...and they were completely real...how is this national version diff. from the normal one?
I'm sorry, but the way he wrote this I took it as he thought it was National Orange Sponge.
The quality is very different between National, Provincial, and Commercial. The basic characteristics would simply be that it is tacky while all other basic characteristics would be different. The throw angle, consistency, degree of hardness, durability, and therefore speed and spin would all be different when comparing the Commercial to National and even Provincial.
Your comment sebas about some rubbers being better than h3 neo is an opinion of course. H3 Neo is factory tuned which means that it is only for a few players on the CNT. Most CNT players have their own method of boosting because they prefer a certain characteristic over the others. Most Chinese players prefer Hurricane 3 because it's currently the best rubber to use for their styles. Skyline TG2 and TG3 are also great rubbers, but they unfortunately have different characteristics than the H3 and that is probably why fewer players use them.
No doubt there are a bunch of rubbers out there with similar characteristics and cheap, but that is because they are commercial rubbers. Those rubbers that are cheapest are also the poorest in quality control. Not to say that it is a bad rubber, but mostly that means when you are competing consistently you want the same characteristics from sheet to sheet so that you don't have to worry about adjusting your stroke. When you are using the same rubber but with different characteristics you don't have the time to adjust your stroke in between competitions. If you're competing less or just playing club or leisure play then of course by all means save some cash and get a rubber that's close, but not a bother when switching sheets.