Soft vs Hard Hybrid Rubbers! | andro HY-Q 42 & 48 Review

[TableTennisDaily]

In this video, Dan and Tom test the new Andro HY-Q 42 and HY-Q 48 hybrid rubbers to find out how they perform and which version could suit your game best. We put both rubbers to the test and compared them directly with the NUZN 55 across serves, topspins, blocks, counters, and finally a match at the end.

Do you use hard or soft rubbers? Let us know in the comments:

 

[merlin el mago]

Thanks for the review, what about comparing HY-Q 48 vs NZUN 48 & NZUN 50?

 

[Airoc]

Comparisons can go a bit wild, because the positioning of the rubbers is totally different.

NUZN 55 is the current top of the range product while HY-Q rubbers are more like a Hexer-type series of rubbers, aimed at a completely different type of players. NUZN 50 is also more high level oriented.

A comparison between HY-Q 48 and NUZN 48 would however be "justified".
NUZN 48 with its reduced power due to a different setup and price (not only softer sponge "FX version" for the same price) is less sticky and more "Tensor-like". HY-Q is more "controlled" for a more classic close-to-the-table game.

With such different properties, the question is not only whether you play hard or soft, but which type of Hybrid rubber suits your game, if any. There´s also Rasanter C48, which is stickier than NUZN, but more aggressive than HY-Q, different target audience again.

And you could go even harder and more sticky with Chintac, which is so much more sticky than all the others, but that being a Chinese type rubber it would also cater to different needs.

 

[Metaxa]

I think they’re brilliant (I already owned a HY-Q 42_1.9 and a 2.1) Now, two new pairs (HY-Q 48_2.1 & HY-Q 42_2.1) are on their way to me. I’m not quite sure yet on which wood we’ll put them on – my Novacell OFF-S or my TP_Ligna all. Or perhaps on a W81 ADC...

 

[Airoc]

I think they’re brilliant

Yes, very good rubbers.

 

[jonol]

Comparisons can go a bit wild, because the positioning of the rubbers is totally different.

NUZN 55 is the current top of the range product while HY-Q rubbers are more like a Hexer-type series of rubbers, aimed at a completely different type of players. NUZN 50 is also more high level oriented.

A comparison between HY-Q 48 and NUZN 48 would however be "justified".
NUZN 48 with its reduced power due to a different setup and price (not only softer sponge "FX version" for the same price) is less sticky and more "Tensor-like". HY-Q is more "controlled" for a more classic close-to-the-table game.

With such different properties, the question is not only whether you play hard or soft, but which type of Hybrid rubber suits your game, if any. There´s also Rasanter C48, which is stickier than NUZN, but more aggressive than HY-Q, different target audience again.

And you could go even harder and more sticky with Chintac, which is so much more sticky than all the others, but that being a Chinese type rubber it would also cater to different needs.

I did think it was odd that they compared to Nuzn 55 and not something like Nuzn 48.

Bit of a derail, but where did you find the C48 sits compared to Nuzn and HY-Q? I used the C48 but it was quite a long time ago and found it hard to control, but I was a very different level at that time.

 

[Airoc]

Well, the C-Rasanter series was the Andro top product when the whole hybrid thing started. At the time, unlike anybody else, they didn´t even use the term hybrid, but with the sticky topsheet and Tensor sponge of course it was exactly that.

I think it´s a bit like the product descriptions imply. C-Rasanter is the counterspin rubber, which implies a certain type of game. They probably thought NUZN is even better at that, and the pro players agreed
HY-Q is aimed at a different type - and level - of player. The stickiness provides safety on the first ball contact, for players who base their game on controlled opening strokes.
For me, C-Rasanter is more aggressive than HY-Q and probably harder to control because of that, yet I think control is very subjective.

If you compare all the 48 degree versions, of course NUZN offers less stickiness and more Tensor feeling. If you like the sticky feeling you´d probably go for HY-Q if you´re playing predominantly close to the table in a "controlled offensive" way and C-Rasanter if you have a more aggressive game that also sees you away from the table more often.

That said, of course, you can do anything with everything and it´s always a matter of personal preference. You might think these rubbers are too close to each other, but C-Rasanter is from a different time, the whole hybrid thing has evolved so fast, and it still has its place. I gave HY-Q to a friend who plays 4th league and hardly drops a game, and she didn´t consider it too slow at all (but will stick stick to NUZN).
So HY-Q is really best described as a Hexer type hybrid. It will give many people exactly what they need if they can shut down the voice in their head that says "faster, more, more, more"