Rakza Z - struggling B&B with the feel of the rubber

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Hello all, I recently put some Fastarc G1 and Rakza Z max on my offensive blade. Was hoping to save some money and go for well known rubbers. I've played with Rakza 7 and liked it, I instantly liked the feel of the G1, seems to have a high throw but generally happy. The Rakza Z however feels too soft (mushy?), tried it on the bh and fh, was okay returning fast balls but felt like I was generating more spin and speed with the G1. I tend to open up with either a fast or slow topspin and hit. Do you have any advice on getting the best out of it? I'm going to give it more time but noticed that I was playing worse against lower level slower players.
 
says toooooo much choice!!
says toooooo much choice!!
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Hi,
RZ can be pretty lively on a fast blade, a lot more catapult and speed than you think you are going to get!!. It's throw angle is high / very high, possibly higher than G1 ?? I haven't used G1 so can't compare.
I use RZ in 2.0mm not max and generally on slower blades than the stratus power wood (spw), all / all + blade, have used at home practicing with an Acoustic inner and Viscaria, Acoustic inner feels 'woody' and may well be slower than the spw, Viscaria was a different kettle of fish!!! the rubber felt bouncier and faster!! with max sponge this could be enhanced further!!

so options are to drop down on sponge thickness, it does feel soft, but that's partly what I like about the rubber, but I wouldn't describe it as 'mushy'.
if you have a spare slower blade maybe try it on that and see how it plays, but I don't think its fair to say 'change your blade to a slower one'
and as you said give it some more time and see if you can get use to it!!
 
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I agree that the rubber do not feel very hard and the arc is the almost ridiculous high. I use it on backhand and play pretty close to the table and think it is proably better suited for forehand and further away from the table. Great for the banana flick since the ball just go so much up, but feels harder to get pressure on the opponent in other shots, since despite playing very much forward the ball still goes up. Tried a donic bluefire and much easier to play harder in my opinion since the ball goes much more forward, but the spin is very nice on the Z. I basically keep playing with it since i had trouble in the past playing the backhand to much upwards but if i do it with this rubber the ball always goes out, so i have become much better at closing and really playing forward.Very interesting rubber and for sure the most odd one i have tried.Edit: forget to mention that i have used the rubber for a couple of weeks but the high throw still makes me miss a lot since i do not excpect the ball to have such an arc. Z is in another universum regarding the throw compared to fastarc. Did not felt anything different with fastarc throw compared to other rubbers, but Z is something else.
 
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It does not feel too hard but mushy is also not right as a description.
​​​Maybe OP will just give it a few more days to settle with. The topsheet might be the one giving the softer feel but the sponge is definitely harder than G1.
 
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says toooooo much choice!!
says toooooo much choice!!
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Top sheet is soft and elastic, sponge is pretty hard,
slow opening loops are very spinny, it makes playing v backspin reasonably easy.
When into open top spin attacking rallies, then it’s a case of adjusting and closing racket angle slightly more, still brushing but with more forward motion.
I’ve played some really good FH close to the table counter drives with RZ as well, when you get it right they are crisp and fast, in fact very fast.
Away from the table the high throw gives security, additionally the high spin levels pull the ball down, I find I just don’t need to put in as much force as I would with some other rubbers, because you are further from the table, yep you’re hitting harder but the sponge engages easier because of the softish top sheet and releases its catapult power, I still concentrate on brushing, because you need the spin to drag the ball down.
 
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I just love Rakza Z on my BH, this is the best red rubber for my technique (not a pro, for sure).

What I like the most is the high shooting angle, it is very good at for top / flip and also very good at control, slice and block play.
I also like the Sieger Pk50 but it was not so good for me at picking up (attacking with top) sliced balls.
I played on Viscaria and Acoustic LG, 90gr.
 
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