Butterfly G40+

OK, here are my impressions of the G40+, specifically in reference to Nittaku Premium 40+ Japan (NP40+) and also XSF. I played with it for two hours today on Tibhar Smash 28 tables.

G40+ bounces about the same height as an XSF ball, which is a little higher than NP40+ (and a lot higher than Chinese seamed balls). Personally I like this, but if you are used to NP40+, you will need to keep this in mind.

It is hard to see the seam in a G40+ unless you shine light through it, which is also true of NP40+ (and very different from Chinese seamed balls). However, the seam in a G40+ is quite a bit bigger than a NP40+ (the amount the two halves overlap). Butterfly says that even though they have a seam, the inner diameter does not increase where the seam is. Nittaku Premium has a very very small seam.

Another really obvious difference I can see right away with two new unused balls right out of the box is that the surface of the G40+ ball is a lot smoother than either NP40+ or XSF. It is instantly discernible when you take two balls and rub them together. The sound of two NP40+ (or XSF) is greater than G40+ and you can feel more vibration.

As everyone mentions, G40+ has weird sound (like old seamless prototypes or Ipong practice balls), but after about 5 minutes you stop noticing or caring. Once you realize the ball bounces normally and not like a broken ball, the sound stops mattering.

The good news is that this is a perfectly decent ball and my partner and I had fun playing with it today. Also, new balls right out of the box will not put any dust residue on your rubber!! (Very different from NP40+).

Some people may consider the next thing bad news; it does not really play all that much like an NP40+, it is not really like a XSF either, and it is definitely not like a Chinese seamed ball (thank goodness). The G40+ is unique, which means that there is even more variability in the playing properties of plastic balls, and this is really a fourth class of ball. All in all it is closest to XSF (but seems faster on most shots) I think but still has unique properties. That is the bad part. We are living in an era now with a lot more difference in ball properties than we ever had in the celluloid era. (I have seen ITTF officials try to downplay this, but it is obvious).

Dan's review mentioned that the ball flies very straight in the air. I agree, in fact it is one of the things that seems to me to be different from either NP40+ or XSF. Perhaps this has something to do with the unusually smooth surface of the G40+? I also had the impression it flies fast through the air. Is this really the case or an illusion of some type? Hard to say but that's how it seemed. If you are wondering why surface texture affects ball flight, bear in mind that (as with golf balls) a rougher texture could creates a thin turbulent boundary layer of air that clings to the ball's surface. This allows the smoothly flowing air to follow the ball's surface a little farther around the back side of the ball, thereby decreasing the size of the wake. Table tennis balls are a lot lighter, so it may be that smaller changes in surface texture are sufficient to affect blight through the air -- see http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...es-in-golf-ba/).

I felt like the ball had more spin after the bounce on the table, and that it jumped less off the table as a result of spin. This could also be due to smooth surface. My guess is that it is heavier than NP40+ (I will weigh precisely next week) but also a lot harder than a XSF, so it will seem lighter when you play with it. At times it felt somewhat intermediate between XSF and NP40+ but when you flat hit the ball or blocked with authority, the ball seemed to move super fast.

My suspicion is that the very smooth surface of the ball is part of the reason it plays differently. But it is not everything. The G40+ also played a bit differently from a very well worn NP40+.

A couple of really good players on the next table (Jimmy Butler and Niraj Oak) hit with one briefly, the first impression they had was not altogether positive, but they didn't give it more than about 5 minutes. I very much value the opinion of very good players, they just see and feel things more accurately.

I am not sure if people will like G40+ better or worse than NP40+ or XSF. To be honest, I am not entirely sure myself how I feel about it.

The one thing I am sure of is that it is certainly as legitimate an effort to make a decent plastic ball as either XSF or NP40+. There were no grossly bad bounces (I am very accustomed to 40+ balls, have used them exclusively for 18 months). Didn't break one in two hours.

I will write more after I have played with it some more, and also after other people in my club at various levels have had a change to try it out. But if you held a gun to my head and say rank order the balls, I would say NP40+ > XSF = G40+ >>>>>>>> any Chinese seamed ball.


Edit added. Second two hour session this evening, this time on Butterfly tables. Nothing really struck me as different except I think I like the ball better this time. After this second session, from purely playing characteristics, I think I prefer it slightly to XSF. The linear ball flight is still an impression I have.

Anyway, I am perfectly happy with it. I enjoy using it. And my impression is that the ball is pretty durable. Time will tell on that.

Another thing I should mention is that I now have information on weight. A sample of 6 balls had an average of 2.76 grams, which meets 2016 standards. That turns out to be exactly the same as XSF and significantly more than Nittaku Premium. Don't let anyone tell you that the G40+ is a light ball, if it were any heavier it would be illegal after January 1 of this coming year. It also has a bounce height identical to XSF. So that is why those two play somewhat similarly. However, ball flight of the G40+ reminds me more of Nittaku Premium, and I think the G40+ retains more spin after it bounces on the table.

A completely different ball compared to all others right now. It is crisp, light and with a good bounce. It does sound broken on contact, as the sound is brighter. I believe that this ball is the closest we have to the old celluloid ball, which is a good thing.

So I felt that anyone who likes the XSF ball will like the G40+. The sound is distinct but my guess is that over time we will all get used to it. My hitting partner felt it was spinnier than the XSF ball and I seemed more consistent with it (this is also true for me with the Nittaku Premium). The ball feels and sounds hard but some people say it plays light.


I didn't feel I need to play any differently and I wish this ball was used at the Butterfly NA Teams. IT's just a much better looking and play product. Consistently round, a nice box and packaging for the 12 I got. I didn't play a lot with it though I used it in some hitting drills with an another older amateur. I did a bounce test next to the newer batch of XSF and the heights were pretty similar.


If your hearing is decent, you can tell when we first switch to the ball in the video below (about 2:30 to 2:40 in) and you can hear the higher pitched plastic sound. All in all, I like it. If we got rid of the Chinese seamed, we have 3 good options with relatively similar playing characteristics in the market. Will have to wait on durability though.

Finally! Something that actually plays more like a celluloid ball. I tested it with Dan and Tom when they reviewed it and have used it a few times since. None have broken so far and all seem to be quite round. Bit of a weird surface which you have to see first hand to understand. It's also a bit glossier then other plastic balls and looks almost rough but doesn't feel rough. I really don't like the plastic ball when I'm comparing it to the old celluloid due to its heaviness and lack off spin. The g40+ feels lighter (some might say feels too light) I don't see this as an issue as you get used to it and would say all other plastic balls are too heavy. The speed however is its main asset it's quite a lot faster then all other plastic balls I have used and I've tried most of them. Butterfly (not g40) stag, nittaku, XFA to name a few. I feel it puts more fun into table tennis again. Which I found the other plastic balls took away after the celluloid ban. As for spin it's the same as other plastic balls and still not really very near the old celluloid balls but you can't have everything eh...Some people will complain that's it's too different to other plastic balls. Which I agree to to an extent as it is very different. However I think it's much better and it won't be long before this ball takes over when people realise how good it is.

Ok, just to start this review I'd like to say that these balls where used during the European Para Table Tennis Championships and I as an umpire, didn't see or experience any balls breaking. I never found one broken ball, and that was from early in the morining to late afternoon during a whole week.

I also got to play with them a little, and the bounce is definitely better (at least I like it that way) as it bounes higher and remarkably longer. The speed is much higher, so it requires less work go get decent speeds, something that I like a lot, as I love speed. The balls seem to be a little darker in their color, and a little more glossy than any other ball I've used, I don't see this as a pro or con, as it really doesn't matter to me.
Most of the balls are round and nice, but there are a few exeptions and that's something you should be aware of. During racket control in the EPTTC I also checked all the balls my players where to use (if they didn't choose themselves) and I found a few eggs amongst otherwise great and perfectly round balls.

The reason I have speed at 10, is because it's probably one of the fastest plastic balls there is, not as fast as celluloid, but fast. They have a crisp feel, but they don't sound as bad as other plastic balls, not as "broken".
Overall I like them. They are without doubt the best balls I've played with so far, and I've played with a lot. This is the closest thing I've found to celluloid and I can't wait to buy a few more myself, as I only managed to get hold of two balls at the EPTTC.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, if theres anything you're wondering about, feel free to leave a comment or send a private message.

Here is a first quick Review of the new G40+ Ball: After the first 2 training sessions i´m gonna let you know my first impressions of the new ball. We (my clubmates and me) picked randomly 3 balls out of a pack of 72 and we also added the Nittaku 40 cell ball as well as the XSF 40+ to have a wider and better comparison. Compared to the XSF the 40+ felt faster and lighter, compared to the easy ball it felt way more solid. The sound it makes seems to be the only big difference to the cell ball. In every other way it felt much closer to the cell ball than the XSF. It als seems to better pick up spin than the XSF. Our league is still allowed to use cell balls, since the performance of the p-balls wasn´t very consistent. But with these new balls i think this is gonna change within the next couple of seasons and no more c-balls will be allowed. But that´s just my personal prognosis.
The durability seems to be ok, (if one can tell after the first two training sessions. But other p-balls didn´t even make it up to here)

I feel quite happy we have the chance to already get used to them... So far this has been the best p-ball i´ve ever played with.
(Gotta admit, i didn´t try out the NP 40+ yet, mainly ´cause it has not been available in my area, and i didn´t feel like ordering directly from japan. Now since its availability is getting better, i´ll be able to compare these two balls in the near future.)
But for now: The Butterfly G40+ is the best poly ball on the market (to me).

EDIT: Meanwhile i´ve also had the chance to use the NP40+ in comparison. These two balls are my favourite, with a slight tendency leaning towards the G40+.
I get the feeling that it´s faster. But that´s my personal preference.

Butterfly G40+ Plastic Ball Review

The butterfly g40+ uses a unique type of plastic never used before in three star table tennis balls. This ball is completely celluloid-free. The ball weighs the same as other plastic balls, 2.8 grams however the way it performs is surprisingly different. Which you can see in the review below with myself and Tom Maynard. We performed a variety of tests to see the characteristics of this ball shaped up the first being a simple bounce test. When comparing the bounce between the two balls, the Butterfly G40+ bounced higher, and for a longer time than the original plastic ball. You can watch the review below:


Speed

As soon as we started playing we could immediately notice that the g40+ travels quicker than other plastic balls we have used in the past. It felt like you didn't need to hit the ball that hard to get a good amount of speed. The ball came through very quick and direct, here are some examples showing this.
There was no surprise that playing away from the table felt very comfortable and required less effort than we were used to due to the enhanced speed and clean contact.

Light

The ball gives the impression and feeling that it is lighter than other plastic balls as we found it flew off the end of the table because we were not used to fact that the g40+ did not dip as much. This was very noticeable during counter topspins. I really had to adjust my angle to bring the ball down onto the table. Once adjusted I had no real difficulties in keeping control but it did take a bit of getting used to. I sometimes find with plastic balls they feel heavy on the contact, the G40+ felt the complete opposite.

Spin

When playing against backspin, the ball had similar feel to other plastic balls we have used in terms of how much spin we could produce and couldn't tell much of a difference.

Conclusion

The Butterfly G40+ definitely feels different to other plastic balls we have tried. The new ball is very responsive and propels off the rubber very quickly. It seemed to come through more directly and dipped less in comparison to traditional plastic balls and as seen through the bounce test the ball actually bounces higher as well.

Unique to this g40+ is the construction, whereby the seam is the same thickness as the two halves on the inside and outside of the ball designed to create a very round, high bouncing stable ball. This was definitely evident whilst playing as you get great consistency in terms of bounce and speed. The durability of the ball seems high as during the time of reviewing them no balls broke.

The ball will be available to buy towards the end of October.

Photos