yinhe/galaxy Milky Way Mercury II

This rubber is (usually) half the price of the next best "cheap, tacky rubber" I can get, with some additional advantages!

For €5 a piece on my latest Ali order (sometimes goes up to €10), I didn't expect much the first time I ordered it. I just added it to an existing order to mess around with.
I have used 729 Super FX several times in the past, and given the low price point of that rubber I will be comparing these two a lot.
Both of these rubbers need breaking in. It takes a couple of sessions to take the stiffness out of the M2 (Mercury 2) especially the topsheet seems to really need to warm up before it will start to give a little bit more.
Booster doesn't help much, on either rubber tbh. Don't waste your time and money boosting them. Mercury 2 comes with a cream coloured sponge that actually reminds me of older tensors like Rakza 7, rather than the high density orange/blue sponges found on Super FX and H3.

The sponge just makes this rubber (eventually) a bit more lively, while the Super FX keeps on playing like a brick, just a softer brick. After a while you could even say there's a little bit of a bounce going on despite the tack. If maintained and covered, the sheet keeps its tack rather well. I have had one for months and it hasn't really changed much at all. I imagine the sponge will eventually give out from under the topsheet but so far it has been in good shape.

The Soft version of this rubber is even easier to pull a ball with, but has a significant power tradeoff. I would not recommend it on FH at all unless you are a complete beginner without power generation experience.
On the BH, it's easy to access its spin capabilities and let the ball sink in a little bit.
The Medium sponge also has a ceiling that's not overly hard to reach, but there is a purpose in having that ceiling, too, because it will basically teach you to not overhit the ball since there's no benefit to be had. I would also opt to use Medium on BH if you have a harder, faster blade. You could probably use the Soft, too, but you'd reach the ceiling so quickly that there's not much of a point to it.

Both sponge hardness versions are just really meant to be stable, spin-oriented rubbers, and that's what they do. Controlling the ball is easy both passively and actively. Serves can be surprisingly heavy on the spin department. Straight up blocking is a bit harder to get right but for a tacky rubber it's actually quite OK.
Looping is easy as you can literally grab and pull the ball. It feels like there's seconds of time to execute your shot. Saving a wide short FH by pulling it over the net is just good fun. In a way, that doesn't really promote good footwork, does it, but still.

Going back to the Super FX comparison, the 729 rubber basically is, and feels like, a classic Chinese rubber, whereas M2 feels like a bit of a modern take on it. It's designed to be thicker, to have the ball sunk into it. 729's version has been updated at some point to offer a blue sponge on the black rubber, but that's all. It also oxidizes like nothing else so it looks like crap within a session.
There's a couple of caveats to M2 though. The quality between sheets can vary quite a bit. We're talking weight, topsheet quality, sponge density, basically every element. For this price point that's completely understandable, but it needs to be said.
Second, and this *can* be important: the old version of M2 is not on the LARC, so it is not allowed to be played in official matches in most countries. The new version, with the spiraling Yinhe logo, is on the approved list, but Ali sellers often don't clearly show which one you're getting.
I am under the impression that old stocks are dwindling, so your chances are getting better all the time. I just bought a stack where the seller didn't show the logo at all and only got new ones. YMMV!

Conclusion: I have said it before in the forums, but if I had to pick one single rubber to use, and pay for, for the rest of my life, M2 would be at least in my top 3. Heck I could use a new sheet every month and be off cheaper than changing most rubbers twice a year.

For its price, this rubber tops every chart. Its speed, spin, and overall quality is on par with some 729, or even DHS rubbers. However, this does not mean it's a must buy. Mercury has glaring problems, like gears and feeling. Overall, a very nice rubber for its price, but if you have a big budget might as well get some other rubber.

77.5g DONIC blade + 2x Mercury II (old) = 159.9g (incl. Yinhe glue)
62.4g SANWEI blade + 2x Mercury II (new) = 152.0g (incl. German glue)

The above 2 fully assembled rackets include different glues plus edge tape, so the below numbers contain these components too:

41.2g is the average assembled weight of one installed Mercury II Soft rubber, cherry-picked light samples.
44.8g is the average assembled weight of one installed Mercury II Soft rubber, cherry-picked heavy samples.

In other words, if i had cherry-picked lighter production units, my racket would be lighter by 7.2g, this is good to know. On the flipside, heavier sheets mean that they are thicker, delivering a better performance. That's exactly why i paired my lighter blade with heavier sheets, and my heavier blade with lighter sheets. Because in the end we not only want the lightest racket but also a beautiful ALL+/OFF- performer. The thicker the sheet, the more beautiful its performance.

Yes, the Mercury II Soft is a slow rubber, with absolutely no catapult, no tensor effect but i compensate this similar to badminton, namely with a snappy fast racket movement thx to the light weight. For learners, consolidating coordination and shot variations, it's the perfect rubber, highly enjoyable.

Nobody ever claimed that this rubber one of the best club-level quality rubbers, but so many on the internets do claim that it has the highest performance-price ratio that mankind has seen . For 3$, it's the very best rubber you could buy (best value).

Highly recommended for learners, beginners, in their club and league play.

Playing for 6 months now and for the first time I tried a rubber that can lift the ball. So nice feeling to play with! I have tried a few different european and hybrid rubbers, but Mercury 2 in black and soft sponge seems like a perfect fit on my forehand. I can push, chop and above all top-side-spin the ball wonderfully with it. I wish it came with a thinner sponge, that way I could recommend it for every beginner regardless of age. Still - this rubber should probably be on every beginners bat!

Dont bother buying this rubber. Spend extra and go with something from DHS if you like tacky rubber or just buy a quality ESN made rubber.

I am using mine for my desktop mouse. Thanks yinhe