Most Requested Table Tennis Review Ever | Rakza 7

[Dan]

Hey everyone!

We have released a lot of equipment reviews over the years but one that pops up often in the comments and requests is Yasaka Rakza 7. So here it is, our most requested table tennis review ever!

 

[Richie]

Great review Dan!

I used Rakza 7 for 3 years on the BH and agree with what you said. What I didn't like with rakza 7 compared to other rubbers like mantra H which I use now, is that it isn't very grippy, sometimes I even felt like the ball was slipping off of the rubber, maybe that was after a lot of usage though. I really felt like it wasn't good for thin contacts. So I had to hit into the sponge more to get spin. Maybe this is why it's in a way more controllable as the spin generation comes more from hitting into the sponge than the topsheet. And the sponge isn't that hard and not that soft either, good balance.

 

[Archyan]

I don't think I've seen Dan hit that many backhands in a row before!
Nonetheless, great review!

 

[flash]

When I re-tired and got back in TT I was trying out a lot of different rubbers, but it seemed like I always ended going back to the Rakza 7, it had enough speed and spin for me and it seemed like more of my balls where landing on the table. I would say if Tenergy 05 is to much for any one to use they should try the Rakza 7.

 

[Ray]

Another useful review, thanks.

Rakza 7 came out years ago, way back in the 40mm celluloid ball era. So, this is the most requested review since you hesitated some 10 years to test it. I suppose you have tested R7 with plastic balls, therefore you feel it "lacks spin", especially in comparison with modern tacky rubbers. However, its downside can be somewhat compensated easily with a proper blade.

BTW, did you mention the blade you were using during the test?

R7 is a classic and still one of the bestsellers for a reason.

 

[yogi_bear]

Rakza 7 is really good and like the Vega Series rubbers, it is still a good rubber for polyballs but with lesser spin due to ball change.

 

[Lazer]

Great review Dan!

I used Rakza 7 for 3 years on the BH and agree with what you said. What I didn't like with rakza 7 compared to other rubbers like mantra H which I use now, is that it isn't very grippy, sometimes I even felt like the ball was slipping off of the rubber, maybe that was after a lot of usage though. I really felt like it wasn't good for thin contacts. So I had to hit into the sponge more to get spin. Maybe this is why it's in a way more controllable as the spin generation comes more from hitting into the sponge than the topsheet. And the sponge isn't that hard and not that soft either, good balance.

I haven’t tried Mantra H, but with Mantra M I find exactly the opposite. To get good spin you need to hit harder. I like spin on my soft strikes too. I also find it more lifeless.
You’ll need to find something else because the Mantra range has been discontinued.

cheers
L-zr

 

[Richie]

I haven’t tried Mantra H, but with Mantra M I find exactly the opposite. To get good spin you need to hit harder. I like spin on my soft strikes too. I also find it more lifeless.
You’ll need to find something else because the Mantra range has been discontinued.

cheers
L-zr

If by generating spin you mean by hitting into the sponge, then yes I agree you need to hit harder to get more spin and speed. But on thin contacts the ball doesn't go into the sponge much and the topsheet has good grip, so for that I think it has good spin and better spin than Rakza 7 for me. Mantra H I bet is even more lifeless because of the hardness than M, but I like that for serve return.

 

[Lazer]

With generating spin I mean simply to rotate the ball, the way it’s done is secondary.
My experience is that Mantra M requires a hard hit. Mantra M is harder than Rakza 7 this is probably the reason because both have about equal friction (I like to recall). Anyway I get much better spin with Rakza 7.
I like to get spin on loose hits and I don’t like sticky rubbers. This means I need a soft rubber with high friction. This is reflected by my setup.

cheers
L-zr

 

[brokenball]

Rubbers don't have control. The player does.
People are not calibrated machines. The way to review a rubber is like how Pathfinderpro did years ago.

I wonder how Dan measures grip. I think he means coefficient of friction.
I would like to see them Dan and Tom a match. One with Rakza 7 and the other with their favorite super rubber. Then switch. The reason why is that each rally starts out relatively slow. For the most part they are just blasting balls back and forth. What would each player think they were giving up and would their perceived increase in control make up for it.

I don't like the comment about lifting backspin. Lifting back spin can be done with any normal rubber and SP.
The key is the match the tangential ( rotational surface ) speed of the ball. The ball will go back with the same amount of spin if you do this. If you swing faster you can close the paddle a little and increase the spin but you must swing faster than the surface speed of the ball to do this.

What it all comes down to is normal and tangential coefficient of restitution and whether you like the feel of the rubber. The relative coefficients of restitution could be measured. A TT ball can be shot at the rubber to measure the rebound. How far it bounces is an indication of the normal coefficient of restitution. If the ball has spin then the angle of the bounce off the paddle is an indication of the tangential coefficient of restitution.

I don't like reviews. There is too much opinion in all those except where there are measurements done like in Pathfinderpro's videos but that requires a lot of work.
What is also missing from these reviews is that can I do with this rubber that I can't with the other rubber.

Where I agree with Dan is the price/performance ratio. I buy my Rakza 7 from Tabletennis11 where I get 4 for the price of 3.

 

[Lazer]

I love the reviews. Without them I wouldn’t know dudely sqwat and I have to test myself and step on all the mines...
It would be better if the manufacturers hade a universal way to document.
Anybody can understand that a review is subjective, but it’s much better than nothing...

When it comes to control, it is an inverse of speed (almost) at best, so maybe it would be better to express it by stating that it is your opinion (which is really obvious anyway).

Btw I think Dan makes some the best reviews, if not the best.

cheers
L-zr

 

[Deep74]

Rakza 7 is really good and like the Vega Series rubbers, it is still a good rubber for polyballs but with lesser spin due to ball change.

How does it compare to Rozena? My lad is using Rozena both sides and does get on really well with them but I’m curious how Rakza 7 compares to Rozena.

 

[Lazer]

How does it compare to Rozena? My lad is using Rozena both sides and does get on really well with them but I’m curious how Rakza 7 compares to Rozena.

I can tell you that.
Rakza 7 any day of the week, easier to get spin, similar speed, similar control.

cheers
L-zr

 

[brokenball]

It would be better if the manufacturers hade a universal way to document.
L-zr

They will NEVER do it. It would take the BS out of the marketing. People would realize the new rubbers aren't any better than the old rubbers.

I repeat. what is missing from the subjective reviews is what one rubber can do that other rubbers can't or not easily. There is no force or impulse and resulting trajectory that T05 can generate than Rakza 7 cannot. It may require a different stroke.

 

[yogi_bear]

How does it compare to Rozena? My lad is using Rozena both sides and does get on really well with them but I’m curious how Rakza 7 compares to Rozena.

Rozena is bouncier. For the spin, Rozena offers a bit more.

 

[zentt]

With generating spin I mean simply to rotate the ball, the way it’s done is secondary.
My experience is that Mantra M requires a hard hit. Mantra M is harder than Rakza 7 this is probably the reason because both have about equal friction (I like to recall). Anyway I get much better spin with Rakza 7.
I like to get spin on loose hits and I don’t like sticky rubbers. This means I need a soft rubber with high friction. This is reflected by my setup.
cheers
L-zr

I was using Mantra M on BH and recently went back to Rakza 7 (normal version, not soft) and found like Lazer did with the soft version that it was considerably easier to generate spin with, particularly for me with serves and hard pushes. I am waiting to try the Tmount Ace 2 Gold Sponge rubber on BH as, as much as I like the normal Rakza 7, it still feels a bit too soft and a touch slow for me. I am interested that Yogi says that Rozena is spinnier and bouncier than R7 - maybe I will try that on BH sometime - I wonder if Rozena is harder than R7 normal?.
ATB....

 

[Lazer]

I was using Mantra M on BH and recently went back to Rakza 7 (normal version, not soft) and found like Lazer did with the soft version that it was considerably easier to generate spin with, particularly for me with serves and hard pushes. I am waiting to try the Tmount Ace 2 Gold Sponge rubber on BH as, as much as I like the normal Rakza 7, it still feels a bit too soft and a touch slow for me. I am interested that Yogi says that Rozena is spinnier and bouncier than R7 - maybe I will try that on BH sometime - I wonder if Rozena is harder than R7 normal?.
ATB....

I believe it is harder, and I beleive it has marginally more speed.

Cheers
L-zr

 

[yoass]

I can tell you that.
Rakza 7 any day of the week, easier to get spin, similar speed, similar control.

cheers
L-zr

I'm sorry, but I disagree. I like both - but would prefer Rozena to R7. A larger power and spin envelope, without sacrificing much if anything.

 

[Dan]

Great review Dan!

I used Rakza 7 for 3 years on the BH and agree with what you said. What I didn't like with rakza 7 compared to other rubbers like mantra H which I use now, is that it isn't very grippy, sometimes I even felt like the ball was slipping off of the rubber, maybe that was after a lot of usage though. I really felt like it wasn't good for thin contacts. So I had to hit into the sponge more to get spin. Maybe this is why it's in a way more controllable as the spin generation comes more from hitting into the sponge than the topsheet. And the sponge isn't that hard and not that soft either, good balance.

Hey Richie, thanks! Yeah I preferred the Rakza 7 on the backhand side, really controlled and you feel like you can accelerate hard whilst keeping high levels of consistency. On the forehand side I felt it did lack that zip and purchase on the ball, and in the serves actually.

We will be trying the Razka Z soon, looking forward to seeing how that compares.

Another useful review, thanks.

Rakza 7 came out years ago, way back in the 40mm celluloid ball era. So, this is the most requested review since you hesitated some 10 years to test it. I suppose you have tested R7 with plastic balls, therefore you feel it "lacks spin", especially in comparison with modern tacky rubbers. However, its downside can be somewhat compensated easily with a proper blade.

BTW, did you mention the blade you were using during the test?

R7 is a classic and still one of the bestsellers for a reason.

Thanks Ray. Good point it's been out for a very long time and will have had a good effect on the celluloid ball. Looking forward to trying Rakza 9 and Z.

I used the Boll ALC blade and Tom used the Hybrid Wood from Stiga. What blade did you use?

Lazer;334481 I love the reviews. Without them I wouldn’t know dudely sqwat and I have to test myself and step on all the mines...
It would be better if the manufacturers hade a universal way to document.
Anybody can understand that a review is subjective, but it’s much better than nothing...

When it comes to control, it is an inverse of speed (almost) at best, so maybe it would be better to express it by stating that it is your opinion (which is really obvious anyway).

Btw I think Dan makes some the best reviews, if not the best.

cheers
L-zr

Thanks for your nice comments L-zr 💪🏓 I agree if there was a way for manufactures to universally document stats that would be really useful and cool! I just try to say best how I feel about the product and also comparing blade/rubbers now in the TTD ratings has helped think where there product sits.

 

[IB66]

Hey Richie, thanks! Yeah I preferred the Rakza 7 on the backhand side, really controlled and you feel like you can accelerate hard whilst keeping high levels of consistency. On the forehand side I felt it did lack that zip and purchase on the ball, and in the serves actually.

We will be trying the Razka Z soon, looking forward to seeing how that compares.


Thanks Ray. Good point it's been out for a very long time and will have had a good effect on the celluloid ball. Looking forward to trying Rakza 9 and Z.

I used the Boll ALC blade and Tom used the Hybrid Wood from Stiga. What blade did you use?

Thanks for your nice comments L-zr 💪🏓 I agree if there was a way for manufactures to universally document stats that would be really useful and cool! I just try to say best how I feel about the product and also comparing blade/rubbers now in the TTD ratings has helped think where there product sits.

Hi Dan,

Looking forward to the Rakza Z review!! Bring it on !! One of my favourite rubbers!!