Insights on Rakza lineup

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The first difference one may notice is the weight.Rakza X soft is quite a bit heavier than the 7 soft. Xsoft is spinier and harder as well. My partner(C4, ex C0) switched to X soft after 7soft and he is saying that he likes it more. The only significant difference I noticed in his game is the increase of spin and maybe a lower throw
 
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I used Rakza 7 Soft on my BH when I was pretty new to the game, and it worked ok for me to learn form and play reasonably well. I switched to Rakza Z, and saw a pretty drastic improvement. My loops and pushes were significantly spinnier, due to the tackiness of the topsheet, and I could kill high balls much more easily due to the higher speed of the harder sponge. I thought I would have control issues, but for me at least, the tackiness lets you have more than enough control on soft shots, and its high arc makes loops easier to land on the table. Downside is that it is more spin reactive, and sidespin serves and blocking spinny loops gave me trouble until I adjusted.
 
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Hi everyone !
I was wondering if anyone can share their thoughts on the Yasaka's Rakza lineup. I'm playing with the Rakza 7 Soft since 2018 and wanted to know how the other Rakzas play. Can anyone make a comparison on the different models ?
Thanks in advance.

I don't use it now, but imo, generally Rakzas have very good durability, better than say Donic or Andro, and are a bit under-rated, at least around me, against Andro and Butterfly. Rakza 9 is very bouncy, too much (I mean for me). I once wanted to try Rakza Z on FH and Rakza X on BH, and it doesn't suit me personally (I have it on XVT ZL Koto now). Rakza Z is a bit too soft for FH (it is semi-tacky, it doesn't matter here), and Rakza X, while being faster, had too low throw for me on BH. I actually preferred Rakza Z on BH. But everything is relative. A friend of mine, who was using Rakza 9 on BH, now is using Rakza X on BH. He has a bit better control, and can produce quite a strong spin. He's also using Rakza Z on FH, which helps to compensate his technique due to its higher throw. Note that IB66 is using Rakza Z EH on FH and Rakza Z on BH - I guess if China didn't exist, I'd use it too. No experience with the "soft" versions, X Soft, 7 Soft... Somehow I think Kolev's answers were quite on target (although I disagree with him on some other, ML-related, issue :) ). It is very hard to suggest something meaningfully to you. You are using 7-soft, so imo, X-soft, 7, X, Z all 4 can be possible. Even Rising-Dragon actually :) HTH.
 
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says toooooo much choice!!
says toooooo much choice!!
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Hi SenseiJM,

I have no experience with any of the Rakza's other than Rakza Z and Z EH.
I tend to lean towards rubbers that have some tackiness to the top sheet and more towards a 'hybrid' type rubber, so that you get better bounce or catapult from the sponge compared to the likes of H3
I use RZ EH on the FH and RZ on BH,
Standout characteristic of both is that they have pretty high throw angle, RZ is highest, RZ EH lower. Some people find this off-putting, but with slight changes to bat angle the height over the net can be controlled. The higher throw does give some more safety especially when opening up v back/under spin.
High spin levels can be produced (with good technique) this helps drag the ball down onto the table when looping.
Overall feel is softer than one may expect from a rubber with fairly hard sponges.
Speed is fast enough.
A little spin sensitive due to the tackiness, but nothing to concern yourself over, adjust to suit.
Blocking is OK, some may prefer a little more speed from the rubber.
Short game is controllable, not too bouncy, like some rubbers with high catapult sponges.

If you are interested in trying a hybrid type rubber, then Rakza Z / Z EH wouldn't be a bad starting point.

As with all comments about equipment, its always a personal opinion, dependant on the individual and their skill level. Other posters may have a differing opinion to mine!!!
 
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This thread should just be pinned as "Rakza info" somewhere. Honestly the whole line is super underrated, the durability is excellent, and the fact that everyone here is just about agreeing with each other means it must be pretty consistent, unlike some other brands. At least in the US, pricing is super reasonable too.
 
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The most obvious change is probably the weight. The X soft version of Rakza is much heavier than the 7 soft. Xsoft has both more spines and more hardness. After using 7soft for a while, my spouse (C4, ex-C0) decided to try X soft and now claims to like it. Spin and maybe a lower throw are the only noticeable changes in his game.
 
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