Hybrid rubbers how close to Tacky Chinese or Grippy ESN spring sponge?

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Hmm, probably the most linear of them all is the K2. It comes with a very dense sponge, it has 0 pores. However it is quite a fast rubber. Super linear and stable but maybe it's not the best of these in touch play.

In touch play the Rakza Z, Golden Tango PS are super good (probably the K1 too), however they are not linear. They hold the ball back which is why they are so good over the table. Unfortunately if you start hitting hard you can feel them holding the ball back even more. So if you wanna use these you need a fast blade. I guess a Viscaria caliber blade which you have is the minimum. These are quite heavy rubbers too 53-4g cut, while K2 is 49g.

I would avoid the new C-touch rubbers, their durability is appalling. At least C2 and Dragon Grip are, and I seen someone post K3 pics here and that looked like a bad joke. Also the C2 and Dragon Grip slip the ball (Joola Flash).

Just to offer some balance on this - I have two sheets of K3 in use and one is 3 months old and well used and is showing no meaningful signs of age or performance drop off.

 
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Which is the best for short game (excluding the obvious Chinese ones… DHS nittaku stuff..) while still having a linear but easy to use feeling?

Don't know if they are the best hybrid rubbers for the short game but the Gewo Codexx EL Pro 52 behave linear. Quite heavy. 52g and 54g for 2.0mm cut to 157mm x 150mm. Less bouncy and lower throwing than a Rakza Z.
Still prefer boosted Hurricane 3 because these hybrid rubbers don't have any advantages for my playing style.

 

ZFT

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ZFT

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Best short game rubber you can get is anti spin with dampening sponge, but then people complain you can’t attack or spin with it 🤷🏻

So actually the best is to develop the hand feeling through repetition of using the same equipment to make the necessary micro adjustments at the moment spin bites into your rubber over the table.
 
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Could you compare K1 K2 K3?

K3 seems really appealing because it's so popular.

I forgot to mention that I wanted something not so bouncy which should help with pushing over the table. The worst thing I want to happen is if I buy a new sheet of rubber for $50 dollars and then find out that you need to be super delicate with it in the short game.
 
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I confirm the poor durability of the topsheet of the K3. It shows sings after a month already. Even tho doesn’t seem to affect the performance.
the picture was taken after roughly a month of intense using.

to the creator of the this thread, since this is a very nice one, I’d suggest to update the first post with the full list!
 
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Are there any of these available with thinner sponge than 1.9/2.0? I really like the Rakza Z but would like a thinner (and lighter) sponge for my backhand. Any suggestions? A Rakza Z 1.7 or something like that would be ideal.
 
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Just leaving some info on Xiom J&H Z52.5 here so the list at the beginning of the thread can be updated.

Xiom J&H Z52.5 is a hybrid rubber and does have a slightly tacky topsheet, but I would say it is less tacky compared to Xiom Omega VII China Guang. I haven't tried a new sheet Dignics 09c in some time, but from what I recall J&H Z52.5 is around the same level of tackiness. I will try to find someone with a fresh sheet of Dignics 09c to compare.

Also, the topsheet of J&H Z52.2 feels thicker compared to other Xiom rubbers I have tried. I found Omega VII China Guang to play softer than what one would expect but Z52.5 seems to play a bit harder, at least in terms of feel.

I have not played enough with Z52.5 to give my complete thoughts, but just wanted to point out some things I noticed.
 

mil

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mil

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Don't know if they are the best hybrid rubbers for the short game but the Gewo Codexx EL Pro 52 behave linear. Quite heavy. 52g and 54g for 2.0mm cut to 157mm x 150mm. Less bouncy and lower throwing than a Rakza Z.
Still prefer boosted Hurricane 3 because these hybrid rubbers don't have any advantages for my playing style.

Interesting notice - can you compare Codexx EL Pro 52 to Rakza Z in terms of hardness and feel and speed? - I/and everybody else who has tried it in our club/ find the normal Rakza Z to feel "relatively soft", easy to play, spinny, but lacking speed. Is the Codexx EL Pro 52 similar but slightly faster?

I want to stay with sticky rubbers but cannot find the right setup /I do not boost/ - ZGR, C2 and Rakza Z EH are too hard, even heavier and difficult to play/topspin for me. Rakza Z is too brave. I would need something inbetween. The ZGX /53 degrees/ does not seem to work, probably due to the long thin pips structure - I think it is a rubber for half distance, not close to the table play.
 
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