Andro NUZN 45 Review: A Controlled Hybrid Tensor for the Backhand

[victormanriquey]

Hello good TTD people,

A while ago I had some strong EJ impulse and bought a lot of stuff, you can see my madness here haha

Anyways, out of that community poll, the NUZN 45 and 48 came on top of the priorities list that was crowdsourced, and so today I have a fresh rubber review for you guys, this time the NUZN 45, and coming very soon, the NUZN 48 and a comparison of both.

You can find the whole in-depth review here: https://www.tabletennisequipmenthelp.com/blog/andro-nuzn-45-review

And for the TL;DR, this is that:

Category	Andro NUZN 45
Weight	Good for a hybrid, it's about 66g uncut and 45g cut to my blade
Sponge & Topsheet	Soft tensor sponge with a grippy topsheet. The little tack goes away quickly.
Spin potential	Medium-high due to the grippy topsheet and soft sponge
Speed & Gears	Medium gears and speed, it has a clear limit/cap
Throw angle	Medium high-ish, good for the backhand in my opinion
Drives & Loops	Easy and controlled, similar to other good tensor rubbers
Serves	Spinny, more spin than other tensors I tried before
Flicks	Good, throw angle is nice and dwell is short but feels okay
Pushes	Good control and spin, ball doesn't pop up much on short balls
Blocks	Very stable but works better with active blocking
Flat hits	Not bad, better than other harder tackier hybrids
Boosting	No need to boost it at all
Price & Durability	Medium-high price, around 40-50€, seems durable

Hope you guys will enjoy the review, this one has a little nice surprise in the full blogpost for those of you who may at some point want to buy the rubber, so check it out

Have a nice day, take care and thanks! Feedback is appreciated and welcome as always, feel also free to ask me anything!

Victor

 

[golden_son]

I'm especially curious for you to try Moon 12 Blue (M-) now, because your longer review makes them sound similar.

Are you familiar with other 45-degree rubbers you could compare it to? Vega Korea, C-1, R45, etc. (All of those are non-hybrid, but 45° hybrids are rare anyway.) Having recently tested the 8-80 Power, how do they compare in your estimation?

 

[victormanriquey]

I'm especially curious for you to try Moon 12 Blue (M-) now, because your longer review makes them sound similar.

Are you familiar with other 45-degree rubbers you could compare it to? Vega Korea, C-1, R45, etc. (All of those are non-hybrid, but 45° hybrids are rare anyway.) Having recently tested the 8-80 Power, how do they compare in your estimation?

Yeah I will try it this year in depth for sure!

About the soft tensors, I dont have as much in-depth experience on that department yet no, R45 I used to have, but I didn't like the catapult feeling, same with Vega Europe/Pro/X and similar others like Acudas, Rozenas, etc. They are good and have tried multiple times but just not my taste

And for the 8-80 power, different feeling for sure, Nuzn for example (but the other tensors are similar in a way) is lively and soft, highish throw, safe and controlled, you feel the catapult as the ball sinks into the sponge. 8-80 power was for me like a fast car without control, dwell and throw was low, feeling was hard and ball is gone before it sinks in, speed was there but achieved in a different way, more like with a very highly tensioned sponge, as if you take an 8-80, boost it and then glue it before it has flatten a bit.

 

[belllfador]

I was very close to ordering NUZN 48, but worried about durability. I am playing against people with that rubber. The initial level of spin is very high, and they can consistently lift my chops like with H3, but after 2–3 weeks they can not. Is it possible to prolong the "honey period" to more than 50 hours?

My new sheet Vega China VM is waiting for one of H3 to wear down, but the H3 keeps going strong for more than 100 hours. I will be happy with half of that with NUZN.

 

[myschhh]

I was very close to ordering NUZN 48, but worried about durability. I am playing against people with that rubber. The initial level of spin is very high, and they can consistently lift my chops like with H3, but after 2–3 weeks they can not. Is it possible to prolong the "honey period" to more than 50 hours?

My new sheet Vega China VM is waiting for one of H3 to wear down, but the H3 keeps going strong for more than 100 hours. I will be happy with half of that with NUZN.

I’ve been playing with the Nuzn 48 on my backhand for about 3 weeks (~25 hours), and there are no signs of wear—it plays like new. I liked it so much that I bought the Nuzn 50 for my forehand, and it’s a phenomenal rubber. Amazing topspin and countering. I’ve read somewhere that it lasts longer than Dignics.

 

[victormanriquey]

I was very close to ordering NUZN 48, but worried about durability. I am playing against people with that rubber. The initial level of spin is very high, and they can consistently lift my chops like with H3, but after 2–3 weeks they can not. Is it possible to prolong the "honey period" to more than 50 hours?

My new sheet Vega China VM is waiting for one of H3 to wear down, but the H3 keeps going strong for more than 100 hours. I will be happy with half of that with NUZN.

Yeah this is the same worry that many others have, myself included, so Im gonna keep on playing with the 48 until it dies on my test blade, lets see how long it last, I will keep you all posted!

The H3N never wears off haha I have vega china, big dipper V, C48, B2 and a couple others but the H3N is stubborn haha For now testing bluegrips also as well to review those soon, so far happy with the results as well

 

[victormanriquey]

I’ve been playing with the Nuzn 48 on my backhand for about 3 weeks (~25 hours), and there are no signs of wear—it plays like new. I liked it so much that I bought the Nuzn 50 for my forehand, and it’s a phenomenal rubber. Amazing topspin and countering. I’ve read somewhere that it lasts longer than Dignics.

Yes same experience, Im not a tensor guy, but Im really enjoying the nuzn 48, fantastic rubber, so it must be good

Lets see how long it lasts, for me in a month (lets say 45h or so) is still holding perfectly fine, will send an update soonish!

 

[Metaxa]

I’ve been playing with a Nuzn 45° on my forehand for a few weeks now (just once a week for about 2½ to 3 hours). My blade is an Andro TP_Ligna All Wood. I’ve switched from a Gewo Hype XTpro 40° rubber, which I played with for several years to my great satisfaction, but I’d like to try something different, partly because my age is starting to catch up with me.

So I’m now playing with a black Nuzn 45° 1.9 on my forehand. I have to say we’ve been pleasantly surprised. Countering on the table comes naturally with a low ball trajectory and plenty of control. Blocking isn’t a problem either, although I naturally have much more feel on my backhand, where I’m now back to using an Andro Hexer Grip SFX 1.9

The main reason I bought the Nuzn 45° was to make my topspin more consistent and add even more spin. To do that, I’ll need to tweak the technique I’ve spent years perfecting, as I’m still of the old school: a long swing that starts low with plenty of power and speed, and now problems with shoulder and neck...

That stroke now needs to be much shorter, with a half-circle motion, otherwise the ball flies too far. But once we realised that, I was able to generate much more topspin than with the Gewo-soft rubber.

What has happened to me a few times is that, when circumstances (poor body position) force us to play the ball with our old low and long stroke, the ball simply falls off the rubber and disappears into the net without any spin. Remarkably..., I have also observed this a few times with top professional players who play with a much harder Nuzn, where the ball lands on the table and disappears into the net in an unusual way, leaving the player in question staring at his rubber in disbelief.

All in all, an incredibly good rubber this NUZN 45° for me, offering great control and more than excellent spin qualities.

During the off-season, we’ll be giving Andro’s other new product a go, namely the HYQ 42°.

 

[victormanriquey]

I’ve been playing with a Nuzn 45° on my forehand for a few weeks now (just once a week for about 2½ to 3 hours). My blade is an Andro TP_Ligna All Wood. I’ve switched from a Gewo Hype XTpro 40° rubber, which I played with for several years to my great satisfaction, but I’d like to try something different, partly because my age is starting to catch up with me.

So I’m now playing with a black Nuzn 45° 1.9 on my forehand. I have to say we’ve been pleasantly surprised. Countering on the table comes naturally with a low ball trajectory and plenty of control. Blocking isn’t a problem either, although I naturally have much more feel on my backhand, where I’m now back to using an Andro Hexer Grip SFX 1.9

The main reason I bought the Nuzn 45° was to make my topspin more consistent and add even more spin. To do that, I’ll need to tweak the technique I’ve spent years perfecting, as I’m still of the old school: a long swing that starts low with plenty of power and speed, and now problems with shoulder and neck...

That stroke now needs to be much shorter, with a half-circle motion, otherwise the ball flies too far. But once we realised that, I was able to generate much more topspin than with the Gewo-soft rubber.

What has happened to me a few times is that, when circumstances (poor body position) force us to play the ball with our old low and long stroke, the ball simply falls off the rubber and disappears into the net without any spin. Remarkably..., I have also observed this a few times with top professional players who play with a much harder Nuzn, where the ball lands on the table and disappears into the net in an unusual way, leaving the player in question staring at his rubber in disbelief.

All in all, an incredibly good rubber this NUZN 45° for me, offering great control and more than excellent spin qualities.

During the off-season, we’ll be giving Andro’s other new product a go, namely the HYQ 42°.

Nice to hear from your experience on the FH!

I agree is a good rubber, and Im also curious about the HYQ and the new plasma, will test a bit later also!

And yeah, I think the 45/48 reward good strokes and timing, had similar experiences as well

 

[Doppelschlag]

I was very close to ordering NUZN 48, but worried about durability. I am playing against people with that rubber. The initial level of spin is very high, and they can consistently lift my chops like with H3, but after 2–3 weeks they can not. Is it possible to prolong the "honey period" to more than 50 hours?

My new sheet Vega China VM is waiting for one of H3 to wear down, but the H3 keeps going strong for more than 100 hours. I will be happy with half of that with NUZN.

OT: Very interested in hearing your Report on the Vega China in the Future!

Yeah this is the same worry that many others have, myself included, so Im gonna keep on playing with the 48 until it dies on my test blade, lets see how long it last, I will keep you all posted!

The H3N never wears off haha I have vega china, big dipper V, C48, B2 and a couple others but the H3N is stubborn haha For now testing bluegrips also as well to review those soon, so far happy with the results as well

Are you also reviewing the China VM soon?

 

[Doppelschlag]

Thanks for the fabulous review. Have you had the chance to directly compare it to the Tibhar Hybrid MK FX, that is also 45°?

 

[victormanriquey]

OT: Very interested in hearing your Report on the Vega China in the Future!




Are you also reviewing the China VM soon?

Yep! Vega china is on the roadmap haha I think second half of this year, im busy testing now donic bluegrip c2/s1/s2 and a couple others (big dipper, LAC, Rxton 5, etc).

Thanks for the fabulous review. Have you had the chance to directly compare it to the Tibhar Hybrid MK FX, that is also 45°?

Thanks! <3 I have not had the pleasure to play with the mk fx in depth yet, only tried it once at the club, i think it had a bit more catapult feeling from what I can remember but please take it with a pinch of salt, need to get my hands on it and do a proper review Soon!

 

[Kilogramme]

OT: Very interested in hearing your Report on the Vega China in the Future!




Are you also reviewing the China VM soon?

I talk a lot with victormanriquey. I am playing Vega China in replacement of the H3 Neo BS boosted. And Since I play it, i recommend it to Victor haha. It is the most chinese hybrid I know. Feels a bit like H3 NEO boosted, but the speed is consistant over months. After 3 months I changed it (I changed my Tenergy on BH, and i like changing both at a time, not once, but my old one was still supper grippy and tacky), I feel the better kick from being brand new. So I would say, the boost effect last, maybe you lose like 10/20% in 3 months.

Overall, the rubber feels like an easier H3. The Topsheet is softer, that allows easier spin generation on small to medium swing. Sponge is firm, but elastic. The Throw is a bit lower than H3 on Hit-brush top spin, but similar if not higher in brush only. On the 2 sheets I had so far, the first was super Tacky, even 3 months old, you could still lift a ball. On my second one, not that much, even brand new. But in game, it felt the same. Only downside, is the rubber gets dirty quickly, and the black color becomes greyer very fast. Looks worn, but it does play perfectly fine. The spin is really good, control, massive, power/speed very good, but like H3, you need full body engagement. But, more forgiving, and less exigent than H3. You can play it when you are not 100%, it won't be as dramatic as H3. And in real matches, with stress, fatigue or whatever, it helps a lot. Also, I feel it is much easier/better than H3 in regular drills, when you don't/can't put force action onto the ball. Like all tacky rubber, short game, pushes, and even chop are amazing and easy. Counter topspin easy, but still less than H3.
I play it on DHS Golden Hurricane Long 5.

I am looking forward to the review of Victor on the Nuzn 48. I miss the tackiness on my BH since I play T19, and I think it is too quick, to explosive sometimes. Also the throw might be to high for me, I tried Hybrid MK and LAC, with lower throw, I had more control, and less scared to put the ball too long on strong BH swing.
Also I am curious about the Xiom Tau 3 and 5. Vega China VM is almost 15 yo, and I am curious how 15y of R&D can have on a chinese hybrid. But very difficult if not impossible to find outside of China. I plan to get a HL5 copy, and glue Tau 3 and H8-80 to test a possible setup. But maybe the BH will be Nuzn 48 or something else.

 

[victormanriquey]

Always good to chat @Kilogramme

Yep, the vega china is waiting sealed on my backlog pile, I will test it this year properly promised! There are not too many opinions on it and I have not tested it in depth, so want to feel it for myself!

About the 48, review going live today! It will be very different than vega china for sure haha and i think also different from T19 for example, but maybe in a good way, T19 has a lot of kick indeed, and it's activated early, with nuzn you have that less

 

[Kilogramme]

Always good to chat @Kilogramme

Yep, the vega china is waiting sealed on my backlog pile, I will test it this year properly promised! There are not too many opinions on it and I have not tested it in depth, so want to feel it for myself!

About the 48, review going live today! It will be very different than vega china for sure haha and i think also different from T19 for example, but maybe in a good way, T19 has a lot of kick indeed, and it's activated early, with nuzn you have that less

I am reading the review, right now then !

 

[Doppelschlag]

I talk a lot with victormanriquey. I am playing Vega China in replacement of the H3 Neo BS boosted. And Since I play it, i recommend it to Victor haha. It is the most chinese hybrid I know. Feels a bit like H3 NEO boosted, but the speed is consistant over months. After 3 months I changed it (I changed my Tenergy on BH, and i like changing both at a time, not once, but my old one was still supper grippy and tacky), I feel the better kick from being brand new. So I would say, the boost effect last, maybe you lose like 10/20% in 3 months.

Overall, the rubber feels like an easier H3. The Topsheet is softer, that allows easier spin generation on small to medium swing. Sponge is firm, but elastic. The Throw is a bit lower than H3 on Hit-brush top spin, but similar if not higher in brush only. On the 2 sheets I had so far, the first was super Tacky, even 3 months old, you could still lift a ball. On my second one, not that much, even brand new. But in game, it felt the same. Only downside, is the rubber gets dirty quickly, and the black color becomes greyer very fast. Looks worn, but it does play perfectly fine. The spin is really good, control, massive, power/speed very good, but like H3, you need full body engagement. But, more forgiving, and less exigent than H3. You can play it when you are not 100%, it won't be as dramatic as H3. And in real matches, with stress, fatigue or whatever, it helps a lot. Also, I feel it is much easier/better than H3 in regular drills, when you don't/can't put force action onto the ball. Like all tacky rubber, short game, pushes, and even chop are amazing and easy. Counter topspin easy, but still less than H3.
I play it on DHS Golden Hurricane Long 5.

I am looking forward to the review of Victor on the Nuzn 48. I miss the tackiness on my BH since I play T19, and I think it is too quick, to explosive sometimes. Also the throw might be to high for me, I tried Hybrid MK and LAC, with lower throw, I had more control, and less scared to put the ball too long on strong BH swing.
Also I am curious about the Xiom Tau 3 and 5. Vega China VM is almost 15 yo, and I am curious how 15y of R&D can have on a chinese hybrid. But very difficult if not impossible to find outside of China. I plan to get a HL5 copy, and glue Tau 3 and H8-80 to test a possible setup. But maybe the BH will be Nuzn 48 or something else.

OT: Your impressions of the Vega China VM [XVC] sounds very intriguing. Since many (most prominently and cunningly: @victormanriquey) is very much in favour of using H3N as a intermediate FH rubber for developing technique, I guess XVC would be that as well? It goes a bit against the (older?) line of thought that too hard/fast rubbers are not beginner/intermediate friendly, rather you should start as soft as possbiel and go up from there. But I guess, if you just take care and have a slow blade, it is the same as using H3N?

 

[victormanriquey]

OT: Your impressions of the Vega China VM [XVC] sounds very intriguing. Since many (most prominently and cunningly: @victormanriquey) is very much in favour of using H3N as a intermediate FH rubber for developing technique, I guess XVC would be that as well? It goes a bit against the (older?) line of thought that too hard/fast rubbers are not beginner/intermediate friendly, rather you should start as soft as possbiel and go up from there. But I guess, if you just take care and have a slow blade, it is the same as using H3N?

I will try XVC properly soonish, its waiting in the package at home and im itching to give it a deep dive, then I can tell you more, but I had this H3N boosted feeling last time, so I guess it will be similar

And yes my opinions are a bit against the mainstream, I know, I just dont like soft rubbers But beware, I dont recommend H3N for beginners, for me its more from intermediate up, and low intermediates is risky.

And yeah, with H3N and any other hard rubber, a softer/flexy blade is always a better combination

 

[Kilogramme]

OT: Your impressions of the Vega China VM [XVC] sounds very intriguing. Since many (most prominently and cunningly: @victormanriquey) is very much in favour of using H3N as a intermediate FH rubber for developing technique, I guess XVC would be that as well? It goes a bit against the (older?) line of thought that too hard/fast rubbers are not beginner/intermediate friendly, rather you should start as soft as possbiel and go up from there. But I guess, if you just take care and have a slow blade, it is the same as using H3N?

I used H3N BS boosted for 5 years prior to XVC. If you are an intermediate, H3 boosted is a very good school. I would say, if you are not in a hurrry and want to develop good technic first. Go for H3. I felt that i was hitting a plateau with the H3, and for some mysterious reason, I changed my BH rubber, and the FH (H3) felt different, not that good. Anyway, I switched to XVC, because it is a bit easier. Less spinny, but I do less mistakes, which led to less point loss, hence, my level improved. I tell you that, because I play number 280 female player in my country in training (For exemple, if she was not french, but played for Cambogiashe would be number 1, and elligible for World Cup.). She has a way better ranking than me, and a style that is hard for me. I beated her 1 time since I switched to XVC. The guys that have the same level as her, I am more confortable to play against them, but switching to XVC, helped me a lot in rallies. Because H3 i was really good on first 3 balls, but then I was far off. And at that level, my serve and 3rd ball are less deadly, so i need to keep up more in rallye. And XVC helps me there.

I guess we are going away from the Nuzn 45 topic. If you want more info on the XVC, tag me on the appropriate topic or DM me.

 

[victormanriquey]

I used H3N BS boosted for 5 years prior to XVC. If you are an intermediate, H3 boosted is a very good school. I would say, if you are not in a hurrry and want to develop good technic first. Go for H3. I felt that i was hitting a plateau with the H3, and for some mysterious reason, I changed my BH rubber, and the FH (H3) felt different, not that good. Anyway, I switched to XVC, because it is a bit easier. Less spinny, but I do less mistakes, which led to less point loss, hence, my level improved. I tell you that, because I play number 280 female player in my country in training (For exemple, if she was not french, but played for Cambogiashe would be number 1, and elligible for World Cup.). She has a way better ranking than me, and a style that is hard for me. I beated her 1 time since I switched to XVC. The guys that have the same level as her, I am more confortable to play against them, but switching to XVC, helped me a lot in rallies. Because H3 i was really good on first 3 balls, but then I was far off. And at that level, my serve and 3rd ball are less deadly, so i need to keep up more in rallye. And XVC helps me there.

I guess we are going away from the Nuzn 45 topic. If you want more info on the XVC, tag me on the appropriate topic or DM me.

haha a bit yes! But it was a good story to read @Kilogramme !

I cant wait to test XVC in depth for a month at least!

And yeah, let's bring it back to NUZN 45 if others have questions

 

[NoSpin]

And yeah, let's bring it back to NUZN 45 if others have questions

Can you or some1 else compare it to Fastarc C-1?