zyu81 said:
EL-S is softer than MX-P IIRC. A lot of people would find EL-S too soft for the forehand with the modern ball. A harder rubber sounds like what you would want if you want your shots to be more penetrating, but if you meant that you can't get the ball to penetrate your rubber you might want something softer. EL-S shouldn't be hard to penetrate the rubber so if that's what you mean there is probably a technique issue at play.
zyu81 has been correctly and consistently noting what factors are important in his time here.
So much of this will depend on how
individual technique and
IMPACT of the ball.
I can use MX-P on FH (and DID for a couple yrs) until I tried and used a much wider range of modern dynamic and OFF control rubbers...
I found a SOFT Modern Dynamic rubber is much better suited for me in match play than a middle firm or hard sponged rubber of the same make and model.
Why? My individual impact on SOME of the strokes was there to make good use of it, but on SOME of the other stroke situations it wasn't there. I simply did not (do not yet) have the impact to get the ball into the right depth of the sponge/topsheet on slower balls (unless I was power-driving)... maybe later, after a year or so of realizing this and using a softer sponged rubber, I might develop the impact timing, then the kind of impact I need. Until then, it is soft.
CONTROL is a very often uttered word... but control of WHAT? and WHAT is control anyway?
Control is the aspect that makes it easier to do something... spin the ball, drive the ball, power drive the ball, easier to genrate speed, feel the ball, get the ball into topsheet to do a certain something given your impact... etc
When makers design and make a rubber, there will ALWAYS be some trade-off in physics and performance. There will be no single rubber that does everything outstanding... one or many factors will be diminished to make one or more factors better...
Sometimes, making something less is more. On BH, close to the table, I can use an older pre-plastic ball era rubber (in 2.0 !!! I used to hate on 2.0 so much) and just be killing it on BH wing like a boss in so many shot situations... Nittaku Hammond untuned is pretty slow rubber and not so dynamic by today's standards (if you compare to something 10yrs old like say T05FX).. yet, this slower speed of rubber allows me to take more compact and powerful swings and still control it to land high percentage high quality balls... it doesn't hurt that this rubber is GREAT for handling low balls with topspin... many counter-hitters LOVED this rubber for that property back then when it came out.
I spent some time breaking down why it is better to match a rubber's properties with your kind of impact and shot preferences in a match. That may take some time to discover.
TTD member erm does not come on the forum much. (He is mostly interested blade/rubber trades and talk - he used to have THOUSANDS of blades and used to be a national jr team player in TT and TENNIS)
erm had me go through dozens of rubbers before both he and I noticed what rubbers with what kind of sponge worked for me in different shot situations... that took some serious time and acess to different rubbers.
luckily, erm rolls with several dozen rubbers and blades strong in his gym bag every day, so I benefitted. Not everyone will have a dude like this handy in hte club... yet, TT players are often so willing to allow a 1-2 minute hit with their bat as a sharing thing... so with enough time and effort, just about anyone who goes to a TT club can with time discover what works.
Ultimately, this is so much better than asking on a forum what rubber is boss, because one is gunna get so many different answers that may or may not consider the factors.
THEN, there is THIS. *** - one may also get a rubber a little to firm for what they do, and train with it and adapt good technique... then later, be able to use it. THIS is also a possible way to go about equipment... but I get it, myself included, many of us want something that optimizes our performance RIGHT NOW, not a future date.
