Hi friends of this forum!
My name is Mr. Barna and I am a happy semi-pro who plays table tennis most for fun but sometimes when fortune strikes me I can collect enough money to buy and entertain myself with new equipment.
First of all I would like to extend my biggest gratitude towards the fact that forums like this exists. It makes all of us table tennis lovers feel like a big happy family.
I have had the great pleasure of obtaining the new Airoc S 2.1 rubber from STIGA.
I browsed thru this site and only found reviews for the M hardness and it seems like a lot of people have a big anticipation on the S kind so I thought I could give you guys my thoughts and impressions of the Airoc S.
I have always played with blades from STIGA due to the fact that I really love the robust wood-blade feel and I’m not a super big fan of the whole carbon-era. Way too stiff if you ask me. The thing I like about wood blades is that it’s much more a combination of rubber and blade than with a rubber attached to a carbon blade.
Currently I’m playing with the new Emerald VPS V from STIGA combined with the Airoc M rubbers (2.1). I’ve done so for about 3 months since I first got my hands on the rubbers. I feel very comfortable with this combination and in opposite to some reviews I’ve read I really think that the spin is quite excellent actually. The biggest advantage with the M 2.1 compared to other rubbers is that it’s very good over the table, a specially short-short under-spins. The rubber really bites the ball and it’s easy to controlling the ball placements.
Anyhow, I have now tried the Airoc S 2.1 for a period of 2 weeks. About 8 training sessions.
Here is some info about the rubber:
Hardness: Soft
Speed: Off
Test blade: STIGA Emerald VPS V
Test Balls: Celluloid and Poly Ball
Made In: Japan
When gluing the rubbers I used the STIGA Attached Power Glue because it’s a more heavy glue than the Optimizer and I wanted to make sure that the whole sponge got covered, which sometimes is difficult when applying a thin glue to a curved rubber.[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]
The top sheet of the rubber is shiny and looks completely different than the previous Tour-series. It looks much more like the Calibra-series although not quite the same.
Sponge:
As you all know by now the sponge is blue. STIGA calls the new sponge technology Oxygen Capsule System which means bigger air pockets within the sponge which makes it possible to get more catapult-effect than before. I took some pictures of the sponge and the “air pockets” is clearly visible. I do like the look and feel of the sponge.
Speed:
My first though when trying the Airoc S was that it’s quite fast for a “soft” rubber. I would estimate it as the fastest “soft” STIGA rubber. I think the Airoc M rubber is faster but of course that’s the idea with a medium sponge.
It also have a really great sound that makes veterans like me feel like I’m back in the happy Speed-glue-era. Two big thumbs up for that!
Away from the table I feel like the extra speed and trajectory compared to previous “soft” rubbers makes the placement of the ball longer and better. Close to the table I feel like it’s a rubber that makes players with a good first loop have a big advantages. Serve than attack seems to be the way to really take advantages of this rubber.
Spin:
First of all, wow! I am not biased but I have to say that the Airoc S is about the best soft rubber for a great and controlled spin I have tried in a long, long time.
Both the M and the S have great spin in my opinion and I’m quite surprised that the S feels much more spinny than the M. Both rubbers using the same top sheet so the only conclusion I can draw from this is that the soft sponge and the so called OCS-technology increases the ball contact with the rubber and making the spin higher.
It doesn’t seems to matter if I’m under the table making my shots or over the table going for the killer check-flip, this rubber uses the new top sheet and sponge excellent and I’m really able to take advantages of the whole rubber side making the spin really good.
Control:
I think that the control of the Airoc S is stabile. I mean it’s a fast and spinny rubber that requires a player with a good technique. It is not like applying the auto pilot and just sit back and enjoy the show. I think some players that tries the Airoc-series don’t like it because they think that the rubber have some sort of “autoplay” built in them.
That is not the fact, but I really think that good players who understands rubber will find that the Airoc is an excellent rubber when applying the correct technique.
Conclusion:
I tried the rubber on both the celluloid ball and on the Poly Ball and it was actually quite a big difference. On the STIGA website it says that the “Airoc is adopted for the new Poly Ball” and it seems like that’s the case. I found that the difference between the balls was bigger with the Airoc than previous rubbers like the Calibra-series.
The top sheet and sponge really took care of the Poly Ball creating more spin and speed in an interesting way that I didn’t feel when playing with the old ball.
The Airoc S rubber is a great spin rubber for players who likes soft rubbers with great feel but demands a bit more speed. Personally I will stay with the Airoc M due to the fact that I am a speed-player who prefers a bit harder sponges and more speed. Although I would dearly recommend the Airoc S for all players with a good technique that really wants to take advantages of the new Poly Ball.
I hope you guys have enjoyed this review! If you are interested I have some older blades and some rubbers laying around that I can test for some weeks and return with some reviews?
Wish me luck in the upcoming tournaments so I will be able to buy more equipment. J
/Mr. Barna
My name is Mr. Barna and I am a happy semi-pro who plays table tennis most for fun but sometimes when fortune strikes me I can collect enough money to buy and entertain myself with new equipment.
First of all I would like to extend my biggest gratitude towards the fact that forums like this exists. It makes all of us table tennis lovers feel like a big happy family.
I have had the great pleasure of obtaining the new Airoc S 2.1 rubber from STIGA.
I browsed thru this site and only found reviews for the M hardness and it seems like a lot of people have a big anticipation on the S kind so I thought I could give you guys my thoughts and impressions of the Airoc S.
I have always played with blades from STIGA due to the fact that I really love the robust wood-blade feel and I’m not a super big fan of the whole carbon-era. Way too stiff if you ask me. The thing I like about wood blades is that it’s much more a combination of rubber and blade than with a rubber attached to a carbon blade.
Currently I’m playing with the new Emerald VPS V from STIGA combined with the Airoc M rubbers (2.1). I’ve done so for about 3 months since I first got my hands on the rubbers. I feel very comfortable with this combination and in opposite to some reviews I’ve read I really think that the spin is quite excellent actually. The biggest advantage with the M 2.1 compared to other rubbers is that it’s very good over the table, a specially short-short under-spins. The rubber really bites the ball and it’s easy to controlling the ball placements.
Anyhow, I have now tried the Airoc S 2.1 for a period of 2 weeks. About 8 training sessions.
Here is some info about the rubber:
Hardness: Soft
Speed: Off
Test blade: STIGA Emerald VPS V
Test Balls: Celluloid and Poly Ball
Made In: Japan
When gluing the rubbers I used the STIGA Attached Power Glue because it’s a more heavy glue than the Optimizer and I wanted to make sure that the whole sponge got covered, which sometimes is difficult when applying a thin glue to a curved rubber.[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]
The top sheet of the rubber is shiny and looks completely different than the previous Tour-series. It looks much more like the Calibra-series although not quite the same.
Sponge:
As you all know by now the sponge is blue. STIGA calls the new sponge technology Oxygen Capsule System which means bigger air pockets within the sponge which makes it possible to get more catapult-effect than before. I took some pictures of the sponge and the “air pockets” is clearly visible. I do like the look and feel of the sponge.
Speed:
My first though when trying the Airoc S was that it’s quite fast for a “soft” rubber. I would estimate it as the fastest “soft” STIGA rubber. I think the Airoc M rubber is faster but of course that’s the idea with a medium sponge.
It also have a really great sound that makes veterans like me feel like I’m back in the happy Speed-glue-era. Two big thumbs up for that!
Away from the table I feel like the extra speed and trajectory compared to previous “soft” rubbers makes the placement of the ball longer and better. Close to the table I feel like it’s a rubber that makes players with a good first loop have a big advantages. Serve than attack seems to be the way to really take advantages of this rubber.
Spin:
First of all, wow! I am not biased but I have to say that the Airoc S is about the best soft rubber for a great and controlled spin I have tried in a long, long time.
Both the M and the S have great spin in my opinion and I’m quite surprised that the S feels much more spinny than the M. Both rubbers using the same top sheet so the only conclusion I can draw from this is that the soft sponge and the so called OCS-technology increases the ball contact with the rubber and making the spin higher.
It doesn’t seems to matter if I’m under the table making my shots or over the table going for the killer check-flip, this rubber uses the new top sheet and sponge excellent and I’m really able to take advantages of the whole rubber side making the spin really good.
Control:
I think that the control of the Airoc S is stabile. I mean it’s a fast and spinny rubber that requires a player with a good technique. It is not like applying the auto pilot and just sit back and enjoy the show. I think some players that tries the Airoc-series don’t like it because they think that the rubber have some sort of “autoplay” built in them.
That is not the fact, but I really think that good players who understands rubber will find that the Airoc is an excellent rubber when applying the correct technique.
Conclusion:
I tried the rubber on both the celluloid ball and on the Poly Ball and it was actually quite a big difference. On the STIGA website it says that the “Airoc is adopted for the new Poly Ball” and it seems like that’s the case. I found that the difference between the balls was bigger with the Airoc than previous rubbers like the Calibra-series.
The top sheet and sponge really took care of the Poly Ball creating more spin and speed in an interesting way that I didn’t feel when playing with the old ball.
The Airoc S rubber is a great spin rubber for players who likes soft rubbers with great feel but demands a bit more speed. Personally I will stay with the Airoc M due to the fact that I am a speed-player who prefers a bit harder sponges and more speed. Although I would dearly recommend the Airoc S for all players with a good technique that really wants to take advantages of the new Poly Ball.
I hope you guys have enjoyed this review! If you are interested I have some older blades and some rubbers laying around that I can test for some weeks and return with some reviews?
Wish me luck in the upcoming tournaments so I will be able to buy more equipment. J
/Mr. Barna
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