K3 VIP? 59 degree sponge

[The0rigina1]

Saw this on a Chinese reviewer's channel, very interesting stuff

 

[TensorBackhand]

Saw this on a Chinese reviewer's channel, very interesting stuff

cool. Is this a new rubber coming out? or already out?

 

[golden_son]

59°?! I guess it's just a race to the hardest sponge now. Which will break first: the ball, or players' elbows? At what point does a rubber become too hard for a 2.7g ball to reliably compress?

TT has already evolved into a pretty athletically demanding sport; at this rate players are going to have to start doubling as powerlifters.

 

[Tyce]

If the sponge is rock hard, might as well make it thinner and save some weight if us mortals can't compress it anyway.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

59°?! I guess it's just a race to the hardest sponge now. Which will break first: the ball, or players' elbows? At what point does a rubber become too hard for a 2.7g ball to reliably compress?

TT has already evolved into a pretty athletically demanding sport; at this rate players are going to have to start doubling as powerlifters.

If the sponge is rock hard, might as well make it thinner and save some weight if us mortals can't compress it anyway.

the problem is, a lot of custom rubber specs is not for "mortals".
K3 extra hard custom has been around for a while.
this sounds more like the path of T05 Hard, where it was 1 to 2 years before they came out with a "hard" T05 or in this case "vip" version to mimic what some pros use.

again, this won't be for everyone and you would boost it still.
This would be for semi pro players who wants harder than the T05 or K3 of the world, if that makes sense.

PS. weight isn't a problem for pros,
and these brands do have charts of certain rubbers are for pros.
but the problem is, every amateur think they are good enough to use pro gears.

 

[Tyce]

Heheh you're absolutely right. I don't profit from anything beyond say 48 degrees ESN. I can just reliably engage a G1 and it's forgiving enough to play topsheet strokes, too.
Maybe it's time to invent a tester blade with software to help find fitting rubbers. I'm sure it's possible with a pressure sensor, accelerometer and maybe a sound analysis.

 

[Airoc]

every amateur think they are good enough to use pro gears.

At least they feel entitled to get the same stuff, regardless of the ability to actually play with it.

And then some expect a rubber targeted at pros - who usually change frequently - to be as durable as their Sriver of yore.

And so on...

 

[Airoc]

I don't profit from anything beyond say 48 degrees ESN.

Which was considered "hard" some ten/fifteen years ago or so...

Most people are not well-adivsed to go for a harder rubber and faster blade even when "they" do it "because of the plastic ball".

 

[rbtitco]

It will be interesting to see what is more useless for reg amateur players, this or zyre 03

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

Xiom released Omega VII China Guang with sixty degree hardness on the ESN scale some time ago, and yet how many pro uses such insane hard rubber? My last count = zero. Why would Tibhar go down this road, I question the wisdom of their marketing / research team.

 

[ivangle]

Xiom released Omega VII China Guang with sixty degree hardness on the ESN scale some time ago, and yet how many pro uses such insane hard rubber? My last count = zero. Why would Tibhar go down this road, I question the wisdom of their marketing / research team.

omega vii guang wasnt a good rubber imo. wasnt tacky and was too hard to engage the gears

 

[Airoc]

more useless for reg amateur players, this or zyre 03

My bet is on this. Being a K3, it will deteriorate quicker than you can say "longevity" and being sticky and extremely hard it will be very difficult to activate - so it doesn´t make sense in any respect.
That of course doesn´t mean that Zyre would be a sensible choice ;-)

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

At least they feel entitled to get the same stuff, regardless of the ability to actually play with it.

of course, everyone want to feel entitled. The entitlement is uncontrollable.

but pro equipment are heavier, and amateurs want lighter and I think that is a fact.
and the way the 2 playing level are night and days apart too.

you get quite a lot of pros using blades around 92~96gr, some even 98gr.
but I have seen that 88gr is maybe a ceiling for amateurs with many preferring 85gr or so

it is no brainier, the more hard or dense the sponge becomes, the heavier it will become.
pros want harder and heavier, so it is more solid and have the power when playing away from the table.
but these are for pros, so until you train like one, then maybe it won't be ideal for you etc.

and that is why brands makes softer versions for the wider scale audiences.
For anyone choosing the heaviest or hardness, then that is the "users" prerogative.

And then some expect a rubber targeted at pros - who usually change frequently - to be as durable as their Sriver of yore.

And so on...

yep, precisely.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

Xiom released Omega VII China Guang with sixty degree hardness on the ESN scale some time ago, and yet how many pro uses such insane hard rubber? My last count = zero.

you can't compare Tibhar hybrids to other ESN hybrids
Tibhar's K3 is the most successful ESN hybrid so far.

Why would Tibhar go down this road, I question the wisdom of their marketing / research team.

so you are questioning the winner?
what will you do when you challenge the last places. haha

 

[Tyce]

Which was considered "hard" some ten/fifteen years ago or so...

Most people are not well-adivsed to go for a harder rubber and faster blade even when "they" do it "because of the plastic ball".

I can't "nutzen" that NUZN.

But absolutely. The most anyone 3-4 levels above me needs is something like a Rakza 7, Fastarc G1 in terms of hardness. Even Glayzer is already cutting it close, but with everyone buying carbon blades, those do make it easier to use slightly harder rubber.

The upside of using a harder (not extreme) rubber is the sponge doesn't engage when you don't want it to. That makes short game touch very safe, close to what a Hurricane can provide.
In the short term, for direct results, that is good for us amateurs. But in the long term we don't learn to work with the sponge in a sensible way. It's only on hard shots.

 

[Yurifi]

you can't compare Tibhar hybrids to other ESN hybrids
Tibhar's K3 is the most successful ESN hybrid so far.



so you are questioning the winner?
what will you do when you challenge the last places. haha

K3 is the most successful one? not MX-P or Yasaka 7/9? I always thought it would be one of these ...

Xiom released Omega VII China Guang with sixty degree hardness on the ESN scale some time ago, and yet how many pro uses such insane hard rubber? My last count = zero. Why would Tibhar go down this road, I question the wisdom of their marketing / research team.

China Guang was 55 and was amazing to play with ... while it lasted. and it lasted about a month, had it for about 2 weeks on FH, then realised it amazing for BH, too and had it on BH for two weeks until it died (grip wise), so I boosted it, to see if I can get more life out of it ... but no ... it became an uncontrollable rocketship. China Yang was 60, but wasn't available in EU ... but yes, I do agree - I do not get it why a professional player would not use China Guang - it's ideal rubber for sponsored players, but then again - Jekyll & Hyde, which is even better rubber.

 

[Airoc]

but I have seen that 88gr is maybe a ceiling for amateurs with many preferring 85gr or so

Indeed, and with rubbers becoming heavier even such blades should better not be too head-heavy to start with.

 

[Airoc]

That makes short game touch very safe, close to what a Hurricane can provide.
In the short term, for direct results, that is good for us amateurs. But in the long term we don't learn to work with the sponge in a sensible way. It's only on hard shots.

Yes.
I hear lower level players praise their expensive hybrids because finally their service returns don´t shoot all over the place and their own services land shorter. But in active play, it´s only "fire and forget".

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

K3 is the most successful one? not MX-P or Yasaka 7/9? I always thought it would be one of these ...

based on my data of players moving over from H3.
K3 is okay and acceptable
the other Hybrids, no,

we had samples from a few brands with extra hard, and it was still not good enough.

the other rubbers you mentioned aren't even hybrids.

 

[Tyce]

based on my data of players moving over from H3.
K3 is okay and acceptable
the other Hybrids, no,

we had samples from a few brands with extra hard, and it was still not good enough.

the other rubbers you mentioned aren't even hybrids.

Not D09c? Or does nobody use that outside Butterfly sponsorship?