says
twiddle!
says
twiddle!
Active Member
I got my hands on a sheet of very interesting rubber from PROTT: Yinhe Jupiter from the DPRK national team. I've been using it on forehand of my Stiga Rosewood blade for a few months and thought I'd post a review. I'll compare it to the commercial version of Jupiter 3, as well as to other Chinese rubbers like Hurricane 3 and Skyline 2 (my usual rubbers).
Out of the package impressions:
- I bought this rubber in 40 degree hardness, but the sponge feels substantially harder than 40 degrees Hurricane 3. The topsheet is relatively soft compared to H3 and TG2.
- Package is sealed and rubber is very smelly, so probably boosted heavily at the factory. I did not add any more booster, and I am glad I did not. It is already verging on too fast.
- It's only a little bit sticky -- you can pick the ball up off the table, but it doesn't stick for very long.
- Matte topsheet looks very different from most Chinese rubbers. Looks and feels a lot like Andro NUZN.
- Black sponge looks very cool
Playing:
The most immediately noticeable thing about this rubber is the extremely loud cracking sound it produces when you hit the ball fast. The blue sponge version of Jupiter 3 makes a nice clicking sound, but I've never encountered a rubber that cracks this loudly. The cracking is accompanied by a very fast ball. The cracking happens in different circumstances compared to a well-boosted Hurricane 3 -- it happens mostly on flicks and slaps, rather than on loops. Even weak TPB flicks against slow balls produce a very loud crack and an extremely fast ball, and it's very satisfying.
This rubber is substantially faster than Hurricane 3 and Skyline 2. Not sure if this is because it's so heavily boosted, but it's retained its speed for well over a month. Its speed shines with flicks and loop-kills, so in this regard it is similar to Skyline 2.
This is still a Chinese-style rubber, so it's not very good for flat hitting. You can slap and flick the ball very successfully, but slaps and flicks must incorporate some element of spin. It's similar to Skyline rubbers in this regard, but the feeling is quite different. Flat hitting is better than Hurricane 3, Skyline 2, and Jupiter 3 blue sponge, but it's not amazing by any means.
Blocking is wonderful, especially against spinny loops. I give it 10/10 for blocking. Somehow you do not feel like you are receiving such a spinny ball, but you can hit it back on the table with lots of speed and spin. Passive blocking is easy, as with Hurricane 3. Active blocking is easy too, you just need to add a small amount of your own force and you get the loud crack and a fast ball.
Looping requires more precision than Hurricane 3, Skyline 2, and Jupiter 3 blue sponge. This rubber is quite spinny, but the contact time is much less than other Chinese rubbers when looping. Looping produces more of a dull "thunk" than a sharp crack. This rubber has much less stable looping than DHS rubbers, and even less than Jupiter 3 blue sponge.
I would split up looping into three categories: power-looping, normal looping, and slow looping. Jupiter DPRK excels at power-looping and slow looping, but I cannot for the life of me find the middle gears, ESPECIALLY when looping underspin. Against underspin, a my attempt at a "medium speed" loop usually goes into the net or off the table. If I get a long push I feel like I have to go for the power-loop response, because the medium loop doesn't work and the slow loop is too easy for my opponent to counterattack. The power-loop is pretty accurate for a power-loop -- even better than Hurricane 3 I would say -- but there are situations in which you want to just make a normal loop, and doing normal loops with this rubber is very unstable.
In the top gears, I think this rubber is even better than Hurricane 3. In the low gears and far-from-table game, this rubber is comparable in quality to Skyline 2 (you can produce similar shots but the feeling is different). Unfortunately, the middle gears are missing.
Even though this rubber is quite fast, I think it really shines in awkward situations and allows you to precisely put the ball back on the table when you're out of position. As a penholder who often plays at long distance, I really appreciate being able to pick up the ball near the ground and slow-spin it back onto the table, pretty low over the net. If you touch the ball slowly with power (like a big swing loop), you can get a prolonged contact time. Conversely, if you touch the ball quickly (even without much power, like a TPB flick) then the ball will fly fast and make a very loud cracking noise.
This rubber is really great for doing snakes. Good for creating lots of spin with a short contact -- more so than most Chinese rubbers. Good for swiping the ball when you're out of position. Easy to disguise the spin you're putting on the ball.
The trajectory of the ball is very low and flat -- even lower than Skyline 2. Very direct.
Conclusions:
It's great for the two ends of the spectrum: fast shots and slow spins. The middle gears are largely missing (or I am not skilled enough to access them). Well-suited for someone who plays a close-to-table attacking style, blocks aggressively, and lobs or snakes when they get pushed back.
I have enjoyed using this rubber and I will use it until it wears out, but afterwards I will probably return to some combination of Skyline 2, Hurricane 3, and Xuperman. I need those middle gears. I'd give it 4.5/5 stars.
Out of the package impressions:
- I bought this rubber in 40 degree hardness, but the sponge feels substantially harder than 40 degrees Hurricane 3. The topsheet is relatively soft compared to H3 and TG2.
- Package is sealed and rubber is very smelly, so probably boosted heavily at the factory. I did not add any more booster, and I am glad I did not. It is already verging on too fast.
- It's only a little bit sticky -- you can pick the ball up off the table, but it doesn't stick for very long.
- Matte topsheet looks very different from most Chinese rubbers. Looks and feels a lot like Andro NUZN.
- Black sponge looks very cool
Playing:
The most immediately noticeable thing about this rubber is the extremely loud cracking sound it produces when you hit the ball fast. The blue sponge version of Jupiter 3 makes a nice clicking sound, but I've never encountered a rubber that cracks this loudly. The cracking is accompanied by a very fast ball. The cracking happens in different circumstances compared to a well-boosted Hurricane 3 -- it happens mostly on flicks and slaps, rather than on loops. Even weak TPB flicks against slow balls produce a very loud crack and an extremely fast ball, and it's very satisfying.
This rubber is substantially faster than Hurricane 3 and Skyline 2. Not sure if this is because it's so heavily boosted, but it's retained its speed for well over a month. Its speed shines with flicks and loop-kills, so in this regard it is similar to Skyline 2.
This is still a Chinese-style rubber, so it's not very good for flat hitting. You can slap and flick the ball very successfully, but slaps and flicks must incorporate some element of spin. It's similar to Skyline rubbers in this regard, but the feeling is quite different. Flat hitting is better than Hurricane 3, Skyline 2, and Jupiter 3 blue sponge, but it's not amazing by any means.
Blocking is wonderful, especially against spinny loops. I give it 10/10 for blocking. Somehow you do not feel like you are receiving such a spinny ball, but you can hit it back on the table with lots of speed and spin. Passive blocking is easy, as with Hurricane 3. Active blocking is easy too, you just need to add a small amount of your own force and you get the loud crack and a fast ball.
Looping requires more precision than Hurricane 3, Skyline 2, and Jupiter 3 blue sponge. This rubber is quite spinny, but the contact time is much less than other Chinese rubbers when looping. Looping produces more of a dull "thunk" than a sharp crack. This rubber has much less stable looping than DHS rubbers, and even less than Jupiter 3 blue sponge.
I would split up looping into three categories: power-looping, normal looping, and slow looping. Jupiter DPRK excels at power-looping and slow looping, but I cannot for the life of me find the middle gears, ESPECIALLY when looping underspin. Against underspin, a my attempt at a "medium speed" loop usually goes into the net or off the table. If I get a long push I feel like I have to go for the power-loop response, because the medium loop doesn't work and the slow loop is too easy for my opponent to counterattack. The power-loop is pretty accurate for a power-loop -- even better than Hurricane 3 I would say -- but there are situations in which you want to just make a normal loop, and doing normal loops with this rubber is very unstable.
In the top gears, I think this rubber is even better than Hurricane 3. In the low gears and far-from-table game, this rubber is comparable in quality to Skyline 2 (you can produce similar shots but the feeling is different). Unfortunately, the middle gears are missing.
Even though this rubber is quite fast, I think it really shines in awkward situations and allows you to precisely put the ball back on the table when you're out of position. As a penholder who often plays at long distance, I really appreciate being able to pick up the ball near the ground and slow-spin it back onto the table, pretty low over the net. If you touch the ball slowly with power (like a big swing loop), you can get a prolonged contact time. Conversely, if you touch the ball quickly (even without much power, like a TPB flick) then the ball will fly fast and make a very loud cracking noise.
This rubber is really great for doing snakes. Good for creating lots of spin with a short contact -- more so than most Chinese rubbers. Good for swiping the ball when you're out of position. Easy to disguise the spin you're putting on the ball.
The trajectory of the ball is very low and flat -- even lower than Skyline 2. Very direct.
Conclusions:
It's great for the two ends of the spectrum: fast shots and slow spins. The middle gears are largely missing (or I am not skilled enough to access them). Well-suited for someone who plays a close-to-table attacking style, blocks aggressively, and lobs or snakes when they get pushed back.
I have enjoyed using this rubber and I will use it until it wears out, but afterwards I will probably return to some combination of Skyline 2, Hurricane 3, and Xuperman. I need those middle gears. I'd give it 4.5/5 stars.
