G09C is excellent value for money, especially when talking about Butterfly rubbers.
Priced at about £44 & €44 (uk price and Butterfly eu store price, may be more expensive in other countries?) compared to Tenergy Series which is £59/€59 & Dignics Series £79/€79.
So it sits above Rozena (which has had a price cut in some countries according to the grape vine) and below Tenergy, but performance wise, all in all its not that far behind D09C,
Speed - is the biggest gap, for readily available speed anyway, when you use full swing, weight transfer etc good technique speed is there but more effort needed. Away from the table looping is where the slower G09C will be noticeable along with blocking at closer range.
Spin - less than D09C, but not by much. In general play it has high spin capability.
I noticed during serve practice that it was harder for me to get very high spin ghost serves, especially when compared to Rakza Z EH, R48, Barracuda and it’s brother regular Glazer. I got the high spin ghost serves less often. It seemed that very precise contact was needed.
Controllability - Easier to control because the overall speed is less, the spring sponge x doesn’t kick in at lower impacts when pushing. More or fuller active block is need for more speed, but the feeling is good and secure.
Looping / Topspin Drives- for me, feels nicer or better than when I tried D09C.
G09C feels harder than Rakza Z EH when looping. Regarding shape of MY loops, arc is high, but not as high as Rakza Z and Z EH.
Felt like I was more in control.
Open ups v backspin were good, good spin, not as spinny as D09C Rakza Z / Z EH
Didn’t notice any balls ‘slipping‘ off the rubber, but you must check the rubber surface regularly for dust, attracts / picks up dust easily.
Flatter hits - these were good, better than Rakza Z / Z EH, on par or better for overall quality of placement than D09C, which is a little harder to control but crisper / faster.
Durability - too early to say for sure, but with Butterflies track record it should be good, hence 8.5 score.
As with all equipment reviews, take mine with a pinch of salt!! Everyone’s different.!!!
Don’t forget, its as forgiving as you allow, if you play the wrong shot in the wrong position with poor timing, that ball is going in the net or off!!
The real thing with G09C and Glazer is it’s strategic pricing, performance and what market share Butterfly are aiming for.
Aibiss is an over priced H3. why spend twice as much for one sheet of Aibiss compared to the ’real thing’?? Perhaps BTY got that wrong!!
D09C an overpriced hybrid, compared to many out there.
G09C enters at a price where it competes directly with the likes of Rakza Z, Dragon grip, Golden Tango etc I would say this time BTY is bang on regarding competing with other manufacturers
The market share is geared towards intermediate level players, a rubber that is easier to use than D09C, with a drop in performance, but really this drop in performance will be noticeable more by high level players who need max this or max that and can ’see’ this.
If you are Butterfly ‘person’ and wanted to try a ‘Hybrid’ rubber, D09C was really Butterflies only offering, so now you have the option to try their cheaper hybrid option and upgrade later!!!
Spring Sponge X in grey is NICE !!!