Hybrid rubbers

This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Member
Sep 2018
125
18
154
Hey all,

I was wondering if any 52.5° (or about) hybrid rubbers exist. I know of a lot of 50 and 55° rubbers. My question comes from the following: ive played with d09c and when i hit the ball perfectly this rubber is the best ive ever played with, it feels very satisfying. However if you dont engage the sponge enough it will end in the net. Ive also tried bluegrip r1 which is very easy to open up with and very forgiving. However, the real hard finishers are difficult because the rubber is a lot slower. Therefore i was looking for a 52,5° rubber to (hopefully) get the best of both worlds. The thing is though, i dont know any 52,5° rubbers. The ones i do know are either 50 or 55. (Note, im not looking at Chinese rubbers. Ive had h3n commercial and didn't like it too much. )

50°:
Rakza z
Zieker pk50
Bluegrip R1
tibhar hybrid K1
One of the new victas rubbers
Stiga Genesis II

55°
Rakza z eh
D09c
Bluegrip V1
Gluegrip C1
Xiom China
The other victas rubber
Joola golden tango
 
Last edited:
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Member
Sep 2018
125
18
154

@yogi @ Rin Those rubbers are all 55 degrees, im looking for something in the 52.5 range.

@Darkmoor1 I know different rubbers behave in a different way, however the thing i have problems with is the dwell time. When i contact the ball with D09c a little off it easily hits the net because i dont lift it enough, where this is a lot easier with R1 since it is 5 degrees softer, gives more dwell time and therefore makes it easier to loop the ball.
I find the R1 rubber also to be quite a lot slower, and i think most rubbers with 52.5 degrees would be faster than the R1. Ill take a look at the tibhar hybrid you mentioned!​​​​​​

 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
May 2013
1,056
889
2,578
Read 2 reviews
It is just not that simple, that any rubber with the hardness of 52,5 will fall between Blue grip R1 and D09c. Tibhar K1+, or it is K2, allegedly has the sponge with 52,5 degree hardness, but don't expect it to perform like the two you have mentioned.

The back of K2's package says its hardness is 54.

 

@yogi @ Rin Those rubbers are all 55 degrees, im looking for something in the 52.5 range.

@Darkmoor1 I know different rubbers behave in a different way, however the thing i have problems with is the dwell time. When i contact the ball with D09c a little off it easily hits the net because i dont lift it enough, where this is a lot easier with R1 since it is 5 degrees softer, gives more dwell time and therefore makes it easier to loop the ball.
I find the R1 rubber also to be quite a lot slower, and i think most rubbers with 52.5 degrees would be faster than the R1. Ill take a look at the tibhar hybrid you mentioned!​​​​​​

It is indeed also the topsheet besides the sponge that affects dwell time. And you have more or less dynamic sponge of the same hardness, rubbers of the same hardness can have a different 'throw angle', so.. if you, for example,.compare Big Dipper 39 deg with Battle 2 39 deg, the result shows a lot of difference indeed.

 

It is indeed also the topsheet besides the sponge that affects dwell time. And you have more or less dynamic sponge of the same hardness, rubbers of the same hardness can have a different 'throw angle', so.. if you, for example,.compare Big Dipper 39 deg with Battle 2 39 deg, the result shows a lot of difference indeed.

As yogi mentioned her,.you should try Rakza Z Extra Hard; it comes very close to d09c in how it plays; not sure if it is easier to spin with it

 
says toooooo much choice!!
says toooooo much choice!!
Well-Known Member
Jul 2020
1,755
1,192
4,409
Read 11 reviews
R53 has the sort of sponge hardness you are looking for, but no tackiness!! You can feel the ball seem to dwell longer because of the softer thin top sheet.
I found it less controllable than D09C but it felt better when looping. Flatter hits and drives are real crisp with these 2, but R53 just scrapes it as tad better!!

Loki Arthur Asia or Europe rubbers are also pretty good, sponge hardness is not listed in degrees, but as ‘hard’ or ‘very hard’ reasonable tackiness, more than D09C, similar to Rakza Z,
feel slightly softer than D09C but maybe a little harder than Rakza Z, for me not as quick as D09C or Rakza Z. Good spin levels.

I definitely think Rakza Z will have that softer feel and feel like there’s more dwell, not used the EH version but the top sheet will be the same as the RZ, so it should still feel softer than D09C. Worth trying the 2 versions of Rakza Z
 
Top