Nittaku G-1

Honestly one of the better forehand rubbers I've used, it's very forgiving if compared to the likes of the Hurricane 3 Neo. I have also used this for my BH, but it hindered my development, so I switched to a Vega Korea instead. Anyways, it's bouncy and grippy nature means that it doesn't require strong and firm strokes, a simple push or pull helps get the job done, often done well too. FH was effortless, in fact was more preferred by other people I've lent the racket to. Tested and used on a 729 Blue 7. Mine did chip after only 2 months of use, so be aware!

Famous for being one of the if not the most popular rubbers for beginner and intermediate players in Asia. Affordable price plus variety of sponge hardness and many types of rubbers in the fastarc series, p-1, g-1, c-1, s-1. Good for basically everything, and easy to play with. Can be used to build the good techniques before advancing to other more pro level rubbers (tenergy and dignics, for example)

For the price point, which i purchased mine at, $37, I can't really say what is bad about it, besides that it isn't the best at the outright power in forehand, and requires some effort in the stroke. It's like a semi between tensor and tacky rubbers, needing the effort in the stroke with it being slightly tacky and spinny, in conjunction where it requires a more European style of stroke, with a high throw angle unlike traditional Chinese tacky rubbers.

Also I've found it prone to chipping, so please put edge tape, and take care of it.

Get this rubber for the forehand if you're on a budget and is looking to improve your forehand skills. This rubber feels similar to dignics 05 but with less speed, spin and control. You can buy it without thinking because of its low price. However, serve receiving is not so good on this rubber, playing short is quite hard. You can pair this with FZD ALC and have good days. Upgrade to dignics 05 or 09c on the forehand if you are looking for a higher performance rubber.

An excellent rubber for all round players who like a linear feel.
It's perfect for returning players who learned to play without catapult effect.
Allows for both controlled light touches and powerful offensive shots all with excellent control.
Because the power is linear, speed is directly proportional to effort, so you do need to put power in to hit winners. But when you do they are very good. This may make it unsuitable for those who have high level control but not much power and would benefit from more assistance.
It's quite a spinny rubber, yet at the same time is not overly spin sensitive, if you put a tiny bit of your own spin it tends to dampen any incoming spin nicely.

I've been playing with this rubber for almost a year and it is still nowhere near being used up... It might have lost a tiny bit of speed or spin, but heck. Most of the rubbers I've used were very used up after 6 months. This is one of the two rubbers that withstood the hardest test... The test of time.I don't think there is much point in describing this rubber characteristics because it has been done to death. It smashes rather well, it does top spin well, it blocks well... Very good all-round and it just won't die. If you are short on money. That is the rubber to get. By the this time I would have killed 4-5 sheets of Jupiter 2, but this still is alive.

Plays very similar to T05. A little less spin but also less spin sensitive because of it. Has a softer feel however.

This is an excellent choice for those who desire a lot of spin, variety, reliable control, and/or adaptable to both forehand & backhand. Although the Fastarc G1 may not be one of the more powerful rubbers in it's price and performance range, it is still fast and can compete with more powerful rubbers when utilizing the G1's topspin capabilities. It won't be as spiny as many Chinese rubbers, but it isn't far off. The BH flick will take some time getting use to, but it will work well with good technique. I personally found this rubber to work best with my serves. Keeping the ball low to the net while maintaining high levels of spin is one of this rubber's specialties. Blocking with this rubber will be a nice surprise. The block capabilities are very well rounded between speed, spin, and control. The performance of the G1 will last longer than most, but be aware that it also chips easier than most other rubbers, so be careful not to grip the rubber to the table when playing if you can help it, otherwise it will last you a long time.I would recommend this rubber who's play-style revolves around servers, heavy spins, and high level variety in their gameplay.I would recommend this rubber be paired with an offensive 5+2 carbon blade.I do not recommend this rubber for beginners or most intermediate players.I do not recommend if power and/or control is your primary play-style.

I gave this rubber a try and indeed it is a really nice rubber. It can do all, if you are thinking loop based attacking game. It has decent control and many gears. The catapult effect is low, which makes it a safe rubber when playing over the table. But I found it slow when looping, and a bit inconsistent when counterlooping. Also it is a bit slow. My alltime favourite is the Bluefire M1 and this rubber has some areas, where it is clearly better, but due to it's speed it is simply not as aggressive and not as efficient. If you are a looper, who likes to control the game, this is an insanely effective rubber.

I have played with this rubber very long time, with a lot of different blades, in periods. Its spin is in 10 tops all time, and the serves and loops are great. Durability is awesome, but im very careful with my rubbers, spray sometimes Stiga Energy Spray (with voc) on, to get the ultimate spin, and put Nittaku tacky covers. I have a 6 year old one that is shiny as new, played with 30-40 times.
It is a fast rubber, and im a soin player offensive mid from table, so you cant have a very fast rack to do close monsterside-loops. I have used it approx. on 10 blades. On Yasaka Galaxia Carbon i could not handle it, but it playes very good on Stiga Rosewood 5 & 7, Stiga Clipper CR. I now play it on my favourite blade Nittaku Septear Lead, which is a softer blad, and that combination stands.

The Cons i have noticed is when you get very sweaty and warm, or much heat in the hall, it tends to "die" because it draw the moisture towards the rubber. (Nittakus incredible rubber Renanos Hold has that same thing!.

Anyway, those of you that not tested it, do it.

P,S a youth young boy borrowed it from me for a tournament, and won, mostly for the others in that age had not received this kind of spin before

This rubber was likely the best of the generation of ESN tenors that came out almost a decade ago (Baracuda, Hexer, Genius, Xplode, Energy Xtra, Vega Pro) and one of the very last to be released. Nittaku rubbers tend to be sold at a price premium in most parts of the world so this rubber has been far less popular than it should have been. This had changed in recent times at it is now available at discounted volume deals at many European retailers. This and the improved performance of ESN rubbers in general with the plastic ball is encouraging people to revisit the generation.

Fastarc G1 is like Tenergy 05 with less catapult - it is better than Baracuda in this regard as Baracuda was painfully slow and harder to block with. Fastarc fixes some of those issues.

It works well on all kinds of blades and rubbers and I use it on hard piles like wenge/Lati and Koto. It generates good spin and will reward many players. This is now my favorite rubber and will spend a long time on my paddle. I feel confident enough in the grio and the spin that I suspect it will be a long while before I use something else. It is like Omega V Asia but easier to play with and faster, which would have helped me had I known about this a year or two ago. It also has some of the spin qualities of rubbers like Hexer and Genius. It doesn't have the catapult of Vega Pro that I didn't like.

If you like any of those rubbers, give this rubber a try. You may or may not prefer it, but its quality is worth testing it as you may be pleasantly surprised. The fact that it is now cheaper in Europe is a plus as well.