What rubber I should get? Blue sponge or orange sponge?

Fantemyr · Oct 31, 2019

I have normal DHS Hurricane 3 rubber on my forehand with a thickness of 2.0, but it's kind of worn out now, so I'm considering buying a new forehand rubber. I am very happy with the normal Hurricane 3, but I want to try out the Hurricane 3 Provincial Blue Sponge. So here's the question, what is the difference between a orange and blue sponge? I've heard that the blue sponge is harder than the orange on this website: (can't post links yet, but just search for this) DHS Hurricane 3 rubber: boosted or not?. I've also heard that the blue sponge gives more dwell-time. Which is correct?

P.S. I want to buy the provincial rubber on tabletennis11. It's called DHS Hurricane 3 Provincial 40' blue sponge.

SFF_lib · Oct 31, 2019

Ok. Hurricane and tuning is a complex topic.

First Hurricane 3(H3) has the following versions:
Commercial H3
Commercial Neo H3
Provincial H3 blue sponge (BS)
Provincial Neo H3 BS
Provincial Neo H3 orange sponge (OS)
Nittaku Neo H3 OS
National H3 OS
National H3 BS
National Neo H3 OS
National Neo H3 BS

So all H3 with "Neo" has been factory tuned theoretically. But the Commercial Neo H3 (~$20) is very dead. You need tuning to make the sponge more lively. I won't get into the nitty-gritty of tuning in this post.

Any provincial or national Neo H3 with OS is ready to play. But any H3 (Neo or non-Neo) with BS needs tuning as BS is denser than OS at the same hardness scale. For example, a 40degree BS national is a bit denser than a 40degree OS national.

BS takes more impact than OS to engage the ball. However, BS has more power reservoir than OS at the same hardness scale.

You must bear in mind that, incident of bubbling is higher with BS after tuning. And durability is higher with OS.

yogi_bear · Oct 31, 2019

Orange sponge provincial version will be good enough for most people

Fantemyr · Oct 31, 2019

Ok, thank you both. I will just buy an OS H3

Fantemyr · Oct 31, 2019

SFF_lib said:
Ok. Hurricane and tuning is a complex topic.

First Hurricane 3(H3) has the following versions:
Commercial H3
Commercial Neo H3
Provincial H3 blue sponge (BS)
Provincial Neo H3 BS
Provincial Neo H3 orange sponge (OS)
Nittaku Neo H3 OS
National H3 OS
National H3 BS
National Neo H3 OS
National Neo H3 BS

So all H3 with "Neo" has been factory tuned theoretically. But the Commercial Neo H3 (~$20) is very dead. You need tuning to make the sponge more lively. I won't get into the nitty-gritty of tuning in this post.

Any provincial or national Neo H3 with OS is ready to play. But any H3 (Neo or non-Neo) with BS needs tuning as BS is denser than OS at the same hardness scale. For example, a 40degree BS national is a bit denser than a 40degree OS national.

BS takes more impact than OS to engage the ball. However, BS has more power reservoir than OS at the same hardness scale.

You must bear in mind that, incident of bubbling is higher with BS after tuning. And durability is higher with OS.

But BTW. I never tune my rubber. So is getting rubber with BS completely out of the question or can I still use it effectively without tuning it?

zeio · Oct 31, 2019

The difference between commercial and provincial is greater than that between orange and blue sponge.

Here's the official answer from the old DHS website.

20＃与22＃海绵的特点：

20＃海绵是DHS在2000年研制成功的，与22＃有密切的继承性，主要通过增塑剂的添加和工艺的变化加强了海绵的控制能力，因此其手感偏柔而且表面处理上更为整洁，但两者在基本性能上相似，20＃海绵表面孔细而且排列紧密，以增加其势能，使球的弧线更长，速度更快。22＃海绵，定伸强度高，反弹力强，能保持较低的弧线，通过发力摩擦可制造出高速的旋转和强劲的前冲力。

Features of #20 and #22 sponges:

#20 sponge was successfully developed by DHS in the year 2000. A close successor of #22 sponge, control is strengthened mainly by the addition of plasticizer and the change of processing. Therefore, the feeling is soft and the surface treatment is neater, but the two are similar in basic performance. The surface of the #20 sponge is small-pored and closely arranged to increase its potential energy, making the ball longer in arc and faster in speed. #22 sponge has high tensile strength, strong rebound force, can maintain a lower arc, is capable of producing high rotation and strong forward momentum through brushing.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the H2 and H3 were originally released in the early 2000s, #22 sponge was paired with the H2 and #20 sponge with H3. #22 was available in orange and blue color while #20 was available in white and light orange. Nowadays, #22 available in blue only and #20 in orange. There is also the #18 sponge in white color, intended for the BH. There were also the unsuccessful #19 and #21 sponge right after the glue ban.

merlin el mago · Oct 31, 2019

SFF_lib said:
Ok. Hurricane and tuning is a complex topic.

First Hurricane 3(H3) has the following versions:
Commercial H3
Commercial Neo H3
Provincial H3 blue sponge (BS)
Provincial Neo H3 BS
Provincial Neo H3 orange sponge (OS)
Nittaku Neo H3 OS
National H3 OS
National H3 BS
National Neo H3 OS
National Neo H3 BS

So all H3 with "Neo" has been factory tuned theoretically. But the Commercial Neo H3 (~$20) is very dead. You need tuning to make the sponge more lively. I won't get into the nitty-gritty of tuning in this post.

Any provincial or national Neo H3 with OS is ready to play. But any H3 (Neo or non-Neo) with BS needs tuning as BS is denser than OS at the same hardness scale. For example, a 40degree BS national is a bit denser than a 40degree OS national.

BS takes more impact than OS to engage the ball. However, BS has more power reservoir than OS at the same hardness scale.

You must bear in mind that, incident of bubbling is higher with BS after tuning. And durability is higher with OS.

Thank you for the information. Just purchased at tabletennis11 a National H3 OS so I guess needs tuning?

Fantemyr · Oct 31, 2019

zeio said:
The difference between commercial and provincial is greater than that between orange and blue sponge.

Here's the official answer from the old DHS website.

Features of #20 and #22 sponges:

#20 sponge was successfully developed by DHS in the year 2000. A close successor of #22 sponge, control is strengthened mainly by the addition of plasticizer and the change of processing. Therefore, the feeling is soft and the surface treatment is neater, but the two are similar in basic performance. The surface of the #20 sponge is small-pored and closely arranged to increase its potential energy, making the ball longer in arc and faster in speed. #22 sponge has high tensile strength, strong rebound force, can maintain a lower arc, is capable of producing high rotation and strong forward momentum through brushing.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the H2 and H3 were originally released in the early 2000s, #22 sponge was paired with the H2 and #20 sponge with H3. #22 was available in orange and blue color while #20 was available in white and light orange. Nowadays, #22 available in blue only and #20 in orange. There is also the #18 sponge in white color, intended for the BH. There were also the unsuccessful #19 and #21 sponge right after the glue ban.

Ah ok. So buying a provincial H3 wouldn't be too much different from buying the same rubber but with a blue sponge. except for 10USD of course.

SFF_lib · Oct 31, 2019

merlin el mago said:
Thank you for the information. Just purchased at tabletennis11 a National H3 OS so I guess needs tuning?

No, OS is more lively than BS. Anothet factor to consider is the hardness. For hardness 39-40 it's ready to play provided your stroke is strong enough to engage the sponge.

If it's 41degree many people aren't strong enough to engage the sponge therefore need a few layers of boosting.

yogi_bear · Oct 31, 2019

Would not hurt to boost the 39 or 40 degree for an extra kick.

TTLOVE · Oct 31, 2019

what version do the pros use? I have seen a lot of pro players with h3 on the forehand side even Korean player are using it. Do they use the neo or normal version? What is the difference between National H3 BS and National Neo H3 BS?

SFF_lib · Oct 31, 2019

TTLOVE said:
what version do the pros use? I have seen a lot of pro players with h3 on the forehand side even Korean player are using it. Do they use the neo or normal version? What is the difference between National H3 BS and National Neo H3 BS?

Natioanal 42 hardness. But pro can hit every stroke consistently strong. Many of us aren't capable of and don't need national rubbers.

Provincial 39-40 would suit most amateurs.

lasta · Nov 1, 2019

zeio said:

I hope Zeio wouldn't mind I plagiarize a bit.

Der_Echte · Nov 1, 2019

Sergey Scoobie Doo cannot for the love of life understand why so many people are discussing the mythical properties of such equipment.

What level of player is discussing this? That is a r we're levent question and I bet two bags of cheezits 90 percent of the devoted crowd to this stuff is average club level or below.

A USATT rated 500, 1000, or 1500 player would benefit zero from worrying about whether to choose blue or orange h3... or blue or orange Tenergy. Or red or white tampons.

Any of the above would do utterly zero to boost players level at that level, but that crowd be all over the booster discussion. Just sayin'.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Penholdgod · Nov 2, 2019

Just use orange sponge. It is good enough.

harty · Nov 2, 2019

Provincial rubber DHS Hurricane 3 with blue sponge is definitely a very good rubber.
Since rubber requires boosted, it is important to do it correctly.
One German player wrote about his experience:

I have played yesterday for the first time with my H3. I boosted it only with 2 very thin layers of Haifu Seamoon and it was extremely fast. The rubber seems to react better with the blue sponge than with the orange sponge on the booster. I just want to share my experience, because i believe that 3 layers of Haifu oil could make the 40 degree or softer bs mushy. 2 layers is just perfect. Some customers could believe that they need 3 layers, because of your recommendation with falco booster. But the Haifu Seamoon seems to have a stronger effect on the rubber than Falco. On 41 degree, 3 layers of Haifu oil may work well. Maybe also on 40 degree, but customers should really test the rubber afte 2 layers, before they apply a 3 layer of Haifu oil.

I recommend to proceed with the booster carefully.
I believe this view will help you.

harty · Nov 2, 2019

Der_Echte said:
Sergey Scoobie Doo cannot for the love of life understand why so many people are discussing the mythical properties of such equipment.

What level of player is discussing this? That is a r we're levent question and I bet two bags of cheezits 90 percent of the devoted crowd to this stuff is average club level or below.

A USATT rated 500, 1000, or 1500 player would benefit zero from worrying about whether to choose blue or orange h3... or blue or orange Tenergy. Or red or white tampons.

Any of the above would do utterly zero to boost players level at that level, but that crowd be all over the booster discussion. Just sayin'.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

This is absolutely true!
Of course, club-level players want to improve themselves through professional equipment.

igorponger · Nov 2, 2019

==================================
Composition of Sandwich Rubber (new provision to T4 Leaflet)

■ Under same model name (=brand name), sandwich rubber may have sponge of single type.
■ Within a type, the sponge may only differ in color and thickness.
■ If combined with sponge of another type, having different hardness, density, material, etc.,
the topsheet must be moulded with a new model name and new ITTF identification number;
and the authorisation fees will be charged for each new model name in accordance with
the ITTF Equipment Approval Policy (T7 Leaflet)
===================================

/Be happy/

UpSideDownCarl · Nov 6, 2019

Fantemyr said:
But BTW. I never tune my rubber. So is getting rubber with BS completely out of the question or can I still use it effectively without tuning it?

If you do not boost, why are you even thinking about buying a rubber that is meant to be boosted? Get something else. Get something that is not H3 since all H3 versions are supposed to be boosted.

You can play with them without boosting. But they are not very good without being boosted.

I do see that you are happy with regular H3 unboosted. If that is the case, you don't need to look any farther. The more expensive versions are only better if you boost them. The reason for the different sponges costing more is how the sponge reacts to the boost. And all the more expensive versions, Provincial, National, Blue Sponge, have a slightly less tacky topsheet than the Commercial. So you may even like them less.

But why not try something that was meant to be played without boosting. There are any number of Chinese rubbers that are inexpensive that are as good or better than H3 if you are not using boost.

Fantemyr · Nov 6, 2019

UpSideDownCarl said:
If you do not boost, why are you even thinking about buying a rubber that is meant to be boosted? Get something else. Get something that is not H3 since all H3 versions are supposed to be boosted.

You can play with them without boosting. But they are not very good without being boosted.

I do see that you are happy with regular H3 unboosted. If that is the case, you don't need to look any farther. The more expensive versions are only better if you boost them. The reason for the different sponges costing more is how the sponge reacts to the boost. And all the more expensive versions, Provincial, National, Blue Sponge, have a slightly less tacky topsheet than the Commercial. So you may even like them less.

But why not try something that was meant to be played without boosting. There are any number of Chinese rubbers that are inexpensive that are as good or better than H3 if you are not using boost.

Thank you. I did not know that H3 was meant to be boosted and I am very happy with unboosted H3, so I'll just stick to that for now. Maybe in the future I'll see if i can't find any other good and cheap chinese rubbers.

What rubber I should get? Blue sponge or orange sponge?

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