calibra on clipper

says hAHAHAHA THANX MATE :D
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Azlan, I what is your view on the amount of spin the calibra can produce?

It's less than tenergy, that's for sure, if I can use tenergy as a reference. It doesn't have the tackiness of the Chinese rubbers. But if you have the right technique, good racket head speed, the amount of spin can be massive.

But what it has is the long trajectory and low throw when you're far away from the table. In other words, when you're far, you don't have to loop the ball very high to get it across the net. As a result, the ball bounces lower, which means your opponent have to dig up the ball back to you.;)
 
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says Do you guys have streaks where you are just not playing...
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Thanks for that Azlan!! much appreciated. I am sticking on a sheet next week or so when my acuda S1 dies and will give it a good go.
 
says Do you guys have streaks where you are just not playing...
says Do you guys have streaks where you are just not playing...
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Thank you O wise one... I will get a sheet of Calibra LT max for my forehand also. The only reason I was hesitant was because a few reviews were saying the calibras did not have enough spin. Clearly, that was inaccurate. I am slapping on some new lightsabres in the form of calibras!
 
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I would say, use Calibra LT for backhand on any blade. It's really good! :D

For me, the Calibra LT SPIN version is too soft.. But its about personal preference ;)

+1

Damned straight correct. What is medium-soft to me is hard as a rock to my club mates. My coach did a finger pinch test of my Calibra LT and Tibhar Aurus. She told me I am the only one in my club who can make any kind of decent spin out of such "Hard" rubbers. I can rip teh cover off the ball with either rubber used on either wing. I USED to prefer ONLY T05 and I mean ONLY T05 on FH with the TBS. Other rubbers simply never measured up. Aurus (just a touch softer than Calibra LT) and the medium hard Calibra LT are totally EXCELLENT on FH and work outstanding on BH. My BH has never been so picky, but my FH is worse than a finicky cat.

Some players need something softer to help them get the ball into the sponge to have the sponge help them on swings where there is less racket speed at impact. I say good for those players. it is a matter of choice and preference based on what you can do. After all, there is NOT only ONE CORRECT FH loop. There are many effective FH topspins based on what the TT athlete can do.

The order of hard to soft for Calibra line is...

Calibra LT Plus > Calibra LT > Calibra LT Spin > Calibra LT Sound

Although Calibra LT is somewhat firm, it still works GREAT on my BH. I have a lot of racket speed at impact on my opening loops and fast loops, so it si not much an issue. Simply use a softer version if your impact speed is less. The ammount of spin you create depends on a lot of things, (assuming all the basics are correct like positioning, balance, impact zone, etc) & prolly the most important factor in the ammount of spin you generate is your accelleration and timing that manifest itself in racket speed at impact.

I never liked Calibra until now. I had tried it on many of Nexy's new blades (his All+ to OFF - flexy baldes) at his HQ test room in Bucheon, Korea. Somehow, Calibra LT is not so great on a flexy vibrating balde on most strokes, except the power swings, where it was really sweet. Once I tried it out on our KFTTC Iceland national player's TBS ZLF (Calibra LT Sound), I was amazed by the same range of spins I could make just like T05 on all strokes. I got a sheet of Calibra LT for my TBS I have officially said asta-lavista, baby, to T05 until BTY decides to sponsor me. Calibra (and Tibhar Aurus as well) rocks! calibra is simply an excellent rubber for a fast and stiff blade like the TBS. I never used the Clipper, but isn't it hard/stiff as well? If so, Calibra would be a good choice.

Jedi, don't believe the hype of Calibra not having spin. It can make boatloads of it on the right blade. Like with any other blade and rubber, you need the technique to create that kind of spin.

Another thing to consider is the throw and spin dynamics. T05 is very high throw, but the spin is extreme. A ball from T05 goes high and comes down fast. (unless you take off some spin with your stroke) The extreme spin makes a very pronounced "Kick" that troubles opponents. Calibra LT is in the low throw mode of Bryce. The balls flies flatter, then drops sharply late and very deep on the table. The sudden drop and the excellent depth of your loop is disturbingly troublesome to opponents. You also pack a LOT of spin on those loops and there is also a pronounced kick. Both T05 and Calibra (on the right blade) are unparralled for this.

T05 is outstanding in counterlooping incoming topspin. The ball digs into the topsheet and sponge and gets thrown back out with a ton of spin and speed. Control and feel of the ball is second to none. It sounds great as well. The spin you send back makes logo paint fly off the ball as it spins towards the opponet and breaks away from him/her. The throw is higher and the spin brings it back down safely. you can swing with max power and still be safe landing the shot.

Calibra LT is even faster than T05 and has a much lower throw. That comes in particularly good use when you are coping with an incoming topspin ball. You do your power swing vs topspin with Calibra and a whole new set of dynamics is at play. You have an excellent feel and glue cork sound. The ball grips the rubber nicely and shoots out REALLY fast and LOWER angle than T05, yet it still caries a lot of spin that drops later, real sudden like. That low throw is a really handy thing to have when you have to re-loop somebody's T05 topspin that is carrying an insane ammount of spin. many other rubbers make you close your blade too much, thus making your possible contact more difficult. With Calibra LT, you can get away with a slightly more open blade that increases your percentages of landing. It is almost every bit as forgiving as T05 on relooping topspins.

The advantages of Calibra LT are 1) that you can can also easily re-loop topspin, even rediculously loaded T05 loops, 2) you can get a faster speed on the loop and 3) the ball drops very sharply very late very deep on the table safely. Those three things are every bit as troubling to the opponent as the same loops you make using T05.

For reference, Tibhar Aurus effects of loops are somewhere between Calibra LT and T05. Aurus firmness is somewhere between Calibra LT and Spin.
 
says Spin and more spin.
says Spin and more spin.
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Calibra LT is even faster than T05 and has a much lower throw.

So the Low Throw Angle is good for relooping heavy loop. How is it for attacking heavy Backspin? I am sure a solid player will be able to spin the ball over, but how is it for third ball attacks or playing a good chopper?
 
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So the Low Throw Angle is good for relooping heavy loop. How is it for attacking heavy Backspin? I am sure a solid player will be able to spin the ball over, but how is it for third ball attacks or playing a good chopper?

I certainly don't think a player like you will have any problems spinning the ball from a heavy backspin. As for quick attack, I find that the ball travels so much faster and deep, making blocking a bit tricky. But what makes Calibra so great is the low throw and dipping effect after the bounce on the opposite side of the table.

If you're trading loops far from the table, you will notice that your shots are travelling just a few cm over the net. And after the bounce, the ball doesn't kick as much. Instead it takes a violent dip. So, if your opponents are standing where they normally stand when trading loops, they're in for a big surprise. Most of your shots will not make it to them. They have to bend forward and dig the ball up, and it's not going to be easy to keep the ball safe when they do that (especially when the ball is travelling very fast and very spinny).:)
 
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I certainly don't think a player like you will have any problems spinning the ball from a heavy backspin. As for quick attack, I find that the ball travels so much faster and deep, making blocking a bit tricky. But what makes Calibra so great is the low throw and dipping effect after the bounce on the opposite side of the table.

If you're trading loops far from the table, you will notice that your shots are travelling just a few cm over the net. And after the bounce, the ball doesn't kick as much. Instead it takes a violent dip. So, if your opponents are standing where they normally stand when trading loops, they're in for a big surprise. Most of your shots will not make it to them. They have to bend forward and dig the ball up, and it's not going to be easy to keep the ball safe when they do that (especially when the ball is travelling very fast and very spinny).:)

Correct! I also find it easy to play loops against backspin with the Calibra LT :)
 
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So the Low Throw Angle is good for relooping heavy loop. How is it for attacking heavy Backspin? I am sure a solid player will be able to spin the ball over, but how is it for third ball attacks or playing a good chopper?

Quick answer, you can loop undersin with Calibra no problem, just like everyone did with Bryce, which also had a low throw. The lower rebound does not take as much effect with a grazing or near grazing stroke as it does with solid contact type hits. All good players know how to make minor adjustments, like opening the blade slightly more or swinging a little more upwards against heavier underspin.

Both T05 and Calibra are excellent re-looping rubbers. I already described the dynamics of each.

What was cool about T05 was its ability to drop the ball on hte table from height with heavy spin and severe kick and severe after-dip. That can be downright troublesome. T05 feel simply gives you the confidence to rip away on your counterloop and land it.

What is cool about any FAST low throw rubber with which you can generate heavy spin is that the ball is traveling faster with extreme spin. The lower throw helps even more to keep the ball low. TThe spin makes hte ball drop later, not because there is less spin, but because the ball was traveling faster. The heavy spin drops the ball deep on the table and the drop is very sudden. There is also the kick. It is not as pronounced as T05 as with T05, the ball is a little slower and more vertical drop. The kick on Calibra is still pronounced and also troublesome, especially if you added some hook spin to that loop for a hookshot. The ball as earlier described dips again sharply and hte opponent has to account for this. The opponent has to account for the drop and dip of T05 as well. Even on a T05 loop, the ball dips again rapidly and you have to read this and be in position as well.

It is just the properties and difference in bounce/curve/dip between to extreme spin rubbers with different speed. The player makes adjustments with blade angle. With T05, the throw is higher, but the speed is less and the spin extreme, so an incoming fast/spinny loop is slung out high, not at max speed, and drops in time, then does a space dance away & dip deal. The same ball struck with Calibra goes lower and more forward and faster, yet still drops in deep. In application, there wasn't a whole lot of adjustment to using Calibra for my loop strokes over T05. It is just that I can swing more forward and get more speed and still land the shot.

A US hall of Fame Coach is credited for saying "Spin is nice, but speed is King." Calibra fits this bill.
 
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A US hall of Fame Coach is credited for saying "Spin is nice, but speed is King." Calibra fits this bill.

This is right.. You can get just as much, or even more spin than T05 with Calibras. The only thing is that it's faster than T05 so that the spin drops later and that may confuse you oponent. One of my practise partners needs to stand one step closer to the table than I when we play topspin topspin rally. He uses T64 on forehand, and I use Calibra LT Spin.

In a couple of weeks I'll change to Andro Hexer HD, and I hope its giving me both the speed and spin of Calibra with the feeling of Tenergy. Must be super. Have had a few hits with it on a friends blade, and it seems just like that :D
 
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This is right.. You can get just as much, or even more spin than T05 with Calibras. The only thing is that it's faster than T05 so that the spin drops later and that may confuse you oponent. One of my practise partners needs to stand one step closer to the table than I when we play topspin topspin rally. He uses T64 on forehand, and I use Calibra LT Spin.

In a couple of weeks I'll change to Andro Hexer HD, and I hope its giving me both the speed and spin of Calibra with the feeling of Tenergy. Must be super. Have had a few hits with it on a friends blade, and it seems just like that :D

Hope you like the Hexer HD pal. Yes, Calibra is faster than T05 clearly with a flatter flight, yet I do generate a LOT of spin and yes, it is very troubling to opponents. Also, having to move closer to hit a faster moving ball deprives the opponet of more time, which helps you a lot.
 
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