Adidas Tenzone & Tenzone SF Reviews

Adidas Tenzone max black on an adidas power fibertech blade

Adidas Tenzone SF max red on my stiga Eb7 blade

Tenzone Max Black

The Tenzone max black is a high quality rubber from adidas. when i saw the rubber for the first time i was impressed with its production. from the looks, the topsheet is less grainy compared to joola x-plodes' topsheet. i would say it looks identical of the genius' topsheet but differs in the pips structure and topsheet thickness. The Tenzone has a thicker topsheet than that of the genius. The sponge when i pressed it and played with it is medium hard. In the DHS scale hardness i would rate it as 38 degrees.

FH to FH & BH to BH drives:

Tenzone is very bouncy. The sharp and crisp sound produced when hitting the ball is distinctive of being an ESN rubber. The control is there but not its biggest asset.

Loops:

Tenzone produces a low to medium arc on both bh and fh. Tenzone is good for on the rise loop drives above the table. Spin is above average for both and fast loops and is enough to lift heavy underspin balls. during the first 2 days the rubber wasnt that spinny but now its very spinny after some time breaking in the rubber

Pushes and serves:

Spinny pushes are not hard to produce though you have to make some adjustments not to let balls pop up when making pushes but the adjustment is easy. serves on sidespins and underspins are average but fast knuckle or dead balls and topspin serves are very good due to the rubber's speed.

Smashing, hitting and counter loops:

These are the areas that this rubber shines. i think its built mainly for speed than doing spins. Topspins are easy for countering mid distance to far from the table. Its power doesnt diminish that much. Smashing is awesome coupled with its nice whacking sound. On these 3 areas countrol is very good.

Initial impressions:

Overall the Tenzone rubber can be labelled as a very fast with above average spin rubber. Its speed is comparable to that of Tenergy 05, Hexer and Calibra. Its like Calibra LT but a little bit spinnier. Its built for speed and it has lots of it. i enjoyed playing counterhitting and smashing with this rubber far from the table. Receiving spinny serves are good since this rubber is not sensitive to incoming spin. This rubber is above average in blocking also. I would recommend this rubber for advanced players only because this is not everybody's toy.

Ratings:
Speed - 9.5/10
Spin - 9.5/10
Control - 7/10


Tenzone SF Red Max

I decided to glue it on my stiga eb7 blade. this bright red rubber with the same topsheet as tenzone regular differs in the sponge hardness. The regular tenzone has a 39 degree hardness and the tenzone sf has a 36 degree hardness in the dhs hardness scale according to my estimate.

Fh to FH & BH to BH drives:

i love the sound of this soft rubber and its loud, louder than the regular tenzone. The ball sinks into the soft sponge and you can feel it through your blade. Control is above average.

Loops:

Using it on both fh and bh loops i would say this is a looping rubber than a hitting rubber. Slow loops are very good and when i looped with this rubber (pure looping) i found it faster than the regular Tenzone. 2 things in its arsenal are spin and control on loops.

Pushes and serves:

Pushes are very spinny with some adjustments. Serves are very spinny also. This rubber is not sensitive to incoming spin. Sidespin and underspin serves favor this rubber. Looping arc is medium to high. Its very easy to loop spinny underspins with this baby.

Smashing, hitting and counterhitting:

Smashing is average and so is hitting though this may come down to personal preferences since i prefer harder rubbers in smashing and hitting. On counterhitting and counterlooping this rubber is in the level of Tenergy 05 fx, Hexer ++ and Calibra LT Sound. Control is very good with these strokes.

Initial Impressions:

I love this rubber and im planning in keeping this. Its not as fast the regular tenzone but its way better in terms of spin and control. Don't get me wrong this rubber is still very fast and bouncy. i love the feel of this rubber especially when the ball sinks into the sponge. This is better near to mid distance from the table. I think i would describe this as a soft genius rubber with the good qualities of hexer and acuda s2 combined. I would recommend this to intermediate to advanced players.

Ratings:

Speed - 8.5/10
Spin - 9.5/10
Control - 7.5/10
 
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Tenzone is superior even far from the table. The power and spin are still devastating if you are countering far from the table.

here are some pics by the way:

10152011399.jpg


10152011402.jpg
 
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Good to know Yogi. I know the rubber in your hand at the moment is fairly new, but I wonder if you know about the longevity and durability. I must apologize for asking you all sort of questions, since the rubber has not been circulated around long enough for me to get the facts. And at the present time, you seem like the right man to answer these questions.:)
 
says Spin and more spin.
says Spin and more spin.
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plasmalight, tenzone is a lot better than tenergy 05 =)

Hmmmmm, I wonder. It seems like I have heard this before. I guess everyone likes different things. So, to some extent, better is subjective. But, if I see the top pros who are already using Tenergy start to switch to Adidas Ten Zone (I cannot help but notice how the first three letters of Ten Zone are the same as Tenergy) that will mean something. For now, if I tried it, I would be able to see if I like it. In the end, if it gets good enough spin and good enough speed, I am sure it is a fine rubber.

Tenzone is very bouncy.

I have to be honest, that does not sound good.

Spinny pushes are not hard to produce though you have to make some adjustments not to let balls pop up when making pushes but the adjustment is easy. serves on sidespins and underspins are average but fast knuckle or dead balls and topspin serves are very good due to the rubber's speed.

You are presenting information that is valuable here. My guess is that this is accurate. But it does not make the rubber sound that good to me. There are plenty of rubbers that are great for offensive loops but you need to work to control on short game because they are too bouncy. That is one of the things that makes Tenergy so good. It has gears. It is great for short and long game. Not one or the other.

Ratings:
Speed - 9.5/10 (Tenergy 64, Calibra LT+ are considered as 10 in my scale)
Spin - 9/10 (Tenergy 05 is a 10 and so is Baracuda and Genius)
Control - 7/10

I don't get it. If Tenergy is rated higher in speed and spin, and based on what was said about short game, Tenergy has to be rated higher on control, how would This statement hold up: "tenzone is a lot better than tenergy 05".

In any case, I would love to try them and see what they play like. I don't think a rubber has to be better than the Tenergy series to be a good rubber. And I don't think everyone likes Tenergy which is part of why there are so many choices out there. So, if there is another good choice out there it will be nice to know.

By the way, another rubber out there that I really like is Xiom Omega III and Xiom Omega IV. All the versions I have tried are good: Euro, Asia, Pro.
 
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After talking to my buddy Tenzone SF is supposed to be faster and spinnier than any of the Tenergy Series. It has an extremely high throw which is what makes it perfect for attacking service via BH flicks. It also is just as durable as Tenergy in his opinion. I've tried P5 which is basically the equivalent to T05 and less in price atm. I suspect that as the Adidas brand grows it will replace the Tenergy Market, but unfortunately that would mean driving the price up again.

@ Carl - I think his scales are a bit off. I've played with both and would say the Adidas brand is way better. I've not had a chance to test the durability, but from friends who have they all say they'd rather go Adidas than Tenergy.
 
carl, i think you need to play with the tenzones so that you can know what i feel everytime i use the rubber. reviews in the net can only give you limited info. if you have a chance to play with please do so and you will not be disappointed. also, the p series were designed so that people can have a viable alternative to tenergy rubbers. when they made the tenzone series it was a step above the tenergies. i have tried the omega series and yes they are good but they are not in the level of the p-series even. you also need to realise that there are rubbers that you need to adjust on the strokes to make a better return or there are rubbers that just come naturally that you dont need to change your angle or force to make a good return. that was the point on my review about receiving serves which on some rubbers would pop up and on other rubbers do not pop up that much and that is using the same stroke, angle etc
 
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Tenzone I'm told by our professional is the fastest of the Adidas series. Tenzone SF is what is going to replace T64 I feel as it has just as much spin, more speed, higher throw, and more longevity. I can't wait to get some. Joola USA will be the official distributor of the Adidas equipment in the U.S., hopefully I can get some info on where and when the rubbers will be available.
 
richard, why not try ordering from nwxy.com or iruiru.com? both are $60 there.. tenzones were not meant to replace the tenergy series.. the p-series are at the level of tenergy already. p3=t64, p5=t05, p7=t25.. the tenzones are a notch higher
 
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I just reviewed Tenzone, Tenzone SF, P5 and P7 for Adidas TT NZ. Personally I thought they were all great rubbers and I think Adidas is definitely a brand worth looking at. I'm planning to change to Tenzone on my forehand and P7 on my backhand with an Adidas Avenger Off blade.

Loved both the tenzones A LOT!
 
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says Where will table tennis be in the future? And what ideas...
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I just reviewed Tenzone, Tenzone SF, P5 and P7 for Adidas TT NZ. Personally I thought they were all great rubbers and I think Adidas is definitely a brand worth looking at. I'm planning to change to Tenzone on my forehand and P7 on my backhand with an Adidas Avenger Off blade.

Loved both the tenzones A LOT!

Yeh I've tried the tenzone rubbers they are good quality rubbers
 
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if u want tenzone with cheap price,buy it in indonesia..hahahahah...
in Jakarta tenzone about Rp.350.000,- about only 21 euro..hahahah...
 
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