Joola Maxxx-P & Rhyzm-P Review

Manto76 said:

Hi Yogi_Bear (and others),

On the strength of your review of the Joola Rhyzm-P and Maxxx-P rubbers I bought a pair of these and have been using the Rhyzm-P on my FH and the Maxxx-P on my backhand. I must say, I agree with everything you said in your review in September 2014 - these are fantastic rubbers! I've been out of the sport for more than 25 years, and these rubbers come the closest (of those I've tried in the last year or so) to matching what the classic Sriver rubber used to feel like on a quality OFF blade with the small, celluloid ball of the early 1990s.

So, first of all, "thank you" for your review which introduced me to these rubbers! I have thoroughly enjoyed playing with them.

Second, a question: Are there any "old fashioned" rubbers that you've played with since you wrote that review that beat the Rhyzm-P?

What do I mean by "old fashioned"?

1. It seems that many new rubbers are following the trend of a thicker (ie. about 2.3mm) sponge and a very thin topsheet. I don't like the feel of those that I've tried. The "old fashioned" style of the slightly thinner sponge (about 2.1mm) and the "regular" thickness topsheet has (in my opinion) a better feel.
2. Some new rubbers have a high catapult effect. I don't really like that as it makes them less predictable to play with (unless you're able to train for many more hours than I'm able to).
3. Many new rubbers are coming out with harder and harder sponges. I understand the reasoning for this (ie. theoretically, a higher speed/spin threshold), but I prefer the "old fashioned" medium-hard rubbers. In other words, around 42-47 degrees. (I think the old Sriver was about 46 degrees?)

So by "old fashioned" I mean rubbers that (1) have about a 2.1mm sponge with a "normal" thickness topsheet, (2) that have a relatively low catapult effect, and (3) that are medium-hard (ie. about 42-47 degress).

Within those constraints, is there anything that you've played with that beats the Joola Rhyzm-P? I'm really enjoying it, and am not an EJ (I'm just trying a few things in my first year back in the sport), and want to settle with a setup as soon as possible.

If you have any recommendations of "old fashioned" rubbers that are clearly superior to the Rhyzm-P then I might give one or two a try, but I don't want to spend money just trying things for the sake of trying.

Any thoughts?
Many thanks!

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MydasDiablo said:

In my mind, Yogi will correct me if I am wrong, an example of a list of rubbers from classic/slow to modern/fast in that hardness range would be:

Sriver/Mark V - Xiom Vega Intro - Tibhar Genius - Rakza 7 - Xiom Omega V Tour - Tenergy 80/05 - Evolution MX-P - Joola Dynarz AGR

Tibhar Genius and Rakza 7 work both sides and in 2.0mm provide a feeling closer to the classics but with more gears and much more spin. Genius is better for looping, as it has a higher ark, Rakza is good for looping but a bit better for hitting than Genius as the ark is medium. If you loop on forehand and mainly block on backhand then Genius FH and Rakza 7 backhand works really well.

Vega Intro I think still has the thin topsheet, but it plays nothing like the modern rubbers you are referring to. Even in Max it is super easy to use for all shots and forgives a lot of mistakes, especially on serve return. This is one step up from the classics, more spin and speed, but quite a bit less less than modern tensors and Tenergy 05/80.

DHS Goldarc 8 47.5 degrees is also an interesting option around the Genius/Rakza 7 part of the scale. I found this to be very linear, with a medium arc, a very predictable rubber. In medium thickness it will feel closer to Sriver/Mark V, but with more spin and speed. It's also only 30 USD from http://ttnpp.com/store/dhs/876-dhs-goldarc-gold-arc-8-6.html and in my experience was quite a bit more durable than most modern tensors, perhaps because it isn't as heavily boosted from the factory.

If it was me, I would probably go for Goldarc 8 47.5, I have seen even intermediate players use this successfully in Max on a 7 ply all-wood blade. It's quite heavy so if that bothers you then you could choose Medium thickness to save a few grams and increase feeling for the ball (helps a lot with serve return and hitting - more sponge helps with looping).

There are others like Nittaku Fastarc G-1 and Stiga Genesis, but I found they needed a fair bit more arm speed and a longer stroke to get the best out of them. Goldarc 8 is forgiving in this respect, it doesn't require you to hit the ball in any particular way to get the best out of it, it's very well balanced.

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