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This rubber is by far the best forehand rubber I've ever used. I'll use the next lines to explain why:

I'll review this as a forehand rubber, as I use it for my forehand only. I've used the T05 on many different blades, both carbon and all-wood, and it is the only rubber I've tried so far that have worked just as good on all the different blades! The rubber is spinny, but not tacky, it's fast but not uncontrollable, and it is playing good both with and without boosters.

Good control in the short game, great spin when looping, and easy to play both fast and slow without making to many adjustments.

Only "con" is the price, but you know, it's totally worth it. Normally I would have to change my rubbers every 3rd week, but this can be used for 4-5 weeks. Please keep in mind that I practice and play a lot, so if you only play once or twice in a week you won't have to change for about 4-5 months. On the other hand, why do you need this rubber if you only play once in awhile? The rubber won't make you a better player, you'll have to find a rubber that suits you.

Remember: it's not the racket that plays bad, it is the guy holding it!

Managed to try Dans blade when I was at practise the other day for half an hour, and I was blown away by the amount of control this blade has without compromising on speed. I normally use a Timo Boll ALC and I thought it was the perfect blade for me but the Carbonado 145 actually surpasses it. It has a similar amount of speed but the control is better and it has a huge sweet spot and wherever I hit the ball on the blade I got a really nice connection. The price is potentially the only thing stopping me from getting this blade as it is so expensive but the quality could be said to make up for the price.

A 7 ply limba ayous special with good control. The handle is very comfortable - rumor has it that the handle design copies that of a blade that Samsonov really liked. The blade is not as fast as some thicker 7 ply blades, but it is definitely an offensive blade. The straight (ST) handle feels a bit thin which makes it head heavy with thicker, harder sponged rubbers and is not as nice as the flare handle, though I hear the ST handle is being improved in the Black Edition. I do use the ST handle with some grip tape because aspects of the handle suit my serve and backhand.

Currently my main and favorite blade.

The DHS Hurricane 3 NEO is very spinny and lasts also very long. But it is not very fast and it's quite difficult to block because of the tackiness. With the DHS Hurricane 3 NEO you can make serves with a lot of spin, it's good for the short short and the flip becomes easier. During the topspin topspin play you have a lot control. Overall I would say that at the beginning it is a bit difficult to play the DHS Hurricane 3 NEO, but if you are habituated to it you can improve table tennis.

The blade is as described - heavier weights play slightly faster, but this is still a relatively slow blade for the relatively close to the table player or the control looper with a spin over speed focus away from the table. The straight handle is quite large for people who like that. The pair I had played consistently at 87g. I would recommend this blade to players starting out, as well as to advanced players who want something that is easier to control with close to the table play or with non-inverted rubbers.

I have used this blade for 2 years now and have never changed since because it suits my game perfectly. I like to backhand punch a lot and this blade helps me do that due to the hard nature on contact. I also find I have great control in the rally with the Rosewood, I am able to block a lot of balls on the table with good consistency.

Stiga Infinity VPS V, Rasant Turbo, Vega Japan

Hey guys

Here is a review of the Stiga Infinity VPS V I was allow to testfor a few weeks by my local TT dealer in Denmark. Thanks BTEX.DK!

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The blade was paired up with the new Andro Rasant Turbo on FH and Xiom Vega Japan on BH.
The quality of the blade is very nice and this sample has a weight on 88g and total with rubbers 187g. There was not a separation line in the outer veneer as you may find in e.g. Rosewood and Ebenholz blades.

The Infinity VPS V has a lovely crispy sound when playing and generating speed was not a problem. It has medium vibration which gives a player good feeling with the ball.
When making topspin from both wings I had the feeling the blade had a lot of dwell even with the hard Rasant Turbo. It seemed easy to hit the balls on the table and I was surprised the amount of control the Infinity VPS had. Short game I did not have the feeling that the ball was jumping of the racket and of cause it is depending on rubbers as well. Blocking was extremely easy and if you want to power block - this could be done with a lot of control and with good placement.

I would recommend this blade to close to the table offensive game

Hi guys. I will shortly return with a review on this blade about how it plays. Before I can do this I am preparing some rubbers to out on the blade. Here is some pictures you guys can enjoy My initial thoughts about the blade is that the finish is quite smooth and the quality is top class. The sample I received of Hurricane Long 3 weighs 86g which is 4-5g less than the commercial DHS 506. The thickness is 6.48mm which is a composition of limba/ayous/red dye ayous/ayous/red dye ayous/ayous/limba. I am curious about how much difference in the playing characteristics there is going to be due to the weight difference. It is not indicated anywhere on the blade or box that the HL3 has the same High Pressure Ballonet technology that the DHS 506 has, but looking at both blades they seem similar.



I have decided to put a couple of layers of coating on both sides of the blade to prevent the top limba layer to splinter when removing the rubbers.



Then I glued some rubbers on the blade Hurricane National Blue Sponge 2.15mm 40deg in FH Tenergy 64 in BH. Here is the final result.




Review:
This are my thoughts after playing 3 sessions with my new racket Total weight with rubbers 180g spot on!

Drive
When driving with the Hurricane Long 3 the blade felt very solid, but still with a little amount of vibration. The feel is very good even with hard rubbers and I had the impression that I was in control of the ball all the time

Loop
With the Limba as top ply of the blade it was easy topspin from both wings, because of the dwell time, giving the ball a low trajectory. The power of the blade was surprisingly high and I did not expect that at all. Very controllable even when you are trying to hit hard.

Push
Easy peacy and you force a deadly deep push against you opponent with out doing a large movement forward.

Service/Return
With the combination of the rubbers and blade service/return is easy to perform.
With the hurricane in FH spinny serves with out the ball bouncing to much of the blade.m which is a composition of limba/ayous/red dye ayous/ayous/red dye ayous/ayous/limba. I am curious about how much difference in the playing characteristics there is going to be due to the weight difference. It is not indicated anywhere on the blade or box that the HL3 has the same High Pressure Ballonet technology that the DHS 506 has, but looking at both blades they seem similar.

Very good for the price! Highly recommend these shoes. If your looking for high quality, Mizuno is the way!

in this video review I used the Donic Waldner Senso Carbon blade and @Tom used the Donic Ovtcharov blade.

I managed to purchase these at a discount price of £70 and they are great! They feel really light as I move with a nice and comfortable insulation. The grip is proving very good and doesn't stick too long which is good for all movement (side, back, front). For sure would recommend to anyone playing at a high level as these shoes provide the whole package!

I have found Nittaku 3* balls to be some of the best competitive balls around! The Nittaku's I have personally owned have lasted so long they discolour overtime. Never once broken from having a soft spot and very hard to find cracks. 100% recommend to any and all playing competitively.

I play with the M1 on my forehand and have found it a good rubber for my style of play (at the table, counter-spin, fast). I'd recommend this rubber to others who like to play off the bounce table tennis, who also prefer to counter attack rather than block. The control isn't really the best compared to other rubbers I have used hence why it is an all out attackers rubber. Once pushed into defensive shots, this rocket of a rubber turns very average. Great for fast and spinny open ups!

I currently use this rubber on my backhand side using a STIGA Rosewood blade. I like how I can punch the ball with ease around the table. It is also great for blocking against top spin shots. I can lift the ball against backspin to because of the medium sponge which gives me time on the ball.

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the DHS Gold Arc 3. I felt a lot of similarities with this rubber and Tenergy in terms of it's look and feel. I don't think it shares the same speed as Tenergy however it's balance between spin and speed is remarkable and similar.

Below is a video review myself and Tom did in 2013. I used the Butterfly Timo Boll ALC blade and Tom used the Butterfly Timo Boll ZLC.

Fantastic shoes, the best by far in the stiga range. They are light and very comfortable with excellent grip. I would compare them and say they are very similar to the butterfly energyforce series of shoes. If you are playing and competing at a high level and playing a lot of hours then these shoes are great value. They are much cheaper than the butterfly equivalent and are very similar.

Also I think they look great! Smart black and red design gives them a unique look!

This rubber is fantastic for a reason! Its the most popular rubber in China! it has excellent spin and speed. I used it during the speed glue era. My only issue now is that without boost or speed glue the rubber does not have the same speed. It requires boosting. I have yet to try the Hurricane 3 NEO which is pre glued, which I am sure is very good.

Hurricane 3 = Amazing

I acquired this rubber and used for a short amount of time out of necessity when no others were available to me. It did a solid job on my backhand side but was much to slow for me. It was easily controllable and produced a fair amount of spin. I would recommend this rubber to players not yet ready to step up to the tenergy series or similar rubbers.

This is one of yasaka's most popular blade.

When I was playing in France I saw quite a few top french players playing with the ma lin carbon. It is a good weapon of choice if your looking for a fast blade that still offers good feeling along with the carbon characteristics. I found that the carbon gave it a nice crisp feeling when I was looping and was quite durable so I would get similar results after each stroke. The feel of the blade also means that you get good control so is good for touch play and effective counter looping.

Overall a very nice blade, if you are looking for a fast carbon that offers good feeling this would be a good choice or if you prefer a softer carbon feel, try the ma lin carbon soft.

I've been playing with rakza 9 for about 2 years now (I used rakza 7 before), very similar to rakza 7 I found rakza 9 still had a grippy/tacky surface which meant that the balls dwell time on the rubber was a fraction longer compared to normal rubber so you were able to impart good spin. Rakza 9 is a harder rubber than rakza 7 which gives it a faster rebound effect and as a result is not quite as 'spinny' as rakza 7.

It's very nice to loop with as you are able to produce a lot of effortless power so you get good results, it's a very nice rubber to serve with as I was able to get great control and grippy spin.

It is a tensor type rubber so is fast, faster than rakza 7. It is well suited to an aggressive players looking for a bit more power but still with very similar characteristics of its predecessor Rakza 7 because of the tacky surface.