What is the closest ESN equivalent to Spring Sponge nowadays?

[Tyce]

Hey guys and gals! As the quest for my next rubber combination has started, I find myself more and more intrigued by the feeling that Spring Sponge gives.
So I know that I would be fine just getting something like Glayzer, and have a rubber more or less around the level of C-1 and Rakza 7. However, I was wondering with all the copy/paste work going on in the industry if there has been any ESN rubber that emulates the feeling you get with Tenergy?

I'm talking about that longggg but controlled stretch, easy to engage the sponge, and that soft, yet clear feeling.

G-1 does something similar, but has a clear gear-shift and the effect is only there on higher impact shots
C-1 has a different sponge that feels too compact (in comparison)
R7 feels *very* close to C-1

(I might want to experiment putting booster on G-1, see if that "fixes" the problem)

What are the current-day closest equivalents to spring sponge rubbers?

 

[K.K]

for me butterfly always had a different feeling and if you like it then it is quite hard to find elsewhere. some other japanese produced rubber come close like nexy etika or stiga mantra series, you can try them and maybe like them even more, but they still have their own DNA. it doesn’t matter for playing and i find everything except the dignics series pretty boring… since you already play g-1 that is one of the best esn rubbers i would say: if you rely so heavily on feeling that you go the path of wanting to boost the g-1 better stop and buy yourself a tenergy and be happy and play

 

[Airoc]

I think K.K. is right.
There is a distinctive "Japanese" feeling, and then there is the Butterfly feeling.
It´s all hard to pin down, but numerous t05 players stick to their rubber because it gives them that particular feeling. Also, after such a long time, they know exactly how much of what to put on the sponge to make the feeling even better
The closest to t05 I have felt a rubber play was Evolution MX-D. Somehow between the recipe of the topsheet and the harder sponge they hit a certain mark. But if I´d say that in direct comaprison on the same blade is a different story.

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

Not going to argue on the feeling part because is too subjective but instead will argue on the physical property part.
The closest / logical choice will be Andro Rasanter series with Energy Cell technology. If you read the brochure, the tech is pretty ESN’s copy-cat version of se-pe-rin-ger se-pon-ji.

 

[latej]

I'm talking about that longggg but controlled stretch, easy to engage the sponge, and that soft, yet clear feeling.

If you like looongggg stretch/hold, try Andro Hexer.

 

[golden_son]

I agree that nothing quite feels like Butterfly. I don't know what it is, but then again if anybody did then Butterfly wouldn't continue to command their market share...

The closest I've found--and a rubber I really like--is Xiom Omega V Tour. I haven't tried Xiom's other carbo-sponge offerings from that era to know if they feel similar, but I could see myself going back to the OVT when it's on sale. (Currently it's around the same price as Glayzer, so I'm on Glayzer for now.) Rasanter isn't bad but doesn't really feel like Spring Sponge and they die quickly. Mantra Pro feels more like ESN than BTY; way better at flat- and counter-hitting than spinning.

the tech is pretty ESN’s copy-cat version of se-pe-rin-ger se-pon-ji.

FWIW, the romanization is supuringu suponji.

If you like looongggg stretch/hold, try Andro Hexer.

Interesting. I've had this on my list of possible BH rubbers to try, but always pass it up due to its generation.

 

[NetProphet]

Hey guys and gals! As the quest for my next rubber combination has started, I find myself more and more intrigued by the feeling that Spring Sponge gives.
So I know that I would be fine just getting something like Glayzer, and have a rubber more or less around the level of C-1 and Rakza 7.

Interesting
I would have classed the regular Glayzer above Rakza 7 for sure.
I might be wrong but I have the feeling that you are overestimating the R7 or underestimating the Glayzer here? Be interested in anyone's direct comparison here, it's too long since I played R7 so I can't remember properly....

However, I was wondering with all the copy/paste work going on in the industry if there has been any ESN rubber that emulates the feeling you get with Tenergy?

I have not come across a player yet who found a sponge to replace their Tenergy. Some moved to Dignics and stayed, some came back.

If you already like the Butterfly effect then I think you will only waste time and money looking for something like it and finally conclude that looking for a copy when you have the real thing was pointless to begin with.

 

[Tyce]

Interesting
I would have classed the regular Glayzer above Rakza 7 for sure.
I might be wrong but I have the feeling that you are overestimating the R7 or underestimating the Glayzer here? He interested in anyone's direct comparison here, it's too long since I played R7 so I can't remember properly....

I have not come across a player yet who found a sponge to replace their Tenergy. Some moved to Dignics and stayed, some came back.

If you already like the Butterfly effect then I think you will only waste time and money looking for something like it and finally conclude that looking for a copy when you have the real thing was pointless to begin with.

I don't have practical experience with Glayzer other than a few test bounces yet so I'm interested, too. On paper I would probably put it between R7 and G1, which is pretty much where I want to be. I'm also curious about Rozena so I might get a sheet of both and stick it on a bat.
I really need to visit the store again and just have a hit with the demo bats.

 

[golden_son]

Having played both R7 and Glayzer (and G-1), I would put both Glayzer and G-1 above R7 in terms of overall performance. They're all fairly linear, but G-1 and Glayzer have a little bit of a "steeper" line on the input-output graph, if that makes sense. You get a little bit more for your give at the middle and top end. I find Glayzer easier to activate than G-1/better for open-ups but G-1 has maybe the fastest top-end of the three if you can drive through it. (Despite Glayzer being harder, it often feels softer than G-1.) I also prefer Glayzer for serves, probably because of the ball biting more into the topsheet compared to G-1.

Personally I feel like G-1 demands more technically-proficient play. People take the fairly linear response curve to mean "forgiving," and I don't think that'sthe right word. It doesn't shoot as wildly if you hit poorly, but it also doesn't perform to its best if you're not hitting firmly and cleanly. It's a lot more like D09c in that regard than people give it credit for, I think.

Rozena I found OK. It's weirdly bouncy and slow at the same time. Loops are very safe but non-threatening. I like the arc though, at least on BH. Blocks are a little hard to control. I don't love it, but it does feel like Tenergy-lite as advertised.

 

[Archosaurus]

I think for stuff like this it would be really great if there just existed dyno curves online. At the end of the day it's a foam elastomer and a rubber elastomer, they will all have similar curves with just different slopes and saturation points in regards to a mostly normal deflection.

Spin and very tangent touch makes it more complicated because it depends on sliding and effective friction which is more difficult to measure at all, but not everything has to always be so complicated, you can just do things in a simple way to help with the complicated things.

I expect a softer sponge and rubber combo to have a smaller linear slope, a steeper progressive slope and a lower saturation point, while I expect harder to have a larger linear slope, a milder progressive slope and a higher saturation point. The question is, how much?

Combining dyno curves with measurements of how much people are actually swinging with their swings would be the cream on top. You could pretty objectively find a good ballpark range without experimenting too much, in terms of how elastic or how rigid you want it to feel.

 

[Ishmaelkhan]

As far as the 'longggg but controlled stretch, easy to engage the sponge, and that soft, yet clear feeling' is concerned, I would recommend the Gewo Inventus rubbers. However I do not know if they replicate the Butterfly rubber feeling because I haven't used Butterfly rubbers for myself yet.