What makes certain rubbers so popular?

[TensorBackhand]

Why are some rubbers so popular when other seemingly equivalent rubbers are not?

For example why is G1 so popular?

Why isnt P1 popular, which I think is supposed to be a improved version of G1.

Why isnt stiga dna platinum popular? It seems largely equivalent.

Why isnt rakza x popular? Seems to be similar.

 

[allfj]

G1 Is the most popular because P1 isn't as praised as it, as not as many people use it.
Stiga DNA platinum is quite popular among tensor rubber users as a Tenergy alternative
Rakza X is just bad compared to its predecessors, If you're going to do something do it right, not half tensor half tacky like the Rakza X is

 

[Lazer]

G1 Is the most popular because P1 isn't as praised as it, as not as many people use it.
Stiga DNA platinum is quite popular among tensor rubber users as a Tenergy alternative
Rakza X is just bad compared to its predecessors, If you're going to do something do it right, not half tensor half tacky like the Rakza X is

I didn’t find Rakza X tacky at all, nada zip zero nothing. Rakza X is geared towards speed and at this it does a pretty good job…

Cheers
L-zr

 

[yoass]

Having played with G1 (still playing it now, have been for the last 3 or so years) as well as P1 — I could play with both, but G1 has "that feeling" of grabbing, chewing on, the ball then spitting it out a bit more. That feeling makes you hit confidently. Much like T05, in that, except that the sort game doesn't become a crap shoot.

 

[Brs]

Most people don't systematically test every rubber in a series. I played G1 for a couple years, I liked it. Never even had a hit with the other fastarcs, didn't care.

Popular rubbers stay popular by word of mouth and user satisfaction. T05, rakza 7, g1, mxp are all good rubbers that a lot of people like and can play well with. They are (very) old now, but it isn't obvious that the new-and-improved ones are really any better for average players.

 

[turbozed]

Popularity and success of most things are going to be unevenly distributed and over time the popularity of the already-established leaders will increase. Social media and discussion forums magnify this effect. Rubbers like G-1 and Rakza 7 are good rubbers that will generally work for most people without much experience of the alternatives.

Many people are coming from pre-mades or old-worn out classic rubbers, so these rubbers are going to be amazing compared to those rubbers. The more positive reviews it gets, the more it'll show up in top 10 lists like ERT, and then this information will be further spread by internet denizens when asked by newbies for a rubber recommendation. It's a lot harder to recommend a rubber with 3 or 4 reviews available on revspin, especially when the majority of players do not feel qualified to evaluate a rubber in the first place. So these rubbers become 'safe plays' by consensus, which winds up being one of the biggest purchasing decision factors when someone decides to drop $80 on rubbers.

When you start visiting non-English speaking TT communities, completely different rubbers and blades are recommended. Nobody is recommending TSP Swat as a first blade in English speaking forums, but it's apparently very popular for the Japanese. There are 3 revspin reviews for Yinhe U-2, but it's apparently one of the most recommended blades for beginners in China.

 

[SFF_lib]

I guess it largely depends on what champions use.

 

[Scarfed Garchomp]

Most players I see in person do not interact much if at all with the online community, so equipment knowledge is largely spread through coaches or players by word of mouth, or through retailer suggestions. A large group of players also just play with Tenergy or Dignics or the garden variety of modern performance rubbers like Rasanter, Bluestorm, Evo etc just because they are "the best" or "the most popular"

 

[kapahoo]

G1 is cheaper than most of the comparable alteratives. Not the other fadtarcs but the rest.

 

[OldUser]

Why are some rubbers so popular when other seemingly equivalent rubbers are not?

For example why is G1 so popular?

Why isnt P1 popular, which I think is supposed to be a improved version of G1.

Why isnt stiga dna platinum popular? It seems largely equivalent.

Why isnt rakza x popular? Seems to be similar.

Hype, only hype.

Fastarc G-1 is popular cos' the TT world has many japanese fans, or many fans around the world that loves japanese players who used that rubber.

It's the same for any other products in TT, and since TT is much more afordable than say... music, you get people playing with products that do not suit their REAL needs. As an ex pro musician, I can tell you it's the exact same: people pay for a ridiculous amount of money to get the same instrument as their idols, without searching for reasonable alternatives. Fans of Rush want to pay 4.000 bucks for the custom shop Geedy Lee fender bass signature, they play the same music, but they don't want to pay only 400 bucks for a Squier CV 70's jazz bass that will get them to the same spot.

 

[TensorBackhand]

I also see Rakza 7 is ridiculously popular and I have no idea why. It's not that fast or powerful, its not cheap at all, and there are many equivalents. Even Vega is cheaper and basically equivalent. In fact, why would 7 be so popular, but its upgrade Rakza X is not so popular?

Hate to say it, but H3 also is ridiculously popular for reasons I don't understand. Is it spinny? yes. but is it categorically spinnier or better than some of its piers like Battle 2 or Victas Triple Double or Jupiter? IMO by no means

 

[latej]

I also see Rakza 7 is ridiculously popular and I have no idea why. It's not that fast or powerful, its not cheap at all, and there are many equivalents. Even Vega is cheaper and basically equivalent. In fact, why would 7 be so popular, but its upgrade Rakza X is not so popular?

Hate to say it, but H3 also is ridiculously popular for reasons I don't understand. Is it spinny? yes. but is it categorically spinnier or better than some of its piers like Battle 2 or Victas Triple Double or Jupiter? IMO by no means

Hi Michael, I think I bought Rakza X and Z close to 2 years ago, and at that time I was kind of disappointed in both. The RZ is too soft for the FH, it is really only marginally harder than RX, if at all. Definitely not what the paper says. If I knew up front I'd go for RZ EH. Hmm, maybe it was not available at that time, not sure. I think somebody, perhaps Vrael, was afraid RZ is too hard - no, it is not, it is like 48 hardness, or in chinese, H38, feels not harder than BigDiper H38 to me.

The RX - it is direct, lower throw. At least at that time, even though I said I dislike it, I was able to recognize the top-sheet is nicely grippy cool topsheet, and give credit. But 2 months ago, I put it on again, after H8-80 H37, and I enjoy it a LOT! It is faster, it is less spin sensitive, I make less blocking errors, and in direct BH-BH exchanges the slightly higher speed helps, and finally in opening against backspin it is simply grippy enough. It is an excellent rubber, at least right now, for me ;-)

Why is it not more popular - I have no answer for that, I just think, simply because there is SO MANY, it is quite common that high quality rubbers won't be on the top of the "popularity list". Why is H3 so popular - I think it is special in the sense that it can make top-players happy, while making the non-top-players not unhappy ;-) You know, it is like F1 which in the hands of usual people behaves like Skoda (to promote it a bit ;-) ). And most other F1s don't have that quality.

 

[superbackhand]

what happened to your full detailed equipment reviews MZ? didn’t you know everything about those rubbers already? 😄