New rubbers.

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Hey out there.
Hope you can help.

I want new rubbers.
I wonder to much about equipment and change it to much.

I want:

Nothing faster than classic rubbers like Sriver and Mark V. But not much slower.

No cheap chinese rubbers. I've tried a lot of them and they tend to fail their grip somtimes and to often.

Medium to medium-hard sponge hardness.

Medium throw-angle.

Something in between slightly-tacky and half-tacky surface. At least for the forehand. Backhand can be non-tacky or slightly-tacky.

Something that lasts long. I practice 8 hours a week.


I've tried:

Sriver fx (Forehand and backhand max) and el (Forehand 2.1). They where good for pushing, serve-returns and backhandstrokes. Very good placements. But only giving me descent spin for serves and forehand topspin.
Did only last 3-4 months with 2 hours of training a week (5-6 years ago). It lost the grip and got too bouncy for me. The ball flied of the table and into the net the most of the time. The rubber brokes very easely when hitting the edge of the table compared to hard chinese rubbers. Used on Donic Persson Powerplay.

729 Super fx. Great spin. Too hard and to slow. Too tacky. Not consistent and controllable enough. Used on Donic Persson Powerplay (Backhand 2.0) and Donic Waldner Allplay (Backhand and forehand 2.0).

DHS G888. Great spin. Too hard and to slow. Too tacky. Not consistent and controllable enough. To lowthrow The ball flied into the net the most of the time. Used on Avalox Blue Thunder 555 (Forehand 2.1)

Gewo Thunderball. Great spin, control and feel. Too tacky. Not fast enough. Used on Tibhar Samsonov Premium contact (Backhand 2.0)

Donic Gallardo Power Sound. Good placement. Too hard. Too fast. Not much spin. No tack. Falled of the blade all the time. Used on Tibhar Samsonov Premium Contact (Forehand 2.1)

Yinhe/Galaxy/Milky Way - Apollo. The same as 729 Super fx. But more bounce. Used on Donic Waldner Allplay (Forehand 2.1).

Tibhar Rapid Soft. Fine but not good spin and sometimes the grip failed. Too mushy Maybe a bad setup on a Donic Waldner Allplay (Backhand 1.8)

Xu ShaoFa 999 LSZ factory tuned - Hurricane. Great rubber. Nice arcs. But a little too hard and a little too tacky. A little bit lack of spin. Used on Avalox Blue thunder 555 (Forehand 2.2 black with purple sponge)

Xiom Vega Elite. Great spin and Great far from table. But way too bouncy for me. No tack. Used on Avalox Blue Thunder 550 (Forehand 2.1) and 555 (Backhand 2.1)

729 Cream Transcend. Too slow. Not spinny enough. Little too tacky. Grip fails very often. Used on Blue Thunder 550 (Forehand)

Yasaka Zap 36-38 Biotech. Great rubber. Something between slightly tacky and medium tacky. Medium-hard sponge. A lot like the srivers but less elastic and more durable and spin. Grips good when it grips. Perfekt speed. But sometimes and too often the grip failes like every other chinese rubber. Used on Blue Thunder 550 (Forehand and backhand 2.2) and 555 (Backhand 2.2)


I want to use the Blue thunder blades.

I've ordered a sheet of Armstrong seifuku ss 42 degrees 1.8. I would try to use it as a backhand rubber on bt 550. But maybe it's too soft for that blade and better on bt 555. But i don't know if it got any tackiness on it. maybe it will be ideal for both backhand and forehand.
Anyone who knows anything about this sheet?

Thanks
 
Last edited:
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
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The BH rubber listed in my signature is exactly the specs you are stating, but it is Chinese. I play every day for hours and change it out at the 3 month mark. When I used Tenergy, I changed it out at 4 weeks. Still, If you simply MUST have a Japanese or European rubber...

You wont go wrong with Tibhar Genius, but it isn't exactly a cheap rubber. You would also like Evolution EL-P, but that isn't a cheap one either. You would like Rasant, but that is no bargain either. Aurus can be had chaeaper, but the sponge is a little harder than your preferred soft range. I just tried Aurus soft on a flexy ALL+ blade for the first time and saw no decrease in my landing %.

Lot of options out there and I wish you were in apposition to try other people's stuff to see what suits you.
 
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i have to agree with Der Echte, you can't go wrong with the regular Genius (yellow sponge), i play for more than a year with an old Genius ( i had to revive the spin with WD40, and it reacts very well to this reviving method, one short spray on the rubber surface, and you can also use WD40 or paraffine oil on the sponge to revive the speed and tackiness)
Genius is a very well balanced rubber, for allround attacker, lots of spin (less than T05), better control than T05.
just trust the experience of Der Echte (and mine :p )

I have tried Donic Coppa JO Waldner Gold, Genius Sound (also a good one for BH !!!), Stiga Calibra LT Sound (and other Chinese cheapish stuff, but this was never a success for me, i'm still wondering if there exists a chinese rubber that plays like Genius, i would be very interested pricewise)
My level is similar to that of Der Echte i think (based on the videos of him i have seen, i could be wrong, but i do play like lets say a 1700 to 1800 usatt player i guess)
 
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I want some rubbers to rely on.
The most chinese stuff just don't seems like that category.

I'll start trying the seifuku ss 42 that i've already paid for. I just don't hope it's too soft for my blade. I love smashing with my backhand.


WD40? sounds greasy and smelly :D


The rubbers suggested above, aren't they considerably faster than sriver?
I've tried Xiom Vega Elite 2.0. And that was considerably faster than sriver. But also completely non-tacky
So maybe i should try Genius 1.8. It's slightly tacky right?
I found it on a webstore for the same price as sriver.
 
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I want some rubbers to rely on.
The most chinese stuff just don't seems like that category.

I'll start trying the seifuku ss 42 that i've already paid for. I just don't hope it's too soft for my blade. I love smashing with my backhand.


WD40? sounds greasy and smelly :D


The rubbers suggested above, aren't they considerably faster than sriver?
I've tried Xiom Vega Elite 2.0. And that was considerably faster than sriver. But also completely non-tacky
So maybe i should try Genius 1.8. It's slightly tacky right?
I found it on a webstore for the same price as sriver.

WD40 is not smelly and the grease is attacking the rubber to get the tack back when needed.
Try it before giving a comment please !

And please try a Genius before wasting more money on cheap chinese stuff, or just dont ask for advice anymore, if you just dont follow it !
 
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
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i have to agree with Der Echte, you can't go wrong with the regular Genius (yellow sponge), i play for more than a year with an old Genius ( i had to revive the spin with WD40, and it reacts very well to this reviving method, one short spray on the rubber surface, and you can also use WD40 or paraffine oil on the sponge to revive the speed and tackiness)
Genius is a very well balanced rubber, for allround attacker, lots of spin (less than T05), better control than T05.
just trust the experience of Der Echte (and mine :p )

I have tried Donic Coppa JO Waldner Gold, Genius Sound (also a good one for BH !!!), Stiga Calibra LT Sound (and other Chinese cheapish stuff, but this was never a success for me, i'm still wondering if there exists a chinese rubber that plays like Genius, i would be very interested pricewise)
My level is similar to that of Der Echte i think (based on the videos of him i have seen, i could be wrong, but i do play like lets say a 1700 to 1800 usatt player i guess)

The vids you saw were likely oldish and my 1600ish rating is 4 years old. When I get back to USA and do a few tourneys, it is A-OK with me for everyone to view me as playing around my official rating. 4 years in Korean clubs and tourneys have helped me immeasurably.

Regardless, it doesn't matter so much. I have seen some 1400 level USATT players know more about equipment than a lot of 2200+ players. The elite crowd doesn't mess with equipment so much. Besides, the crew on the forums will spot a skunk quick if they are giving out crap advice and the playing level isn't the largest factor in their ability to advise, although it helps greatly.

Glad to see you like Genius. I never bought Genius, but a lot of Nexy's test blades have a sheet of it, or Aurus, or a new rubber on the market. Genius worked well on every blade Nexy let me test out at their HQ. Genius is stable, you know what you are getting and it is great spin/control and durable. Price... well it isn't cheap. I get Aurus for a lot less and play VERY successful using it.
 
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
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Genius is reviewed to be not very durable.
What about the following? Gewo reflexx sound. Adidas p7.

Believe me you, Genius is durable, like a lot of good Tibhar rubbers. It won't last more than 3 months playing every day before you want to rip it off your blade, but heck, Tenergy rarely made it 4 weeks of daily play before I had to toss it out. That got to be very expensive. if you play only once or twice a week, I don't see any reason why it won't last you a year.

Addidas has some rubbers gaining traction among the low rank and also the elite Korean Amature players.
 
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phillypong - I know WD40. And I think it has a very strong and caracteristic smell. But of course rubber glue and rubber cleaner smells strong too. But I will follow your advice to try it sometime ;)
And it's not that I don't want to take advice. I do. But I just want to be sure not wasting too much money.
But if Genius lasts way longer than the most cheap chinese rubbers I may want to try (with use of WD40). But I'm open for more suggests before using money.
I didn't ment to waste anyones time.
Thanks for the advice phillypong :)


Found Genius and a lot other rubbers for good prices at tabletennis.inters.pl


Aurus should be more durable than Genius. But it's more speed oriented. While Genius should be more spin oriented.
Sorry for not mention. I'm looking for a more spin oriented rubber for my forehand. So Genius would be the choice of those two.

I've read some reviews about Adidas p7. And I'm guessing it's too bouncy for me. Should be very powerful.
Some people reviewed that the Tibhar Genius Is not very bouncy. Not what they expected. So that sounds like something for me.

I think I will try Genius 1.8 for my forhand on the BT 550.

I'm already guessing now that the Armstrong seifuku ss 42 is a bit too soft for my backhand on BT550. So I will try it on the little stiffer BT555 instead.

For the backhand on the BT550 I was thinking using one of the following:

Tibhar Rapid.
Stiga Mendo.
Donic Vario.

Comparison:

Hardest sponge.
Best for smash.
Best control.
Most grip.
Most durable.

Sorry for being so hard of a "customer". I just want the right stuff, so it's easier quit filling my head with equipment. Instead of google equipment I want to google technique improvements. As the first my desire always points towards equipment. My head is getting SO tired of it. I feel like miss-using my energy for the wrong purpose. I want to be "healthy".
Thanks.
 
Last edited:
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hey nymose, i didn't want to be negative, but it is my experience that in trying the right rubber for my game , i have wasted already quite some money, and i am not the only one i am sure !

about aurus : i have tried an aurus soft (the medium version), and i found it to be clearly faster than Genius (i compare a red 1,8mm for both rubbers), so if you want spin i would also advise the genius
the reviews i had read on the aurus stated that there was more spin than with genius, i found there is a lot of spin but due to the very high speed, i found i couldn't easily make a round enough arc for the ball, the aurus soft is only good for a purely on speed oriented play imo
a fellow team player of mine plays a 1.7mm aurus standard, this is clearly a harder feel rubber than a genius, for me just a bit too hard
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Member
Jul 2014
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50
Hey out there.
Hope you can help.

I want new rubbers.
I wonder to much about equipment and change it to much.

I want:

Nothing faster than classic rubbers like Sriver and Mark V. But not much slower.

No cheap chinese rubbers. I've tried a lot of them and they tend to fail their grip somtimes and to often.

Medium to medium-hard sponge hardness.

Medium throw-angle.

Something in between slightly-tacky and half-tacky surface. At least for the forehand. Backhand can be non-tacky or slightly-tacky.

Something that lasts long. I practice 8 hours a week.


I've tried:

Sriver fx (Forehand and backhand max) and el (Forehand 2.1). They where good for pushing, serve-returns and backhandstrokes. Very good placements. But only giving me descent spin for serves and forehand topspin.
Did only last 3-4 months with 2 hours of training a week (5-6 years ago). It lost the grip and got too bouncy for me. The ball flied of the table and into the net the most of the time. The rubber brokes very easely when hitting the edge of the table compared to hard chinese rubbers. Used on Donic Persson Powerplay.

729 Super fx. Great spin. Too hard and to slow. Too tacky. Not consistent and controllable enough. Used on Donic Persson Powerplay (Backhand 2.0) and Donic Waldner Allplay (Backhand and forehand 2.0).

DHS G888. Great spin. Too hard and to slow. Too tacky. Not consistent and controllable enough. To lowthrow The ball flied into the net the most of the time. Used on Avalox Blue Thunder 555 (Forehand 2.1)

Gewo Thunderball. Great spin, control and feel. Too tacky. Not fast enough. Used on Tibhar Samsonov Premium contact (Backhand 2.0)

Donic Gallardo Power Sound. Good placement. Too hard. Too fast. Not much spin. No tack. Falled of the blade all the time. Used on Tibhar Samsonov Premium Contact (Forehand 2.1)

Yinhe/Galaxy/Milky Way - Apollo. The same as 729 Super fx. But more bounce. Used on Donic Waldner Allplay (Forehand 2.1).

Tibhar Rapid Soft. Fine but not good spin and sometimes the grip failed. Too mushy Maybe a bad setup on a Donic Waldner Allplay (Backhand 1.8)

Xu ShaoFa 999 LSZ factory tuned - Hurricane. Great rubber. Nice arcs. But a little too hard and a little too tacky. A little bit lack of spin. Used on Avalox Blue thunder 555 (Forehand 2.2 black with purple sponge)

Xiom Vega Elite. Great spin and Great far from table. But way too bouncy for me. No tack. Used on Avalox Blue Thunder 550 (Forehand 2.1) and 555 (Backhand 2.1)

729 Cream Transcend. Too slow. Not spinny enough. Little too tacky. Grip fails very often. Used on Blue Thunder 550 (Forehand)

Yasaka Zap 36-38 Biotech. Great rubber. Something between slightly tacky and medium tacky. Medium-hard sponge. A lot like the srivers but less elastic and more durable and spin. Grips good when it grips. Perfekt speed. But sometimes and too often the grip failes like every other chinese rubber. Used on Blue Thunder 550 (Forehand and backhand 2.2) and 555 (Backhand 2.2)


I want to use the Blue thunder blades.

I've ordered a sheet of Armstrong seifuku ss 42 degrees 1.8. I would try to use it as a backhand rubber on bt 550. But maybe it's too soft for that blade and better on bt 555. But i don't know if it got any tackiness on it. maybe it will be ideal for both backhand and forehand.
Anyone who knows anything about this sheet?

Thanks

I'm not agree with you for the cream transcend. I have tried more or less 10 rubbers in my BH the last year, and this one let me to topspin, push, blocks, etc with a lot of control.
 
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