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This was my favorite rubber for a long time. It's a great rubber that does everything really well with great control and consistency. I had it paired with my Nittaku Acoustic 5 Ply wood blade on both the FH and BH sides and felt they were an excellent match as a developing 2 winged looper. Even by today's standard I consider it to have excellent spin and good speed. While it can be used either on the FH or BH sides I think it is slightly better on the BH side with a rubber with a slightly higher throw angle on the FH side. The throw height I would consider to be medium. Not as spinny or good at looping as Tenergy 05 but stronger in the short game and a more balanced rubber. Overall an excellent attacking rubber for offensive players who value control in their game.

This is a seriously great FH rubber: its in the same league as Tenergy and MX-P. In the recent past I've used primarily Tenergy 05 or Tibhar Evo MX-P and Yasaka Rakza 7 for a good time prior so I will use them as my primary comparisons. I think my best comparison would be to describe Gold Arc 8 as a slightly faster and spinnier version of Razka 7 with a slightly higher throw angle. Basically an upgraded Razka 7 for the 40+ ball. For T05/MX-P users it has more in common with MX-P being slightly slower with similar spin and a tad higher throw angle. It does everything well with no glaring weaknesses: Opening loops, counter loops, blocking, pushes, flat hits, serves, serve returns are all excellent.


Tenergy 05 is still a little stronger as an all out pure looping rubber and MX-P is faster but GA8 provides excellent spin and speed in an overall excellent and balanced rubber that is great for mid distanced looping attackers. If you are a pro or an aspiring pro T05 is still probably the best choice but for amateurs I think this is the better overall rubber. Recommended.

Good looking design.

Hard and stiff blade with lots of power and speed, close to the table and far from the table.

Very cheap but good rubber from Yinhe.
Slightly tacky, and durable rubber for forehand.
Only suitable for new plastic balls, old balls will go to the net.
Beginner should try 39 degree, and 40 degree will be prefect for person who can perform proper stroke.

i play mainly block and smash on my BH and only Topspin on opening shots or when i cant get around fast enough to use my fh. I´m using a Fang Bo Carbon blade and play the G1 in MAX (2.0mm).
The amount of control this rubber offers is insane. i can block hard shots accurately. As i prefer to play with full strokes on my bh and fh this rubber gives me the confidence to go for it. I tried T05 before that and it felt similar to the G1 but bouncier with less control.
Flicks on short serves are ok, they dont blow the opponent away but it gets the job done. Longer backspin serves on the other hand area treat with the G-1. I feel so confident in just ripping through the ball its awesome.
Smashing is also very easy with this rubber.

I used the Innerforce Layer ZLC and had Tibhar Evolution FXS on both sides whilst trying this blade and firstly whilst blocking for my partner to warm up I cold tell straight away how much control and feel this blade had. I could place the ball wherever I liked with accuracy no matter how hard the speed or spin from incoming shots.
Whilst doing a few fh and bh drives there was a crisp feeling and nice sweet spot, not the carbon feeling from a Timo Boll ALC for example but more of an all wood blade feeling. Stepping back from the table and looping I could feel the dwell and the ball sinking in before being catapulted with a nice amount of speed and spin. Looping felt very consistent again with a good feeling of control. Personally I wouldn't rate it as fast as butterfly do in the catalogue and would say it was a touch slower than a Boll ALC but with more control.
Serves were easy to keep short and easy to generate spin, receiving a long push back I found that open ups were a breeze, the blade and rubber combo generated lots of spin and a very safe arc over the net but I could also keep it low and fast also. If the serve came back short with backspin I could touch back with ease.
I think the softer outer veneers would also suit a harder rubber like an MXS or Tenergy 05 to generate more speed especially on the fh when at mid distance from the table. With the top to top rallies I found with the softer FXS rubber on the fh it was quite tough to generate the speed when off the table but was very safe and more point and shoot than out and out speed.
Overall I think the blade really impressed with its great for control especially with the softer rubber on the bh but to generate the speed some may prefer harder sponge rubbers on the fh and bh. I still think with harder rubbers the blade would still help with control but give it that extra zip on the ball, it always felt very safe. Not as fast as Butterfly rate it and the control is way more than rated also. A very nice blade, expensive but if you are after a blade with the sweet spot of carbon but the control of an all wood blade then this might be worth a try.

I love the Donic Bluefire M2! It is a fantastic, controllable, fast, spinny rubber. Currently, I am playing it on both my forehand and my backhand. I played it non-boosted (right out of the package) and when I saw how easy it is to control, I boosted it for more speed. It plays amazingly when boosted! It has a beautiful "crack" when struck in the sweet spot of my Donic Waldner Senso Carbon blade and is easy for me to place the ball anywhere on the table even at top speeds. I have been playing Tibhar's MX-P rubbers on my Waldner Ultra Senso Carbon and would almost go as far to say that with proper technique, they are almost as fast and even more spinny. I love the super spinny serves that I can get with the M2's! Just amazing. I can absolutely crush people with them. But then again, spinny serves are one of my forte's, the Bluefire's grippy rubber helps out considerably though. I love the M2's so much that I have already ordered the M1's so I can get even more speed and spin going on. Fantastic rubbers! You cannot go wrong with these.

I bought this when I began playing Table Tennis. The iPong Pro has great speed when topspin is maxed and you add backspin to about level 3. The speed in which the ball is shot out made me much better at blocking, forehand and backhand loops, forehand and backhand drives, etc. There isn't a whole lot that you cannot practice with this robot. It is a great stepping stone to a Newgy 2040 or 2050. I was able to add a piece of cardboard around the top of the area you place the balls and have sessions hitting nearly 300 balls before I have reload it. My V300 will not operate with that many balls on top of the feeding wheel. I am stoked at how the iPong 200/Pro really upped my game several levels. There aren't any active clubs nearby to go to and I do not have a partner to play with for more than an hour each day. This is a great answer to that dilemma.

Switching from the Boll ALC the Viscaria is exactly what i had hoped for. A carbon blade with a woody feel. Not too fast and not too slow either.. The viscaria will play passive if you are applying the passive game and if you are going for heavy loops it will facilitate in that too. Overall it is a do-it-all wood. Flex is decent for a carbon blade. You feel that vibration when playing this blade which is excellent if you are looking for ball feel.
Using Yasaka Rakza 7 on the forehand (max) and T80 (2.1) on the backhand. Has served me quite well so far, no complaints whatsoever.

When I first tried out this rubber on my forehand, I found the sound and speed to fit my playing style the most. But it was the most controllable on my backhand, where blocks were easily landing on the opponent's side. I actually prefer this because of its low throw angle, and I recommend it for people who want to have speed and control on both sides.

The Karis M is a medium soft Japanese rubber. It is slightly softer than the M+ version. The Karis M is a linear rubber with above average spin. It is made from the factory that makes Stiga rubbers in Japan as well as ITC and Nittaku Soulspin. The topsheet is grippy and produces a good amount of spin but less comapred to European rubbers such as Tibhar MX-P or MX-S. It is fast and bouncy like 42.5 degree ESN rubbers. It is better at receiving serves because the topsheet is not as sensitive to spin. Ideally, I like this better as a backhand rubber due to its ability to do bunch blocks, blocking as well as backhand looping. It can defend well by blocking due to its soft sponge but at the same time gives a fast return when blocking. It needs a specific type of contact with the ball and that is to dig dipper into the sponge in order to have better spin and power.

Hi,
today I played my first league match with this ball. I train and play with Joola Flash.
All balls were from a freshly opened box. I cleaned the balls (from the factory dust) and tested their roundness.
All were perfectly round. I spinned them on the table: absolutely no wobbling.
During warmup and gameplay, I felt that this is a hard and fast ball. I've read in other reviews that it has even less spin than the previous poly balls, but this isn't true. It's just average.
The best about this ball, the feeling you get on loops. If you hit hard you can really feel that the rubber grabs the ball. This was my main issue with poly balls: they are soft and it's much harder to get that feeling.
I played against a long pips blocker and I could confidently loop his balls.
I can see that those players who use nice spinny loops with fast brushing might not like the D40+. It's a faster ball but without more spin, so they might feel it less spinny.
This ball rewards direct gameplay.
Edge hits didn't broke the ball (in contrary to the Joola Flash I use), so durability shouldn't be a problem. And it's cheaper too.

This is an amazing clone for the Nittaku Violin. It has the same construction. It is a bit heavier compared to the original Violin but feels more solid when hitting the ball. My E-4 was about 90 grams in weight. The blade is medium stiff but has some flex to loop the ball easily. A tad lower in speed than the Tibhar Stratus power wood with better looping capabilities. The feel or feedback when hitting the ball is its asset. The feel is so nice without no unwanted vibrations. The handle is smooth and very ergonomic. Both the E-3 and E-4 are the best blades among the E-series but the E-4 stands out above the rest.

Alright guys, in our latest review we test the new ABS ball from STIGA and compare it to other popular balls in the market including the current DHS ABS ball used in the World Tours.

We found the balls were very consistent and the bounce didn't change a lot which was pleasing as well as not breaking throughout so the durability looks like an improvement too. We were able to generate good spin on the balls and the contact felt a lot more crisp and celluloid like than previous plastic balls.

We found some great results with the new ABS ball, watch the review in the video below for more:

The new 40+ version of the Target National seems to be frustrating. Just like the Euro Target version the new 40+ Target seems to have a very low throw that the ball hits the net always no matter how much effort you place on the ball contact. I never had any problems with the old Target National rubber and it is the one I am recommending players to use instead of the new 40+ versions because I never it is easier to use and it doesn't hit the net. It is as heavy as the other Target National versions at 69grams approx.

Lighter version of the T-88 rubbers at 61 grams uncut. The topsheet is not your typical Chinese rubber which is shiny. The Taiji has a matted topsheet for both black and grey. The new, bright, pink sponge has bigger pores compared to the last version of T-88 which was a yellow sponge. The rubber is slow at all+ speed but very spinny.

The topsheet is slightly tacky even with the black version. Spin is high despite being slightly tacky and produces a medium to high arc.

Speed is only a bit faster than the T-88 light rubber. If compared to other rubbers, the speed of the Taiji is a little bit faster than LKT XP Pro or a little bit slower than Ritc 729 Higher. This is a beginner to intermediate level rubber. Take a bit of effort to spin and needs a proper technique to play with. It can chop defensively and push with high amount of spin.

It is not as spin sensitive like the PF-4 nor feels as hard as Hurricane 3.

The Nexy Rubicon is an amazing blade. Weighing at 84 grams, the blade feels light and not head heavy. The one is used for half an hour was with a Nexy Karis Hard on the forehand and a Stiga Airoc Astro on the backhand. The blade has a very good finish. In fact, it has the most comfortable flared handle among all the Nexy blades I have tested so far. The neck, the size and the smoothness all contributes to the comfort when gripping the handle. The surface is medium hard and the overall stiffness is medium stiff with some flex. The blade is fast, more or less teh level of a Startus power wood but the control is much better. When I tried the Karis H in the forehand, the set up seems very bouncy so for people who want soem control I would suggest not to use any medium hard or hard ESN rubbers. Probably a 38-39 degree dhs rubber would be perfect because it isn't not too bouncy. I would choose medium rubbers for this like Rakza 7 or Joola Rhyzm-P