Tibhar Evolution EL-S and FX-S Rubber Review

Dan

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Dan

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Hey all,

We have just released our latest TableTennisDaily review on the Tibhar Evolution EL-S and FX-S rubbers. The success of the popular MX-P, used by pro players such as Paul Drinkhall and Vladimir Samsonov, led these new rubbers to be highly anticipated in the latter part of 2016.

Like previous Evolution rubbers the EL-S and FX-S are both ESN based, you can see our review of earlier models in the series here.

For a more detailed review on the rubbers visit the TTD review Center below:

Tibhar Evolution EL-S
Tibhar Evolution FX-S


Have you, or do you use these rubbers? What do you think of them?
 

Dan

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Dan

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I haven't used either rubber but would the El-S be a better backhand rubber than the MX-P?

Good question. I would personally favour the EL-S on my backhand over the MX-P as it is very fast. I really like the FX-S on my backhand, it was excellent for bh topspin against backspin. MX-P on the backhand is good for punch shots.
 
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Good question. I would personally favour the EL-S on my backhand over the MX-P as it is very fast. I really like the FX-S on my backhand, it was excellent for bh topspin against backspin. MX-P on the backhand is good for punch shots.

Oh ok. What about the short game MX-P compared to EL-S
 
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Some words of caution since everything so far is really positive: For EL-S on backhand your technique needs to be moderately well developed. Sometimes you gotta really have a good touch to not make pushes pop up too high. It's reacting quite a bit to incoming spin imo. Also I don't think it's too great for blocking -- you want to be attacking; not too great for passive backhands. Blocking is decent though if you don't take the ball right off the bounce. On flatter hits, despite it not being too fast and having a good arc on spin shots, you can easily shoot over the table. Plus it's probably not gonna be your favorite rubber if you prefer a softer feel on your backhand. All that is bound to technique I guess, and my backhand is not the greatest.

On the positive side, I think its spin is a littler greater than that of MX-P while still having enough speed to be deadly. With a good snap of the wrist, the ball shoots out quite fast. Mid distance play is comfortable. It grips the ball with ease and with sufficient technique you can basically lift any backspin. Of all the rubbers I have tried, it (to me!) feels most like the Tenergy, more so than MX-P. But maybe that's just me.



/edit: I forgot! Durability (in the sense of keeping its properties) seems a little better than MX-S, although still not superb. The edge of the rubber is a bit brittle but it's nothing that should be bothering anyone. I can get the Evolution rubbers for 38€ per sheet over here which is great.
 
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/edit: I forgot! Durability (in the sense of keeping its properties) seems a little better than MX-S, although still not superb. The edge of the rubber is a bit brittle but it's nothing that should be bothering anyone. I can get the Evolution rubbers for 38€ per sheet over here which is great.

I attached some pictures from my latest rubber change. They display how delicate the EL-S (red) is compared to the MX-S (black). Although not a soft rubber, the edge tape really tears on the thing. As mentioned, the edges of the top sheet are prone to chipping. Even when removing ReNo3 glue, the porous sponge takes a little beating (the imprint vanishes, tiny bits of the sponge are pulled out - which sounds worse than it is). All of these issues the MX-S does not have. I treat my rubbers with care. Maybe I received a weird EL-S (I only ever played one!).

All this sounds quite bad, but I assure you, the EL-S is a great rubber. You just might not want to reglue it all the time.
Just some information I wanted to pass on.



image.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpg
 
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Some words of caution since everything so far is really positive: For EL-S on backhand your technique needs to be moderately well developed. Sometimes you gotta really have a good touch to not make pushes pop up too high. It's reacting quite a bit to incoming spin imo. Also I don't think it's too great for blocking -- you want to be attacking; not too great for passive backhands. Blocking is decent though if you don't take the ball right off the bounce. On flatter hits, despite it not being too fast and having a good arc on spin shots, you can easily shoot over the table. Plus it's probably not gonna be your favorite rubber if you prefer a softer feel on your backhand. All that is bound to technique I guess, and my backhand is not the greatest.

On the positive side, I think its spin is a littler greater than that of MX-P while still having enough speed to be deadly. With a good snap of the wrist, the ball shoots out quite fast. Mid distance play is comfortable. It grips the ball with ease and with sufficient technique you can basically lift any backspin. Of all the rubbers I have tried, it (to me!) feels most like the Tenergy, more so than MX-P. But maybe that's just me.



/edit: I forgot! Durability (in the sense of keeping its properties) seems a little better than MX-S, although still not superb. The edge of the rubber is a bit brittle but it's nothing that should be bothering anyone. I can get the Evolution rubbers for 38€ per sheet over here which is great.


I agree with you. For those used to really bouncy/catapulty :) rubbers.. EL-S might lack punch for you, but with good technique it's a great rubber if you like something spinny and not too fast. I like the EL-S but want a little more power, so I use the MX-S on my BH.
 
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Can anyone comment on the durability of EL-S? I've been using it as a BH rubber since early August (about 6 weeks of playing 5-6h/week) and it really seem to have gone quite dull. Normal BH drives are quite often going into the net unless I put a bit of effort into the stroke. Is this a sign of the factory booster/treatment wearing off? The rubber has not shrunk. Loops and underspin strokes are still great.

I guess I could try some Falco on it but just curious about other peoples experience.
 
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Can anyone comment on the durability of EL-S? I've been using it as a BH rubber since early August (about 6 weeks of playing 5-6h/week) and it really seem to have gone quite dull. Normal BH drives are quite often going into the net unless I put a bit of effort into the stroke. Is this a sign of the factory booster/treatment wearing off? The rubber has not shrunk. Loops and underspin strokes are still great.

I guess I could try some Falco on it but just curious about other peoples experience.

I've had similar experiences with Evolution MX-P (multiple sheets both black and red) after about a month or so the topsheet start getting dull. I've also tried EL-S but I've rarely played with it so its topsheet is still mostly good. You could try using Falco but it won't do much because I've tried several oils and rubber cement and those can't exactly restore a dulled topsheet.
 

JST

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JST

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My friends in club play with Tibhar Evolution series rubbers (mostly MX-S and EL-S) and they tend to "die" suddenly after 3-4 months of intense usage (3-4 sessions a week). It becomes dull like old Sriver and need to be replaced. Latest batch they got this summer went dull after less then 2 months, probably long time on stock and bad handling by reseller (our theory;). I need to say that this never happens with my Rakza rubbers or Tenergy but there is price vs. life-span mathematics which might still favor Tibhar Evolution...
 
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