I feel Dignics is better in the passive game and will give people that Tenergy feeling but give you greater control and spin. After using Dignics now for a few weeks me and Tom both feel that Dignics 05 is slightly slower than Tenergy 05 especially during passive shots like serving, blocking and touching short but during max effort, high speed shots like forehand topspin there is less of a difference, whilst there definitely more spin.

The great advantages of Dignics 05 is how easy it is to handle in fast situations. The rubber really holds the ball which gives you a lot of spin and stability in your strokes.

Now will I use this rubber? 100%! For me I will still stick with Tenergy 05 on my forehand side just so I can get more ease of speed when I need it and Dignics 05 on my backhand. The Dignics 05 on my backhand gives me much greater control and feeling and really bites into the ball well.

Heyyyyy Guys! Here's our first ever unboxing video on TableTennisDaily, and what better way to start than with this the highly anticipated Butterfly Tenergy 05 Hard! We will update this post with our review very soon!

In this video I give my initial impressions of the rubbers weight, sponge hardness and more!

Rubber: Butterfly Tenergy 05
Weight: 69 grams
Blade used: Timo Boll ALC & Timo Boll Spirit

What’s going on guys its Dan here from TableTennisDaily. Today we are joined by none other than the table tennis legend Michael Maze reviewing one of the most popular rubbers of all time, Tenergy 05 by Butterfly.


Intro

This is by far the most requested rubber review we have ever had, so it is finally time to find out if Tenergy 05 lives up to hype. Used by many of the top players including Timo Boll, Zhang Jike, Michael Maze and of course many many others. Last week I headed to the Denmark National training Centre to pick Michaels brain about this rubber and find out why it has become so popular and what makes it so special.

A quick bit of history on this rubber. It was released in 2008 just after the speed glue ban so it’s been around for 10 years now and features Butterfly’s famous spring sponge technology. The weight of the Butterfly Tenergy 05 when uncut is 69 grams and cut is 49 grams. In the review I used the Timo Boll ALC and Michael used his Timo Boll Spirit blade, lets get into the action.

Topspin Strokes

So first up we started out with topspin strokes as this is what Tenergy 05 is renowned for. The stand out attribute to Tenergy 05 is simply the amount of speed you can produce on the ball whilst at the same time getting tons of spin. The topsheet is very grippy and when combined with the sponge helps create fantastic topspin shots that are both extremely fast and spinny.

Michael Maze explains how he changed from the Bryce speed rubber to Tenergy. He found he could produce more spin with the Tenergy 05 in comparison to Bryce Speed. The advantage with the Butterfly Tenergy 05 is when you are out of position you can still produce a quality ball.

When topspinning with Tenergy 05 I love how I am able to still be very consistent even when playing at high speed. I find that tenergy always gives you a consistent contact that is always reliable. This gives you loads of confidence in your strokes as you never have to worry about how the rubber is going to react.

You can also remain very relaxed as the rubber has a lot of propulsion on its own, without always having to go for full power to create high amounts of speed. When you do go hard at a ball the consistency doesn’t change as much as other rubbers I have reviewed in the past.


Spin

Here we are both playing topspins against backspin and this is an area where the rubber really comes into its own. You can really feel the rubber bite into the ball against backspin producing a lot of spin, making open ups very easy. Tenergy 05’s ability to grip the ball is superb and allows you to produce a tremendous amount of spin.

Maze mentioned how you can get a lot of spin on the first ball, I felt I could follow up very strong with the 5th and 7th ball with Tenergy, it keeps your opponent under pressure throughout. The crisp quality during contact is what gives you the confidence in your strokes.

Michael Maze pulled off crazy chop blocks, which firstly how good his touch is, but secondly how well Tenergy grips the ball producing spin so well.


Downside to Tenergy 05

Okay guys talking of all this goodness such as spin, control and speed, there is a downside to Tenergy 05. That is that it is simply not for everyone, you need to have sufficient technique due how sensitive and responsive the rubber is. This works perfectly for competent players, but will be hard to control for players who don’t have sufficient technique.

This rubber has a medium to hard sponge and also a medium to high throw and due to its intense spin capabilities can tricky to handle for beginners and intermediate players who don’t have the skill yet to handle such a beast.

This is an advanced rubber that is perfect for attacking players with solid technique who can control the ball at high speeds. Here are some examples where I struggle with this rubber on passive shots such as the block.

A slower, softer, less responsive rubber would enable me to do the basic shots slightly easier, but less effectively as the speed and spin would be reduced.

Of course don’t get me wrong, Tenergy 05 is a fantastic rubber for blocking as well if you have experience and ability to handle it. For example Michael has no problems sending me all over the table haha!


Flicks and short game

Michael explains how its great for the short game with serves and flicks, the rubber grips the ball very well in this department. When it comes to serving with Tenergy 05 it’s a very similar story to how the rubber performs in the top spinning department whereby you can produce tons of spin and it is only rivaled by tacky Chinese rubbers like the hurricane 3. However as it is a very fast rubber if you do not have the timing down, then the ball can drift long during attempted short serves.


Counter topspins

The Butterfly Tenergy 05 is superb for counter topspins. When timed well counters with the rubber are usually outright winners. Again it does require sufficient technique to control these counter topspins as the rubber is very sensitive to spin. The fantastic advantage Tenergy 05 gives is even when using little effort, counter topspins are very fast and explosive.


Conclusion:

Thanks to Michael Maze for hanging out with me to review the ever so popular Tenergy 05. It was an incredible experience playing Michael, his play really is extraordinary and everything you would expect and more. Thanks also to Butterfly for providing the equipment so we could test it out

Tenergy 05 is a tried and tested rubber and after 10 years on the market is still one of, if not the most used rubber in the modern game. It is the benchmark for modern era rubbers to which every new rubber created is automatically compared to. After you try Tenergy 05 it is easy to see why. The rubber has an almost perfect balance between spin, speed and control for aggressive attacking players.

Next it’s time to address the main complaint the table tennis community have about this rubber, and that is the price. Tenergy 05 has higher price tag than most rubbers, but even with this price tag people still choose Tenergy 05 because you just don’t get the same combined characteristics with other rubbers. Even with this drawback however like any premium product, you pay for what you get.

Of course as mentioned previously in the review, you have to be at a good level to use Tenergy 05 optimally.

The reason for this is if you use it too early in your development than you may start playing lazy and inefficient shots where you only use your arm because the rubber is so fast and doing a lot of the work for you. This can make developing players forget that using your legs and body too is extremely important during topsin strokes.

Also due to the rubbers high sensitivity to spin you also need to have good ball control to be able to handle this rubber.

Think of it like this, you wouldn’t want to learn how to drive in a Ferrari. If you are in that development stage then a slower less responsive rubber would probably suit you better.

All around guys I absolutely love this rubber it really deserves all of the hype and praise it gets online and in the table tennis community in general.

Blade: Hugo Calderano OFF+
Weight: 84g
Thickness: 7.2mm
Type: Wood OFF+
Composition: 5 ply (Fineline, Ayous, Kiri core)
Rubbers used with the blade: Target Pro 47

What’s going on guys it’s Dan from TableTennisDaily, in this review we are joined alongside the incredible World Number 15 Hugo Calderano to review his latest personal blades with Cornilleau! It was really exciting to take on Hugo with his own blade, the Brazilian star is sending shock waves across world right now, recently reaching the final of the Qatar open defeating wonderkid Harimoto, China’s Lin Gaoyuan and current world number 1 Timo Boll at the Qatar Open.



Written Review

The Hugo Calderano Foco blades come in OFF- and OFF+ variations are both constructed out of wood. The Calderano blades both have striking aesthetics and both have a tiger logo embedded onto the surface of them. Both the OFF- and OFF+ are built with 5 plys of wood and both have the exact same composition with fineline as the outer layer, followed by an Ayous layer and then the core being kiri. The only difference between the two, are each blades kiri core and Ayous layers. With the thickness of these layers on the OFF+ being thicker than these same two layers on the OFF-. The overall thickness of the OFF+ is 7.2mm whereas the thickness of the OFF- is 6.2mm. The OFF+ weighs 84 grams and the OFF- weighs 81 grams. Throughout the review we used the Target Pro 47 rubbers on both sides of our blades.


Speed

Here we’re both are using the OFF + and after using the Gauzy OFF blade the day before, it was noticeable the Foeco was quicker. The speed of the foeco was surprising especially for a blade that doesn’t utilize carbon, whilst still not as fast as a traditional carbon blade the Foeco does still pack a decent amount of speed.

I was massively impressed at Hugo's arm speed which was rapid but still so relaxed and efficient. The ridiculous amount of spin and speed he produced was insane!


Control and Feeling

I absolutely loved the Focco blade on my backhand side where the blade feels very comfortable and produces a really clean ball. One of the foco blades key characteristics is its high feeling and control. Although the foco is quick, the medium hardness of the blade gives you a good amount of feeling, which assists with accuracy and touch. This feature of the Foco blade really helped me when active blocking and countering against Hugo on the backhand side.

The high amount of control the Foco gives you can be attributed to the fact that it is an all wood blade. Allwood blades as a general rule, have higher control than carbon blades due to increased dwell time. This OFF+ blade did still sometimes shoot off my bat to quickly for me to control, but a lot of that was down to the sheer amount of quality spin and speed Hugo produced on all of his shots.


Dwell

In this area of the review we test the blades dwell time with some open ups. The blade has a medium hardness and really grabs the ball well when spinning up against backspin. I was able to block Hugo’s first spin up but I had no chance after that. When I got the chance to open up I really appreciated its ease of use. Because the Foco off+ is an all-wood blade It gave me more dwell on the ball as the ball sinks into the blade surface more. As I am very used to carbon blades this wood blade made me realise how much more control on the ball I actually have when playing with something slightly slower and less responsive. Of course with a traditional carbon blade you can play stronger on follow up attacks, but this all wood blade does allow for slightly more control, giving a greater margin for error.

Because the blade is made of wood and has a medium feel you get a lot of dwell time in the short game especially with flicks and serves.


Counters

The Foco is really effective for playing counters. You can feel the ball on the bat and it doesn’t shoot of so fast where you lose out on control. I have found in the past when countering with fast carbon blades the ball can shoot off the end of the table easily. The Foco OFF+ however allows me to do this much easier, again with more time and margin of error.


CONCLUSION

Thanks to Hugo Calderano for his time in reviewing his personal blade, and to the fantastic Ochsenhausen training center for letting us use their fantastic facility to find out what the Cornilleau Foco blade is all about. The calderano Foco blades are packed with control and feeling. The OFF+ version although fast, has a lot of control due to its all wood composition. It has a medium feel so it works well when you want to produce spin and the ball sinks into the blade well.
The OFF- is more of an entry level blade and would be good for those who want to develop their strokes and it has a similar medium hardness to the OFF+. Young junior players would suit the OFF- after moving on from an all round blade as it will be a little step up in terms of speed but still maintain high control.

We would recommend the OFF+ for fast attacking players that prefer blades with an all wood construction over blades that contain carbon. Because it is a wood blade the foco off + is geared towards having more control and feeling. Although this is an OFF+ blade, it is not as fast as modern carbon blades such as a Boll ALC or a Stiga Carbonado.

The OFF+ works well from mid distance to away from the table, its ease of use is superb as the ball propels quickly with high amounts of safety in your strokes. Hugo said in the review, this is what allows him to play big backhands from away from the table. The Foco OFF+ gives him that ability to give him pace and arc in his shots. Like with the Gauzy blades I found I could use snappy shots like the backhand punch shot really effectively.

Due to the medium hardness of both blades we would recommended pairing it with medium to hard rubbers. The Target Pro 47 worked very well whereas the Target Pro 43 was not as effective, as it was too soft.

What I find most impressive with the Foco blades are the price points. Because Cornilleau haven’t focused on using more expensive carbon materials and have focused on purely using wood instead, the blades are just under 40 euros each. So if you are a fan of all wood blades this presents some great value.

Blade: Butterfly Timo Boll ALC
Weight: 88g
Thickness: 5.8mm
Type: Carbon OFF
Composition: 7 ply (Koto, ALC, Limba, Kiri, Limba, ALC, Koto)
Rubbers used with the blade: Tenergy 05

Hi guys, it’s Dan here from TableTennisDaily. Finally, after years of waiting and thousands of requests we are reviewing The Butterfly Timo Boll ALC, with none other than the legend himself Timo Boll. In November we were lucky enough to visit Borussia Dusseldorf to film the review using their unbelievable facility, where Timo Boll trains and represents his club in the German Bundesliga.



Written Review

Sweetspot and Control

The Timo Boll ALC is one of Butterfly’s flagship carbon blades and you can instantly feel the large crisp sweet spot on contact which helps to produce a very stable medium to high throw angle when playing topspins. I like this a lot about the Timo Boll ALC the feeling and sweetspot is crisp.

The amazing stand out quality of the Boll ALC is the sheer amount of spin it gives you on both your forehand and backhand. This is due to a large sweet spot, that offers incredible dwell time and feeling when you contact the ball.

Although the dwell is fantastic, the blade is still relatively hard which allows for powerful shots which work very well away from the table. Another great attribute about the Boll ALC is that it's so easy to control at high speeds.


Speed

Because the Boll ALC is very responsive you need to have good timing in order to make use of its full effects. However if you do time the ball correctly it is almost effortless to produce high amounts of speed, spin and control. I personally love the amounts of speed the Boll ALC gave me as for me, it's the right amount of speed where it's easy to play outright winners, without being so fast that it requires massive amounts of precision, like with the super ZLC series. In a sense the Boll ALC does a lot of the work for you, which gives you confidence in your strokes.


Spin

The Boll ALC excels when opening up against backspin, The dwell time and throw angle the blade produces is optimised for this type of shot.
The blade not only allows you to open up well but also lets you play hard on the follow up ball. The blade also has many gears which allows you to vary your spin and speed effortlessly when playing topspins.

Timo was getting some serious amount of spin and depth in his shots against my backspin. I have to say I struggled at times with blocking his shots, but I mainly put this down to the difficulty of playing against Timo. As you may be able to tell in the video above he really didn’t go easy on me. I think if I had a slower blade with softer rubbers I would have been able to control slightly easier, but having said that the Boll ALC, for an offensive carbon blade, still has a lot of control.


Counter Topspin

The Boll ALC is superb for countering, the hard outer koto layer helps to direct the ball quick. Sometimes the ball can fly out as like most carbon blades they are fast, the Boll has good stability in this area.


Serving and Flicks

The Boll ALC is great for generating spin whilst serving, as it gives you good feeling. However, due to the fact it is a fast blade, if you do not time the ball correctly it can drift long, giving your opponent the chance to capitalise on your mistake.

The crispness of the Boll ALC really helps when playing flicks and long digs, as the ball really bites into the blades surface. This also gives you the ability to really direct where you want the ball to go.


Away from the table

As mentioned previously the Boll ALC is superb when playing from mid distance to away from the table. The combination of arylate carbon and the harder wood outer plys gives you high end speed but enough flex to produce high arc which results in great depth. Landing the ball deep on the table being a key element when competing in top to top rallies.


Conclusion

A huge thanks to Timo Boll for his time to review his own personal blade, it really was an honour, and also to Borussia Dusseldorf for letting them use their incredible facility. And finally a thanks to Butterfly for providing us with the equipment to review.

The Boll ALC has an incredible balance of spin, speed and control. Butterfly and Timo have found a fantastic ratio for a carbon blade and it really goes to show why this blade is so widely used. It’s dwell and crisp feeling allows for superb stability in your strokes. This blades X factor is that its fast, but very controllable. That’s what I really like about the Boll ALC. This control is due to the blade ability in allowing you to produce vast amounts of spin making the ball dip quickly after it reaches your opponent's side of the table. Although this blade is quick, It’s not as fast as an OFF+ carbon blade like a primorac carbon or the Garaydia ZLC but is still a touch faster than an Innerforce or the Apolonia ZLC.

This Boll ALC is definitely not recommended for beginners as it would be too responsive. However a player who has developed efficient strokes and is on the intermediate to advanced spectrum would benefit most from this blade, especially if carbon blades are your thing.

Cornilleau Simon Gauzy Quest Blade
Weight: 81g
Type: OFF
Composition: 5 ply (Ovangkole, Kiri)
Rubbers used with blade: Target Pro GT



Written Review:

What’s going on guys it’s Dan from TableTennisDaily, in this review we are joined alongside World Number 13 Simon Gauzy to review his latest personal blades with Cornilleau! The Gauzy blades come in both All+ and OFF.


Forehand:

All wood blades are designed for optimum control and feeling, and the Gauzy quest Blades both possess these attributes in abundance. This fantastic level of control helped me especially when blocking Simon’s relentless forehand topspins. I was really taken aback by the amount of control both blades gave me whilst still maintaining good speed. This was especially apparent with the Quest OFF.

I have used and reviewed a lot of carbon blades recently, this wood blade reminded me how much control and feel you can get on the ball with an All-wood blade. I felt confident on my backhand side especially when playing punch shots.

Sometimes I struggled on high balls. I couldn’t get the balance of playing with maximum power. It was probably due to me over forcing the ball worried of Simon’s incoming attacks, which put me under a lot of pressure. Perhaps it’s also because I am used to a Carbon blade where I get more power without as much effort needed.

Playing backhand and forehand topspin from close to the mid distance worked very well. I felt I could stay relaxed and really swing through the ball without having to worry too much about it going off the end of the table. I could create good amounts of spin when finely brushing the ball during topspin play, and the Quest OFF also gave me great accuracy when it came ball placement.


Blocking and feeling:

When blocking for Simon I had a huge amount of feeling and control on the ball, you can really feel the ball onto the bat when blocking with this OFF wood blade.


Spin:

The dwell is superb with this blade when playing open ups even though the outer wood plys using ovangkole. Ovangkole being a relatively hard wood yet it still allows the ball to sink into the blade and catapults it with great spin. This harder outer wood helps during 5th ball follow up attacks.

Once again even when blocking against Simon’s heavy topspins, the blade gave me the time to feel the ball back onto the table, although I did need to use quite a closed bat angle and delicate touch.

It’s easy to create a good amount of spin with the Gauzy Quest OFF blade. You get a lot of time on the ball due to the ample dwell.

I found a lot of stability with backhand open ups, I could accelerate with a lot of racquet speed and confidence.


Backhand Flicks:

Similar to the backhand open up, the All wood quest off blade helps with gripping the ball when playing backhand flicks over the table.. When I took my time and managed to read the spin on Simon’s serve I got a lot of rotation on the ball which help to set me up for my next shot.


Counter topspin:

I had loads of control on my counter topspin. Even though Simon was loading the ball with ridiculous amounts spin. The ball does not shoot of your bat like you find with carbon blades which tend to be much stiffer and more reactive. The Gauzy quest OFF makes counter spinning much easier and I surprised myself quite a few times on ho
w well I could perform these shots with this blade.

Serving:
Serving with the Quest OFF is a breeze due to the dwell that it’s all wood construction provides. Here are some examples of Simon serving to me. The amount of spin was insane!


Conclusion:

I had a great time filming with Simon Gauzy in the brilliant Ochsenhausen training center,, as you can see from the review we both had a lot of fun.
I was very impressed with the Gauzy quest OFF blade, I really like the feeling and control it gives you. The weight of the blade is very evenly balanced when paired with average weighted tensor rubbers like cornilleau target pro which we used in this review. Some players may prefer a heavier blade for more power, however I found it really comfortable FOR my topspin game as I quite enjoyed the variation of shots you can play it. The Gauzy Quest off blade is noticeably slower than your average ALC Carbon blade for example, although it makes up for this in the control department where it really excels.

I was often blocking for Simon as he put me under a lot of pressure yet I was still able to contain most of his shots. This attribute of the blade I think is its strongest point, it's feeling and control is really is outstanding.

I did find on some occasions that when I wanted to go for all out attack I was quite limited with the blades speed. This is again because the Quest OFF is a wood blade tailored for spin and variation based players rather than for those with an all out attacking game.

As noted before, close to the table punch and counter topspin shots are easy to execute with this blade, this helped my style of play giving me good consistency.

For players starting out or looking to develop their game the Gauzy Quest ALL+ is a high controlled solid allround blade, the soft limba plys gives you great control and feel. The OFF is more suited for all round attacking players who value control and spin over extreme speed. The OFF is definitely faster and more direct than the ALL+ which is slower and but gives you even more control and dwell time.

Butterfly Marcos Freitas ALC Blade
Weight: 92g
Type: Carbon OFF
Composition: 7 ply
Rubbers used with blade: Tenergy 05


The Butterfly Marcos Freitas blade that was released in 2016. I’m lucky enough to be testing out this blade with none other than Marcos Freitas himself, who’s currently world ranked at 15 with his career best at world number 7!

Marcos Freitas has been using the Michael Maze blade for the last 10 years and wanted his own personal blade to be based upon the same specifications.
The new Marcos Freitas blade is based off the popular Michael Maze blade with a similar 7 ply construction using Limba wood as the outer layer with 2 inner layers of Arylate carbon or “ALC.

The blade comes in a simple and elegant design with excellent craftsmanship. For you guys to get a good understanding on how this blade plays i’m going to be doing some brief comparisons to other popular carbon blades in the Butterfly range like this Boll ALC, Maze and Apolonia ZLC. I really like the handle, it has a nice grip and has the plastic hologram lens for authentication.

Written Review:

Speed:

As always training with a pro is challenging especially when trying to block their quality shots. I could feel the crisp carbon sensation you get with most ALC blades like the Timo Boll ALC, Zhang Jike ALC and Michael Maze blade. One thing I did notice early on was I put some balls off the end of the table which I had to adjust to as the blade felt quite stiff and hard.

When top spinning I liked how I could produce a lot of speed with excellent control. That is an area I like a lot with Butterfly Carbon blades in general, giving you both speed and precision.

Spin:

The amount of spin and depth on the ball when Marcos is away from the table on both the backhand and forehand is quite something!

I found I needed to have a relaxed grip to block Marcos’s incoming shots. The medium hardness of the blade required a loser grip to avoid the ball going directly to the net or off the end of the table, to get that feeling and control.

I found I could play really strong shots from close to the table, I could get huge amount of spin and quality in my topspins. The dwell and the combination of the limba outer wood generates enough feeling to produce spin but not to responsive to lose out on control. This is sometimes the case with other carbon blades such as the Super ZLC versions where the carbon blades are very rapid and responsive.

Again you can see me sometimes struggling in the video to cope with the huge amounts of spin Marcos is able to achieve. Perhaps with a less stiff blade I may have had more of a chance, but of course this blade is for attackers looking for lots of speed and power.

Serves:

Although I was happy with the amount of spin I produced when serving, as you would expect Marcos flicked with absolute ease. With the combination of Tenergy 05 and the Freitas blade I felt good bite and grip when I served. I even managed to surprise Marcos a couple of times. I find it easier to serve more consistently with the Freitas ALC when compared to the Boll ALC due it being slightly less responsive. This is probably because of the freitas ALC’s softer outer limba plys.

Dwell:

Top spinning against backspin worked very well with the Freitas ALC. This blade was in its element when capitalising on the follow up ball. I could play with good power and direction. Having used the Michael Maze blade in the past, I actually feel the Freitas blade is a touch faster but with slightly less dwell. I would say the Timo Boll ALC is a touch faster and slightly crisper, however no where near as fast as the Mizutani Super ZLC. The Freitas blade sits between the speed of a Apolonia ZLC and a Timo Boll ALC but is one of the best ALC blades i have used for producing spin.

I really enjoyed using the Freitas ALC in free gameplay as it gave me the typical ALC carbon feeling and precision that I’ve always liked.


Conclusion
Thanks to Butterfly for giving us the fantastic opportunity to test their latest ALC blade. And also the main man himself Marcos Freitas for featuring in the review.

The Marcos Freitas ALC is another great addition to the Butterfly range with the Portuguese taking inspiration from the Michael Maze blade to create his own personal blade with a similar construction.

The outer veneers of the Freitas ALC comprise of softer Limba wood, this means it is slightly slower than the Timo Boll ALC but allows for more dwell and spin. The limba wood helps play from away from the table producing good arch and depth in shots. Whereas the timo boll alc uses koto as the outer ply which is a harder wood producing a more crisp and faster shot which is in effect harder to control, the Freitas using limba gives more dwell, spin and accuracy.

The timo boll ALC has a koto outer ply which gives more crisp and responsive shot which is slightly harder to control however you will get greater speed with less effort. I feel the Freitas blade was more effective when away from the table. In comparision to the Maze blade, the Freitas ALC is almost indistinguishable apart from being slightly faster, more comfortable and comes in a newly designed handle. The Freitas is thicker than the Boll ALC, Innterforce Layer ALC's and only topped by the Garaydia ALC in terms of thickness.

This Freitas ALC is ideal for players who loved the Maze and want a blade that’s a little easier to control and less responsive than the Timo Boll ALC, with a slightly stiffer feel due to a 0.2mm increase in thickness. The Marcos Freitas ALC is not for beginners and is geared towards players who have a solid technique and can handle a fast carbon blade. This blade in general will suit aggressive attacking players who like a blade with a consistent, medium throw angle.

Alright guys, in our latest review we test the new ABS ball from STIGA and compare it to other popular balls in the market including the current DHS ABS ball used in the World Tours.

We found the balls were very consistent and the bounce didn't change a lot which was pleasing as well as not breaking throughout so the durability looks like an improvement too. We were able to generate good spin on the balls and the contact felt a lot more crisp and celluloid like than previous plastic balls.

We found some great results with the new ABS ball, watch the review in the video below for more:

STIGA Carbonado 290 blade
Weight: 95g
Type: Carbon OFF+
Composition: 7 ply
Rubbers used with blade: Mantra M and S

Hey what's going on guys, it's Dan here from TableTennisDaily. Today I am joined alongside Tom in the TableTennisDaily studio and we are looking at STIGA’s latest addition to the Carbonado Series, the 245 and 290.


Written Review

About the blade

These two new carbonado’s really live up to their name and are packed with Carbon, 200 grams per square meter of carbon to be precise. Although this doesn’t seem that significant you get an idea of just how much carbon this is when you compare the new blades to the older carbonado variations. The Carbonado 45 and 90 use 64 grams per m2² (per square meter) of carbon and the 145 and 190 use 100 grams per m2² (Per Square Meter) of carbon.

This means that the new 245 and the 290 have double the amount of carbon when compared to previous carbonado series. By doubling the amount of carbon used Stiga are obviously trying to up the speed and kick you get from these two new blades. This may be due to the response from players that the previous 190 and 145 were quite controlled carbon blades.

The difference between the 245 and 290 is how the carbon layers are applied, with the 245 constructed at a 45 degree angle and the 290 layered at a 90 degree angle. This is done to affect the trajectory of the ball, with the 245 meant to create a higher ball arc and the 290 meant to create a more direct trajectory.
The Carbonado 245 and 290 both weigh 95 grams, this is a increase from the original carbonado 190 and 145 which weigh 92 grams.

Once again like previous Carbonado’s, STIGA’s traditional look remains, with classical sharp features and a very solid and stable feel. STIGA Mantra medium rubbers were used on both sides throughout the review.

Speed + Control

The effects of the high ratio of carbon are most noticeable when playing topspin strokes. The 290 is very fast OFF+ offensive carbon blade, The ball shoots off very fast and has a hard feeling on contact.

I had a very direct low throw with the 290, what i did like was how stable my shots were. The Carbonado 290 is a rapid blade and packs a lot of punch!

During comparison with my forehand topspin the 290 felt faster than the 245. What I like about these carbon blades is the control they posses. The blades wood like carbon feel is very unique and adds a lot of stability in the blades.

Spin

Because the Carbonado 290 is a very hard blade, I was doubting whether I would be able to generate a lot of spin in the short game. Although i got minimal dwell and reduced spin capabilities, I was able to produce enough spin to flick back spin balls when timed correctly and due to the increased speed I was able to force Tom into making errors on numerous occasions.

The combination of the Mantra medium used worked well with both blades. We would recommend soft or medium rubbers with the 290 and 245 as harder rubbers such as the Mantra H and Tenergy 25 would be quite difficult to use with these blades.

Conclusion

The new Carbonado 245 and 290 blades are certainly a couple of notches faster than their predecessor 145 and 190 blades and have definitely been designed with speed in mind. We both concluded the speed of the 245 and 290 has increased by between 10-15% when compared to the 145 and 190. Although the blades are very fast they both maintain a very solid controlled feel, helping keep shots stable and accurate during stroke play.

The blades are very stiff and hard yet possess a lot of control. I think this trait is the blades best ability, to hold a strong control, woody feel yet produce a crisp and responsive contact.

The 245 and 290 are suited to players who really like a fast blade and value speed over spin.

The differences between the 245 and 290 simply comes down to the flight path which applies with the earlier models. The 245 produces a higher throw, whereas the 290 is more direct in nature so you get less height over the net but the ball gets to your opponent's end of the table faster.

Personally i prefer the 290 over the 245 because of its direct nature but of course this comes down to personal preference. I felt very comfortable when holding off toms shots during active blocking. The Carbonado 290 is without doubt the fastest STIGA blade we have ever tried.

These blades are definitely not for beginners and more for players with good technique who just want a bit more speed out of their blade.

Due to the blades hardness, soft to medium rubbers such as the Genesis S, Tenergy FX rubbers or a soft to medium ESN based rubber would suit these blades. Something like a Bryce high speed would not work with either blade unless you just block and punch everything. A slight downside for me personally is the weight of these blades as my personal blade is quite a bit lighter but i was able to get used to them. Of course this again is just a case of personal preference and if you are used to or like a heavier blade you will have no issues with either the 245 or 290. The earlier models are noticeably lighter however have less speed.

With these two new additions, the Carbonado series has covered all angles for all styles of attacking all round to offensive play.

Cornilleau Target Pro GT Series with pro player Can Akkuzu
Weight: 70 grams uncut, 49 grams uncut
Sponge Hardness: 47°
Hardness: Medium/Hard
Speed: High
Spin: Medium/High
Blade used: Cornilleau Hinotec OFF
Location: French Table Tennis Club Amien


Written Review

Initial Inspection

Like all new rubbers the target pro is plastic ball ready and has been developed and made in Germany. Cornilleau partnered with Michelin to produce this series, with the help and feedback of Cornilleau’s professional players.

The rubber comes in 4 sponge harnesses 39, 43, 47 and 51 degrees. The softest being 39 and the hardest being 51. The only difference between the 4 versions are the sponge hardness. The pimple structure and top sheet are identical.



Out of the packaging the rubbers feel firm and grippy and have a porous sponge.

The weight of our Target Pro rubbers, when uncut, increased in weight as the sponge hardness went up. As you can see on the table below, the 39 being the lightest at 64 grams, 43 being 70 grams, 47 weighing 70 grams and the 51 being the heaviest at 71 grams.



Speed

Against all high class pro’s I’ve come across in the reviews, you can immediately feel the consistent crisp quality as they put the ball in the right place with the same spin and speed so you can easily get in a nice rhythm.

My first impression of the rubber was that It didn't require much effort from me, the rubber felt alive and has a great sound. During my topspins with the 47 I liked the amount of speed and control I had on the ball. We were both able to easily play fast and snappy shots with good consistency.

The rubber is very effective on the backhand side, the forgiveness helped me when playing at maximum effort whilst maintaining control.

Blocking

An attribute I enjoyed with this rubber was its control in the active blocking game.

Even though Can was hitting full power shots at me i was able to control the ball back with relative ease, with certain rubbers i've used in the past against pro’s it has been much harder to contain their power with the same level of consistency.

Control and Feeling

The rubber allows for great feeling due to the amount the ball soaks in, which really helps as the target pro 47 is fast rubber. This high level of feeling made the ball more controllable. Low incoming balls can be picked up with ease with the rubber which again adds to and helps maintain consistency and confidence in your strokes.

The main advantage with these rubbers is how easy it is to play with them, the balance of the sponge softness and medium to hard topsheet gives you good margin for error.

Spin

I could generate a good amount of spin, however the ease in which i was able to open up backspin balls was effortless. I could produce enough spin to follow up with a very strong attack which, when Can eased off a little bit, were outright winners or forced Can back from the table.

I had good confidence in my shots when opening up. This is really important as the first few balls in the modern attacking game are vital.

Flicks

As mentioned earlier this rubber works superbly well on the backhand side, this was especially noticeable when playing backhand flicks over the table. I was able to pick up balls really well and i had good bite even from Cans world class backspin serves and produced enough spin to set myself up for the following shot.

Punch shots

One area i really want to highlight is how well you can backhand punch with the Target Pro GT 47. You can hit right through weak balls with this lively rubber and get great feedback with a loud clicking sound when you time it well in front of the body.

Away from the table

The Target pro gave me a lot of accuracy even when playing at a high acceleration from away from the table, I could feel the ball sink into the sponge. Again this rubber worked well in top to top exchanges producing a medium to high throw.

Conclusion

We would like to thank Cornilleau and Can in giving us a chance to test the Target pro gt series. The Target Pro GT gives you a lot of control and speed to your game. It’s ease of use will help developing players who want more bite in their shots whilst keeping the control. This series definitely has been designed with speed in mind and you are able to put a lot of propulsion on the ball.

The spin production is also very good with the Target Pro GT. It packs enough spin to put your opponent under pressure.

I especially liked this rubber when playing against backspin, the dwell gave me a lot of time to play my complete stroke whilst thinking about the direction and placement. My two favourite rubbers within the series are the 43 and 47.

Both rubbers are have a medium hardness and give you lots of confidence when playing all strokes. The 51 was a bit too hard for me, however pro player Can loved the 51 as he could get even more power in his shots. The 39 is a very soft rubber and is quite notably different to the rest of the series. It works well for spin based players who want to play with more variation in their game. The 47 and 51 are quite a lot quicker than the 39 and 43.

As noted previously i found punching with this rubber particularly easy and effective, and works really well when playing aggressive shots over the table.

How do these rubbers compare to others on the market? They feel quite similar to the Rhyzm and Tenzone series which we have reviewed. Solid rubbers with good speed, spin and control capabilities. I am very impressed with the topsheet on the Target Pro GT series, it feels grippy and helps when imparting spin on the ball during serves, flicks and push returns.

andro Rasanter
Weight: 70 grams uncut, 49 grams uncut
Sponge Hardness: 47°
Hardness: Medium/Hard
Speed: High
Spin: Medium/High
Blade used: andro treiber k


Written Review[/B]

Initial Inspection

The sponge of the new rasanter series has a 2.3mm sponge in comparison to the previous powergrip and Turbo which has a 2.1mm sponge. Andro have managed to increase the sponge size by thinning the topsheet, this allows the plastic ball to absorb through the topsheet into the sponge quicker. The Rasanter series comes in two types, the R and V version. The R standing for Rotation and the V meaning velocity.

You have a lot to choose from the Rasanter with the R series coming in 4 sponge hardnesses, 37 degrees, 42 degrees, 47 degrees and 50 degrees. The V series comes in 2 sponge hardnesses, 42 and 47 degrees. The R and V series differ due to the pimple structure with the V having shorter and thinner pimples. The Rasanter comes with andro’s unique green sponge with a newly developed, stickier topsheet.

The weight of our Rasanter R samples, when uncut, increased in weight as the sponge hardness went up. As you can see on the table (see below), the 37 being the lightest at 60 grams and the 50 being the heaviest at 76 grams. This applied for the V series to with the 42 being 64 grams and the 47 being 70 grams. The weight of the rubbers when cut can be seen in the table (see below) and also increases as the sponge hardness goes up.

The Rasanter rubbers were used on the Trieber K blade throughout the review. Most of the review focuses on the R47 as this seems to be the most balanced and popular of the rasanter series so far.

Speed

With the Rasanter R47 you notice the rapid speed from the word go. I liked how I got a lot of feeling from the rubber, whilst still being able to put a lot of speed on the ball with minimal effort. The thin topsheet and thick sponge approach definitely allows you to produce high levels of speed. Whilst the R47 is a medium to hard rubber the fact that it has a thinner topsheet allows for the ball to soak into the thicker sponge. This in theory gives you greater dwell giving you more time, grip and therefore more spin on the ball which we found to be true with the R47.

The topsheet on the R47 itself was not too mushy and soft and as just mentioned had a medium to hard feel. This allows you to take the ball early with a lot of pace. After trying the other R variations, the 47 felt the optimal rubber for me personally. Tom is using the R 42 rubber here and you can see it’s not as fast as the R47. The R42 has greater dwell and feeling but not as much speed.

Spin

Tom always really likes ESN based rubbers on the backhand side. Using the R47 he liked the medium arc and flexibility that the topsheet gave him which increases both spin and safety.

Using a combination of backhand and forehand topspins the R47 has a medium to hard feel and a stable and relatively direct trajectory. However what we really liked is the amount of spin produced by the R47 and the rubber is definitely a notch up in terms of spin production compared to the previous Rasant rubbers, like the power grip and turbo. However you do need to put in a fair bit of effort with a fast, brushing action to produce this heavy spin.

When playing aggressive 3 point forehands, I could feel the grip on the topsheet picking up low balls. I find this is really important when playing fast attacking forehands, especially when out of position.

Spin against backspin

In this area of the review we looked at how much spin we could produce with the Rasanter R series against backspin. In general we could generate a lot of rotation on the ball. You can feel the ball dig into the thick sponge which helped with our feeling on the ball. Tom felt he was producing a touch more spin using the R47 in comparison to the R50 but there was not much in it.

Using the R47 I found good grip and spin, sometimes I sent the ball long after my first spin up. This showed the immense speed these rubbers possess.
When opening up with the softer versions of the R series the 37 and 42 we definitely found it easier to open up due to the softer sponge, however we found the 47 and 50 both followed up better as they WERE more direct and had greater speed in the open rallies. For players looking for more control in their game they would get more from the 37 and 42 versions as spin production is easier and are both noticeably slower giving greater control.

Backhand Flicks

We were both really impressed with how much speed and accuracy we had with backhand flicks using the R47. The spin this rubber produces, results in balls dipping quickly down onto the table. I always find that when you backhand flick, you want to go for placement and spin, and then follow up with a strong ball, this was easy to do with the R47.

Serving

The rubbers all produced good spin when serving with no real differences between them. Ball placement was easy and we were both able to keep the ball low over the net whilst maintaining heavy spin.

Block

It was easier to block with the harder versions of the Rasanter R. When blocking using 37 or 42 you get less control as the harder sponges of the 47 and 50 propelled the ball forward faster and more direct. The softer sponges however were less responsive to incoming spin so slower spinny balls are easier to control with the softer sponge variations.

Conclusion

The Rasanter R and V series rubbers have been targeted and developed to combat the plastic ball. The new concept of a thicker sponge and thinner topsheet combination developed by andro has definitely resulted in an improvement in their rubber game from their previous generations of Rasant. The new R and V series have higher arc and more dwell than their predecessors.

The high levels of speed and spin produced really helps when playing fast attacking shots in open play as well as when playing more delicate finesse shots like the modern backhand flick. Our favorite rubber within both series is definitely the R47 as it’s the most suitable to our game.

However there are a lot of options to choose from within the range. For players who want a bit more control and safety in their shots with ease of use against backspin, the softer versions R37 and R42 would be a good choice. Players who play more of a dynamic speed and spin game would prefer the R47. The R50 is a hard rubber and would suit players who like to play flat direct shots at close range. The difference between the R and V series is the pimple structure, with both sponges being identical. The V series has thinner and shorter pimples and allows for a stronger rebound effect off the sponge allowing for greater speed and lower throw angle. If you are a player looking for maximum speed and a lower throw angle the V 42 or V47 would be a good choice, and are both especially effective when playing fast attacking shots close to the table.

In terms of how other Andro rubbers compare to the new Rasanter series, the power grip and turbo do not possess the same qualities of spin and speed. The new rubbers from andro are a great addition to the rubber market as they are definitely something slightly different. Tibhar and Donic are also following suit with this thin topsheet, thick sponge combination with the Select, prime and Bluestorm.

Overall the Rasanter R and V series are a fantastic development and a great addition to andros rubber range, and we feel they really live up to the hype.

Butterfly Rozena
Weight: 68 grams uncut, 47 grams uncut
Sponge Hardness: 35°
Hardness: Medium
Speed: Medium/High
Spin: Medium/High
Blade used: Timo Boll ALC


Written Review

Initial inspection

What’s going on guys it’s Dan here from TableTennisDaily. Today we are reviewing the highly anticipated, 2017, Butterfly Rozena rubber. This rubber uses Butterfly’s famous spring sponge high tension technology also used in the popular Tenergy series. The Rozena is not designed for Butterfly’s, traditional, elite player market. Instead Butterfly’s idea with the Rozena was to develop a rubber for less advanced players or for players who need greater forgiveness and less responsiveness in a rubber then say tenergy gives you.

In terms of price, the Rozena sits just under the high end, premium price bracket around £41 per sheet approximately 20% cheaper than tenergy. The rubber comes with a unique pink sponge and looks very similar to the sponge used on Tenergy. The only real difference it seems between the two sponges is that the Rozena has a 35 degree sponge hardness whereas regular Tenergy rubbers have a 36 degree sponge hardness. Therefore, like the tenergy, the Rozena is medium to hard sponge. The weight of our Rozena sample when uncut was 68 grams and when cut was 47 grams. The Rozena was used on the Timo Boll ALC blade throughout the review.


Topspin + Speed

We were both so eager try out this rubber, a lot of online users have been skeptical about the launch of the Rozena so I was really looking forward to trying it myself.Right away I could feel the spring effect coming into play during my topspin shots, something you feel from the Tenergy series. Although it wasn't exactly the same feeling, the Rozena almost came off the bat with a louder sound and felt softer which was likely due to the softer sponge. I was able to maintain a good rhythm and consistency during my attacking shots which I liked. I have to say I thought the rubber was going to be slower as it is marketed for players who want to raise their level of play. Interestingly the Rozena has decent speed but a high margin for error which we were really impressed with during topspin play. Speed wise perhaps only 10% slower than tenergy 05. It was also evident early on this rubber had more tolerance and was less responsive to incoming spin than the Tenergy series. An initial impression we felt with the Rozena was that it was like a calmed down version of Tenergy 05.


Control

The speed to control ratio was well balanced on the rozena, I had adequate speed with little effort and yet was able to maintain a lot of safety on the ball. Whilst playing at maximum effort during 3 point forehand I was able to get high levels of speed and yet maintain good consistency and rhythm. We both found the Rozena produced a fairly standard Medium arc on the ball throughout our topspin shots.


Spin

The Rozena picks up the ball well against backspin generating a good amount of spin and ample control. These attributes helped greatly when following up with a fifth ball attack. I wasn’t developing insane amounts of spin that you would produce with a Hurricane or Tenergy however the quality of ball was still fast and gave sufficient spin.

The topsheet was grippy enough to produce a successful spinny backhand flick. The rubber had good dwell which worked well against the backspin ball.


Counter topspin

Initially we both had a few problems when countering. The ball literally shot off the end of the table. After some adjustments by not going for as much power and closing the angle more, we were able to execute counters effectively.


Blocking

Rozena is not too spin sensitive and handles spin well, especially when on the defensive side of things when blocking aggressive topspin attacks. I found I could relax and play with a lot of quality keeping the ball on the table with good precision.


Away from the table

The power helped when playing away from the table. You can really feel the ball dig into the sponge with a loud clicky sound.


Conclusion

Butterfly’s latest Rozena rubber does what it's been designed to do and has a great balance between speed and control. We both liked that this rubber possesses similar properties and feeling of Tenergy, using the same spring sponge technology, but is slightly less offensive in terms of both speed and spin. The medium sponge combination and topsheet gives you good control in your game. The rubber is less sensitive to spin than Tenergy and works well in the control game especially when active blocking.

We really like the sound Rozena makes especially in explosive shots. In the serve and receive game the Rozena worked well, it doesn't bite as much as Tenergy does however gives you ample and sufficient spin.

Another advantage with Rozena is how stable it is in the rally from close to the table and from mid distance, the rubber produces a quality shot with a lots of rotation on the ball. This was evident when out of position with shots and the Rozena was able to pick the ball up with medium arc. The rubber plays especially well when used on the backhand side and was very effective for blocking and punching.

We would we recommend the Rozena to players looking for a consistent and well balanced rubber with slightly reduced speed and spin compared to the tenergy series. It's important to note the Rozena is not a beginners rubber and still requires reasonable technique and playing ability. Whilst filming this review we did some comparisons with other popular tensor rubbers such as the Tibhar Evolution and Donic Bluefire series and the Rozena had similar performance properties but was still closer to tenergy. However the Rozena is definately a slightly, slowed down, less responsive version of the Tenergy series yet produces a lot of spin and but does still keep some unique traits of Butterfly’s flagship rubber.

It's important to note for those Tenergy lovers who are comfortable with Tenergy should probably stick with Tenergy. However the tamer Rozena is definitely an interesting alternative for players who find Tenergy that bit too fast and responsive.

Overall what butterfly have created is a great new rubber for attacking topspin players who want good speed and feeling in their shots whilst giving you high levels of forgiveness and safety in your strokes.