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I didn't spend long enough with GA9 this week to give proper feedback - we're getting our juniors ready for an event this weekend, short on time, only had 1 hour to myself for practice. I will say Topspinslinger's impressions sound right - it's slower than GA8, around the GA5 area but less...

We've reached the Ma Long Chaos Era.

Can't blame FZD for being a bit distracted today. New Taylor Swift album dropped overnight.

My sheet of GA9 has arrived. Red, 2.0mm, 37 degree. 65.9g uncut, H169mm x W164mm. Comes in a sealed packet inside the cardboard wrapper, and has a sparkly piece of card protecting the topsheet. Looks nice, will give it a try over the weekend.

Had a session with VPH last night, early impressions are - although it's physically very different to the OG Vega Pro, it feels pretty close to what a slightly tacky VP would be if you had to guess in advance. It's spinny, bit slower than VP, high arc but the lack of pace pulls the ball up...

I do have some sheets of DNA Hybrid H here (for another player). The stiga looks to be a full-on ESN hybrid like Rasanter C and the rest of them. The Vega looks different, at least in terms of the sponge. Just going off the price alone (not a great judge of anything of course), I'm wondering...

No, that's not me. It's the curse of the Andy Smith, we're everywhere and are always getting each other's emails.

My sheet of Black, Max arrived this morning from TT11. It's very different to the original Vega Pro, so I don't expect "VP with a bit of tack". The pip height is tiny, the topsheet is very slightly tacky (like Rasanter C, Bluegrip etc, not like PK50 / Rakza Z), and the sponge is very...

I've ordered a sheet from BEO, always curious about new DHS releases.

I'll be honest - you can spend a lot of time and money tinkering and experimenting with rubbers which are "just not quite right". It sounds like you've already tried a lot, and I'm more cautious when recommending rubbers these days because I worry about wasting people's time and money. I'd...

We see the same issues here too Sedis. Local leagues mostly old guys, odd styles, late nights, have to wait until juniors are old enough to play in those conditions but by then some have drifted off to other sports. We enter teams into national cadet/junior leagues but they aren't held every...

Around the similar sponge hardness - harder topsheet (Rasanter R45), more top-end catapult (FX-D), or Omega 7 Euro perhaps. Aurus Select? Or a harder sponged...something I guess. If you like the soft topsheet feel, Omega 7 Pro, Acuda Blue P1, or one of the Nittaku Fastarc rubbers? So many...

I've been testing Vega Korea for a few weeks now (my season's finished, I get to mess around with equipment for a bit) and it's better than I expected. It has a feeling of "holding" the ball, with a forgiving short game. The middle gears then have a good level of spin, this is where the rubber...

I've had a few sessions with Battle 3 38 degree recently and really like it. I liked Battle 1 back in the day, but never tried any of the Battle 2 variants. B3 has less tack, a more lively sponge. A bit of booster and it would compare very favourably to ESN hybrids, unboosted would probably...

Yup, and this is what we do as clubs - we get a bunch of different setups and try to expose the juniors to it as soon as we can. But this brings the asymmetrical warfare aspect back in. Practical example with easy maths but not far from what actually happens - Let's say we have 5% of juniors...

This is one of those positions that I think seems reasonable in theory, but isn't a sensible position in practice. Lefties do have an advantage, and it is asymmetric, but that doesn't mean it gives the same scale or effect of advantage. Plus, playing left-handed is (generally) not a choice...

Yup, I agree with that. These things tend to reach a balance over time - people test the limits of the rules and the rules respond. For example, I agree with the need for the banning of frictionless pips, and also with the max sponge thickness for reverse rubbers. Within the current...

I like TensorB's description of "asymmetric capability", a nice term that sums up the frustration many players have when they encounter LPs in the early stages of their development IMO. Put simply (because what I take from this discussion - as often happens with this subject - is people love to...

They must be so used to playing each other, countless matches and untold hours of training. ML plays the chaos card.

Ordered some sheets of Battle 3. Used to love Battle 1, missed out all the variations after that, thought I'd have a try with the latest one. Was really tempted by some of the Sanwei 75 blades, but managed to tear myself away from the Buy button for now.