I know my kind of impact (how I strike the ball) and I am not great with a firm sponged dynamic rubber in most shot situations, except for couterlooping medium to fast loops... then I am boss... but have significantly harder time doing the other tasks I do more frequently. That is my FH wing.
My BH wing has a lot of variety of shots possible, but at the end of the day, softer dynamic rubbers, or slower older softer rubbers give me more consistency in landing percentage and my power shots on that wing do not lack power or control. I just don't get the same easy spin and control with the modern firmer sponged dynamic rubbers (think Tenergy, O7P)
That is a quick summary of my kind of impact that I understand about myself. I am basically a get it into the topsheet gentle-like and accelerate kind impact hitting guy... that means a topsheet with a pimple structure that is easy to bend pips/wrap topsheet around ball and a softer dynamic sponge (or a linear one on low/med end) is my sweet spot.
Understanding that about myself helps me select equipment that works for what I do.
I think this kind of understanding of self is important.
I have tried both O7Tour and DNA Pro M... I did not like either for my general FH... I did not like either for my BH... but that was ME and my opinion about what was suitable for my way of striking the ball.
When I am in person with someone in the club, I have them go through several different dynamic shot situations. I see how they open vs underspin slow, how they open fast, how they drive, how they push, how they do topspin to topspin at and away from table, how they block passively and actively. I see and feel what they did. I have them trout several different classes of equipment and rubbers and sponge hardness and can see quickly the improvement or degrade in quality.
That is how you I can get someone to realize the class of equipment suitable for them. Just about every maker has one or three of every class and some are equal, some similar, some better or worse.
Just because someone has a certain rubber on their sig doesn't mean it is the perfect rubber for them on that wing... if it was, why would the player change it? It is very well know what is similar to Rasanter 47... MX-K is the first rubber to come to mind with similar properties on the low to medium impacts. O7P is in a similar class, but a different rubber altogether.
There are so many rubbers and blades out there, it is literally impossible to test them all. If you understand the basic properties of certain blades and the rubbers, you have an idea of how will play and what is suitable for yourself or a certain player.
TTD member erm is probably the forums largest EJ and it is not even close - no one is even 10 times as close. That dude used to maintain an ARSENAL of a thousand plus blades... for years. He knows every blade maker of significance in the WORLD. He had the original makers RECREATE Stellan Bengston's old blade and gifted it to Stellan in Calfornia.
erm comes to the club daily with a dozen combinations of blades and rubbers and tries them ALL. despite that, he MIGHT have tried 10 percent of all possible combinations over the couple decades since he returned tot he sport.
He will tell you the same things I have said about equipment selection and probably say it easier and better than I do.
Since so many posts about equipment are fanboy posts or players inquiring about equipment that is obviously not suitable for them, erm had quickly opted to not get involved in discussing equipment. Why would he? Most folk would try to not believe him or get into a pointless argument... when they are .2% qualified to discuss equipment than he is.
Maybe I can get him to talk in this thread briefly about the concepts he holds important just to make it a public record for service to TTD members.
Stuff like this happens a lot on forums. (Professional TT people come on to talk, and quickly, the USATT 1200 armchair captains try to tell the pro they are wrong and what not) Anyone who used to post on about.com remember when Werner Schlager himself came on the forum to discuss an aspect, and suddenly, he met with a lot of baseless criticism? Then you never heard from him on the forum.
KB, I think you make an important point about the play venue... the floor surface, the sub-surface, the altitude, humidity, and the table itself (also the paint condition). They are all large factors and not so many players are aware of that and do not know how (or are just not intuitive enough) to adapt to them.
Myself, I was never good enough on my FH impact to use a tour version of any omega series rubber... on BH, even if I could make all the shots, my percentage and quality was simply better with a slower, more control oriented rubber. Until I ran into erm in California, I did not have half my current understanding of how to go about evaluating the different aspects of equipment.
