Rubber Thickness

If you have acquired the absolute confidence in your shots with your previous setup and you crave for more power, go for the max.
If your technique is still being tuned or you play more tactically, choose the 2.0mm.

I agree with Yosua, if your technique is okay and especially if you focus on looping, go for max thickness. It may be a bit harder to control short game and service, but that is always the choice you have: speed and spin versus control.

Yep, and I always like Max. More sponge always feels better to me. But these guys are right. Thinner gives you more control.

You get more spin and speed from thicker sponge, so from the standpoint of spin and speed it is better. That goes for when you loop as well. You get less control with thicker sponge so from the standpoint of control it is not as good. This also applies to looping. But when you are looping you are ultimately looking for spin and speed so learning how to control the thicker sponge and having good enough technique to control it is ultimately what an offensive player should be looking towards. The actual question would be, is your technique good enough for the thicker sponge?

Carl is absolutely right. The problem with choosing a rubber and such is that many don't have coaches or anyone to really help them out because players all have different styles and technique. Why don't you record a video of you playing so we can get an understanding of what level you are at and whether you should focus on control or step it up for more spin. The problem with faster and spinnier rubbers is that if you do not have good technique you will plateau and really lose in the long run. Developing bad habits and technique hurts your game because your opponent will pick up on them and exploit them. Your best bet is to give us a video and then we can all help you decide what's best for you to improve over the long haul.

Carl, you are far more knowledgeable than I am in tt, and although generally speaking, yes, thicker sponges mean more spin/speed - it is not always the case. Take the Stiga Calibra Sound which I use for instance - I always play max sponge due to my two winged topspin aggresive style - but with this particular rubber I found the 2.0 spinnier, and delivered more penetration and punch..... please correct me if I am wrong....

Moon Pro Tuned? Witch brand?

jedimasterplk said:

Carl, you are far more knowledgeable than I am in tt, and although generally speaking, yes, thicker sponges mean more spin/speed - it is not always the case. Take the Stiga Calibra Sound which I use for instance - I always play max sponge due to my two winged topspin aggresive style - but with this particular rubber I found the 2.0 spinnier, and delivered more penetration and punch..... please correct me if I am wrong....

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Being honest, I don't know if I am anything more than someone with some experience, who likes to talk. I am not sure how you would be getting more spin and speed from a thinner rubber, but, what you feel is hard to argue with.

What you might be feeling, based on what you described, is that the ball hits the wood sooner which is what does happen with the thinner sponge. And if you are getting penetration to the wood then what you are feeling might be the blade making you have more speed. And speed from the wood is different from speed from the topsheet and sponge. And truthfully, a lot of the speed on a power shot should come from the blade.

Part of the reason more sponge would usually mean more spin and speed is this: on your stroke, by the time the ball penetrates to the wood, where you feel that snap from the wood, there is more topsheet wrapped around a larger area on the surface of the ball. There is more sponge being compressed by the contact of the ball, so there is more topsheet in contact with the ball, therefore more of the ball is being gripped by the topsheet. Also, the rebound from the wood, added to the rebound from the sponge adds to the speed. So, more sponge should mean more speed. And more topsheet on the ball should mean more spin but also more reactiveness to the incoming spin. But, you would have to get penetration to the wood to feel that. Also more sponge under the ball makes it harder to control where you are putting the ball. If you are getting penetration to the wood with 2.0 and were not with 2.2 or max, it is worth sticking with what feels like it is working for you.

And, if, with your technique, you are feeling more spin and speed with the thinner rubber, it is a nice indication that the thinner rubber is working for you. I would go with that. Everyone has different technique and if your technique is good and you feel like you get more from 2.0, go with that.

ashley.dsa said:

Hi Karl......galaxy moon max pro tuned( i currently play with the moon max tense...awesome rubbers ..plays like tenergy fx so want to go for something thats close to 05)

Carl, thanks for taking the time for detailed help and explanations.....I used to play with a hurricane 2 which as we is very spinny and then moved to the slowest yaska mark V 2.2 on a stiga all round wood... I really struggled with the slow wood and slow rubber combo....since then ive played with a much faster and spinnier rubber( max tense) on a very very quick wood...so my apprehension was made experience with the slower equipment which was 2.2 thickness......now im 100% sure that the thickness wont affect my game with a quick blade rubber combo, so will go with that.

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Nice. Let us know how it goes.

I can generate backhand loop mith my Vega Asia max sponge (2.2mm) easily, even when the ball lower than the table. I felt so much comfortable on looping with max sponge whereas its a tensor