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Have two Astro glued on 190 Cpen. Astro M black FH and Astro S red RPB. Uncut weight of black is 67.7g and red 66.5g which are on the heavy side. Blade itself is 84.5g and total setup weight is a manageable 186.8g. This rubber is a heavy weight contender as usual.

Astro has a shine and grainy top sheet. Initial feel is that Astro got lots of grip and dwell in play with less bounce than standard Airoc. Could change after some breaking in (feels more alive after a few days). Final speed is more or less the same if not better. Any difference in feel could be due to the freshness of the new sheets. Can't say it is a hugh step up from Airoc but it is definitely not any let down.

I see a pip structure difference between the two. Airoc's pip is very small and short in a cylindrical shape. Astro is also small but looks trapezoid.
Astro is pretty good on its own and strike a perfect balance between Speed, Spin and Control with a capital "C".

If you check the ratings between Calibra Tour M, Airoc M and Astro M on the package, they are very much the same in every categories with the new Astro reaching 152 in speed. But the small print said maximum rating is 150 so Stiga has to make their new rubber look good and exceed the Airoc's already high 149 by 3 points. I think they can make up something out of nothing if they have to.

One word about cutting. I found it among the easiest rubber to cut. The same cutter can't give a clean cut through the Calibra Tour sponge. That is one big plus for me. I hate jagged edges.

If it is any lighter I may give it 5 stars.

I bought the economy Red and Black package which cost much less than buying the two seperately. But somehow I think I have bought a dud. My two sheets are totally different in character. The red is lively, shiny, tacky, soft and decent as a Chinese rubber, but the black is just the opposite in every way. It is dull, hard, no tack since new and slow. The combination of hard and no grip surface makes it very difficult to play with. Only thing that is cool is the blue sponge look. So the quality control of these super cheap rubbers was reflect on the product and made all buying down to luck.

As a made in Germany rubber it share many similarities with other top end tensors. Got the same half matt top sheet look as newer BF and Rasant. You can feel the improved grip over R7 right away. Perfect dwell for new plastic ball which is what this rubber is designed for. Its throw is medium at best. Hardness comparable to T05 but lacks the famous T series gummy feel in play. Speed and spin is middle of the road among modern tensors. Only drawback I can think of is the weight. I have not actually weight the bare rubber but the whole Cpen setup of Yasaka SIlver 9 with RX both sides reached 196g. Definitely one of the heaviest rubber out there.

Advertised as Mid Hard but indeed Mid Soft on the sticker. Have it on HH3 Cpen FH and works well enough. But I bet any Harder will suit FH more. Mid Soft or Soft is better left for BH unless you are long time soft rubber users which may be the main target group of this rubber.



I have not weight the rubber alone but the whole sealed package. TG3-60 is 87g which is 10g less than H3-50. I also have H3-50 Soft on another HH3 RPB but TG3-60 is simply better in every way. The lighter weight alone is a big plus. I can't get the same feel, speed or control from H3-50 Soft even on BH. Only spin is comparable. I don't like the same red sponge TA3 either.



Throw of TG3-60 is medium. Have to lift upward a bit to clear the net in times. TG3 Neo has higher throw in comparison. May help with booster to reach Big Dipper level. Durability is definitely a non-issue and better than BD. Sponge is lively but don't expect the same modern Euro/Jap bounce. Same Chinese rubber techniqe applies. Hope DHS will give us Harder version in the future.

Cost more than all Butterfly ALC blades. Probably paid the extra premium for the Grand Slam Champion's name alone. But the craftsmanship and package is simply first class so the higher price is justified somehow.

Weight is manageable at a tad under 180g with Max Tenergy both sides. Well balanced and not head heavy. Crisp with slight flex and sweet amount of vibration. Got one of the best FL handle in the market. Too bad it is overshadowed by Viscaria because of the choice of ZJK.

Lucky if you can get more than 15 minutes out of it. I learnt to play smart and avoid using this ball when the other side is a hard hitter. Then it all comes down to how hard your wall and floor is. This ball should be restricted to loops and chops only.

Durability aside, it has all the typical characteristics of seamed plastic ball. Bounce low, not going forward as much as celluloid, less spin and speed...etc. Yet I don't think it is making life easier. The ball bounce low and not going forward means you have to move into position quicker. That is more running back and forth. Also less spin and speed needs more of your own effort in return. Still it is not the end of the world. One should be able to get the hang of it and forget about the passing celluloid within days.

I hope DHS will work hard on iimproving their balls in their future batch.

Have bought this new plastic balls along with 3 stars for test. Not round as expected for 1 star quality. You can add inconsistent bounce to all the negative comments given to DHS balls. But to my surprise I can get more life from it than 3 stars. That is Hours compare to Minutes! Seems like using different material to me. Price is still high. Good for fun only. Yet that is quite a challenge to play if you want to get serious.