50 degrees Hybrid comparisons (DNA hybrid H vs Bluestar A2 vs. Rising Dragon 2 vs. Golden Tango PS)

[garesnares]

I’m looking to replace my FH rubber from G09c max on a 5-ply all wood YSE. I get really good brush loop contact, but it’s very slow and sluggish and requires too much effort (large arm movements). I wanna keep the sponge hardness around the same but more speed and liveliness while having the slightly tacky surface. Hence, the rubbers mentioned above came up in my search. Wondering if anyone has experience in them and willing to share. Thanks!

 

[jk1980]

G09c is harder than 50° ESN, but i will answer the question anyways.
DNA Hybrid H has subpar durability and is just a worse Tibhar MKPro and not sticky.
Yasaka Rising Dragon 2 would be a good fit and more lively, but still somewhat muted in relation to my top recommendation which is Yasaka Rakza Z. Golden Tango PS i would not use since it is said to be discontinued anyways.

 

[vvk1]

G09c is harder than 50° ESN, but i will answer the question anyways.
DNA Hybrid H has subpar durability and is just a worse Tibhar MKPro and not sticky.
Yasaka Rising Dragon 2 would be a good fit and more lively, but still somewhat muted in relation to my top recommendation which is Yasaka Rakza Z. Golden Tango PS i would not use since it is said to be discontinued anyways.

I cannot seem to stop EJing on my BH , and have been using DNA Hybrid H on my BH for over a month now. Definitely not sticky in any sense. But would not call it a "worse" Tibhar Hybrid MK Pro. IMO, Tibhar Hybrid MK, Andro Nuzn and Stiga DNA Hybrid series are basically same thing, the only difference is sponge colour and very subtle sponge hardness variations.

 

[jk1980]

You are right that many "hybrids" feel the same or at least very similar if we are talking the non sticky ESN hybrids.
What i find an issue with is that the dampening effect on the short game is not really existent on many 50° hybrids and it seems like they are just regular tensors with a harder sponge that is harder to activate. The base speed/bounciness is still quite high on many of them.

One thing that i learned was that the typical "bounce test" having a ball drop from x distance to the blade/rubber to compare with other can give some more insight than just judging the bounce height after the first drop.

Let's say you compare two rubbers and bounce the ball from 60cm height onto them. While both might bounce 30 cm and you would initially think "hey they are similar in this property", the next bounces are also very telling, because on the one rubber the ball might stick onto the rubber after this 2nd bounce, while the other might bounce another 5 times on the rubber, showing that the first rubber has a dampening effect that kicks in on soft touches/force while the other simply is bouncy as a tensor.

 

[Wrighty67]

I’m looking to replace my FH rubber from G09c max on a 5-ply all wood YSE. I get really good brush loop contact, but it’s very slow and sluggish and requires too much effort (large arm movements). I wanna keep the sponge hardness around the same but more speed and liveliness while having the slightly tacky surface. Hence, the rubbers mentioned above came up in my search. Wondering if anyone has experience in them and willing to share. Thanks!

Rakza Z is a good option but is not particularly fast. Bluestar A2 is also a really nice rubber in my opinion but much faster. The other one to consider is Bluegrip J2 which is somewhere in between the two in my experience.

 

[garesnares]

G09c is harder than 50° ESN, but i will answer the question anyways.
DNA Hybrid H has subpar durability and is just a worse Tibhar MKPro and not sticky.
Yasaka Rising Dragon 2 would be a good fit and more lively, but still somewhat muted in relation to my top recommendation which is Yasaka Rakza Z. Golden Tango PS i would not use since it is said to be discontinued anyways.

Thanks for the reply. That’s interesting bc I’ve read that Rakza Z is a little slow to most people. If that’s the case, rising dragon might not be what I’m looking for.

 

[garesnares]

Rakza Z is a good option but is not particularly fast. Bluestar A2 is also a really nice rubber in my opinion but much faster. The other one to consider is Bluegrip J2 which is somewhere in between the two in my experience.

J2 is supposed to be between C and A series, which is really unique. I want to give it a try but the sponge is 52.5 degrees…

 

[S2000]

J2 is supposed to be between C and A series, which is really unique. I want to give it a try but the sponge is 52.5 degrees…

DNA Hybrid H is not slow. It is comparable in speed with Mantra Pro H. Maybe a bit slower but not by much. Difference is that it has lower throw but is easier to lift still. It is harder even though 50 sponge both of them but not terribly much harder feel.

 

[Wrighty67]

J2 is supposed to be between C and A series, which is really unique. I want to give it a try but the sponge is 52.5 degrees…

So go with J3 at 50 deg.

 

[navuzor]

You are right that many "hybrids" feel the same or at least very similar if we are talking the non sticky ESN hybrids.
What i find an issue with is that the dampening effect on the short game is not really existent on many 50° hybrids and it seems like they are just regular tensors with a harder sponge that is harder to activate. The base speed/bounciness is still quite high on many of them.

You are absolutely spot on this one. The short game is a lot better to me on G1 than many of these 50'ish deg hybrids. I've found them still very bouncy.