I’ve had a 20minute session with the T05 hard. It was mounted on a TBS ALC with T05 hard black (T05H) and T05R (regular?) so provided an easy comparison.
I am not great at explaining the idiosyncrasies so I’ll leave that to the expert reviewers.
Overall T05 hard has a high throw with a similar feel to H8, excellent at blocking and good on serve receive.
Those deep high topspin loops easier to generate with T05H than the more direct loops of the T05R.
When blocking, I didn’t have to be as precise in bat angle to keep ball on the table as with T05. This is great for me as blocking tends be a rush job during matches.
Speed. One point to consider, out of the box it feels slower, however, a big cause is that it has a much higher throw than the regular T05. This means that the ball takes a longer time before it bounces on the other side. Close the bat for a more direct shot and the difference is not that great.
Weight. It is said to be heavier than T05, however the bat I used for testing, TB AL with To5/T05 hard, felt about the same weight as my regular bat which weighs 189g.
One of my big problems in matches is trying to control incoming pendulum back/sidepin serves deep to my bh. I sometimes resort to push or chop the return. With the T05 regular I had much greater difficulty controlling the ball, win for T05H. Controlling short balls Timo-style is much easier than with T05R, due no doubt to the easier control of the rubber’s ‘bounciness’.
Personally, I can see the reasons that some top pros are reluctant to switch to T05H. It does require a slightly different technique to T05R. T05H is slower but gripper with less bounce.
Butterfly is on to a winner here. The playing characteristics are similar other hard sponge rubbers but different enough to be judged as unique.
My order has been placed for T05 hard. I don’t think I’ll be using Hurricane for now………that is…. until.
I am not great at explaining the idiosyncrasies so I’ll leave that to the expert reviewers.
Overall T05 hard has a high throw with a similar feel to H8, excellent at blocking and good on serve receive.
Those deep high topspin loops easier to generate with T05H than the more direct loops of the T05R.
When blocking, I didn’t have to be as precise in bat angle to keep ball on the table as with T05. This is great for me as blocking tends be a rush job during matches.
Speed. One point to consider, out of the box it feels slower, however, a big cause is that it has a much higher throw than the regular T05. This means that the ball takes a longer time before it bounces on the other side. Close the bat for a more direct shot and the difference is not that great.
Weight. It is said to be heavier than T05, however the bat I used for testing, TB AL with To5/T05 hard, felt about the same weight as my regular bat which weighs 189g.
One of my big problems in matches is trying to control incoming pendulum back/sidepin serves deep to my bh. I sometimes resort to push or chop the return. With the T05 regular I had much greater difficulty controlling the ball, win for T05H. Controlling short balls Timo-style is much easier than with T05R, due no doubt to the easier control of the rubber’s ‘bounciness’.
Personally, I can see the reasons that some top pros are reluctant to switch to T05H. It does require a slightly different technique to T05R. T05H is slower but gripper with less bounce.
Butterfly is on to a winner here. The playing characteristics are similar other hard sponge rubbers but different enough to be judged as unique.
My order has been placed for T05 hard. I don’t think I’ll be using Hurricane for now………that is…. until.
