My go-to rubber for BH, and on and off for FH too. I've been trying out a few rubbers: Tenergy 05 (FH presently) and —80, Rozena, Rakza 7 and —Soft, Nanoflex FT40, Rasant Grip, Rasanter R42 and —R/V47, Evolution EL-S. My level is intermediate, and as I'm aging my eyesight, agility and stamina aren't improving. I don't expect to improve my overall level of athleticism much if at all, which leaves skillz and smartz as areas for improvement. Usually, I play an offensive game, staying close to the table, opening up on both wings but not necessarily brush-looping or powerdriving everything; I also like to have the (very) aggressive counter, punch block as an option, and when having the option my favourite kill is the flat hit smash, both on BH and FH. The main blade I'm using is the Andro Treiber K, which is quite similar to the perhaps more well-known Butterfly Viscaria or Timo Boll ALC blades.
Nanoflex FT 48 is remarkably apt to my game. In direct play, it to me is unrivalled. No other rubber even comes close. This is especially true for active blocks, aggressive counters, classic flicks (not much used anymore, but the body remembers and executes, still) and smashes.
It is at 48º relatively hard, and many opt for something softer as a BH covering. I did find T05 and Rakza 7 a bit edgy, a bit too explosive, on the BH side, so much so that confidence in passive play (pushes, chopblocks, passive blocks/drop shots) and service reception in general suffered a bit. Not with FT48. My lithmus test there is if I can execute a very controlled slow, ultra-spinny brush loop on a strong push or chop dripping with underspin. With FT48 I can do that confidently (and with FT40 easily, but that's a different story). And there's no other rubber I've tried that lets me do this and is a good companion as well in passive play and flat hits. EL-S does bring these things to the table, but not as strong as FT48 does. Rasanter V47 does come somewhat closer, but is the lesser of FT48 in direct play.
When forced away from the table, FT48 offers extra gears of power and spin for counterlooping. And if you're sent fishing, lobs are controlled so you can still press the opponent by loading them with spin and placing them awkwardly — killing a weaker attack from second position a moment later.
It is rather insensitive (like Rasanter) to incoming spin, while still (again, like Rasanter) being able produce high spin levels when sufficiently engaged. If you supply the head speed and power and find the proper contact angle, spin will be deadly. If for some or other reason a fifth-ball offers itself as an opportunity, the resulting loop often wins the point or severely presses the opponent not merely by its speed, but mostly by its depth and level of spin. An open invitation to return to the table and kill it often gets extended after such a powerloop — if the ball returns at all. That being said, Tenergy 05 (but not T80) trumps FT48 in spinlevels in brush loops, kill loops and counterspins; which is why I'm tinkering it (again) with it for my FH, which is slightly more spin-oriented than my BH. I should not forget to mention here that the arc FT48 provides is not as high as some. You need to adapt your technique, and re-find your angle, when opening heavy backspin, and you'll open with some speed and an arc that is lower than T05 or FT40. To many, including me, that means that opening up on backspin with power is slightly less easy than with these high-throw rubbers. The window of safety over the net is slightly lower. I consider this to be a reasonable price to pay for the exceptional qualities offered in active blocks, counterhits and counterloops on my BH side and am still making my mind up about this on the FH side of things.
It's all in the balance. One can interchange and play with any of these modern(ish) rubbers, and each one has its own mix of stronger and weaker points. If all you do is brush loop everything, you might prefer something else.
Yet even in that balance, there are winners and losers; some that in the balance truly excel. I do dare to claim that FT48 is superior to T80 in every aspect relevant to me; and don't misunderstand this for a statement about T80 being a weak or poor rubber. It is not: T80 is a powerful, and versatile weapon in its own right. Which is shadowed by this precious little thing that FT48 is.
Still judging things in the balance, the Rasanter family comes close. To me, FT48 has a slight edge over them in direct play, when spinning they are comparable and close; perhaps a max-sponged R42 might offer a more comfortable spin-oriented game than a 2.1 FT48, at the cost of the direct game. Rozena is very good, in the balance of things, but to me FT48's direct play feels superior and when spinning they are comparable, with Rozena reminding slightly more of the tenergies — a comforting feel, for many.
My relations with TT equipment are becoming more and more stable over time. I've been happily married to my blade for a long time, and I've been using FT48 for a long time, have strayed for a short period of time, returned to it happily and am now resolved to stay with it, convinced there's nothing else that suits the BH better out there. As for my relation with the T05 now living with me on my FH, it's complicated, and I'll either evolve to grow into a lasting relation with it — or settle upon FT48, probably a slightly thicker one, or a Rasanter or Bluestorm at some point.
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