Butterfly Rozena

Rozena is a medium-fast rubber with above average rating for all other attributes. Kind of a do-it-all rubber (not a defensive rubber). Hits, serves, blocks, short game, loops all can be done with great ease. But none can be done top-grade. Hardness is "medium". Speed-glue effect is less compared other modern rubbers.

I think it's well suited to intermediates, developing players or BH of many FH oriented players.

Great for beginners starting out.

The Butterfly Rozena rubber is a really forgiving, yet spinny and fast intermediate level rubber. While highly skilled players should probably opt for the Tenergy or Dignics series, the developing player that still has problems with reading spin and adjusting the racket angle, should definitely give the Rozena a try. I am using the Rozena on my backhand, which is why I don’t review forehand techniques. I used this Rubber on a 92g heavy Nittaku Violin FL LG All+ blade.

Countering/Blocking:
Countering is easy going. The rubber is still speedy enough to not let the ball drop into the net. Blocking takes some adjustment, because it reacts much less to incoming spin. I sometimes have the problem that the ball slips on my racket, when blocking a diagonal ball down the line. This is really bothersome but can be adjusted to accordingly.

Topspins:
Topspins played with a thin contact, such as flicks and slow loops, don’t benefit from the sponge as much. They are spinny, but not as spinny as they would be if the sponge was engaged properly. This means that the rubber has plenty spin from mid distance and at the table, if you drive loop the ball. In this regard the spin production is quite astonishing, considering the spinsensitivity or lack thereof. Topspins against backspin should be player engaging the sponge, to guarantee the clearance of the net.

Short game/pushes:
The short game isn’t the Rozena’s strong suit. It is very safe; considering you do get away with bat angle inaccuracies without the ball popping up high. But the spin developed is subpar when compared to other rubbers. Again, you must engage the sponge to develop proper spin, so touching short whilst creating spin is hard, but long pushed should be alright with proper technique.

TL;DR: Perfect rubber for developing player. Low sensitivity to incoming spin, producing surprisingly much spin when engaging the sponge.

I wrote up a little review shortly after having started using Rozena. I've been using it for a long time now, time to restate things. The following pertains to sheets of Rozena used for 10-16 hours/week in intensive training and matches during about 6 months, which is about 300-400 hours of use.

Rozena is a relatively spin-insensitive rubber. This also seems to entail that it is not always as easy to impart spin with it. This is especially so when pushing.

The short game is fine, but if at some point you seek to deliver a very tight and heavily loaded deep backspin ball, well, that's relatively hard to do and the ball won't be as spinny as with some other rubbers. So, don't do that.

When countering, blocking (actively or passively), or flat hitting, Rozena is extremely dependable. You can just keep going on and on keeping the ball in play if that's what you set out to do. As long as you're in position and manage to stay awake you'll keep going like a machine.

Opening up backspin balls is relatively easy, and the pleasant surprise Rozena brings to the table is a very high level of spin when engaging the sponge. A light brush will be less loaded than (say) with Tenergy 05, but with deep contact the difference isn't that big. Flicks are a bit easier, but might be a little less pressureful than with said T05.

It shines when counterspinning in half position or second position. Again, here Rozena produces massive spin, T05 level, upon deep contact, and has plenty punch to deliver quality of speed too. A high quality counterspinning game is enabled that way. My game has grown in solidity. This is a tradeoff; I also have a spare T05/NanoflexFT48 setup, with which I have higher percentages of both spectacular winners as well as abysmall errors. By now I prefer the certainty of getting in place, hitting the ball in full confidence that I'll bend it onto the table wherever and however I want it to.

After a while you get used to the way Rozena produces spin and incorporate the required deep contact in serving as well. That takes a little extra effort, and it requires a bit more skills. Learning this is a good thing anyway, and once this is mastered you get to play the deception game by way of deeper and shallower contact as well.

My slabs of Rozena are old enough to develop EJ rash in the meantime. They're worn a bit, visually, with a few crumbs breaking away from the edges; Rozena is more prone to breaking up when hitting the table edge or your partner's blade in doubles. I actually have a very little clot broken out when I brushed a ball that just cleared the long table corner, ever so gently grazing that corner. My index finger rest shows discolouration. Yet the rubbers still play pretty much like new; there's ball slippage only when things get all too wet/humid, and not more so now than when new. To I'm not giving in to EJ impulses just now; there's no justification for that.

I had a hit with this new rubber from butterfly. The word "Tolerance" was given emphasis over the PVs from butterfly and I know the reason why. It is because it is such a forgiving rubber. Adjusting from a Chinese rubber BH to a Spring sponge/High Tension rubber took a bit of time.
Topspin to topspin: I had to close the Angle more. It has Low Throw.
Looping Backspin: It requires opening up a bit more and brushing upwards even more.
Service: I had a hard time adjusting on the service game and incorporating the High toss serve because its a bit bouncy for me. it produces massive spin if the ball dug into the sponge. Need to practice more.
Flicking: Since the sponge is soft, its a bit hard.
Banana Flick : E-A-S-Y. My favorite part of the test.
Other Observations:

• Pink Sponge
• Low Throw
• Non Tacky
• Soft

A lot of people just look at this as Tenergy-lite but if you evaluate it on its own merits it’s a really excellent rubber for those looking for a balanced attack with good control and consistency, while still being dynamic with good spin and speed.

It has the same spring sponge as the Tenergy series, my best comparison being a slightly softer and more forgiving Tenergy 80. It’s throw angle is similar to MX-P or just less than T80 on the Tenergy scale. It also has relatively good spin and speed being just a notch below the most aggressive attacking rubbers.

The other criticism I’ve heard of this rubber is that’s it’s “jack of all trades, but a master of none.” While it doesn’t quite match the spin and looping ability of Tenergy 05 or speed of Tibhar MX-P, if your game is more than just pure looping and utilizes blocking, control, and placement (and you like Butterfly’s spring sponge) then this is an excellent rubber you should give serious consideration.

There's nothing you can't do with this rubber. It offers the dynamic attacking feel of Tenergy while being less spin sensitive and easier to use in the short game.

Update: after initially using this just on the BH side I’m now using using it on FH too. Really like this rubber, can’t find any faults with it and it’s a great fit for my game. Plan on sticking with it.

My friend had this rubber so I tried it. He was using it with a petr korbel blade. It had a different feeling to any rubber I have ever tried, I really liked it. It felt closer to an esn rubber than to Tenergy. I would still choose Tenergy over the rozena although rozena had more hit power and would be easier against awkward players.

The pro with this rubber is if you want to use a Butterfly rubber using the Rozena will not set you back as much as purchasing two sheets of Tenergy.

After using the rozena, I saw blocking was very easy. The downside was the rubber did not produce enough speed and spin that i normally am used too. I would recommend this rubber to beginners who love butterfly and are not used to the high speed and spins of the game to help develop their game. Overall, a decent rubber for $50 from butterfly.

Some impressions from playing 3 hours with Rozena today, glued on a BTY Innferforce ALC.S:


- Spin generation is definitely below Tenergy 05 and 80. I'd say its about on-par with the 64. It generates less spin than EL-S and MX-P. I'd even go and say it generates less than a Karis M.
- Speed is about 20% slower than a Tenergy 05; speed is again very similar to the Karis M, maybe a tad quicker.
- The arc of the shot is significantly lower than the one of the 05. I'd say its in-between the 80 and 64. (close to 80)
- The rubber is very easy to play. Pretty tolerant to incoming spin
- Rubber is significantly easier to handle in passive play than the Tenergy's, about the same level of a Karis M.
- Rozena is less bouncy than Tenergys
- Category-Wise I'd put it on OFF-


I think $50 for Rozena is OK. Yes, it can always be cheaper but its certainly a high quality rubber that is very suited to developing players and people with a less than stellar technique that don't practice often. Is it cheap? No, but other high quality material such as the Karis are also in the same price bracket.

more suited as a backhand rubber rather than a forehand rubber. this is more suited for players who are still developing their game and also for all around type of play where every stroke counts a a point earning stroke liek push chops and flicks. advanced players can use this more as a backhand rubber and just stick to Tenergy 05. Spin is much less compared to Tenergy 05 or MX-P.