Experience with some other Loki rubbers - Arthur China, GTX Pro (inc)

[Zwill]

How does the K2 stack up against the Rakza Z? Their topsheets are similar? I really like the K2, probably the best ESN rubber for FH that I seen so far. I wouldn't call it very spinny, doesn't have much bite either, but it still works well in most cases. It's not heavy either, doesn't shrink, very fast and it used to be like 26USD on aliexpress... Funnily enough I never saw anyone use Rakza Z so far. I guess it is very similar just with a cake sponge, so better bite, possibly easier to drive with.

 

[Attitude]

How does the K2 stack up against the Rakza Z? Their topsheets are similar? I really like the K2, probably the best ESN rubber for FH that I seen so far. I wouldn't call it very spinny, doesn't have much bite either, but it still works well in most cases. It's not heavy either, doesn't shrink, very fast and it used to be like 26USD on aliexpress... Funnily enough I never saw anyone use Rakza Z so far. I guess it is very similar just with a cake sponge, so better bite, possibly easier to drive with.

Rakza Z is less tacky, has a higher throw, and is bouncier by a decent amount. I have serious issues with it not shooting way more balls beyond the table on my fh. I really really like that one more on bh.

I second that it is not one of the spinniest rubbers. But with proper strokes you can perform really dangerous shots.

On the setup with the k2 i have the Hurricane 8-80 on the bh, out of curiositiy i twittled some training session and tested it on fh too. Those 2 are more similar than the rakza z. The 8-80 has still a slightly higher throw, and a little bit more bounce (both not as much as the rakza z) but nearly the same spin.

Yeah it got a little bit more expensive at least for me (32€) but is still a decent substitute for the Hurricane 3.
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[Michael Zhuang]

Several training session and a tournament.
The simple answer is no. Even with the dust from balls on it, there was nearly no difference.
I mean i am capable of hitting hard, but the results remained sad compared to the other mentioned rubbers, which is why the GTX pro is no alternative for me.

Did you boost the GTX? I found just a slight boost of the GTX changes the rubber completely.

 

[Attitude]

Did you boost the GTX? I found just a slight boost of the GTX changes the rubber completely.

Nah, as i said before i assumed that this rubber isnt really suited for boosting. Maybe im gonna test it once more boosted we will see. Not sure if the rubber will survive this more than once though

 

[Michael Zhuang]

Why did you assume its not suited for boosting?

 

[Michael Zhuang]

Nah, as i said before i assumed that this rubber isnt really suited for boosting. Maybe im gonna test it once more boosted we will see. Not sure if the rubber will survive this more than once though

Yeah I tried putting the thinnest layer of booster I could possibly do, literally not even a full layer but just some spread, the rubber didn't curl up at all. But its almost as if the rubber just became lubricated by that. I tried out the GTX in practice after that, and even that thin thin spread completed changed the rubber. It became far more bouncy, the throw angle increased, and it was much easier to use. If I boosted it more, I think it would be even faster.

 

[Attitude]

Why did you assume its not suited for boosting?

Because of the porous sponge if that is the correct term. Usually these are to fragile to survive propper boosting.

But maybe i will try anyway i probably wont have a different use for it anyway

 

[Michael Zhuang]

Yeah because of porous sponge, i also just did a very very thin layer. But i think it can take on more.

Its porous, but kind of a dense hard porous.

Try it and let me know your findings.

 

[Attitude]

Yeah because of porous sponge, i also just did a very very thin layer. But i think it can take on more.

Its porous, but kind of a dense hard porous.

Try it and let me know your findings

Already on it. Gonna glue it on the 506x probably on sunday
Testing will be done on monday i guess.

 

[Michael Zhuang]

Yeah, this is a lot more booster than i did. Mine did not curl at all, but was just flat. How many layers did you do?

 

[Michael Zhuang]

Imagine if you take a wet towel and place it down on concrete ground then pick up the towel. That was about the same amount of booster i put on the sponge.

 

[Attitude]

Yeah, this is a lot more booster than i did. Mine did not curl at all, but was just flat. How many layers did you do?

2 layers of Falco Tempo Long Booster.
But you are correct how fast that sponge soaks in the booster. You need to be quick to distribute the booster equally. So a little challenge here but manageable.

 

[Michael Zhuang]

Looking forward to your findings. My ultra thin layer completely changed the feeling and bounce of the rubber, so I'm considering if I should put more booster on it.

Maybe your 2 layers produces even better results.

 

[Attitude]

Glueing process worked out fine. Ball test indicated way more speed. Even faster than the Yasaka Rakza Z which is a huge difference already.
Tomorrow i will see how it plays out.

 

[Michael Zhuang]

Looks promising.

 

[Michael Zhuang]

One thing I like about these Loki rubbers is that they have little marks on both sides of the rubber to let you know where to line up the edge of the rubber with the wings of the blade.

 

[Michael Zhuang]

Glueing process worked out fine. Ball test indicated way more speed. Even faster than the Yasaka Rakza Z which is a huge difference already.
Tomorrow i will see how it plays out.

Which is tackier? The GTX or the Rakza Z?
The GTX is slightly tacky, but even less tacky than rubber like Big Dipper.

 

[Attitude]

Which is tackier? The GTX or the Rakza Z?
The GTX is slightly tacky, but even less tacky than rubber like Big Dipper.

The GTX is definitly tackier. As i have stated in the thread concerning my bh rubber, the Rakza Z is a bit tacky but not much. It is not able to hold the ball for longer than a second. Actually in its current state i can lift the ball but it instantly drops after.

 

[Attitude]

Well i was quickly done testing it ^^
Speed increased tremendously, but with it the arc of the shots were completely off. It was way to easy to shoot over the table and down the line shots were nearly impossible. I am most certainly that is the case because of the lack of spin this rubber can generate. I tried different variations of topspins and all of them were way too easy to block. I can say that because i directly compared it with the Tibhard Hybrid K2 and the arc and the amount of spin were way better.
Same for in-match feeling.

So for now i can still recommend the Loki Arthur China for little more coin. You will get a way better rubber with it, that requires no boosting.
But not the GTX Pro

 

[Michael Zhuang]

GTX is definitely less spinny than H3 or Battle 2, but I don't find it to be unspinny. Maybe the trajectory is slightly flat, but I didn't find it unmanageable, and I didn't even think of it until you brought it up. Maybe I'll try it again today.

I'm surprised that you like the Arthur China. I haven't played Arthur China, but I tried Arthur Asia and Europe. Europe is rather heavy, and Asia is very heavy. Neither of them are very tacky, and neither of them are very fast. But they had a good feeling of control. They aren't particularly spinny either.

Have you compared Arthur China vs Europe/Asia? If China is similar, then I wouldn't find anything particularly special about it.