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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.

Currently I am searching for less spin sensitive rubbers for my FH and I came to this rubber. Some say, that it is an upgrade to the Vega Pro. Usually I play modern looping/attacking rubbers on my FH (Like M1, Omega V PRO, MX-P, Nittaku Fastarc G1). I was searching for a fast, but bit less spin sensitive and forgiving gear. So this rubber has a soft upper rubber, that absorbs the ball and helps to get a prolonged contact during your hit. But when you engage the sponge it simply explodes. This rubber is fast. The general throw of the rubber is flat, but it always clears the net, I did not have to alter my technique from them M1 to play with this rubber. When you loop, the throw angle can get really high. This is a really stable rubber, mainly for FH. Cut down to standard butterfly head size it is 53 g. Compared to the modern tensors it does not have a huge spin potential, it is only decent. On the other side, this rubber is simply a confidence booster, it has insane amount of controlled speed paired with resistance to incoming spin. If your game is about (fast) looping and counerlooping and quickly playing the ball out of the reach of your opponent, this rubber will help you to do that. The price is really good, the durability is also good. Maybe this is not recommended generally to pro players, because of the lack of monster spin, but every intermediate player should check it out if it suits their playing style.

My current backhand rubber. I love the black sponge it looks cool. I could write pages from this rubber, but to put is short and simple. This is a really good T05 alternative. It is slower, than the T05, but faster, than the T05 FX. It feels hadrer and less springy, than the T05. The rest is the same. For it's price it is an outstanding rubber.

Hi All!

Not so long time ago, my inner equipment junkie self settled down with Donic Bluefire M1 on my FH side. With Donic Bluestorm Z2 out I tried that one too, but unfortunately I lost my love towards Z2 due to reasons listed on it's product review page. And also I went to try some chinese made but good FH rubbers. So I came across this AK 47 RED version. To be honest I loved the T05's bite on the ball, but I don't have enough time and skill to fully utilize that rubber. I loved MX-P but felt it a bit numb and unpredictable on counterloops. M1 was a perfect alternative to that, was a bit livelier, than MX-P, and the feeling was better. I will make my comparison to these rubbers. The rubber was tested on an ALC OFF blade.

So AK 47 RED feels a bit lighter on the blade than M1 or MX-P. It did not require any transition or modification from me or anyone that I showed the blade. They stated that the rubber feels lively (compated to Tenergy 05/05FX) and easy to play. The ball touch feels a bit more rigid than T05 and a bit harder than M1, but less softer than MX-P. Bouncyness is tricky, because the catapult effect is reduced, but the spin sensitivity is high, like a Baracuda level.

Serves are very spinny, because the tad less catapult effect it is easier to keep short. In other areas there is nothing special to say. This rubber plays like a modern attacking rubber fully comparable to any european modern tensor. Loops are really loaded with spin. Some of my opponents mentioned, that their flight curve is less predictable. It is a tad slower than the MX-P.

I tried the unboosted version. After 20 hours of play The rubber shows no signs of usage.
Black max on standard 151x159 butterfly head is 44g.

Update: After three months of usage. I still have the rubbers, I tried different applications, tried to boost it and experimented a bit with the glue layers. First of all after three months, a training camp and two championships (around 70-80 hours of play, 3 regluings) the rubebrs look fine. There is a matte abrasion under my thumb on the FH black rubber, but no abrasion on the surface of the rubber. The red rubber looks like a used one, there is a strange matte pattern on it, which does not show the sweet spot. Some sort of fluid spill pattern, maybe one of my cleaners did this. I also ordered a spare pair of rubbers, my other red sheet does not show any symptoms like that after 2 months. So the colour change on my red sheet was probably because of me. So the durability is good.

Regluing is tricky, because the rubber is factory tuned even if it's not advertised. The glue (revolution no 3.) can be peeled of (4 thin layers) easily from the sponge with minimal or no damage. The first glue was more softer than expected, and the rubber shrunk a bit (way less then euro/jap tensors) and it curved in. So it was likely boosted. The second glue layer was more crispier, when I removed it. So I had to reboost my rubber a little to make the curve a bit flatter. The optimal glue layers are 3+2 for a decent OFF- speed on an ALC blade. Boosting the rubber gives it more speed, but also flattens the ball flight curve a bit more, than expected.

Crash tests were performed (unintentionally). The upper rubber is quite durable to direct table edge hits. It may show a bit abrasion on the surface. However the sponge is quite fragile. It really breaks. A misplaced banana flick may cause an inch (2,54) cm tear in the sponge, while the surface looks fine. But considering the price of the rubber I don't really care if I have to replace it 2-4 times a year. So it is similar to Baracuda sponge as far as I can remember.

Overall impressions:
When brand new the rubber shines with 3+2 layers of glue, personally a single layer of booster can be beneficial to the rubber but nothing more. When regluing the rubber deserves a little boosting, just to conserve the original factory boosting. Serves are quite good, lot of spin can be generated with brush type movements. Huge control over every type of situation, good no pin game and good spin game.

Hi All!

I tried some chinese FH rubbers and Sanwei Target National was my choice. The box looks great and simple, the initial squishing of the rubber felt good. But despite that I gave it some booster to get it more lively.

Due to the sticky nature of the rubber I had to adjust a lot. But the loops were very accurate from the start. Also, all of my hits were slow on an OFF-/OFF blade.
When I tried to hit hard I felt this spongy behaviour, which I did not like. On full swing strokes ESN rubbers are faster.

I would prefer BigDipper instead.

Hi guys/girls!

I thought to myself to test a chinese FH rubber just for fun. So to my friends advise I chose the 40 degree BigDipper instead of the 39 and boosted it right before gluing. I removed the factory glue and used Revolution Nr. 3 WBG.

My initial impressions were mixed but good. The sound of the setup was very loud and clappy. Like the ball was broken, or the entire blade was broken. The rubber is a fast rubber with no catapult compared to an ESN rubber. At normal tempo the speed is identical. At high end shots the rubber is fast, faster, than an MX-P. Control wise, first I made some adjustments with the drives and counterdrives. But my loops were always there where I wanted them, and they were even faster. Because of my technique I had to impart more brushing, but It did not matter. My opening loops were fast but had less spin, but my finishing loops were monsters with lightning speed and terrifying spin. All my balls bounced flat. I noticed that my game became more flat hit oriented, due to the shear speed. The rubber surface is not so sticky, it grabs the ball well. After 20 hours it looks like brand new. I clean it every time.

But I had to put it down because I am not strong enough for this rubber, my opening loops needed more power and brushing. So while I tried the Yinhe Moon and said that is an absolute beginners rubber, these are very good professional rubbers, that can do anything. But I'm an euro/jap looping player so my "old" Bluestorm Z2 serves me better.

For $16 this is a no brainer. Way better than MX-S.

So, I bought one blade. I have a normal V-14 too. This one is a bit faster and stiffer and it is built with ALC. The feeling is high and good. This blade is a must have!
This is a PRO version, which means, that the blade should me more direct and aggressive, than the normal V-14. The blade feels definitely stiffer and a bit faster, the tempo is OFF with a fine touch. Goes well with all rubbers. This blade is a very nice looping blade well suited for an all out looper and attacker style. Similar to BF TB/ZJK ALC. Due to the limba outer plies the ball touch feels softer then those BTY blades. Feels more direct, than Marcos Freitas ALC blade. The tempo is at the edge of OFF-/OFF.

The blade is suited for a looping based game with power loops and drives/loop drives. The blade is less elastic then the normal V14, so I would say it is speed elastic. The basic V14 is more flexible.

Have tried it with Bluefire M1 and M2 and Z2.

I will update the review later, when I have more experience comparing the normal and the PRO version with the same coverings.

Hi All! Since there is little information on this rubber, I will share my initial impressions with you, based on some hours of playtime. These new ultramax series rubbers are the next generaion of rubbers that are truly ment for poly balls. Long time have I seen those flight curves of the balls, reminds me of the old days of celluloid balls. This Bluestorm Z2 is the next big step, which has a 47,5 degree sponge (similar to M series) a non tacky surface. The advantage of this rubber, that it feels softer, than the M1, yet faster. I'm using M1 on my FH for more than a year now, Z2 requires a more forward oriented movement, than M1. Compared to M1, Z2 has a spongy softer feel, faster (half tempo), more contact time, better drop, tad more aggressive, better loop and counterloop. Because of the softer feel I am considering to use it on my backhand too, where I am in debate with M1 or M2. So anyone who loves M1 and M2 and want to play a bit more aggressive, with nearly the same feeling give this rubber a shot. For the JP lovers there is Z1.

UPDATE! Hi All! I have been testing this rubber on both sides for a time now I loved it on FH and BH too, before that I was using Bluefire M1. This rubber is definately faster, than M1, has a bit lower throw in some cases and feels more spongy due to the 2.33 mm thick sponge. I decided to buy another sheet so I use it on FH and BH too. Comparing to the M1 in different strokes: Looping is more dynamic, easily varied and more aggressive, due to the spongy feel riskier highly rewarding shots can be played close and far from the table. Really like FH and BH flicks. Counterlooping is the most notable feature of this rubber as it is very solid and fast. Dropshots are bit tricky, don't do passive blocks always direct the ball with small movements. Counterhits are good as any, the rubber feels a bit spongy, the throw is lower, but stable, the balls don't touch the net. The main DIFFERENCE is this spongy characteristic! Fine touch and passive strokes are harder to get used to, because the balls will fly further than intended. With this rubber you have to be more dedicated to the shot/touch to engage the sponge of the rubber to get the control over your shots. If you just hold your racket passively when handling the ball, you won't get any good results. But when you hit the ball correctly you can feel it sinking in the sponge and can immediately feel the control of your ball. Due to the spongy feeling you may feel like you are playing with the old 40 mm celluloid ball, but with a new 40+ poly. So to describe this rubber I may say that this is an M1 mixed with an Acuda Blue, a Rosena in beast mode, a T05 with more dwelltime and speed. Can recommend it to an allroud looping attacker, not for chopping but pushes are loaded with backspin. Excellent for different looping styles. Speedwise I was playing with a Waldner WC '89 OFF blade with M1, had to put that blade down bacause was not able to hit the ball on the table. Had to go to an OFF- blade to get the same speed. So take note, that this rubber is really one tempo faster!

After few weeks my fine touch shots are quite punctual. I still have some control issues with the rubber on my backhand, some flat hits have to be adjusted. Since last time I adjusted my technique, every ball contact has to be made firm, and the ball needs to dig into the sponge and all shots will be consistent. During fast exchange plays, this will be easy to do, but when opening up the rally or doing some shots in the slow game you have to remember to apply a bit pressure on the ball. So in modern high quality games the rubber is a gem, fast dropshots and fast counterloops and drives. Due to the thicker sponge the rubber mitigates a fair amount of rotation. This was surprizing for me, and had to get used to, even cockier shots land on the other side of the table. Over the table short game is overall good, the spin is vicious even from small movements. The serving is good due to the sponge, there is a lot of time for contact.

Overall this rubber is said to be slower than M1 in the official catalogue, which I do not believe. M1 feels more crispier, harsh, but does not have more tempo. Z2 is a half tempo faster, than M1. Feeling of the rubber is not hard at all, it feels like something between M1 and M2. The ball contact requires good timing and since the ball stays on the racket for a long time, it needs correct technique/brushing/hit. After adjusting to this, I can say, that my balls are loaded with spin, but I am not trying to loop a high spin high arc ball, just normal aggressive loops that are 2-10 cm above the net. My backhand flicks are often misread, because I don't do the full motion, but the ball is loaded with spin. Serves had to be adjusted to the spongy behaviour, but they are fine now just like in case of M1. The grip of the surface rubber is really good, I don't believe they changed it, acts and looks like the M series upper rubber, even ages the same way. Dropshots are flat and I feel the confidence to conterloop or smash kill some high arc loops just off the bounce.

In the first plays I noticed how consistent this rubber can loop, but my other shots were very long or too low. After getting used to the spongy character, i can summarize, that you have to drag the ball with your strokes, bare that in mind and you will get used to this rubber in no time. This rubber is suited for modern allround-offensive looping game with moderate control and touch. Also Z2 rewards more than M1, because with M1 I had to lift the poly ball more, my movements were more vertical, With Z2 they are more horizontal. This way it is easier to estimate the flight curve of the ball.

Comparisons:
T05 - Z2 has the same arc when playing over the table, spin is the same, has way more dwelltime, more spongy feel
MX-P - Z2 feels softer, more consistent/better feedback, tad slower, arc is the same when looping further away
M1 - Z2 is tad faster, more spongy feel just like M2, more agressive,
T80 - quite similar, but a bit more spongy, more dwell, better in flat shots

Hope I could help describing this rubber, I use it in ultramax (2,33 mm) both sides.

UPDATE 2017.11.18.
After testing this rubber thoroughly I can point out some simple yet very definitive statements:
- This rubber is a kind of mix between M (feeling) and Acuda Blue (arc) series
- Loops are flatter than the M series, but stable, this rubber is more forgiving in loops ,than M1
- On power loops the Z2 is a less powerful rubber, than M1
- Collision test was done, topsheet is quite resistant, sponge tears a bit
- The additional boostering of the sponge is not necessary, maybe it helps a bit on flat hits
- Very well suited for modern all out attacking game based on looping and countering
- I became 2-4 points better against higher level players (in 2 months), because of better dropshots and stable loops
- Works well on stiff, nearly-stiff and speed-elastic blades, on spin-elastic blades I have not tested
- After 80 hours of play, the rubber looks used, but I have not noticed any negative effects (except the looks)
- I would recommend an ALC blade or something similar in character
- Bat/hitting angle should be similar to T05, Barracuda
- My final statement: I will stick with it and leave the M1 behind....

Hi All! Since there is little information on this rubber, I will share my initial impressions with you, based on some hours of playtime. These new ultramax series rubbers are the next generaion of rubbers that are truly ment for poly balls. Long time have I seen those flight curves of the balls, reminds me of the old days of celluloid balls. This Bluestorm Z1 is the next big step, which has a 47,5 degree sponge (similar to JP series) a non tacky surface. The first impressions which amazed me: easy to attack close to the table, easy to counterloop and dropshot. The rubber is very fast and requires precise timing with good technique. To be honest I recommend this monster to those, who are playing an all out attack and are experienced players. Recreational, hobby, and mediocre players cannot tame this rubber. If you want to simply describe this rubber, I would say that this gives more speed and aggressiveness than T05, it feels a bit harder, but revards more. The feeling is similar to JP01. I would say that Z1 exceeds T05. For a controlled solution please try Z2, which resembles the bluefire M1, a bit faster and same sponge.

Hello All!

At first I tried the one star version of this ball, and I could not find a round one. Many balls got stuck in the robot (Butterfly Amicus). I nearly gave up on these balls. This time our country distributor announced the three star balls which are round and perfect in every sense. So I bought a box (6 balls). My initial thoughts and expectations were to find 1 perfect round 2-3 imperfect but very good, 2-3 eggs and 1 Butal egg shaped balls. I found 1 imperfect and 5 eggs. Because of these characteristics there is a great chance when you loop a ball with decent spin, it will simply jump or sneek on the table after contact, which makes the game untolerable and dissapointing. Also handling spinny balls is a pain, because predicting the bounce is hard math. Compared to other balls the durability is average, other balls like Butterfly MQ are more durable. Xushaofa can handle 2-3 blade edge hits before cracking. The ball gets polished quickly, which is a real pain to loopers, not to mention, that this ball is seamless. Usually seamless balls tend to rotate less, and they have a differrent feeling, when playing. The effective lifespan of one ball is around 5-6 training hours. Plastic ball in general does not support spin oriented game, this particular ball does not support it further more.

This ball is suitable for "girlish" fast and flat exchanges, for some hours, then it loses grip and deforms to an egg shape.

Sorry if being negative, but old celluloid balls were better. Nowdays there are good plastic balls, I have official competition balls (like ETTC 2016 Nittaku, HUN World Tour DHS) and they play better then commercial balls, but the durability of these balls are also low.

Hi All!

I have read many reviews on this rubber and I saw many people like this rubber big time. So I bought one myself. Baracuda product line from Donic was the first answer to the famouns Tenergy 05 and 05 FX. This first generation of ESN tensors really did the trick. The overall speed is one tempo slower. The spin with the throw angle is just like T05 FX. The rubber is a bit less spin sensitive. Nowdays I can compare this feeling with the JOOLA MAXX series, which has a bit less speed and spin, but generally a very pleasant looping rubber.

Altough hardness of the sponge is not known it is said to be around 42-44 degrees. The rubber is average weight 0,20 g/mm2 in max thicknes.

With boosting the rubber comes more lively and a bit more aggressive, the speed can be increased to match the T05. But this rubber is a first generation tensor, it truly needs VOC based glue to shine. With water based glue and boostering only the speed will increase bigtime, not really the spin.

For me it was not demanding to play with it at all. When I was testing it I was playing with MX-P. What I lacked in the boosted and the unboosted version of the rubber is the pure uncomfortable aggressiveness, which is transferred to the ball in modern short strokes with modern ESN tensors. Did comparison games with many opponents, they clearly stated, that my balls were more predictable and less disturbing with my Barracuda Big Slam on BH, Baracuda on FH. While on my main blade I used MX-P (FH) and M2 (BH). Usually I was achieved 2-4 better in a set against a similar opponent. With Barracuda I felt I can't attack with enough spin/speed to force an error from my opponent. Don't get me wrong I could get all balls to the other side due to the high throw, the feeling of my game vas generally good and safe, but my balls came back too many times.

It was nice to see DONIC reinventing the Acuda series (which I did not like personally), but the blue sponge definetly has it's advantage. I love the bluefire series (M & JP) so I would love to see the reinvented Baracuda series, the same topsheet with the new blue sponge... I would definetly buy one. Until then, I can only recommend this rubber to every aggressive allround player or to kids, who are still learning the technique and developing their game, because this is a very reliable rubber without insane catapult effect.

The price of the rubber is truly wallet friendly for the positive features and value you get.

Hi All!

I have read many reviews on this rubber and I saw many people like this rubber big time. So I bought one myself. Baracuda product line from Donic was the first answer to the famouns Tenergy 05 and 05 FX. This first generation of ESN tensors really did the trick. The overall speed is one tempo slower. The spin with the throw angle is just like T05. The rubber is a bit less spin sensitive. Nowdays I can compare this feeling with the JOOLA MAXX series, which has a bit less speed and spin, but generally a very pleasant looping rubber.

Altough hardness of the sponge is not known it is said to be around 45-47 degrees. The rubber is average weight 0,22 g/mm2 in max thickness (like the lighter T05 sheets).

With boosting the rubber comes more lively and a bit more aggressive, the speed can be increased to match the T05. But this rubber is a first generation tensor, it truly needs VOC based glue to shine. With water based glue and boostering only the speed will increase bigtime, not really the spin.

For me it was not demanding to play with it at all. When I was testing it I was playing with MX-P. What I lacked in the boosted and the unboosted version of the rubber is the pure uncomfortable aggressiveness, which is transferred to the ball in modern short strokes with modern ESN tensors. Did comparison games with many opponents, they clearly stated, that my balls were more predictable and less disturbing with my Barracuda FH (Big Slam on BH). While on my main blade I used MX-P (FH) and M2 (BH). Usually I achieved 2-4 more points in a set against a similar opponent. With Barracuda I felt I can't attack with enough spin/speed to force an error from my opponent. Don't get me wrong I could get all balls to the other side due to the high throw, the feeling of my game vas generally good and safe, but my balls came back too many times.

It was nice to see DONIC reinventing the Acuda series (which I did not like personally), but the blue sponge definetly has it's advantage. I love the bluefire series (M & JP) so I would love to see the reinvented Baracuda series, the same topsheet with the new blue sponge... I would definetly buy one. Until then, I can only recommend this rubber to every aggressive allround player or to kids, who are still learning the technique and developing their game, because this is a very reliable rubber without insane catapult effect.

Hi All!

I have been waiting for ages to try this blade. I also would like to tell you, that I only used this blade with T64 and EL-P for 3 hours, so this is not my final opinion, I will update the post!

The box was redesigned and it look nice. The blade is a fine craftmanship, sanded down edges, even butterfly does not sand down the edges of the blade. The handle is a chinese style hangle, no matter which type you choose, it will be small. Even smaller than the ZJK or Shiwen blade, but it is comfortable for me. The surface of the blade is totally flat, the veeners of the blade have even thickness all across the whole body. The design of the blade is solid, but great. The shape of the head is waterdrop shaped, so the upper part is a bit narrower, than the regular Butterfly shape, lenght is the same 158-159 mm. The blade is head heavy, which I personally prefer. The composite layers in the blade are next to the kiri core, dark grey in colour. Texalium is a glass fiber, which is covered with a very thin layer of aluminium, and the grey colour is because of additional graphite colouring. This material is weaker than the regular carbon and resonates more. Middle layer of the blade is ayous/samba/abachi, which is nice. Top veener is kiso-hinoki (200 years old), which is perfectly sanded, no visible pores or uneven surfaces, where you glue would stick in.

So the blade was designed to loop, but also have a bit more power. It is marked OFF-/OFF by the manufacturer, which I think is reasonable. This blade resonates, which gives the optimal feedback from the contact of the ball. The blade is predictable in every situation. Sweet spot is suprisingly large, I would say that the 1,5 cm margain of the head is not usable. When looping the arc of the ball is med/low, but this I will try with other rubbers. Also the feeling of the loop is very pleasant, no resonations. On direct flat hits the blade resonates on low tempo, but this resonance fades when hitting harder. Some say there is no spin in this blade, which I would not support. With the rubbers mentioned above I was able to produce very spinny balls, more spinnier, than a Liu Shiwen blade. This was also tested and confirmed by my girlfriend, who also tested it, and currently uses a Liu Shiwen blade with the same setup. The arc of the loop is less pronounced, but the spin is there with both rubbers, very aggressive and very flat loops. I did like dropshots due to the heavier head and the rubbers.

Today I go to thest this setup a bit more and then I will glue MXP and M2 on it (my fav. setup) to see what this blade does with higher throw rubbers.

At this point I would recommend this blade to allwood blade lovers who want speed and control around 80-85 grams. This is a controlled to aggressive looper blade which has the power for smashing. To be honest it definetly feels like Jun Mizutani ZLC, with a bit more power and better feeling in flat contacts.

Hello ALL!

I was interested in this rubber since I saw some video test of it on Youtube and also played with TinArc3, 2-3 years ago. Now thanks to a discount I could get a sheet for €13. Te other reason was, that nowdays Evolution P and S series came out with a more robust topsheet, and I liked MX-P, MX-S. To be honest Tinarc3 was a mix of those two with a bit less power. I predicted Tinarc to be a bit stiffer and more of a chinese feel, but sort of euroean hibrid rubber, but still mailny a chinese sheet.



Packaging is simple, the graphics are fine, the text is well done by google translate. The sheet is covered with a protective film. The paper box is in a resealable plastic, which is nice. There is slight curve to the sheet, unfortunately the rubber is on the upper side of the dome. Smell is definetly chinese burned rubber odour. Package clearly instructs not to smell... did it anyway. Sponge is hard a bit more elastic than standard brick hard chinese sponges, there are pores inside, faint yellow colour. Topsheet is protected with an adhesive foil, design is the usual. Surface is shiny tacky. Can lift the ball, but can not hold it. So I can throw the ball up to 0,5 meter from the table. Bluefire M throws the ball 0,2 meter when out of the package. My sheet was black, max thickness, weighing 63 g uncut.





Because my friend ordered one in red, which he intended to use as is, I boosted my black sheet just a little. So I added enough oil to streighten it out, nothing more, but for shure I can tell you the rubber could intake a lot more, because the oil was soaked immediately. My racket for this rubber was my spare, a Yinhe/Galaxy Venus 14 (TBS clone).

Counterhits
First few hits went into the net. No problem. Overall throw was lowish on slow motion shots. When applying more force the rubber comes to life, making all the balls fly low over the net, but the feeling of contact is reassuring. Stepping away from the table to do some longer strokes the balls find the other side of the table. Control is noticable immediatelly, but speed also. The topsheet feels a bit rigid chinese style, but not that an intermediate can't handle immediately. So from far away there was no bottoming out, with M2 and EL-P, you may feel the knock on the wood, but not with this rubber. So after a short excercises and flat hits you recognise, that there is absolutely no catapult effect on the rubber, but there is power in the sponge, you just have to ask for it. Contact time is generally good.

Smashing
Due to the tacky surface, there is no need to loopdrive balls, simply smash them, the rubber will grab the ball. Speed is sufficient, aiming is fully predictable.

Looping
So this is where I came in because I consider myself a looper. Loop mechanics have to be adjusted. In case of normal looping the ball has to be a bit lower, to get the desired effect. This was not really a problem, the arc of the ball is medium, medium-low. The rubber is very consistent but in this case a bit more lifting is needed to engane the sponge. On opening loops, the traditional chinese brush loop is finely executable with decent spin on the ball. European style loops are harder to execute, because you have to engage the sponge and in some cases you may not have sufficient space and time to do that move. Counterlooping heavy spin or no spin balls are a breeze. Topshhet grabs the ball, the sponge kicks it out, I hav to experiment with the angles and the line of the stroke. As far as I see, a bit more linear, then curved blade trajectory will give the most spin and speed when countering, which is nice, because it requires a less polished technique to execute. On the other hand, you can just simply smash that ball. With a non catapult rubber you have to engage the sponge if you want a decent spin with speed or else you must brush fast. As an european style player who is always there to loop the ball when it comes, I did not find this rubber hard to handle, it even teaches and demands the right force to be applied in a shot.

Dropshots
Low trajectory. Even heavy spin balls can be tossed back, but if you are experienced you can kill every shot with it. Because of the lack of the catapult every ball can be placed short, heavy shots can be blocked back down the line. It really give the control back in your hand.

Over the table
When serving, I mostly used the topsheet and was not disappointed by the spin I generated. Somewhere near MX-P, but the sponge won't kick the ball long. On serve recieve it was relaxing to push the ball very short and low. Flipping was not demanding, but required a bit more forward momentum. Slow motion heavy spin over the table openings can be done with this rubber.

Chopping
Hey man this rubber works fine . Like a defender, just have to take the swing early, and a monster underspin will be the result. Have done some fun chops, but I am no defender.

Overall
This rubber is a mirror. It will show you how much you worth, it will only give you power if you ask it with correct technique. It is a nice blend of Euro and Chinese style more to the latter. I tried it with and without boosting and I must say it behaves linear. Boosting gives more softness and more elastic power and base tempo to the soft, maybe later I will try to soften the topsheet with some oil too and give a nice boost to the sponge. Many advanced players use it boosted, because it can be fast when you want and it can be slow too. When dry it is not a fast rubber, on normal stroke it is similar to an M3 or S3 on my scale is around 7,5-8, but when you hit with power the rubber will not bottom out and transfers it to the ball. So yes I could hit off the table and loop long balls with this with 70% and with full power also.

The playing style of this rubber is an aggressive allround, where you can manipulate the ball as you wish, but you intend to smash it or loop it when you can. I personaly don't feel that an opening loop is a killer with this, maybe a high spin loop, that comes back for a finishing hit. When boosted it is an offensive rubber. For normal price I would not buy this rubber, Acuda and Baracuda is at the same price range in my country.



If boosted use any ALL+ blade, preferrably nearly stiff or speed elastic. If unboosted use at least an OFF- stiff or speed elastic blade.

Hi All!

I was happy to switch to this rubber on my FH and soon I will try it on my BH. I was searching for a nice FH rubber after trying Baracuda, M2, T05, MX-P, EL-P, JP01, MAXXX 500. Lastly I sticked with MX-P for a long time, but I found lack of control in countertopspins and some blocking. So I searched for something similar ESN rubber, then came up with the M1, because they have the same sponge hardness, a bit different pore size, but still very similar sponge. The only big difference is the topsheet, because M1 has a softer topsheet. In previous reviews I read that M1 is better in counterspinning. Since M2 is my all time favourite BH rubber and I played with it on FH in the last 2 months, I was finally convinced, that I need more power but keeping the same characterictics of the Bluefire M series. My blade is a Walnder World Champion '89 OFF FL with 92 gr weight.

They say a blade is responsible for 20% of the characterictics of the complete bat. So I must speak of the blade first just a few words, if you wish to learn more search my review on the blade section. Waldner WC '89 has an interesting soft feel to it making it possible to play a fine ALL+ tempo touch play when needed, but has the speed of an OFF blade. With M1 you can really sink the ball into the rubber and the sponge, which generates awsome spin besides the prolonged ball contact time.

Counterhits
During counterhits the rubber is quite linear, and very easy to control. The ball clearly engages the sponge and jumps off it with a decent speed. But the topsheet of the rubber does not kick the ball fast, it let's the ball sink towards the sponge, which gives time for error correction. Some people who are XIOM Omega and Butterfly Tenergy fans/users don't really like this kind of lack of catapult, despite the speed of the ball is the same. I think this feature helps less experienced players.

Smashes
This is where the rubber shines, fast and precise balls with a distinctive feel of the contact. Many players mentioned above complain about that, but the blue sponge transfers more vibrations, which comes in handy when using composite blades.

Looping and Counterlooping
If a rubber is a good hitter it is probably a shameful looper. I must say 'A-A', wrong! The rubber has a nice topsheet which is grippy and after some abrasion it is still grippy and lifts the ball high. Heavy underspin balls can be lifted with ease and huge spin. Due to the soft topsheet it does not matter if you do a slow or a fast topspin, rhe rubber will help. I can also confirm that this rubber is more stable when counterlooping or when powerlooping, than MX-P. Some times during these shots I often hit the ball into the net without any distictive feeling or feedback why my shot failed. The blue sponge gives the feedback way more clear then the red one. Speed of the loop is at the top end. The arc is maybe a bit less pronounced, but still high. I found that the bluefire sponge has some unique characteristics, which can be observed when looping:

1. The uneven pore size of the sponge gives an 'extra kick' feeling. Even when the rubber is worn or 'dead', so the booster evaporated, you can still get this kick, which always ensures you, that you applied enough force for the loop.

2. Arc of the ball is different, because it is not so symmetrical and dome shaped, like Tenergy 05. It's peak is more over the opponent's side, not over the net like Tenergy 05, but over the center of the opponents side or over the first third of the table. From that point the ball falls to the table with unpleasant speed and spin. Also the ball jumps off the table just like looping with any other professional rubbers. This forces them a bit more further or simply the miscalculate the ball as a long shot.

But still the rubber topsheet catapult is less pronounced, so it remains controllable, some don't like this, because they want explosive power.

Blocking these shots is just like a normal counterhit with the same circumstances like counterlooping with MX-P. I believe the feedback is stronger so I can adjust better.

Over the table
Short game is where this rubber can outshine catapult rubbers. There is plenty spin generaion in the rubber over the net, so small pushes will be loaded with underspin, and flicks will be easy to lift and spin also. Serving is funny, because you must have some developed technique and serves. I mostly use the topsheet only to generate spin, which I still find enough. With M2 I could engage the sponge also, but I am still able to do heavy and low underspin, that my opponent pushes into the net or it simply bounces 3 times on their side. I don't really do chops or chop blocks and this rubber is not really a defensive one.

Summary
The Bluefire M series (excluding Big Slam) is a very linear and easy to play rubber family if you consider their sponge hardness and playing capabilities. M1 is almost the fastest (M1 Turbo is a bit faster) rubber with the speed and spin capabilities of a modern offensive rubber. The Bluefire gives a bit more control and feel to the game, not to mention the sound of the sponge. Blade selection for the rubbers are wide, I found out that these rubbers can tolerate many types of materials. Cover layer of the blade should be medium hard to soft, Valnut covered Ovtcharov Senso Soft Carbon was playable but the looping was less pronounced, but smashes and hits worked fine. On Koto and Limba they were an offensive yet controllable miracle. On Hinoki and Spruce use M2 or M1 because these are soft woods and the blade will feel mushy, but the spin is awsome with more control. Most times I use Carbon, Arylate Carbon, Kevlar Carbon, Zylon Carbon blades, which do give more power to the shots and combine well with these rubbers. For me ALC blades with Tenergy 05 are a bit numb, can play with them effectively, but I miss the feeling. Well with the Bluefire I loved to play on ALC blades, because they had some feeling after all. Most times I use Kiri core ply looping blades, because you know... I loop. For advanced players ideal for both sides, thor intermediate players try it on FH first. Durability is at the top from my perspective, let me tell you why. I use Bluefire more than 4 years now and all I can say they are up for 200 hours of gameplay at least, mine Black M3 lasted 300 hours (incl training camps so I calculated the actual playing time). Some pro players who regulary have new sheets every 3 months can say that XX brand is better because most of them only wipe their rubbers with their hand and vapor from their breath. (I do this also during play). But at home I also apply rubber cleaner to remove dust, fat and oil from the surface. So it is easy to come to a conclusion if you see abrasion that the rubber is worn out, because the other brand does not look like that. I played with an MX-P for 3 years reboostering it from time to time, at the end it was like an FX-P with more power and still loops with tons of spin, but it looks like trash... I would say that is durability, performance over time! The M series is durable just like any other top brands. I use a sheet for a year, with 2-3 reglueing and 2 reboostering (to original size) to keep it at maximum performance. Black topsheet is harder, than the red one.

Price here is ~26€ so I will stick with it.

Sorry for the long post, hope it helps.

Hi All!

I had the opportunity to play with this rubber for more than six months now, usually 8 hours a week including routine training, free play and competitive events. I used it on two blades Donic Waldner World Champion '89 and Butterfly Liu Shiwen on my BH (MX-P on FH). I tried the rubber unboosted and boosted too.

First of all the tubber has a nice faint red small pored sponge that is medium hard. The topsheet feels grippy but not tacky. The rubber has a medium throw with a tempo, but the dwell time is very nice. I would love to say that it is comparable to the Donic Bluefire M2 rubber. To compare them I must say, that EL-P is a tad faster, less dwell, lifts less, bit more harsh and lower delltime. To compare it to the Butterfly Tenergy 64 I can clearly say, that T64 has a bit more control and a softer feel, yet the speed is the same. This feeling is due to the EL-P-s harder topsheet maybe. To clarify the scale of these differences, that I highlighted, they don't really matter if you are playing a spin oriented attacking game. When it comes down to passive play and fine touching the ball M2 behaves the most forgiving, while EL-P is the less forgiving, but to point it out again if you hit your balls with average technique these differences will not matter.

Blade selection is an important factor for a rubber and vica-versa. EL-P is working fine on flexible blades like Liu Shiwen and does not feel mushy on stiff blades like Waldner World Champ '89. I could try Donic Ovtcharov Senso Soft Carbon with hard walnut outer veeners, but I don't want to cut my rubbers to small head size.

When we speak of durability, my etalon is MX-P and older sheets (2010) of Tenergy 05-s. With this routine I mentioned I could play a year and a half with occasional re-boostering the sheets happily and effectively. Well EL-P wears off a tad faster, when the top layer of the rubber sheet gets used. This time some boosting has to be done, and at the same time the rubber surface most be given a thin layer of oil, to regain some grip. After treatment the sheet is ready to go for 2-3 months.

Hello All!

I'm happy to share my early experience of this blade. To clarify I have only done two sessions with this blade, so I won't tell you many things now, but I will update, my review.

First impressions
My blade came in a nice box, which is solid in design and quite minimalistic. I can see the Spruce Pressing Technology (=SPT) emblem and made in Germany tag on the gray paper box. Inside there was my blade with flared handle, it can be pulled out like a drawer. The design is simple, not very fancy, like top Butterfly blades. The blade itself is 89,64 gramms. I found that the edges of the blade had to be sandpapered, because there were some rough spots on the edge of the top veener. Other aspects were fine. The handle (FL) is very comfortable, it is a smaller handle, which is becoming popular nowdays, but fits my hand perfectly. To be honest this handle is not a simple flared handle, it is conic also. So it starts flat with a 2mm bump to grab with your thumb, than comes thicker and rounder with each mm to the end of the handle. The end of the handle is nearly round, a very bit oval, when I swithed back to Liu Shiwen FL blade I felt especially with my pinky that this hadle is flat, and my pinky has no or less grip. So overall as many forum states, this blade has a very thin and comfortable handle, which absolutely makes you forget that this blade is almost 7 mm thick.

Assembly
I have read, that this blade requires medium-hard to hard rubbers. So I trided it with Donic Bluefire M2 on both side. the blade feels a little head heavy, my rubbers were boosted with oil, so they were actually at the same weight like a Tenergy 05 or an MX-P. This head heavyness is not that severe like a Donic Senso handle blade has. It is similar to a Butterfly head heavyness for example MJ SZLC with T5&T80. Yet, when swinging it feels perfectly balanced and transfers enough power for an attacker. When just bouncing the ball on the blade only the 1 cm edge of the blade feels a bit off centre, the rest is pure sweet spot. To be honest this blade works better with the plastc balls, but celluloid balls are fine too, but I will discuss it further on.

Let's play
I used a limba top weener looping blade before with the same rubber sheets and when warmig up I just hit my balls into the net. then I realised what I read on other forums and from the manufacturer, tha blade has a soft touch, like hinoki blades. Well it does, I had to give a slightly bigger swing to my hits and they were where I wanted them to be. then came the loop. Only when I have a brand new sheet of rubber I feel the same... I have time to touch. Actually playing agains a chopper was very easy, the lifting of the ball was very nice, and easy. When counterlooping came in I hit many rolling balls. Well on my other blade I could not do that with M2, on this blade I could. And the sound... just like back in the previous speed glue age, every hit every loop, your blade tells and dares you to hit one more stronger and louder. In short game the blade plays like an ALL blade, because of the soft touch. After five minutes I was total aware where I hit the ball, and no matter what it will land on the table. My previous blade which is a characteristic OFF- blade had one range of speed, this blade has one from ALL+-to OFF. I had to get used to this, because some flat hits require a quite clean stroke, but loops require no effort and knowledge with this blade. Simply the feeling is built in the blade. When playing with plastic this ALL+ characteristic of the blade changes to an OFF-- and flat hits become a bit more similar which I was used to with my previous blade. Blocking and dropsots are quite good, the blade can absorb speed quite efficiently.

Feelings
The sound of this blade is perfect, anyone who wants to relive the previous era of table tennis, get this blade. the control and feeling of the blade is very good, the touch is soft, the blade is firm, very faint woody vibrations, very good feedback of the ball, speed is very dinamycal. It feels like MJ SZLC but a little bit number with the feedback, you can feel the ball clearly, but the vibration is on lower frequency in the blade giving you a very delicate feel. For this price this blade is a nobrainer deal. From agressive allrouners through controlling offensive to full out offensive attackers this blade can suit anyone.

Just like the name giver of this blade = instrument, you can be an aggressive Mozart on the court.

General discussion

I was happy to try this rubber in max thickness both sides. Well I bought a pair for 38€, so I would not say that is an expensive equipment.
But first things first, the rubber comes in a simple package with a warning on it, which instructs the buyer to "dry" the rubber sheet 48 hours before glueing. The smell tells us that there is plenty of booster in the 50 degrees hard sponge. After that, please handle your bat carefully, because heat 30-40 degrees celsius may cause the booster oil to penetrate the topsheet of the rubber. To avoid that always keep your bat at arid places at least a month. Freshly cut, the rubber weighs 50 grams on normal Butterfly head shape (150x157mm), which is heavy. After two months the shrinking of the rubber is huge. I always cut my new sheets at least a millimeter longer than my blade, then I store the rest of the rubber glued in it's original paper box. So after two months the shrinkage was 1,5 mm in all directions! (That is 3 mm in total). Since the sponge is hard if you want to use the rubber furher, please reapply some booster oil. The durability of the sponge is outstanding, which is not a suprise if you consider that it is very hard. The topsheet begins to wear after 30 hours of gameplay. The topsheet has a little grippy layer which wears off, but this does not affect gameplay seriously. The loops and flicks will still work with a bit less spin, but the ball won't fall out of the rubber.

Strokes

Counterhits/smashes
I liked this rubber, maybe because of the hard sponge, my hits were very direct, overall controll was nice. Actually I was surprised that this rubber is not a fast one. It is around Bluefire JP01, or 80% of the Tenergy 05. Because of the hard sponge flat smashes are effective, the overall reaction to incoming spin is lower than expected from an attacking rubber.

Loops/counterloops
This rubber has a medium throw angle and the speed is average. Still 80% of the Tenergy 05. Opening loops behind the table are very consistent, with fair amount of spin. Counterlooping is easy doue to the hard sponge. Lower then average spin sensitivity comes handy when dealing with heavy and fast loops. At this type of stroke I could feel how deep the ball can bite into my sponge with a suprisingly high dwell time. So placement of the counterloops were a piece of cake and the sound was very pleasing. Since the hard sponge these strokes can be played far from the table with good consistency.
Flicks were one of my favourite, with this rubber, the were kind of fast and spinny.

Dropshots/blocks
The ball goes from the rubber on a fairly low trajectory back to the opponent, so I had to adjust, to open my racket a bit. Incoming spin was not a problem, I really lowed passive play with this rubber. Active blocking was nice too, but nothing special.

Pushes/chops
I had a similar feeling like tenergy when pushing, because the ball flies low from the bat and most times I had to lift a bit to get the ball over the net. Since this is an attacking rubber classical chops were really hard to preform, but I found out it was easy to hit some chop bloks away from the table. Close to the net game was a bit hard, because the rubber has some catapult effect on spinny balls.

Testing equipment and thoughts

Blades: Yinhe Venus 16 (M. Maze clone), Yinhe Venus 14 (T.B. Spirit clone), Timo Boll W5, Waldner Senso Carbon.
So the rubbers preformed wery good on each blade except the TB W5. The W5 is the TB ALC whithout the Arylate-carbon layers and it has a hard koto outer layer, which made the ball contact faster, so I had to be really fast, and I believe my shots were less spinny. It behaved well on the soft and flexible Waldner Senso carbon, but to be honest you have to make that blade simmetrical to dampen the vibrations from the blade, so don't use this heavy rubber on one side only. On stiffer carbon blades, which have soft limba outer plies like the two Yinhe blades, these rubbers work both paired or used with an other medium/ medim-heavy rubber (like JP1, M2, MX-P). So I recommend a softer blade.

Overall

This rubber has a very nice control, and it is easy to play with. But it actually does not shine at any technique or gamestyle. I recommedn this sheet to an attacking allround player who values control, and has some strength. I was a bit depressed, because this product featured so many new technologies like Geo-Sponge, Geo-Grip etc... that I expected something better. I believe this MAXXX 400-450-500 series is a good technologycal stepping stone for JOOLA to come up with better sheets. For example MAXXX-P, normal MAXX 450 does not have a grippy topsheet like 400 and 500, but it has the optimal sponge hardness, so JOOLA assembled it with grippy topsheet and this became the MAXX-P, which I believe is a nice (and better) product. Furthermore MAXXX-Tech is coming to stores, eager to try. Even more, many clubs use the Rhyzm-P, which indicates, that that rubber is probably the best attacking rubber that JOOLA has to offer nowdays. But Rhyzm-Tech is coming too.....

Thanks for reading

Bluefire JP was good and Acuda was good also, but this product merges them and makes a better combo. To be honest the JP series was not as successful as M series, their topsheet wore off quickly, so this is a reboot for JP series in my opinion. The sponge is the same as the JP series, the topsheet is very similar to the Acuda series. I tried it on both sides and loved it.

Fresh of the package there is someting new and something old in this rubber, clearly the grippy, but not tacky rubber surface greets us, to touch it is a bit grippier then the M series. The pimple stucture of the topsheet is similar to the normal Acuda, but the material of teh topsheet is somewhat softer to the push. The sponge is the very familiar Bluefire JP sponge, with the distinctive smell and the even pores inside it. I loved this sponge in the JP series, because they were very linear and spinny, so I had some high hopes.

Counterhits
When counterhitting I felt some spinginess in the whole rubber, but the overall speed was less, than M2, when hitting the ball flat. When making the contact a bit more spinny the rubber comes very lively and the speed increased a tempo. It was clearly visible and forseen, that this rubber was not engineered to counterhits. During smashes I felt the lack of power, even the bottom of the rubber, so I could clearly hit through it.

Looping
Acuda series were always adored for their looping characteristics. As seen on the counterhits, when the blade was a bit more closed the ball speeded up, this force was actively working in the loops. Looping can be achieved with insane spin, medium throw, very fast pace and good control. To use this rubber at most, you must have an intermediate technique, but the topsheet helps you with that. Have I mentioned, that when hitting with a closed racket angle the rubber becomes more faster? Oh yeah! Well this rubber makes you loop all the time, with spin and speed. Lifting underspin has to be timed, and the ball will clear the net, but huge arc monsterloops are hard to create. Counterspins have to be timed well also. So If i compera to the JP or the M series, this rubber has a greater potential for a much aggressive play, but with a greater risk... as it used to be. Blocking loops were firs decieving me, they cleared the net, but I clearly saw them in the net, the trajectory is very low.

Short play over the table
For the first time when pushing the ball I had the same Tenergy feeling, when my opponent pushed with P2 i had to lift the ball instead of pushing or it instantly went into the net. Other honorable mentions with these capabilities Donic Barracuda, Xiom Omega (Elite). The rubber is a bit bouncy and sensitive to incoming spin as any other high spin european rubber, but due to the medium throw, it was not hard to keep the ball low and spinny. Due to the loop/smash speed duality of the rubber I found it hard to flip with FH. BH banana flicks were revarding and hearth warming shots. Serves are spinny, but I had to count in the spring effect of the rubber... so after some adjustments my serves were great.

Summary
[FONT=&quot]I play with M2/M1 and the throw was sufficient, the speed was better, than M2, the spin is awesome. The rubber is not very sensitive for incoming spin like Tenergy, bounces a bit less, and the speed is the same or a bit slower. Control and drops are flatter, but do not go into the net. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Still I can say as an intermediate player I had the required technique to use this rubber effectively, only had problems in finding the right angles. I do recommend this rubber to a spin oriented player, who wants a decent attacking rubber which is more forgiving than Tenergy 05. Playing distance is close to mid distance, from far away developed and strong strokes are required to get the ball clear the net. Durability is the same as an usual Donic rubber, some abrasions after 30-40 hours of play (please keep it clean), but the grip remains, occasional reboostering is required after 3-4 mounths and it is good for a year. [/FONT]

Blade recommendation
My blade for the testing was a Yinhe/Galaxy/Milky Way - Venus 14, a blade hat is a Butterfly Timo Boll Spirit Clone with 80-90% identity. I would not recommend softer blades for this rubber, because it may feell mushy. Clearly this rubber was designed to loop so looping blades are recommended with stiff or nearly stiff builds. Flexible blades max require better technique and longer strokes to get the maximum out of the rubber. I really liked the rubber on the Zhang Jike ALC (2012 Blue dragon pattern) Which has koto outer plies and kiri core, but my setup was also nice with limba outer ply and kiri core.

[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Overall, if you want to upgrade from Bluefire JP buy this, if you want to be more aggressive, than Bluefire M, buy this. If you want a bit more spin, speed and control than Acuda, buy this.[/FONT]

Hi all!

Yesterday I had an opportunity to try, this awsome blade:
Jun Mizutani Super ZLC Anatomic, FH: T05, BH: T80

The blade is a good example of fine craftmanship, well for that price it better be. Nice finish on the blade, the composite material has a really nice texture, colours and the pattern are stilysh. The blade is a bit small, just like the chinese player themed Butterfly blades (LSW, ZJK). The handle is short and thin, but it is comfortable.

Since the other two reviews are accurate and detailed, I will share some additional info. The blade has a very nice feel and a sort of linear soft kick to the ball. Nowdays the TB ALC, TB Spirit and other ALC blades are very popular, but ALC dampens or numbs resonance of the blade much. Zylon is a type of kevlar derivative so is arylate too. Carbon has a qute rigid feel and a harsh resonance when applied to a blade, but it is a undenyable what benefits it has. But this setup Super ZLC is actually perfect, it has the same feeling as a kevlar-karbon composite blade, but way more softer feel. This can be also descibed similar to the Liu Shiwen and IF ZLC but with a bit more stiffer feel and tempo. Overall the blade is a OFF type blade with a nice ALL+/OFF- touch. The setup works really well with the Tenergy rubbers (as intended from the manufacturer) way better, than any other setups I tried so far.

I hope I could help.