For this review, I will compare Tenergy 05 Hard (T05H) to the following rubbers I had played on my penhold ZJK ALC:
- Hurricane 3 National BS (H3N) 40degree
- Tenergy 05 (T05)
- MXS
I play spin game most of the time and step away to mid distance for two-wing looping.
Topspin
Power - T05H=H3N>T05>MXS
Spin - H3N>T05H>T05>MXS
Feel (medium impact) - T05>MXS>T05H>H3N
Feel (high impact) - T05=T05H>MXS > H3N
I expected the T05H to be faster and more spinny than T05 due to its harder sponge. It turned out as expected. Most of my topspin landed further than usual and it created a lot of trouble for my opponent to block. For spin, H3N is still the king. However, at high impact when looping at mid-distance, T05H is only slightly less spinny than H3N. The feel of the rubber improves as you hit or loop harder as you are breaking into the hard sponge.
Flat hit
Power - T05H>T05>MXS>H3N
As many of us expected, flat hitting with T05H is a joy when the ball travels at bullet speed. The consistency is also higher than tacky rubber as the angle of your racket does not need to be super precise.
Flick
Consistency - H3N>T05>T05H>MXS
I do FH flick near the net a lot. In this aspect, H3N tends to deliver a higher success rate due to the grippy topsheet. When I first flicked with T05H the ball went to the net a lot. Then I realized at low impact, the T05H topsheet doesn't grab the ball as well as the H3N. T05 is easier than T05H as a softer sponge is bouncier at low impact.
It took me a few games to adjust to T05H. To flick with T05H I had to brush less and hit more to lift the ball. Once you can flick the ball over the net, it is faster than with H3N but less spin.
Block
Consistency - MXS>T05>T05H>H3N
The difference is very marginal once you've adjusted to the rubber. But overall the ones with softer sponge (T05 and MXS) means blocking is more linear than ones with harder sponge (T05H and H3N). Again, due to the powerful harder sponge, the ball may fly all the way out with T05H. You just need to close the angle a little. The difference is quite marginal.
Serve
Spin - H3N>T05H>T05>MXS
As I said, when it comes to spin, H3N is still king. No exception here. H3N delivered the most spinny shortest serve. I took me some time to adjust to T05H. But due to its harder sponge, it was easier to keep the ball short than with T05.
Service return
H3N>T05H>T05>MXS
Again, H3N keeps the return low and short due to the grippy topsheet. T05H can still keep the ball low and short once you've put enough practice into it. In fact, T05H has one advantage over H3N - topsheet less sensitive to spin. I was surprised I kept my return nice and low when I was guessing the opponent's serve.