Butterfly Tenergy 05

This rubber is extremely fast and good for counterhits and drives. The only part where it truly struggles in is control, but it's easily overpowered by the amount of speed you can add onto the ball!

This is a really good rubber for forehand and gives a lot of spin and speed at the same time

Rubber: Butterfly Tenergy 05
Weight: 69 grams
Blade used: Timo Boll ALC & Timo Boll Spirit

What’s going on guys its Dan here from TableTennisDaily. Today we are joined by none other than the table tennis legend Michael Maze reviewing one of the most popular rubbers of all time, Tenergy 05 by Butterfly.


Intro

This is by far the most requested rubber review we have ever had, so it is finally time to find out if Tenergy 05 lives up to hype. Used by many of the top players including Timo Boll, Zhang Jike, Michael Maze and of course many many others. Last week I headed to the Denmark National training Centre to pick Michaels brain about this rubber and find out why it has become so popular and what makes it so special.

A quick bit of history on this rubber. It was released in 2008 just after the speed glue ban so it’s been around for 10 years now and features Butterfly’s famous spring sponge technology. The weight of the Butterfly Tenergy 05 when uncut is 69 grams and cut is 49 grams. In the review I used the Timo Boll ALC and Michael used his Timo Boll Spirit blade, lets get into the action.

Topspin Strokes

So first up we started out with topspin strokes as this is what Tenergy 05 is renowned for. The stand out attribute to Tenergy 05 is simply the amount of speed you can produce on the ball whilst at the same time getting tons of spin. The topsheet is very grippy and when combined with the sponge helps create fantastic topspin shots that are both extremely fast and spinny.

Michael Maze explains how he changed from the Bryce speed rubber to Tenergy. He found he could produce more spin with the Tenergy 05 in comparison to Bryce Speed. The advantage with the Butterfly Tenergy 05 is when you are out of position you can still produce a quality ball.

When topspinning with Tenergy 05 I love how I am able to still be very consistent even when playing at high speed. I find that tenergy always gives you a consistent contact that is always reliable. This gives you loads of confidence in your strokes as you never have to worry about how the rubber is going to react.

You can also remain very relaxed as the rubber has a lot of propulsion on its own, without always having to go for full power to create high amounts of speed. When you do go hard at a ball the consistency doesn’t change as much as other rubbers I have reviewed in the past.


Spin

Here we are both playing topspins against backspin and this is an area where the rubber really comes into its own. You can really feel the rubber bite into the ball against backspin producing a lot of spin, making open ups very easy. Tenergy 05’s ability to grip the ball is superb and allows you to produce a tremendous amount of spin.

Maze mentioned how you can get a lot of spin on the first ball, I felt I could follow up very strong with the 5th and 7th ball with Tenergy, it keeps your opponent under pressure throughout. The crisp quality during contact is what gives you the confidence in your strokes.

Michael Maze pulled off crazy chop blocks, which firstly how good his touch is, but secondly how well Tenergy grips the ball producing spin so well.


Downside to Tenergy 05

Okay guys talking of all this goodness such as spin, control and speed, there is a downside to Tenergy 05. That is that it is simply not for everyone, you need to have sufficient technique due how sensitive and responsive the rubber is. This works perfectly for competent players, but will be hard to control for players who don’t have sufficient technique.

This rubber has a medium to hard sponge and also a medium to high throw and due to its intense spin capabilities can tricky to handle for beginners and intermediate players who don’t have the skill yet to handle such a beast.

This is an advanced rubber that is perfect for attacking players with solid technique who can control the ball at high speeds. Here are some examples where I struggle with this rubber on passive shots such as the block.

A slower, softer, less responsive rubber would enable me to do the basic shots slightly easier, but less effectively as the speed and spin would be reduced.

Of course don’t get me wrong, Tenergy 05 is a fantastic rubber for blocking as well if you have experience and ability to handle it. For example Michael has no problems sending me all over the table haha!


Flicks and short game

Michael explains how its great for the short game with serves and flicks, the rubber grips the ball very well in this department. When it comes to serving with Tenergy 05 it’s a very similar story to how the rubber performs in the top spinning department whereby you can produce tons of spin and it is only rivaled by tacky Chinese rubbers like the hurricane 3. However as it is a very fast rubber if you do not have the timing down, then the ball can drift long during attempted short serves.


Counter topspins

The Butterfly Tenergy 05 is superb for counter topspins. When timed well counters with the rubber are usually outright winners. Again it does require sufficient technique to control these counter topspins as the rubber is very sensitive to spin. The fantastic advantage Tenergy 05 gives is even when using little effort, counter topspins are very fast and explosive.


Conclusion:

Thanks to Michael Maze for hanging out with me to review the ever so popular Tenergy 05. It was an incredible experience playing Michael, his play really is extraordinary and everything you would expect and more. Thanks also to Butterfly for providing the equipment so we could test it out

Tenergy 05 is a tried and tested rubber and after 10 years on the market is still one of, if not the most used rubber in the modern game. It is the benchmark for modern era rubbers to which every new rubber created is automatically compared to. After you try Tenergy 05 it is easy to see why. The rubber has an almost perfect balance between spin, speed and control for aggressive attacking players.

Next it’s time to address the main complaint the table tennis community have about this rubber, and that is the price. Tenergy 05 has higher price tag than most rubbers, but even with this price tag people still choose Tenergy 05 because you just don’t get the same combined characteristics with other rubbers. Even with this drawback however like any premium product, you pay for what you get.

Of course as mentioned previously in the review, you have to be at a good level to use Tenergy 05 optimally.

The reason for this is if you use it too early in your development than you may start playing lazy and inefficient shots where you only use your arm because the rubber is so fast and doing a lot of the work for you. This can make developing players forget that using your legs and body too is extremely important during topsin strokes.

Also due to the rubbers high sensitivity to spin you also need to have good ball control to be able to handle this rubber.

Think of it like this, you wouldn’t want to learn how to drive in a Ferrari. If you are in that development stage then a slower less responsive rubber would probably suit you better.

All around guys I absolutely love this rubber it really deserves all of the hype and praise it gets online and in the table tennis community in general.

Speed: This is a fast rubber. A little slower than Tenergy 64.

Spin: This is where the rubber really shines. You can produce a lot of spin without any problems

Arc: The arc is noticeably higher that the one of tenergy 64. This makes it easy to open up and play close to the table spin shots.

Control: Just like all the other rubbers of the tenergy series. If you are advanced enough it is no problem.

Durability: The rubber maintains its high playing characteristics over a long period of time. The performance only drops gradually.

Conclusion: This rubber can be used by any attacking player looking for spin and speed. It's high arc really helps when playing spin shots, such as the open up loop.

Hi TTD. I would like to talk about the equipment am using and why I selected them..I am using tenergy 05 rubbers. I selected tenergy 05 because I am a player who likes to loop and block alot, and I discovered that tenergy 05 has high spin on it and is very explosive as long as you angle your blade right..it’s still the best and the fastest rubber in the world. Is it worth for the price? I believe it’s, it will definitely take your game to the highest level if you knows what it takes.

Tenergy 05 is simply the best pure looping rubber in the world even 10 years after its introduction. It's also still the world standard for non-Chinese professionals and aspiring professional players. The first time I looped with T05 it brought a huge smile to my face, it's a special and unique rubbber indeed. It's fast, but not crazy fast, and has an extremely high throw angle which coupled with its bouncy sponge and grippy topsheet create a perfect looping machine. However, the high throw angle and bounciness that make it such a great looping rubber also make it more challenging to use in the short game. Pushes are easier to pop up high or go long and service return can be difficult unless you are experienced in reading spin. That's why this rubber is more recommended for advanced to pro level players as they can easily mitigate this rubbers weaknesses through ability and practice while fully taking advantage of its outrageously spin and loop potential. Highly recommended for advanced looping attackers.

It's getting close to 10 years since Tenergy was first available. Does that mean it's outdated? Certainly not!

I had a chance to play with a friend's setup using T05, and I had not touched T05 in years. It was as if those years had never existed! The great thing about classics like Sriver, H3, or T05 is that you can just pick it up, gets out of your way, and just lets you play! It allows you do everything well. I don't really understand what people mean by "beginner rubber" or "advanced rubber". Training grounds like ICC are filled with beginning children using T05. Rubber is either bad, average, or good. T05 is good rubber, and if you can afford to use it, you definitely should!

*update: I had to get my own sheet and play with it longer term. It's interesting that my old perspective of it being a fast rubber is no longer true. Back then it felt much faster when spring sponge was something new in the market, but with the experience of the latest that's out there, T05 is actually more of a control rubber in my mind now. In comparison to MX-P, T05 has more control with the short game. T05 conveys more feel from the blade.

It s one of the best rubbers for forehand . I felt if soft and full of spin , After using Tenergy 05 I learned mored about spin i mean i felt side spin and under spin and totally every kind of spin better . Incredible for looping but its speed doesnt let me to hit my bh as good as my fh . I guess its a little speedy for bh .
Fortunately i got my pairs of tenergy 05 from a give away ,,, but looking at the price it appears expensive .

What this !! It might be machine
I play tenergy 05 on my friend's bat .. I surprised from the high quality that tenergy ,, if you have enouph money ,, you will play with tenergy only

The Tenergy 05 is a great offensive rubber, I´m using it on FH and BH on a Zhang Jike ALC. The rubber creates much spin with a low effort against backspin, flicks are great too. In the touch play you have much control. From away of the table low effort was needed to create a good arc. When blocking you have very much control. All in all the T05 is probably the best rubber I have ever played. 5 out of 5 stars!

I'm loving it on my backhand! Great control even in the aggressive attacks

The butterfly tenergy 05 is still one of the top choices for players who are searching for maximum spin. Because of being not too hard the rubber has an overall good control.
For optimal control i would recommend using an ALL+ or an OFF- blade, because then its just losing a bit of its speed but not of its spin. Because of the good grip with the rubber, serves are really spinny to perform with it. The only really major problem is the price, which is 56,90€ in Germany.

Best forehand rubber. You can serve very well, you can counterloop, you can play fast but still have enough spin on the ball. Control is not the best for blocking, but hey, don't block with your forehand, counterloop!

This is my current rubber on both sides. Uncontrollable at first coz all my shots went out
after some time of taming and understanding I was finally able to control the beast. It is still the best
there is no need for reviews because I know that you know how this rubber performs. My biggest mistake was
to look for an alternative lol which greatly weakened my spin and confidence in attacking. Now I came back
and put two 05's as a sign of repentance.(or just the advice of many people saying that my game was better with 05)

One problem is the price, here in the PH this beast is yours for only $94 a sheet. holy sheet
unless you know of a supplier that buys directly from Japan which can save you $25
another one is the inconsistency because two 05's are never the same in fact my rubbers are imbalanced.
The red sheet is heavier than the black and performs better too. and lastly my personal problem because
this rubber is wrongly named this should have been named Spin Art lol

It is my rubber of choice for fh. My game depends pretty almost only on fh loops, counter-loops and reverse pendelum serves. I have tested many blades and almost every time I was happy with tenergy 05 on fh. You need to have decent technique to handle that monster and short game might be tricky, but I couldn't find any other rubber that suits my aggresive fh better than 05. The only disadvantage is price.

I have used Tenergy 05 for about 2 years now and so far i love it. It's a fast rubber but you can still have good control.
I feel that with the tenergy 05 i get more spin in my serves and can perform better.

Though i think you should not use this rubber if you are new to the sport. I would prefer to start of with a non advanced rubber.

Hi! I play with this rubber and I like it very much. It benefits my strikes especially the loop though it has this good combination of speed and spin.
The best thing with this rubber according to me is it's durability. As a player training very much and at a high level I do pursue these rubbers I don't need to buy new ones of all the time. Butterfly 05 was my savior in this case. It's a rubber I recommend and I think it fits the majority of us table tennis players.

I've used Tenergy05 on both sides now for the past 2 years and I haven't felt any sudden urges to change, this rubber is reliable and a perfect attacking rubber. In my opinion T05 is the market leader in offensive rubbers!

I use that rubber on my forehand and it is just amazing ! If you are an offensive player, the Tenergy 05 should fit you well, but it is pretty expensive.

This rubber is simply on a league of its own, not because it is the best rubber but because there's nothing out there that is quite the same. Yes there are many that are similar but trust me its not the same. This is a very fast and bouncy rubber with a lot of spin. No matter where you hit the ball from whether its short or far from the table, it will go in the way you want it to. It goes well with all sorts of blades, all wood, ALC, ZLC, any other fibres out there. This rubber is suitable for both backhand and forehand looping as it has quite a high arc to it (which compromises its short game when paired with faster blades such as ZLC blades) leading to a good short to mid-far game. going too far from the table will purely depend on the player as i dont believe that the rubber itself can give that much power. Hence overall this seems like a perfect rubber.
There are DOWNSIDES however and these are very important. The most important thing about this rubber is its lack of gears. trust me when i say this, no matter who hits the ball with a tenergy it will go on. You do not need much power at all to get the ball on the table producing a fair paced spinny shot by just hitting the ball. This is a very bad sign for beginners and those who want to develop their shot. this rubber pretty much plays the game for you hence you will not improve much starting off with it. So for those who are just starting off and want to improve the game i recommend stepping away from Tenergy to develop appropriate power, spin and shots before using this even though this rubber will feel like the holy grail of table tennis rubbers.
Also the rubber itself does not last very long - id say about 6 months of playing once a week therefore a very expensive choice indeed