Latest reviews

I already reviewed 802-40 soft here, so I won't repeat things unnecessarily. Mostly I will compare this rubber to the 802-40 soft sponge version.

The red rubber and the black rubber have different sponges. The sponges are different colors, and they have a slightly different feeling.

The red rubber's sponge responds very well to boosting with Falco Tempo Long -- increased speed, spin, and feeling -- whereas the black sheet seems to not respond at all. I'll try again with Haifu Seamoon and post an update. I did not boost the soft 35 degree version of this rubber for comparison, because the sponge would probably become too soft.

The 42 degree version of this rubber can create significantly more spin than the 35 or 38 degree version, but control over the spin is very limited. The place where the spin capability really shines is in the serve, and more generally with short sharp strokes. When serving with this rubber you can make almost as much spin as with inverted rubber -- but you have to serve fast and long. The rubber will only create spin if you add power. As far as I can tell, it is not possible to create a slow spinny ball. With the soft sponge, there are more options to play slow spinny balls.

Touching softly will not engage the sponge, and so it will produce a dead ball (or even an antispin effect). This can be good tactically because it confuses your opponent. Essentially, the rules with this rubber are:
1. hit strongly and sharply to create your own spin (inverted rubber effect)
2. hit with medium strength from the forearm and wrist when flat hitting (classic short pips tactic)
3. hit very softly when giving your opponent's spin back to them (long pips / antispin effect)

Because of the hard sponge, this rubber behaves more like pips-out and less like inverted. It's easier to give knuckleballs and dead no-spin balls compared to the soft sponge version. Engaging the sponge creates spin. The soft sponge always engages, whereas the hard sponge only engages with strong hits.

802-40 soft is sensitive to incoming spin, so it is hard to return high-quality loops from the opponent. 802-40 Mystery III is significantly harder, and so is less sensitive to incoming spin. Blocking loops with this rubber is a lot easier than with the soft version, and usually you can just smack them back for a high-quality counterattack.

However, this harder rubber is less controllable than the soft version in general. It is very bouncy, and without the grippiness of inverted rubber, you have to be very careful about the angle at which you are hitting the ball. This rubber has a weakness with slow balls and is more suited to aggressive attacking, compared to the soft version.

This is a very good blade for beginners looking to build their first custom racket, and it's an excellent blade for experimentation with rubbers. If you are still trying to learn what kind of rubbers you like, then this blade will help you figure it out. There is a reason that the TableTennis11 team uses this blade for testing and reviewing rubbers.

Voodoo Classic is also one of the best blades you can find for its price.

I bought five Voodoo Classic blades for my university's ping pong club and put all different kinds of rubbers on them -- tacky, grippy, tensor, non-tensor, short pips, long pips, etc. Voodoo Classic works very well for making "loaner" rackets that new club members can borrow and try out.

With hard tacky Chinese rubbers like Hurricane and Skyline, this blade flexes and provides a long contact time, allowing you to "grab" and "rip through" the ball with lots of spin. Unfortunately, this makes the racket rather slow, so you will have to provide your own power. This is not necessarily a bad thing, and can actually be a good thing for those who are still learning technique. Softer Chinese rubbers like Battle II will give a bit more speed.

With European rubbers this blade provides a lot of power while also allowing good touch with significant amounts of spin.

Short pips and long pips both feel very controlled on this racket. On the whole, this racket is very good for learning because it provides very good feeling and control.

Voodoo Classic follows a classic popular 5-ply wood composition:
Limba-Limba-Ayous-Limba-Limba
Voodoo Classic is the budget version of this type of blade, and unfortunately this means that the production is not so consistent. The performance may be different between different blades -- some may be unexpectedly fast, some may be unexpectedly slow, etc.

There are higher-quality rackets with the same composition, and if you are looking for better quality and consistency you can try Butterfly Primorac (medium speed), Tibhar Stratus Power Wood (fast) or Butterfly Korbel (extra fast).

If you are a beginner who does not know what kind of equipment you want, I would suggest trying one (or more) of the following:
- Neottec Voodoo Classic with Yasaka Mark V on both sides (old-school option)
- Neottec Voodoo Classic with Yasaka Rakza 7 on both sides (generic EuroJap rubber)
- Neottec Voodoo Classic with Friendship Battle II on both sides (generic Chinese rubber)
- Neottec Voodoo Classic with Kokutaku Blutenkirsche on both sides (most budget-friendly option)

Having the same rubber on both sides is a good idea for beginners. After 3-6 months, the rubbers will wear out and you can try a different rubber on both sides.

If you already know that you like hard tacky Chinese rubbers (especially Skyline rubbers) then I think that the best option for you will be Ma Lin Extra Offensive or a similar blade.

Jack of all trades but the sponge stick to the glue if you peel it off. The sponge will end-up like the moon's surface. Maybe because of the cake sponge

Get this rubber for the forehand if you're on a budget and is looking to improve your forehand skills. This rubber feels similar to dignics 05 but with less speed, spin and control. You can buy it without thinking because of its low price. However, serve receiving is not so good on this rubber, playing short is quite hard. You can pair this with FZD ALC and have good days. Upgrade to dignics 05 or 09c on the forehand if you are looking for a higher performance rubber.

I'll talk about backhand only. This rubber is very balanced, I recommend putting this on the backhand. It's a very good rubber if you want to practice your backhand topspin. The spin is not crazy like dignics 05 or 09c, but it is good enough to produce high ball quality if done right. If you can master this rubber, then you can move on to better rubbers like dignics 05, tenergy 19, dignics 09c. Not so sensitive to incoming spin as well. However, the topsheet of the sponge can be a bit fragile even when the ball hits the edge of this rubber, but it should be fine. The topsheet of this rubber can still produce good amount of spin after playing it for 50 hours. I feel like this rubber can easily last 150-200 hours of playtime. You should buy this if you lack backhand skill and is looking to improve, you can buy it without thinking because of its low price

I think that this rubber is very good for playing a traditional Chinese penhold style (short pips FH, optional inverted BH). Serving is quite spinny (especially compared to other short pips) but not as spinny as inverted. Chop-blocking is incredible, and allows you to return extremely spinny and confusing balls to the opponent. If you touch the ball lightly, you can create an antispin effect and give your opponent their own spin. If you dig into the sponge, you can create your own spin. Attacking the ball immediately after the bounce is really nice with this rubber. Punching the ball is very accurate and deceptive, especially with penhold.

I usually play with inverted rubber, and have used 802-40 as my first venture into the world of pips. A lot of the reason I like it is because it was easy to learn, coming from inverted rubber.

If you have experience with pips, or if you play with long pips / antispin, then 802-40 will probably feel very similar to inverted rubber.

In addition to 802-40, I've tried Spinfire, TSP Spectol, TSP Super Spinpips, Dawei 388D-1, and Butterfly Feint Long. 802-40 has been my favorite so far.

Spin: 802-40 is quite spinny for short pips. In order to get spin, you need to dig into the soft sponge. Chopping can create much more spin than brushing. Backspin is easy to do, and the soft sponge allows a lot of variation in backspin. A gentle push will create an empty ball, whereas a forceful push will create heavy backspin. If you can make these strokes look the same to your opponent, you can confuse them a lot. Backspin/sidespin serves are very easy to do. Topspin is harder to do than backspin, and you can't create heavy topspin. You need to brush very lightly to maximize contact time.

Disruptive/confusing effects: 802-40 maintains the ability to confuse opponents and play long-pips-style shots while simultaneously being able to create its own spin. For example, Spinfire is grippier and spinnier than 802-40, but loses out on a lot of the disruptive elements of pips because Spinfire is almost like inverted rubber. To me, 802-40 is the perfect balance -- it can play all types of shots. It can create spin or antispin, depending on how you use it. It can also return dead no-spin balls.

Speed: This rubber is not so fast, in terms of pips. The aspect of speed which is useful is the speed with which you can take the ball after the bounce. You can counterattack a topspin ball (and even get some countertopspin) immediately after the bounce, which can be very surprising to your opponent. This aspect of speed is much more useful than the literal speed at which the ball is moving (which is still pretty fast, but there are faster pips available).

Spin sensitivity: When dealing with heavy topspin loops, you have to be very careful. The ball will penetrate the sponge quite easily (because it is soft) and then the spin will be very potent. There are two options: either you must commit to countertopspin and try to smash the ball back, or you must try to touch the ball very softly to avoid digging into the sponge. If you block, you must block actively. Passive blocking will be very sensitive to spin.

Chopping: I would not recommend 802-40 for backhand chopping because it is so sensitive to spin. There are better options.

This rubber allows for offensive play with moderate speed and bundles of control.
It allows me to make huge powerful counter topspins without missing and blocking in very stable. The grip is so high that it feels like a hybrid rubber and not to far from the tibhar hybrid k3

This was the BH on my first custom. I played with this on a bat lent to me by my coach and thought it was great. Similar experience on my own bat. It is good on the BH. Great speed, decent spin and just nice to use. But on the FH is where it shines. The loops from 1 step back are a dream. I can destroy a backspin serve and with enough power to finish the point on the 4th ball. I have used this for at least 11 hr a week and it is still playing like its new. Overall, this is a fantastic starter rubber for someone with good technique looking for a cheapish and durable tensor.

good for all levels on BH

I used the Rozena on BH with a TB ALC blade. I was not impressed. I used to play with T05-fx on backhand and decided to change to something a bit slower for more control. While it was a bit slower it was also a LOT LESS spiny and less gripy. Long story short I liked the Tenergy more. Rozena was only 14 Eur cheaper than tenergy so still pretty expensive for what it offered. I liked that it was a bit less responsive than the Tenergy which helped me a bit when out of position.However I see a lot of people recommending that rubber so I am sceptical about what I did wrong, xD

After a short break (of 5 years) I couldn't keep up with my carbon blade (TB ALC) so I decided to go back to a slower 5ply blade. I wish I had this blade when I started table tennis, but oh well! It is soft and pairs well with a lot of rubbers, it is not too fast and it has very good dwell time that helps in spin generation. The only thing I don't like is the handle which is kinda thin for me, but this is not enough to discourage me from using it.

This is a very interesting blade from Xiom.
The blade is an outer construction with NO Carbon, only a synteliac fiber.

The blade has good speed and a great feeling. In comparison to other outer carbon blade the SAL is not so fast and has a longer ball contact. Compared to innerforce blades the ball contact is shorter.
It has more control than outer carbon blades. But the SAL is direct and crisp overall.

The blade works very good with hard rubbers.
It is maybe 5-10% slower compared to the HAL from Xiom.

Since I have been using the Butterfly Petr Korbel blade (Japan version) for a very long time and I had the pleasure of trying the Europe version as well, I can give you a full-fledged comparison. Let's start with the visual inspection: The premium machining of the Japan version as opposed to the Europe version is immediately noticeable when both are in front of you, the Japan version has serial numbers.

Handle design: The grip of both is very handy - very comfortable (for small and medium hand players), the handle of the Japan version is a bit wider and flatter, but I have tried it before with a much wider handle - blade made with grip e.g. Gewo Aruna Carbon ALL+ compared to which the Petr Korbel Japanese version is noticeably thinner, the handle of the Europe version is thinner than the Japan version and more convex, when playing, both were very comfortable for me.

Game features: For the sake of the comparison test, I borrowed the Europe version from one of my fellow players, and since I am an attacking player FH Yasaka Rakza X (max version), BH Yasaka Rakza Z (max version) I use 5 layers of Revolution Nr.3 glue, I put the same rubbers on the Europe version, my experience is that the Japan version is noticeably faster, however, the ball detection is very similar, spinning the ball from under the table with both blades is very easy, the extra speed of the Japan blade is provided by modifying the stacking of the changed wooden layers, and the Japan version is a little thicker and heavier, mine is 95 grams, (the Europe version is 88 grams), it is true for both versions that the head size of the blade is larger, which also means a larger hit area, in case of max rubbers or 2.1 spongy rubbers you get a head-heavy racket, the Japan version is a better balanced blade and the handle did not feel hollow during playing, I felt this with the Europe version. I don't like this feeling, but there are players who do, so I won't bring this up as a negative for the Europe version. Both blades use rubbers with a medium-hardness sponge for the best pairing.

Final word: Both blades are great blades in their price range, the Japan version is a premium quality blade that doesn't lack strength and ball sensing. For those who are small and medium-handed players and want a great, premium-crafted blade with great ball detection that doesn't lack speed, I can recommend the Butterfly Petr Korbel Japan version. The Europe version is slower, but with more power and fast rubbers, it will be fast enough for offensive play.

The Baracuda is a tensor rubber from Donic available in 3 thicknesses and 3 colors. I have used only the blue colord one, so my review is only valid for the blue rubber.

It is a relatively quick rubber with a moderate amount of catapult. Quite a bit bouncy for the short game, but it also depends on the blade. With technique it is a tamable rubber.
It's spin levels are rather high, but not extraordinarily high as some suggest. It is above the average rubber's spin, but not in the very high levels. It is easy to generate that high spin with the great amount of grip that can be found on the topsheet.
It is a light rubber with a relatively high throw, so can be used with heavier blades.

Some players have suggested that is has a high durability. I have experienced the opposite, for me it is broken after 2 months, I have lost half the grip. It is highly spin sensitive, but not surprising given the high spin capability. In high humidty and dusty places the rubber's performance drops quite a bit, so should be cleaning regularly.

I tried a sheet of red Vega China on the backhand side of a penhold Neottec Voodoo Classic.

It plays mostly like an unboosted Hurricane 3, with a bit more speed on certain shots. The differences are:

1. You really need to dig into the sponge to get a spinny ball. Brushing is not great for spin.

2. Blocking is faster. Counterlooping is very easy, and you can just hit straight through the ball for a fast smash.

3. Throw angle is slightly higher than DHS rubbers

4. A little bit less dead than unboosted DHS rubbers -- a bit less control in the short game.

Honestly I can't complain too much. Counterlooping is better than H3, but brush-looping is worse. It's a good rubber and I'll use it until it wears out. But I don't see myself buying this instead of a Hurricane 3 or Skyline 2. DHS rubbers are cheaper and better, in my opinion.

In this new video series we take a look at each of the TTD Team players equipment setup, why they use it and get an insight into each players game. In this first episode we've got Tom The Frog. Tom's setup is a STIGA Cybershape Carbon, with the DNA Hybrid Hard rubbers on both sides of his bat.

Hey guys, recently I travelled to the Ochsenhausen Table Tennis Club in Germany to hang out with the 3x French Champion Simon Gauzy!

In this video, I did some training with Simon, he shows me how he does some of his INSANE trickery shots and we take a look at his racket setup, including the new blade he is using, the andro Synteliac VCI and Rasanter C53 rubbers.

Hey guys, we’re joined by an absolute legend of the game, 5 x World Champion Jorgen Persson! Jorgen Persson won the singles event in 1991 and won the team event for Sweden alongside Jan Ove Waldner and others a staggering 4 times!

In this video, I do some training with Jorgen, he shows me how to do his famous backhand punch and we take a look at the rubbers he is using, the Donic Bluestar A1 on the Forehand and the Bluestar A2 on the backhand!

Hey guys, in this video I'm joined by the World’s Best Defender Ruwen Filus! Ruwen has a highest world ranking of 18 and has won multiple medals with Team Germany including a silver medal at the World Championships!

In the video, I do some training with Ruwen, he teaches me how to defend and we take a look at the rubber he chops with… The Butterfly Feint Long 3. We also surprise him with the new Diode Pro blade to see how he gets on with it.

Been playing for about seven years and I tried this rubber just to see butterfly products starting at a lower price range. I will say that I am disappointed with the spin the rubber generates. It is almost like an anti-spin rubber. I may also say that this is a good rubber for beginners. It is fast and soft.