Butterfly Zyre 03

After a 3 month battery of tests, I definitively replaced the rubber that i used on my forehand side. Now, my is Zyre03. The reasons were: type of action sponge, high quality of flat hits, hight quality active blocks and very furious counter drives from medium distance.

I bought a new Zyre 03 recently and I find it fast and spinny, with enough control, but it does require experience as it isn't a rubber aimed for beginners, it does require a good understanding. The spin is rather impressive (imo not as good as Hurricane and other Chinese rubbers but for what it is, it's very impressive.) You also need a confident shot, you can't just do a "nothing" shot and expect it to be decent like Tenergy. For this rubber you need to hit it confidently to get the best out of the rubber. For me, the rubber suits my backhand very well, I might switch to it fully. Compared to D09C I would say it's a little less forgiving and faster. The spin is pretty similar though. The thickness I haven't gotten used to yet and I find the thickness really weird but I like that feeling. I would recommend this rubber to those who want good enough control without it being crazy fast and bouncy like the Dignics 80 or Tenergy series, while having an impressive amount of spin and have good power.

I am writing this review based on using Zyre 03 on the FH wing using an ALL WOOD blade.
I am a level 1 TTE approved coach, the lowest level of coach. I play local league table tennis, depending on the league in question either Prem or Div 1. This gives you and idea of my standard of play. I have also posted footage in the past on the TTD forum.

Now on to Zyre 03 !!

Out of all the Butterfly rubbers -Glazer, Tenergy 05/19 and Dignics 09C that I have played with / tested Zyre 03 is my favourite by far!!

General speed - fast.
General feel - medium hard - to me it felt softer than T05/19 Glazer and D09C

short game - Good touch capability, not too bouncy. Pushes feel secure and with better technique than mine, can be spin loaded.

Serves - again not too bouncy, high spin with well brushed serve technique. Serves can be kept short easily with an all wood set up. I found it easier to serve short with Z03 compared to T05/19 and D09C.
Long serves are fast.

FH top spin - great arc, great spin, controllable especially mid / far distance. Good speed/fast
FH open up v back spin - good, slow spinny open ups achievable. Faster lower open ups need a little more care. Arc is good, heavy spin drags the ball onto the table. Good kick.

Drive - pretty stable great speed. Good kick.
Counter top spin v spinny open ups ( not my strong point !!) if you step back and then counter topspin brushing over the top of the ball it’s easier. Closer to the table a low energy drive is much safer, due to the speed of the rubber the balls returns with good pace. If you try and put too much into the stroke the result can be on the wild side!!

Blocking - stable, controllable, active blocking is better than passive blocking. The pace of the returning ball can be controlled with grip pressure. General speed is quick.

Flat hits - fast!! User need good control.

Chopping - tried a few chops!! Good spin and trajectory.

Where this rubber really excels is when looping mid distance and away from table. It felt really nice on the all wood set up, doesn’t feel like it explodes of the bat with short dwell, but it’s still quick.
Overall it’s a pretty stable rubber with great spin, speed etc.

On blades with carbon / composite layers this rubber may be a beast. There have been some mixed reviews by better players than me!! It doesn’t feel like T05/19/D09C does to me, which I like, but other players who love D09C/T05/19 may not like how this rubber plays and feels.

Can this rubber be used by intermediate level players With good basic technique? For sure on an all wood set up, maybe not on carbon set ups. This rubber is unlikely to be unsuitable for beginners, lower level players.

I have played about 4 hours with this rubber on my FH - coming from using Bluestar A1 and more recently Bluegrip J1. I appreciate the softer and more compliant feel of this rubber, it requires less commitment and physical effort than the harder sponge rubbers I have been playing with. I love the spin and ball quality I have been getting, along with a slightly lower throw. The grip means that the top of the ball is the place to be contacting and this is good news for me, it encourages a strong commitment to forward motion. It may be a little harder to control in the short game, but not as much as a rubber like T05. Service game and block is good. Early days but for me, a decent FH rubber in 2.7mm.

First impressions with the Zyre 03 2.7mm.
If Forehand: Replacement for T05hard
If Backhand: Upgrade to Dignics 05.

The greatest quality of zyre 03 is how its an automatic rubber. Kinda like how tenergy is but in dignics' body. The hardness isn't asymmetrical.
The topsheet and sponge have almost the same give, so the amount of pace and spin you can send is insane.

It also feels softer than 09c, and similar hardness to dignics 05 just due to the soft topsheet.

Open-ups are very spinny and lands very deep.

Will continue trying as backhand rubber,
As forehand it does not fit my contact.