Latest reviews

Tibhar Evolution FX-S
Weight: 68 grams uncut, 49 grams uncut
Sponge Hardness: 42°
Hardness: Soft/Medium
Speed: Medium
Spin: Medium/High
Blade used: Tibhar Stratus Carbon blade


Written Review

Thank you to TableTennis11 for supplying us with these rubbers to review, be sure to check out their website. The success of the popular MX-P, used by pro players such as Paul Drinkhall and Vladimir Samsonov, led these new rubbers to be highly anticipated in the latter part of 2016.

Initial inspection

Like previous Evolution rubbers the EL-S and FX-S are both ESN based, you can see our review of earlier models in the series here. The FX-S has a sponge hardness of 42 degrees. The sponge hardness of the FX-S is similar to its predecessor FX-P.

The weight of the FX-S when uncut is 68grams and when cut is 49 grams.

The two (EL-S and FX-S) rubbers were each used on the Tibhar Stratus Samsonov blade and were used throughout the review.

Forehand Topspin

During the topspin exchange we noticed that nice rebound effect you get with the other Evolution series rubbers. The ELS in particular sprung of the bat quickly and had a medium to high trajectory. What we like about the Evolution series is their boosted effect you feel when you strike the ball, this has not changed with the new ELS and FXS.

Spin

One of the biggest advantages with the FX-S is its ease of use against backspin. The sponge and topsheet grab the ball well producing a lot of spin. The FX-S is a very stable rubber and I felt very confident going for power in my shots whilst maintaining accuracy. Also when I dropped off the table I could feel the ball dig into the sponge making me feel in control of the ball, producing a quality shot consistently.


Speed

We both found whilst using the FXS on the forehand it was slightly too soft and could be a little tricky to control aggressive incoming shots. The rubber worked well when playing at around 70% of max speed and going for spin during rallies rather than speed.

However the FXS came into its own and worked fantastically on the backhand side, it gave a lot of margin for error. The softer sponge of the FXS combines well with a compact backhand stroke. Again the FXS is not as fast as the ELS but but due to its softer sponge it was easier to produce spin. It felt really effortless when directing backhand shots down the line.

Short game and serves

During the short game the ELS is able to produce high amounts of spin on short aggressive pushes and flick shots. The ELS grips the ball well when playing the modern backhand flick made famous by the likes of Zhang Jike and Fan Zhendong. This is a similar case with the FXS where it really shines in the short game producing loads of spin with good consistency.

We liked serving with the FX-S, the topsheet gripped the ball nicely and produced consistent high end spin.

Away from the table

We found both the ELS and FXS similar when playing top to top rallies away from the table, the only difference being that the ELS is slightly faster.

Conclusion:

For players who play with more of an allround offensive game the FXP would suit especially on the backhand side. It has great control and nice feeling. I find you have a lot of accuracy in your shots as the rubber is forgiving. It is not as fast as the ELS but possesses more control.

Pictures

Weight of the Tibhar Evolution FX-S



Sponge hardness of the Tibhar Evolution FX-S

Tibhar Evolution EL-S
Weight: 74 grams uncut, 52 grams uncut
Sponge Hardness: 45°
Hardness: Medium/Hard
Speed: Medium
Spin: Medium/High
Blade used: Tibhar Stratus Carbon blade

Hey guys, heres our review on the Tibhar Evolution EL-S. Thank you to TableTennis11 for supplying us with these rubbers to review, be sure to check out their website. The success of the popular MX-P, used by pro players such as Paul Drinkhall and Vladimir Samsonov, led these new rubbers to be highly anticipated in the latter part of 2016.


Written Review

Initial inspection

Like previous Evolution rubbers the EL-S is ESN based, you can see our review of earlier models in the series here.

The El-S has a sponge hardness of 45 degrees and FX-S comes in at 42 degrees. The sponge hardness of the EL-S is similar to popular MX-P and the FX-S is more closely related to its predecessor FX-P. The EL-S has a medium to hard sponge hardness whereas the FX-S has a Medium to soft sponge hardness. The main difference between the EL-S and its predecessor EL-P is that the EL-S has larger pores in its sponge this is designed to increase speed.

The weight of the EL-S when uncut is 74 grams and when cut is 52 grams. The weight of the FX-S when uncut is 68grams and when cut is 49 grams.
The two rubbers were each used on the Tibhar Stratus Samsonov blade and were used throughout the review.


Topspins

During the topspin exchange we noticed that nice rebound effect you get with the other Evolution series rubbers. The ELS in particular sprung of the bat quickly and had a medium to high trajectory. What we like about the Evolution series is their boosted effect you feel when you strike the ball, this has not changed with the new ELS and FXS.

The ELS has a tremendous balance between speed and spin whereas the it’s predecessor the MXP is a touch faster but has less spin. The Sponge hardness of the ELS is between the MXP and the ELP. This hardness felt optimum for my style of play as it gave my shots a lot of accuracy and enough power when I needed it. If you find the Evolution MX-P too fast, the ELS could be a great alternative within the series.

Spin

One of the biggest advantages with the ELS is its ease of use against backspin. The sponge and topsheet grab the ball well producing a lot of spin. The ELS is a very stable rubber and I felt very confident going for power in my shots whilst maintaining accuracy. Also when I dropped off the table I could feel the ball dig into the sponge making me feel in control of the ball, producing a quality shot consistently.

We both found whilst using the FXS on the forehand it was slightly too soft and could be a little tricky to control aggressive incoming shots. The rubber worked well when playing at around 70% of max speed and going for spin during rallies rather than speed. With the ELS there was a more natural zip and spring effect meaning it is easier to play harder through the ball, which works well on the forehand side.

Service and short game

During the short game the ELS is able to produce high amounts of spin on short aggressive pushes and flick shots. The ELS grips the ball well when playing the modern backhand flick made famous by the likes of Zhang Jike and Fan Zhendong.

When serving with the ELS we liked the quality, the rubber gripped the ball nicely and produced consistent high end spin.

Away from the table

We found both the ELS and FXS similar when playing top to top rallies away from the table, the only difference being that the ELS is slightly faster.
Here are some points taken from match play.

Conclusion:

The ELS has an optimum balance of sponge hardness and sits right between the popular EL-P and MX-P so the rubber gets the best of both worlds. The high amounts of spin produced with the ELS gives nice arc and dip with topspin strokes which adds to accuracy. A lot of the online table tennis community found the MX-P too fast and felt it catered more for the pro’s, with the ELS coming in a notch slower providing slightly more control and safety which might combat this problem for certain players. In some sense the ELS is a slightly softer and slower version of the Tenergy 05.

In comparison to the previous rubbers in the Evolution series, Tibhar have really come up with a new and improved version with the ELS which is more stable during game play.

For players who have an strong attacking style of play the ELS would suit well. For players who play with more of an allround offensive game the FXP would suit especially on the backhand side.


Pictures

Tibhar Evolution EL-S Rubber Weight



Tibhar Evolution EL-S Sponge Hardness

So the ejing began again, after playing with Force Pro Black Edition for some time, I decided to try Paul Drinkhall's signature blade. It is named the Powerspin Carbon but I named it Paul Drinkhall Spirit, as it is Tibhar's blade designed for Paul who used Timo Spirit previously. Obviously, the PDS is faster than the TMS even I can't believe my eyes that in Dan's review the balls were shooting like rockets. I finally began to realize when I used PDS with Evolution rubbers that even mortals can create ballistics.

Rubbers used:
FH: Evolution MX-P
BH: Evolution FX-P

Spin and Power:
The first time I hit with the PDS, I can already feel the power of the blade using only short strokes. The blade is really direct that I can shoot the ball anywhere I want. Using brush stroke, the balls produced are really heavy and fast. When using power, the ball blasts off from the blade with incredible speed. A single powerloop can end the point outright because the ball is really low and fast. When the ball is blocked, it is very easy to reloop and continue attacking.

Blocking:
Like all composites, minimal effort is needed when blocking and what I like about the PDS is it's ease in countering balls. A loop can be smacked to humiliation. The blocks with PDS is very stable, I can vary my blocking from counter the chop block next with ease. The blade is better if the user has very active strokes.

Flicking, Pushing:
As shown in Dan's review, flicking is made easy with this blade due to it's direct nature. When I first used PSC, I used it with H3 NEO and pushing is very deadly because the ball is loaded with heavy spin and the ball is very low. When I used it with MX-P I had trouble at first but adjusted afterwards. The blade is also very good with the two types of flick, the chiquita (sidespin) and the drive due to it's dwell and a kick of power at the end of the stroke.


Conclusion and comments:
- Paul Drinkhall Spirit works well with the Evolution rubbers (not a marketing scheme)
- Due to the blade's power, I can't control MX-P sometimes
- For really aggressive players that want to attack everything they see
- Control is a plus, specially when looping
- Ballistics, ballistics, ballistics!! when timed well

This blade can compete with Butterfly's ALCs because PDS has more feel than Viscaria and Timo Boll. Comparing it with the Timo Spirit, the Drinkhall Spirit has more dwell, more feel, faster and more powerful. Another plus is that the PDS has minimal artificial feel (ultra carbon vibration) and I really like it as an allwood lover.

Got the Blue Sponge in MAX thickness.

This is a solid rubber for a complete beginner who is just learning the basic strokes, how to serve, etc. It is quite slow and the rubber is dead and hard, but this gives it ample control and the tackiness gives it solid spin as well. On a flexible all wood blade this is a great rubber to begin learning how to loop properly, the chinese style.
Unfortunately for players beyond the beginner stage, unless you are into boosting or other gluing methods, this rubber doesn't have the speed you need to play a modern offensive game. It takes a ton of effort to generate reasonable speed during loops, and even third ball attacks run the risk of being blocked back. The tackiness, although fairly high, is still not as high as most DHS rubbers like hurricane and skyline, and there is occasionally some slipage after extended play. Combined with the dead sponge, this means the spin is also not quite as high as you would like for competative play. Shots like lifting underspin pushes and chops require very big and integrated motions that, again, are great for training, but not ideal for performance.

Although the $10 price tag is outstanding and makes the rubber hard not to recommend, this isn't a rubber I would chose for a developed player, or even a developing player. Dishing out a few extra $ for DHS hurricane or skyline will give you all the control this rubber offers, with a lot more speed and spin on almost all shots. It isn't a bad rubber by any means, but there are better options.

This rubber is super cheap, has a soft and very light sponge and a completely non-tacky but grippy topsheet. I was recommended it for learning RPB, and I do think this is a sublime beginners rubber for BH. It is soft, so high spin can easily be made with a softer stroke and increases the dwell and feeling on the ball.But this rubber isn't slow, so you can finish points with it. It's very difficult to serve and play short with this rubber as the sponge is engaged easily and the completely non-tacky topsheet doesn't hug the ball. I wouldn't recommend this FH. get a tacky/hard or Euro/med instead.

dear DAN
Do you have a video review on the STIGA Etrenity VPS blade.?

I had these rubbers lying around for a very long time just sitting in sandwich bags. They were on an Andro Kinetic Explorer OFF+ 3 years back. My friend had been using a Xiom Muv Racket (he is a beginner) and the rubbers on his blade had become very messed up. I suggested putting these rubbers on and he agreed. I put a decent amount of baby oil on the rubbers before gluing them to make them a little softer, tackier, and stretch them out a little as they were a little smaller than the racket face. After a few hours the rubbers had become tackier, bigger, etc. but to my surprise the old and dried speed glue on the rubber had become slightly liquidy and really sticky. I stuck the rubbers on and they domed so I put some books on the it and an hour later the rubber was fine. When I started playing i could feel the speed glue effect and sound. The rubber had very good control and the speed glue created tons of spin. My friend liked it a lot even though it was a little bit fast for him but he got used to it. Without the speed glue from what I can remember is that this is was a lot less spinny and slower but had better control. Sriver is still the best rubber for a beginner along with Mark V

I have used this blade for around maybe 4-5 hours in total with Donic Bluefire M3 on both sides in 1.8 mm thickness. The quality of this blade is exceptional like the other Andro products I've used except this one had an even higher level. The handle is top notch, comfortable, and perfectly flared. The feeling that the spruce wood gives is quite exceptional. I've used other Andro blades before but this one had a very good feel even better than a the Andro Kinetic Explorer (a blade that I love but don't use due to the anatomic handle) The dwell time on this blade is a also quite good and despite being a relatively soft blade the ball contact is crisp. As yogi bear stated the throw angle on this blade is high (good if you want to stick some hard Chinese rubber). I don't think I need to talk about how the blade performs because yogi bear covered it pretty well. I would like to add that when doing a backhand flick this rubber gives you that sensation that you can just slam the ball and it'll still land. Also, this blade is I would say identical to the Donic World 89 blades (made in the same factory same composition etc). I have the Appelgren ALL+ one so it is slightly slower than this (but then again with MX-P that is a killer). Rubbers that would go well on this blade are ones that are relatively hard and have low throw angles like MX-P, Omega V Asia, and Chinese rubbers should also perform well

Despite its age, just like tenergy this rubber remains one of the OGs that still got it. There are faster and spinnier ESN tensors now but as far as I know none of em have this combination of it. The spin this rubber can generate on a fine brush is high and even on something like a loop drive the quality is there. The best shots are by far when you're a few feet away from the table hammering out the loops and counters. Making sure the shots land is not as easy so yeah make sure you can handle a speed monster before slapping this on your blade. I currently use this on my backhand and have tried it on my forehand where it proved to be to fast for me. Also, even though this rubber is cheaper than tenergy, its durability is nowhere near the same. After about 2-3 months the boosted effect will mostly be gone and in my experience wear spots will begin to show after about 75-100 hours of use.

I have used this rubber previously on three blades. The first was an Animus blade which was very stiff and fast and when paired with the M3s it became an uncontrollable rocket ship as the rubbers was also MAX thickness. After that I had it again on both sides on an Andro Ligna with 1.8 thickness. This combo was amazing in every way except I should have got the MAX because some loops weren't very powerful and spinny. I slapped the MAX ones on an Andro Kinetic Explorer OFF+ and that combo was also really good. Fast but with superb blocks, flicks loops. Most shots required little effort and mid to long distance was real good. This rubber has a relatively high throw angle and is better on the backhand for sure. I would say the best blades for this rubber are ones that are relatively hard, don't have high throw angles, and are at least OFF. The only disadvantages are the lack of speed if you use a slow blade and the great amount of doming that occurs when you glue the rubber. But other than that this is a solid rubber.

Thanks to a tip from the member Chuck Jordan I was able to buy two boxes of the new DHS 3* D40+ balls from this place:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Excl...-Seamed-New-Material-Plastic/32793435592.html

I received them in about 10 days and I played with them this evening. I paid $15 for 12 balls. Here is my review:

I already believe that this is the best plastic ball in table tennis right now when everything is considered.

From a playing perspective I actually like them slightly better than the Nittaku Premium!! I never thought I would say that about a Chinese plastic ball!

Surface of the ball looks exactly like Nittaku Premium. The seams are a little larger, though, more like earlier seamed balls from China.

They are absolutely perfectly round.

The static bounce is exactly the same height as Nittaku Premium. If you let the bounces die out on the table, they stop bouncing at exactly the same time the Nittaku does. This is a huge improvement for DHS. None of their earlier plastic balls bounced for crap.

The D40+ have a normal sound on bouncing (this is different from the 1* version).

Spin and speed is very similar to the Nittaku, but the DHS feels a little more solid. My practice partner could not tell the difference from the Nittaku Premium when I switched up on him. More significantly, coach Li Kewai (~2700 player) could tell a slight difference and his opinion is that he preferred the DHS D40+ to the Nittaku Premium, and I shared that opinion, although the difference is very very slight. I think the DHS might be very slightly heavier. There is no accounting for tastes, but I would be really surprised if very many people conclude that the D40+ is significantly worse to play with than Nittaku Premium.

On top of all that, the DHS40+ is cheaper. Also, as DHS stops the production of their previously horrible awful terrible miserable plastic balls, these will probably become the standard, and hopefully other companies will be putting their brands on this ball. It would be a major improvement for the sport. The key will be if DHS can make enough of these D40+ balls to meet the demand and still maintain this level of quality.

This is the best news I have been able to report in a really long time. As for my expertise on this, I think it is extensive. I know the plastic ball situation in detail (more than I know about most other equipment issues). Very early on I completely stopped playing with celluloid balls, and I have tried about every 40+ ball made, and I was the first one on English language TT forums to really push the idea that the seamless balls are decent, and not as bad as the prototypes floating around for awhile might have led us to believe. (At the time the expectation was that they would be really bad). Seamless balls actually have a lot of good properties, especially durability, but I think these new balls by DHS will probably be very bad news for the makers of seamless balls. I doubt once people get their hands on these, especially given the price, that people will want to use seamless very much. The playing properties are superior (by which I mean a lot closer to celluloid) and they are cheaper.

The likelihood as a result is that in the foreseeable future we will have a lot more uniformity of balls, which for the last few years has been a big problem for our sport. If in the future the dominant balls become the D40+ ones made by DHS (possibly sold by many companies) and the Nittaku Premium, we will have returned to a situation where the brand of ball doesn't matter very much (as in celluloid era).

Mine was an old primorac carbon whose outer ply was harder than usual. It gives excellent confidence for direct and fast shots. Spin can lack due to rubber or technique because its contact duration is very short. Also in short game it lacks control much. But it fits almost all rubbers, with hard rubbers it lost almost all feeling. I think this blade was one of super star in speed glue era, nowadays more off-, off blades favorable for variable players, even top pros do not use that fast and stiff blade. Of course it depends on the taste of player.

After a few years break from table tennis I decided to play again and thought about using a classic rubber to regain my techniques. In general picking Donic Coppa was a good decision, there were some downsides however if you were ever used to playing a Tensor or Glue-effect rubber.

What I really liked about the rubber was it's super grippy topsheet. I could load slow topspins with lots of spin and my opponents had big problems with it. During short game the ruber is easy to play since it plays super linear, it does not have a lot of catapult and predictable. The rubber is not fast but not slow either.

What I had problems with was sometimes getting the ball over the net. The last rubber I used before my break was the Xiom Vega Pro, a rubber a bit similar to Tenergy 05. Those rubbers had a high throw so I could play the topspin more horizontal than vertical. With the Coppa this led to many balls landing in the net. I had to open my blade a lot and move my arm more upwards. This resulted in lower speed and while it had lots of spin, my Topspins sometimes lacked danger for my opponents. The further away from the table, the more this got a problem. For regaining my technique, to stop playing half-hearted topspins, this was good. I had to follow-through every movement and only then I was rewarded with a good ball. My carbon blade probably didn't help a lot there since those don't have a lot of catapult because of their stiffness.
I will probably keep the rubber on my backhand and will move to Tenergy 05 on my forehand since I am much better there.

This blade is not quite Off-, more All+. I switched from a considerable thicker and slightly softer OFF- blade, and this is definitely slower. But with decent rubbers, it'll win the point, because this blade is a spin machine. Loads of flex makes this a looping dream, and the medium hardness outer plies give good control in the short game. It is absolutely perfect close to the table, but you really do have to work away from it. I play a close-to-the table third ball attack PH game, so spin, control and opening attack/counters are most important. blocking is a tad more difficult than a more rigid blade, but there's still loads of control on this blade, so it's alright. It is very lightweight. Mine was the advertised 80g which is more important for ph as a heavy setup will put strain on the wrist. With such a light blade, I can afford to put a heavy chinese rubber and a medium euro on the bh. However, lack of weight is lack of speed. There's quite a lot of vibrations with this blade, but I just think of it as extra sensory information, so I don't know why people complain. But if you hate vibrations, this is probably not for you. Also, no errors in construction. Completely flawless. And it comes pre-sealed which is handy. I've had no issues with outer plies splintering from water based glue.

I decided to use this blade after I put Xiom Vega Pro on both sides. (before I had some really old and horrible Banda Helix rubber) I am overall really impressed with it. Loops have a highish throw angle but the arc is still long and low. Make sure you pair this blade with hard rubbers that have at least a medium throw. (Those helix rubbers produced no arc whatsoever) the speed of the blade is quite good and more than adequate for mid-distance play. You can also chop with this blade if you have a very good stroke but don't do it unless you really have to. (I chop sometimes to get back in the rally) Touch play with this racket is not very easy. Vega pro is spin sensitive and this a flexy blade so you have to touch the ball very well. Opening up against backspin requires quite a vertical technique. Flicks are good if you time it right though I feel that I can't produce as much speed and be consistent as with a slightly stiffer blade. The flared handle is really good for people like me who don't have big hands. Also please remember that this blade is not the best for a beginner as it won't forgive your mistakes very often. (If you plan on using softer, less spinny, and controllable rubbers you won't have fun) Still overall a very good blade.

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.

This is the best ball you can buy at least from what I've tried. It lasts a really long time and has a great bounce. It's not too heavy and it's hardness, roundness, etc. are great. It bounces a little tiny bit slow though but I guess no ball is perfect. Also, they are not cheap. Anyone now about the one star training versions? How are they compared to this one?

I was using this rubber previously on a lot of blades and it was a little too hard for me to control but i loved it still. After I improved my game I went back to it and put it on BTY Timo Boll Spark and it's great. Throw angle is a little higher than I would have liked on the forehand but loops on both sides are great but better on BH. Remember that this rubber is hardish and not very forgiving so timing and brushing the ball well is crucial. If you get it right the rewards are high. This rubbers durability is also really good if you maintain it. If you want to fix the rubber's hardness a little, put a tiny bit of sunflower, baby, etc. oil on it and it'll soften up a little. Also, make sure you remember to change your racket angle when opening up. Too low, and you'll hit the top of the net. Too high and you'll barely miss the edge of the table. To sum up though, if you want a relatively cheap rubber, buy this.