Viscaria with H3Neo and Skyline TG 3 neo

says toooooo much choice!!
says toooooo much choice!!
Well-Known Member
Jul 2020
1,755
1,192
4,409
Read 11 reviews
HI Thomas,

So you wanted to know how the Viscaria played with H3 on it!!
set up WAS !!! H3 Neo 2.15mm sponge mid hard, which I think is 40 degree and Skyline TG3 Neo 2.15mm sponge mid hard. Un-boosted.
I tried it out yesterday and today.
I had my first COVID jab on Saturday and was feeling really lethargic on Sunday, but I had a practice session anyway!!
Started off with the H3 set up, I found that both the H3 Neo and Skyline 3 Neo felt really, really hard on the Viscaria!! no softness whatsoever, FH and BH topspin were ok but way slower for straight line speed of the T05/T19 on the other Viscaria, spin was good but I made quite a lot of mistakes!! Both long and in the net!!!I put this down to the effects of the jab at first!!
Serving was average, pushing ok but I couldn’t get over how hard the set up felt.
For comparison I swapped over to the Zhang Jike ALC blade (which is similar to a Viscaria, if not the same but with a different handle!!) with Bluegrip C2/V1 on it.
Consistency returned immediately!! Softer feeling.
Today I gave it another go, same results, just felt really really hard, even though the set up is slower, I found it hard to control consistently after 45 minutes it hit the reserve bench and out came the ZJ ALC again!!
It could be that for a good few months I haven’t touched any of my set ups with DHS rubbers on them for any length of time during practice, and have lost the feeling for these rubbers. Additionally the H3 Neo provincial 37 degree and Skyline 3 provincial blue sponge on a Maze magic blade (that I have used as a reference for say 5 minutes or so) were boosted and this softens them up somewhat!!! Maybe my technique isn’t up to scratch for H3 on a blade such as a Viscaria.
Tonight the H3/Skyline 3 were removed from the Viscaria, pronto!! They are now being boosted!! Viscaria now has the RZ from the Acoustic (all wood) on it and that will be tried out over the next couple of days!!
Once boosting is completed I’ll try the H3/Skyline on the Acoustic!!

I was pretty surprised that T05/T19 and the Bluegrip C2/V1 both felt so much better on the Viscaria and considering that they are both generally faster and way more springy were for me, more consistent and controlled.
mind you the Viscaria has a reputation for paring very well with the Tenergies!!


80697568-1398-41FA-ABFF-9785A8258B20.jpeg
 
says Table tennis clown
says Table tennis clown
Well-Known Member
Apr 2020
3,315
1,763
7,133
most people would make the same experience when playing with un-boosted H3, The feeling of hitting the balls with a kitchen-cuttingboard and everything feeling slow is typical.
This is why most good players will say that un-boosted H3 are useless.
I am weird - I like to play them as they are, when I boost them they feel too bouncy to me 😁
 
says toooooo much choice!!
says toooooo much choice!!
Well-Known Member
Jul 2020
1,755
1,192
4,409
Read 11 reviews
most people would make the same experience when playing with un-boosted H3, The feeling of hitting the balls with a kitchen-cuttingboard and everything feeling slow is typical.
This is why most good players will say that un-boosted H3 are useless.
I am weird - I like to play them as they are, when I boost them they feel too bouncy to me 😁
When I first tried H3 Neo, it was not boosted, same with H3 Nat blue sponge, they did feel hard but I think because they were mounted on All-Wood blades the ‘feel’ was different.

 
  • Like
Reactions: thomas.pong
says Table tennis clown
says Table tennis clown
Well-Known Member
Apr 2020
3,315
1,763
7,133
Boosted with 2 layers of Seamoon, H3 Neo on my ALC Innerforce butterfly is impossible to handle .
The very same rubbers changed onto TSP Blockman II , one of the slowest blades on the market, ( Speed-rating 4) makes this a
perfectly manageable combo.

No surprise really, and it has nothing to do with quality of either rubbers or blades. I conclude that the better players can handle the fastest blades and the fastest rubbers and if one is like me a mediocre ping pong bunny most combos will simply be too fast to handle.
Ergo : Choose sensibly 😁
 
  • Haha
Reactions: thomas.pong
says MIA
says MIA
Well-Known Member
Nov 2016
2,132
1,090
11,017
HI Thomas,So you wanted to know how the Viscaria played with H3 on it!!set up WAS !!! H3 Neo 2.15mm sponge mid hard, which I think is 40 degree and Skyline TG3 Neo 2.15mm sponge mid hard. Un-boosted.I tried it out yesterday and today.I had my first COVID jab on Saturday and was feeling really lethargic on Sunday, but I had a practice session anyway!!Started off with the H3 set up, I found that both the H3 Neo and Skyline 3 Neo felt really, really hard on the Viscaria!! no softness whatsoever, FH and BH topspin were ok but way slower for straight line speed of the T05/T19 on the other Viscaria, spin was good but I made quite a lot of mistakes!! Both long and in the net!!!I put this down to the effects of the jab at first!!Serving was average, pushing ok but I couldn’t get over how hard the set up felt.For comparison I swapped over to the Zhang Jike ALC blade (which is similar to a Viscaria, if not the same but with a different handle!!) with Bluegrip C2/V1 on it.Consistency returned immediately!! Softer feeling.Today I gave it another go, same results, just felt really really hard, even though the set up is slower, I found it hard to control consistently after 45 minutes it hit the reserve bench and out came the ZJ ALC again!!It could be that for a good few months I haven’t touched any of my set ups with DHS rubbers on them for any length of time during practice, and have lost the feeling for these rubbers. Additionally the H3 Neo provincial 37 degree and Skyline 3 provincial blue sponge on a Maze magic blade (that I have used as a reference for say 5 minutes or so) were boosted and this softens them up somewhat!!! Maybe my technique isn’t up to scratch for H3 on a blade such as a Viscaria.Tonight the H3/Skyline 3 were removed from the Viscaria, pronto!! They are now being boosted!! Viscaria now has the RZ from the Acoustic (all wood) on it and that will be tried out over the next couple of days!!Once boosting is completed I’ll try the H3/Skyline on the Acoustic!!I was pretty surprised that T05/T19 and the Bluegrip C2/V1 both felt so much better on the Viscaria and considering that they are both generally faster and way more springy were for me, more consistent and controlled.mind you the Viscaria has a reputation for paring very well with the Tenergies!!
Hey IB,

Thank you for getting back to me with your impressions!

Sorry H3N and TG3 unboosted didn't feel good for you on the Viscaria. They're definitely hard rubbers, and it's especially felt on Koto + ALC. I'm on an H3 tip at the moment and the hardness doesn't seem to bother me on the Viscaria, especially on FH, I like the control in the short game, serves and serve returns (not by best suit) and I don't mind it being slower. It's definitely more demanding, and some of my FH open-ups go into the net when out of position, but the ball seems to stay on the table more for me. Chances are I will like it even more boosted, which I've yet to try, but will most likely get to in the next couple of months. I'm experimenting right now and digging it, but that isn't to say I won't go back to Tenergy, Fastarc or Rakza 7 on my FH later on.

I can tell that you like the new hybrids that are right down the middle, the Rakza Z and Bluegrips, while the Tenergys are definitely fun. With the Tenergys, you get that ease of use even it it doesn't necessarily translate into control or consistency. The new hybrids definitely have consistency, but I gotta say I love me a grippy topsheet 😁, while too hard a tensor sponge (50+) feels awkward for me.

I think you'll like RZ on Viscaria, and boosted H3N/TG3 on Acoustic, I also think you should try boosted H3 FH and RZ BH on Viscaria later on and you might like it! 😉

Let us know!

 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: latej
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Nov 2020
1,041
751
3,900
It could be that for a good few months I haven’t touched any of my set ups with DHS rubbers on them for any length of time during practice, and have lost the feeling for these rubbers. Additionally the H3 Neo provincial 37 degree and Skyline 3 provincial blue sponge on a Maze magic blade (that I have used as a reference for say 5 minutes or so) were boosted and this softens them up somewhat!!! Maybe my technique isn’t up to scratch for H3 on a blade such as a Viscaria.
Tonight the H3/Skyline 3 were removed from the Viscaria, pronto!! They are now being boosted!! Viscaria now has the RZ from the Acoustic (all wood) on it and that will be tried out over the next couple of days!!
Once boosting is completed I’ll try the H3/Skyline on the Acoustic!!

Any news? I hoped you'd love the boosted H3/Skyline :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: IB66
says toooooo much choice!!
says toooooo much choice!!
Well-Known Member
Jul 2020
1,755
1,192
4,409
Read 11 reviews
Any news? I hoped you'd love the boosted H3/Skyline :)
Hi Latej, good to hear from you!!
Run down below on what I’ve been up to!!

Boosted them with 2 layers Seamoon, but put them on the Acoustic, still felt a little hard, maybe could have done with a 3rd layer of booster!!!??
Compared to the H3 Neo provincial 37 degree and Skyline 3 provincial blue sponge (both boosted with 2 layers Seamoon) on a Maze Magic blade, the H3N/Skyline TGNeo feel harder and are slower. Spin is still the same, but when I used the H3 Neo 37 and Skyline 3 they felt great after boosting, felt softer, were quicker etc, I preferred these much more!!

Perhaps the boosting wasn’t as good as it could have been on the H3Neo/Skyline Neo TG, I’ve found this before with H3 Nat blue sponge, tried it un-boosted, then bought another sheet and boosted with 2 or 3 layers of Falco Long Term, didn’t really dome up, only felt slightly softer with little or no additional speed. Could be my lack of boosting experience.
I think this is also one of the reasons I’m happier with the ‘hybrid’ rubbers, easier!! But not because I’m lazy, because I can’t guarantee my boosting QA !!!!!
Also I’m not getting any younger so the ‘easier’ speed and bounce helps out.

So I’ve not really given them much table time, been concentrating on the Acoustic inner with Rakza Z both sides which has been used every day for the last few weeks ( other blades with Rakza Z as well for a month or so before, the Acoustic had Rakza Z on it before I slapped on the H3/skyline) [The Viscaria now has Rakza Z on it, and the speed increase was significant more about that later!!!!] with the ZJ ALC with the Bluegrip C2 FH and V1 BH for about 7-8 hrs and a Primorac with Tau 2 both sides, which has been used for 6 hrs this weekend, with the other blade and rubber combos used as reference now and again.

At first I tested the Primorac with Tau2 at the same time ( 2-3 weeks ago ) as the Viscaria’s with the T19/T05 & the H3Neo/Skyline TGneo & ZJ ALC Bluegrip. So both the Tau 2 and the H3/skylines felt pretty hard. Tau 2 is definitely quicker than the H3/skylines.

I decide to give the Tau 2 a longer test this weekend, and after only using the Acoustic inner recently it felt much better !! Much more bounce than H3 etc when I did the bounce test, but not as much as Rakza Z
Spin up there with H3 etc controlled and serves were good.
enjoyed playing with this set up, easy transition from the Acoustic Inner RZ, RZ is faster but a tad and I mean I tad less spin when serving.

I also have another Primorac with Donic Acuda S2 and Acuda blue P2 both 2mm sponge which I tested against the T19/T05 1.9mm sponge for bounce, the bounce test showed that bounce was basically identical !! I had a quick hit FH/BH topspin with the Acuda’s, they made a quite loud popping noise similar to the Tenergies!! Felt softer than T05/19.

Rakza Z on the Viscaria !!
RZ still felt softer, could still ‘feel’ some sink into the sponge but not as much as when it’s on the Appelgren Dotec or Acoustic/Acoustic inner. The ball springs off very quickly.
I played with it for maybe 30 mins a week or so ago, so not a long test, but it was fast, felt faster than the Bluegrip’s on the ZJ ALC and up there with the Tenergies, this is where the high throw could be an issue, a good number of balls were long, not by a lot, but I think the height of the ball flight may have contributed to this as well, I was surprised how springy and quick the RZ was!! Gonna take a bit of getting use to on the Viscaria, I’ve put this on the back burner for a while, I’ll revisit later!!

Regarding the Viscaria’s and ZJ ALC I like the blades, I definitely like the speed and way T05/19 play for drives and counter hitting, fast and direct, whether my skill level is good enough to use these blades properly, that’s another thing!! Okay for testing and as a reference with my robot, matches???

Playing with my coach on Tuesday, I’ll likely give the Viscaria T05/19 a go along with the Acoustic Inner RZ.

ha ha , too many choices!! 😀😂

 
  • Like
Reactions: mocker88 and latej
Top