Amazed by the low weight of the Palio AK74 rubbers... wow.

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I use H301. Palio AK47 Yellow is very much similar to Focus3Snipe , and is more forgiving. My BH was consistent close to mid table play. I've done great mistake switching that rubber to Yinhe Moon soft. It sucks and doesn't even come closer to the arc, flicks, spin consistency and bounciness of AK47 yellow. All I can do is flat punch shots and losing confidence lately when ever I lose points on BH. In lost hope, I think I'd give it some time to break in but would definitely switch back to AK47 yellow. Its one of the cheap (costs $10), chinese made best european clone rubbers.
 
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AK47 red (FH) and yellow (BH) tested yesterday, 1h30 training. The training consisted in games only so I got a good initial grasp of the rubbers .

Quick review (always comparing with MXP and ELS):

I'm probably going to be a bit hard on this rubbers, because of that, let me say that they really are comparable with other european tensors, even though a bit inferior.

So the first thing noticed is less speed (faster than any other rubber I tried at this price range) also there is more difficulty engaging the sponge, I had less margin for error and more brushing is needed.

receive(both): pretty good on push receive, didn't felt any difficulty. Banana flicks on the yellow version (didn't try Red) are little more difficult (comparing with the tibhar rubbers) because of the less catapult and you need to brush more.

Service(both): Good, both of the rubbers. Strong backspin serves, fooled some players with receives on to the net.

Block (Yelow): pretty good too. Passive blocks are tricky (less catapult) but I''ll probably adapt.

Loops: Worse than MXP or EL-S. Less speed, less control.

Even though they are clearly inferior to the tibhar rubbers, I really liked this rubbers and they aren't that inferior. They play pretty good, and amazingly good for the price. I really think that they are more than enough for my level. Any good offensive intermediate player won't need more than this. For advanced players, where anything counts to get that edge on your opponent, it's a different story...

In other words, I don't think I'm going to lose any game because of this rubbers, it will always be because of my technique and laziness.

I'm keeping them and I'm very very happy with the quality/price ratio.

Tiago Nunes, what blade do you use? Maybe you can try switching the yellow to the FH and get a blue for the BH. The blue is softer and has more catapult, so it is closer to european tensors.
 
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I enjoy these also mostly for the insane price (the ESN stuff goes dull after like a month, two at the absolute most but u can't play with it by then), and I love how incredibly low weight they are.

When playing with harder blades they're very easy to use, when playing with a softer blade you need more firm a grip if you use the softer sponged versions (blue and yellow), which I suppose is an adapation, but if you try that you'll get incredible spin from them.
 
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Tiago Nunes, what blade do you use? Maybe you can try switching the yellow to the FH and get a blue for the BH. The blue is softer and has more catapult, so it is closer to european tensors.

Thanks for the help hipnotic.
The blade is Zetro Quad. Yeah, it will probably be easier with yellow fh and blue bh but I will continue with the same setup because I know I will adapt eventually and I prefer harder sponges, also, I would loose a bit of speed and control on blocks I believe. It was the first session, by the 8th session I will be completely adapted, I hope :D (if, after a few months, I can't adapt no matter what it would probably be with the yellow and then maybe blue on backhand could be an option to think about).
 
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I am impressed with the speed of my Palio AK47 Red sponge! It is inherently less spinny than Vega Pro or MX-P, but it is really fast. The sponge is so much harder than the Vega Pro or MX-P, and it produces decent top-spin when you put a little effort in. Overall, very satisfied for $12. I think I'll try the yellow sponge next.
 
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First impression after fooling around with the rubber in my room so I haven't been able to really hit the ball and engage the sponge fully yet: I'm amazed yet again at the quality of my own Sanwei T-88 Taiji rubber (lol product placement, but seriously it costs even less than AK47), which I initially picked pretty randomly but stuck with it for the last 2 years. Palio is slightly bouncier than T88, has no tack (T88 is a little tacky), and it has significantly less spin - that, I did not expect. Always thought of my rubber as having moderate spin, after comparing it to a lot of different rubbers, turns out it has a lot. Please note that the spin tests were all thin brushing, hitting the ball on the actual table might change things still.

Anyway, while we're at it, yall equipment junkies that aren't afraid of dirt cheap Chinese rubbers: get yourself a Sanwei T-88 Taiji and stick it to BH side, you shall not be disappointed if you like to play with spin. For some reason it has a shitty rating at revspin, don't you get distracted by that. Here's a review that describes it much better: http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=11830
 
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First impression after fooling around with the rubber in my room so I haven't been able to really hit the ball and engage the sponge fully yet: I'm amazed yet again at the quality of my own Sanwei T-88 Taiji rubber (lol product placement, but seriously it costs even less than AK47), which I initially picked pretty randomly but stuck with it for the last 2 years. Palio is slightly bouncier than T88, has no tack (T88 is a little tacky), and it has significantly less spin - that, I did not expect. Always thought of my rubber as having moderate spin, after comparing it to a lot of different rubbers, turns out it has a lot. Please note that the spin tests were all thin brushing, hitting the ball on the actual table might change things still.

Anyway, while we're at it, yall equipment junkies that aren't afraid of dirt cheap Chinese rubbers: get yourself a Sanwei T-88 Taiji and stick it to BH side, you shall not be disappointed if you like to play with spin. For some reason it has a shitty rating at revspin, don't you get distracted by that. Here's a review that describes it much better

Have you heard about new version Taiji +40, with pink sponge? Sanwei is marketing this rubber for 40+ and tolerable (similar to butterfly rozena) but there are not many reviews out there. Let me know if you've any details regd this rubber.
 
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Have you heard about new version Taiji +40, with pink sponge? Sanwei is marketing this rubber for 40+ and tolerable (similar to butterfly rozena) but there are not many reviews out there. Let me know if you've any details regd this rubber.
haven't tried the 40+ version, we're still playing with celluloid over here :)
 
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I finally had the chance to try these rubbers. AK47 red on the FH and blue on the bh on a DHS H301. The whole setup was new to me but it was quick to adjust. The blue is perfect for the bh and i'm probably gonna stick with it. Drives are good, and it has enough grip for over the table fast spinny loops. However the think i most enjoyed was blocking, the consistency was great and was able to make passive or aggressive blocks with great control. Had a bit of difficulty against strong sidespin regarding ball placement, it requires some adjustment because the rubber is very soft and the ball sinks in making it hard to direct the ball. But they were still hitting the table!

The red is a little trickier. It's more unpredictable and less forgiving but still a great rubber. You have to go all out, otherwise the shot is weak. For such a hard sponge i think i would prefer playing with something tacky for a top spin based game. Maybe i will try the yellow, or something totally different like the Battle 2.
 
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I use H301. Palio AK47 Yellow is very much similar to Focus3Snipe , and is more forgiving. My BH was consistent close to mid table play. I've done great mistake switching that rubber to Yinhe Moon soft. It sucks and doesn't even come closer to the arc, flicks, spin consistency and bounciness of AK47 yellow. All I can do is flat punch shots and losing confidence lately when ever I lose points on BH. In lost hope, I think I'd give it some time to break in but would definitely switch back to AK47 yellow. Its one of the cheap (costs $10), chinese made best european clone rubbers.

I gave some time for the Yinhe Moon on my BH to break in but its worsened much. It has been two weeks already and I've to admit, never ever I disliked a rubber as much as Yinhe Moon. May be I got the old stocked rubber or the sponge quality itself doesn't suit my style. So, like I said, detached this rubber and replaced with Palio AK47 yellow yesterday. I have not started playing yet but I can tell, that few bounces of the ball makes me feel the rubber and the inherent softer spin. Hopefully, I get my form back.


 
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I feel the same way about the yinhe moon, the AK 47 yellow is much better. After 2 training sessions with the rubber on the FH i prefer it to the red. I think it is a more well rounded rubber and fits my style better, the blue on the BH is also perfect. I'm still gonna try the Battle 2 on the FH but i'm very happy with this setup.
 
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Yellow is really good for both bh and fh. With just 2 sessions I prefer it to the red but I'm going to insist on the red on fh for a bit more, maybe a month to see if I can adapt to the unforgiveness of the really hard sponge ( on the bright side, it forces me to try and brush more vs hitting the ball when out of position). For beginners and more all round players, definitely go with Blue/yellow sponges.
With the yellow, being slower, its harder to finish points, ex: when counter-looping, or far from the table, I can't seem to put enough pressure on my opponent but it's definitely easier to use.
 
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Tried the yellow sponge on both FH and BH on a 5-ply all wood blade, here's what I thought.

Speed: ​​8/10, it's fairly fast, has a slight catapult, but don't expect an exceptional firepower.
Spin:
6/10, very hard to give your opponent troubles purely with spin, on the bright side the rubber is also insensitive to the incoming spin. The grip is average at best, you can take a ball and drag it across the topsheet. If you brush thinly, the ball will drop off.
Control, consistency: 7.5/10.
Throw angle: medium-low.
Whom does it suit best: punch blockers will love this rubber. If you like playing close to the table and returning incoming loops with flatter off the bounce drives, try AK 47. If you're a looper yourself, don't bother.

Overall I think the rubber's no miracle, it plays about how its price suggests.
p.s.: expect difficulties with timing at first, the rubber is indeed very light and will easily cut 10+ grams off your setup.
 
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Tried the yellow sponge on both FH and BH on a 5-ply all wood blade, here's what I thought.

Speed: ​​8/10, it's fairly fast, has a slight catapult, but don't expect an exceptional firepower.
Spin:
6/10, very hard to give your opponent troubles purely with spin, on the bright side the rubber is also insensitive to the incoming spin. The grip is average at best, you can take a ball and drag it across the topsheet. If you brush thinly, the ball will drop off.
Control, consistency: 7.5/10.
Throw angle: medium-low.
Whom does it suit best: punch blockers will love this rubber. If you like playing close to the table and returning incoming loops with flatter off the bounce drives, try AK 47. If you're a looper yourself, don't bother.

Overall I think the rubber's no miracle, it plays about how its price suggests.
p.s.: expect difficulties with timing at first, the rubber is indeed very light and will easily cut 10+ grams off your setup.

Far from my experience.
There are many variables that make it possible for you to have such different experience from mine: It could be stroke mechanics, rubber+blade combination and many more..
But for me, no problem at all looping, flicking etc.
Both rubbers Red and Yellow are pretty damn good for the price, with good spin and speed. Comparing to my older setup (Mx-P and EL-S) they are logically inferior in that categories but I'm starting to like the fact that there is very little catapult, because this rubbers kinda reward good technique.
Take FH looping as an example, if I half-ass the stroke (no rotation, no power from the legs) then the ball will probably drop off but if you have good mechanics they won't disappoint. I have to work harder and focus more on footwork too.
I find that I can get really lazy with MX-P because of the strong catapult and the bigger margin for error. I can get away with using just the arm and my loops don't need as much sensibility because I don't have to brush as much.
 
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I find that I can get really lazy with MX-P because of the strong catapult and the bigger margin for error. I can get away with using just the arm and my loops don't need as much sensibility because I don't have to brush as much.
well, that's good rubber for you. The bigger margin for error is literally always better than a small one. All that excuse about 'rubber making me learn proper (usually people put "Chinese" here) technique' is just that - an excuse. Good rubber makes your solid shots great and your average shots somewhat dangerous. At least they land on the table. It will benefit from proper technique just the same as a cheap rubber, only it won't punish you for being late on the ball or half-assing the stroke as you say.

I'm 100% confident that Palio ain't spinny and it isn't down to my technique. I have a versatile BH, probably my best side, and can do anything from brushing to smashing and the spin just isn't there. Also my training partner tried it and came to the same conclusion. My blade is spin oriented as well. The reason you find the spin tolerable is probably because you haven't played with a spinny rubber in a long time and forgotten how it feels, whereas I transitioned right away.
 
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well, that's good rubber for you. The bigger margin for error is literally always better than a small one. All that excuse about 'rubber making me learn proper (usually people put "Chinese" here) technique' is just that - an excuse. Good rubber makes your solid shots great and your average shots somewhat dangerous. At least they land on the table. It will benefit from proper technique just the same as a cheap rubber, only it won't punish you for being late on the ball or half-assing the stroke as you say.

I'm 100% confident that Palio ain't spinny and it isn't down to my technique. I have a versatile BH, probably my best side, and can do anything from brushing to smashing and the spin just isn't there. Also my training partner tried it and came to the same conclusion. My blade is spin oriented as well. The reason you find the spin tolerable is probably because you haven't played with a spinny rubber in a long time and forgotten how it feels, whereas I transitioned right away.

Have you tested something cheap (up to 20$ on alie) that is much spinnier than that?
 
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Yeah, they are average rubbers, but i still think they are among the best chinese european style rubbers. Also, i think sometimes spin and speed are overrated. Control and consistency are very important to get the opponent out of position and i find myself making very few unforced errors with the blue on the BH. No, it's not the spiniest neither the fastest rubber out there but i think it's very well balanced.
 
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