Reviews by tabletennis11.com

The Nittaku Fastarc G-1 feels similar to the touch as Xiom’s Omega V Asia but is two grams lighter at 49 grams when cut to my 157 x 150 mm test blade. The feeling on FH drives is very crisp and direct and there even is a hint of a clicking sound. FH loops feel great and are easy to execute. The throw angle on loops is medium high to high, providing plenty of clearance over the net. The G-1 definitively generates more spin than the P-1, possibly because I had more confidence to hit harder due to the firmer sponge. The control on loops is truly excellent and I was able to really work the angles. In my opinion, the G-1 is a little faster than the P-1 and accordingly provides plenty of power and arc to play loop-to-loop rallies several meters behind the table. Read our full review here.

The Nittaku Fastarc P-1 feels quite firm to the touch just as would be expected for a 47.5 degree rubber. It is also relatively heavy, weighing 50 grams when cut to the 157x150 mm test blade, which is similar to Xiom’s Omega V Tour (50 g) and Tibhar’s Evolution MX-P (51 g). A little surprisingly to me, taking its weight and physical feel into account, the P-1 feels quite soft and spongy in gameplay. FH drives were ok, but the ball penetrated the rubber a little deeper than I expected and thus emerged with a slight delay. The P-1 feels significantly softer than, e.g., the Fastarc G-1. The throw angle on forehand loops with the Fastarc P-1 is quite high and provides plenty of arc and safety when looping heavy backspin balls over the net. What struck me about the P-1 – and as it turned out, the rest of the Fastarc rubbers – is that it is rather spin insensitive. This, in turn, allowed me to execute loops, including more “artistic” down-the-line, inside-out and other crazy angle loops, with excellent control. For a full review, follow this link.

For reasons that I cannot explain, the 39 degree DHS Hurricane 8 sheet that I used weighed significantly more than the 40 degree version. Batch inconsistency? Thicker sponge? I don’t know, but it sure is heavy! I found shots from mid-distance to be a little easier to execute with the 39 degree rubber relative to the 40 degree rubber. However, the differences between the mid-hard and hard versions are minor, less than 5-7% in my opinion. The 39 degree version is slightly softer and bouncier than the 40 degree version, meaning that looping requires a little bit less effort, which I actually think is a disadvantage, as full effort shots now have an increasing probability of going long. Click for our full review.

The 40 degree Hurricane 8 is a heavy rubber, weighing 53 grams when cut to my 157 mm x 150 mm blade, which is two grams heavier than other heavyweights such as Tibhar’s Evolution MX-P or Xiom Omega V Asia. FH drives feel ok but do not have the crisp feel of European/Japanese rubbers. FH loops and loop-drives have a unique arc and kick to them, which make the opponent’s life very difficult – I can best describe the shots as having a flat trajectory to begin with, which is followed by a very strong dip shortly behind the net, and a strong kick off the bounce. Looping against heavy BH spin is a breeze because the ball sticks to the rubber, which gave me a little more time to guide the ball over the net with tremendous amounts of spin. However, it is important to have good timing and footwork – shots hit out of position, careen far beyond the table. Needless to say, that I didn’t observe any ball slippage. Click here for our full review.

The DHS Hurricane 3-50 weighs 48 g when cut to the 157 x 150 mm test blade, which is similar to the Hurricane 3 Neo sheets, suggesting that the soft sponge is made of a higher density material. I was completely baffled after hitting the first couple of FH drives. Speed glue sound and feel? That was the last thing I was expecting from a Hurricane 3 rubber. FH drives and flat hits produce a very loud clicking sound, which serves as a useful auditory tool to adjust the bat angle. The throw angle of the DHS Hurricane 3-50 is the highest in the tested series, but, unfortunately, at the same time, the rubber also is the slowest in the series. As a result, looping against heavy backspin requires fast swing speeds to ensure that the ball makes it over the net. The feeling and control while looping is great and shots can be executed in a very controlled manner. Follow this link for full review.

In my opinion, the regular Hurricane 3 Neo has the lowest throw angle of the whole Hurricane 3 series, and as a result many of my loops clipped the net or simply went too long. To overcome this, I had to use more wrist and upward brushing motion. Loops against backspin require considerable physical effort, a more open bat angle, and excellent timing, as the balls otherwise are caught in the net. Flat hits were slightly better than with the regular Hurricane 3 due to the weak built-in catapult, although the rubber’s tackiness still resulted in several unforced smashing errors. In my opinion, the softer sponge renders the DHS Hurricane 3 Neo more sensitive to incoming spin than the regular Hurricane 3, which affected my blocking and passive serve return game. Click here for the complete review.

I went into this test with low expectations because how good can a $17 rubber be, right? Well, it turns out, pretty darn good! First off, I was blown away how light the rubber is, weighing only 43 gram when cut to my 157x150 mm test blade. The response on FH drives is surprisingly non-metallic for an unboosted Chinese rubber. FH loops felt far less “Chinese” than I expected. Sure, the throw angle is medium at best and loops are best played with considerable wrist action and a big swing. However, engagement of the wrist also results in a unique arc, in which the ball dips shortly behind the net, resulting in a distracting kick off the bounce. The rubber’s slow speed and the lack of a catapult effect gave me a lot of confidence to precisely ‘titrate’ the amount of power that I wanted to put into shots. Read our full review on this link.

As expected for a 47.3-degrees rubber, the Tibhar Evolution MX-S is quite firm to the touch (similar to, e.g., Xiom Omega Asia and Tour) and relatively heavy, weighing 52 grams when cut to the 157x150 mm test blade. This is heavier than Xiom’s Omega V Asia (51 g), Gewo’s nanoFLEX FT48 (51 g), or Nittaku’s Fastarc G-1 (49 g), but lighter than the Gewo Hype XT Pro 50 (53 g). The MX-S feels crisp and responsive on FH drives. The rubber’s medium catapult and OFF speed rating instill a desire to hit hard from mid-distance. The rubber grips the 40+ ball well – I did not experience any ball slippage. Judging by my opponents’ blocks, opening loops can be played with very high levels of spin. There is enough speed to engage in topspin-to-topspin rallies far from the table, even when playing with an only moderately fast all-wood blade. Read our full review of all the Evolution series rubbers.

The first couple of FH drives quickly revealed that the EL-P is a level slower than the MX-rubbers and marginally slower than the EL-S, although shots played with greater arm acceleration seem to activate a prominent catapult giving the impression of high speed. Loops produced a pronounced clicking sound and generally felt very crisp and controlled. The throw angle is medium to medium-high, providing sufficient safety over the net. However, I did have some difficulty gauging when the catapult was going to kick in, which resulted in some loops that veered past the end of the table. Click here to read our full in-depth review.

Hitting the first couple of FH drives, it is immediately clear that the EL-S is a little bit slower than the MX-S and, in particular, the MX-P. However, it is still an OFF-rated rubber, if not faster. The contact is crisp, and the feeling is reminiscent of Butterfly’s Tenergy 05. I have a tendency to play FH drives more like mini flat hits, but the EL-S (and T05) encourage mini-loop like stroke execution since the throw angle is relatively high. FH loops produce a prominent and very satisfying click, as well as a prominent arc over the net. A high amount of spin can be generated on opening loops, especially at slow to medium speed. It is truly a delight to loop with this rubber. Find out more in our full review here.

The Tibhar Evolution FX-S feels quite hard to the touch and has a similar firmness as the EL-P. It offers a firm feeling and very high level of control on FH drives and FH loops. Although it is not very fast, it has enough speed to allow shots from mid-distance, even when ‘only’ paired with an OFF- rated blade. The throw angle is medium-high on regular loops – plenty of arc and sufficient catapult to direct the ball over the net. The longer contact time means that the FX-S forgives sub-optimal footwork, which allowed me to make loops even when off-balance. Find out more in my full review here.

The Tibhar Evolution FX-P is clearly the softest of the six Evolution rubbers and also the lightest at 46 grams cut to the 157 x 150 mm test blade. However, it feels significantly harder than other 40-degrees rubbers, such as the Gewo nanoFLEX FT40, and is only one gram lighter than the significantly harder-sponged Nittaku Fastarc C-1, Gewo nanoFLEX FT45, and Donic Acuda Blue P1. Unlike the minimally harder FX-S, the FX-P has a distinctly mushier feel and a more pronounced catapult, while being similarly fast. FH drives can be executed in a controlled manner and are accompanied with a distinct clicking sound. FH loops produce an even louder sound but seem to be less spinny than the FX-S and follow a flatter arc. As a result, I had to use a more upward motion, especially when looping against heavy backspin, which was easy to adjust to. Read our full review here.

Let me preface my description of Tibhar’s Evolution MX-P with the fact that this was my preferred forehand rubber for a 6-month period in late 2015 – early 2016 before I started experimenting with Chinese rubbers. The MX-P feels softer to the touch than Xiom’s Omega V Tour and more similar to the Euro version or Nittaku’s Fastarc G-1. FH drives feel nothing short of marvelous with this rubber. The contact is crisp and produces a clicking sound that instills much confidence. The catapult is quite pronounced, which makes it tempting to take 1-2 steps away from the table and start hammering FH drives and flat hits with high speed. The feeling that the MX-P confers on these shots is very similar to the feeling that speed-glued rubbers used to confer. FH loops offer a similarly crisp feeling allowing for magnificent touch and control especially against balls with little spin. Read our in-depth review here.

The feeling on FH drives is direct and responsive, without an excessive catapult. The sensation and clicking sound produced when performing FH loops instill confidence. Loops have a medium-high arc that provides plenty of safety over the net and they are loaded with spin. Lifting backspin is a breeze with the FT48. The rubber has plenty of speed reserves to enable fun topspin-to-topspin rallies 8-10 feet behind the table - the FT48 is slightly slower than Tibhar’s MX-P and similar in speed to Xiom’s Omega V Tour. Flat hitting and smashing are great due to the firm feeling of the rubber, which allowed me to really punch through the ball while maintaining excellent control. Blocking is exceptional with the FT48 due to a highly linear correlation between effort and output energy. Read our full review here.

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