Anyone get their hands on Rasanter C45 yet?

[FrenchFrog33]

Has anyone had a chance to try Andro Rasanter C45? Any retailers selling it yet?

 

[TensorBackhand]

tacky backhand rubber is the greatest!

 

[FrenchFrog33]

tacky backhand rubber is the greatest!

45 degree sponge with a grippy topsheet sounds like it would be a great backhand rubber.

 

[Airoc]

45 degree sponge with a grippy topsheet sounds like it would be a great backhand rubber.

45 degree ENERGY CELL sponge sounds even better
The rubber is available now at Schöler + Micke in Germany, don´t know about other places.

 

[piligrim]

TT11 has it

 

[NextLevel]

I don't think C48 was particularly good (unintuitive catapult) so I am wondering what the excitement is for C45. IMHO, if you want a Rasanter, start with C53.

 

[Airoc]

IMHO, if you want a Rasanter, start with C53.

Fantastic rubber, but a bit difficult to activate for some, don´t you think?
I like the idea of bringing the concept to those who feel it demanding to play with a 53 degree sponge.

 

[NextLevel]

Fantastic rubber, but a bit difficult to activate for some, don´t you think?
I like the idea of bringing the concept to those who feel it demanding to play with a 53 degree sponge.

Maybe, I don't know, I think I have forgotten what it was like to spin with soft sponge since the ABS ball dominated. I feel that stickiness creates the most intuitive concept of spin and most people throw hard enough to use harder rubber on their forehands. My problem with the softer sponge for C48 isn't so much hardness as I don't find them intuitively linear. They seem to have something kick in when you swing softer that doesn't make sense to me, making it harder for me to handle larger amounts of spin. Just not natural for me at all.

 

[AndySmith]

I've picked up a sheet of C45 this week as an alternative to R45 or C48 on my backhand.

It took me a while to adjust to C48 on backhand, similar experience to what NL talks about above really. Just feels a bit unusual compared to the norm. Would like a bit more catapult so trying C45, will report back after a few sessions.

Still super happy with C53 on on forehand though. Magic for me.

 

[hclnnkhg]

I had r47, and it feels quite soft probably because of its thin topsheet. C45 may feel even softer

 

[AndySmith]

Quick update on the C45. It's not massively different to the C48, a touch more early catapult, and lower arc on harder shots, so very much in-line with what you'd expect really. It trades a little top-end power for some low-end bounciness. I find it a little easier to use on my BH while still retaining the really high quality in the short game and with flicks/bananas.

I'm still not 100% confident on how it behaves when passive blocking, but seems more predictable to me. All the Andro C rubbers are much better if you play actively though.

I'm someone with a preference for 42-45 degree rubbers on the BH side, C45 is a good fit for me with slightly more comfort than C48. Nice rubber, bit expensive unless you can get a decent discount, I'll keep this for the coming season.

 

[yoass]

A lower top end power and more low end bounciness, that does not sound like a sensible tradeoff to me.

If anything, I'd like as little low end bounciness as possible, and still being able to tap into considerable top end power. I liked R53 a lot, did not like R48 that much, and didn't like C48 either.

Edit: woopsie. Low end bounciness bad, low end predictability good.

 

[hclnnkhg]

A lower top end power and more low end bounciness, that does not sound like a sensible tradeoff to me.

If anything, I'd like as much low end bounciness as possible, and still being able to tap into considerable top end power. I liked R53 a lot, did not like R48 that much, and didn't like C48 either.

higher low end bounciness with the same top end power would not be a tradeoff but an upgrade😊

It makes sense for someone who use it on the BH, playing a fast rhythm close to the table game (wants speed with low/medium input) but rarely away from the table (low requirement on top end power).

 

[yoass]

higher low end bounciness with the same top end power would not be a tradeoff but an upgrade😊

No, that's a downgrade. Low end bounciness immediately translate to higher fragility in the short game, putting much higher demand on touch ability. It will get you butchered upon serve receives.

 

[Lazer]

No, that's a downgrade. Low end bounciness immediately translate to higher fragility in the short game, putting much higher demand on touch ability. It will get you butchered upon serve receives.

It depends on the players point of view... Is the power gain worth more than the short game loss, or vice versa...

Cheers
L-zr

 

[hclnnkhg]

No, that's a downgrade. Low end bounciness immediately translate to higher fragility in the short game, putting much higher demand on touch ability. It will get you butchered upon serve receives.

Whether something is better or worse depends on how much you do short push, long push, flick, block, opening up, punch, counter topspin etc. And your physical ability and skill level.

In my case, I use RPB so I don't use my BH rubber for pushes, low end bounciness is fine as long as I can block well. An old player may prefer to use a generally bouncy rubber and give up a little bit of control over using Hurricane 3 which can be physically demanding.

 

[NextLevel]

yoass is a pretty strong playert, his POV is perfectly understandable. Other POVs are possible, but I side with him (because I want to be a strong player some day lol).

 

[TischTenniser]

@AndySmith - how do you feel the C45 now? There's a discount of 30% on TT11, so wanted to know your thoughts.

 

[AndySmith]

A lower top end power and more low end bounciness, that does not sound like a sensible tradeoff to me.

If anything, I'd like as much low end bounciness as possible, and still being able to tap into considerable top end power. I liked R53 a lot, did not like R48 that much, and didn't like C48 either.

To be clear - my comparison is specifically talking about C45 vs C48, and I think it's a more general one about using the same topsheet with a softer sponge. If a player wants to use a softer sponge, I think by definition they're looking for this tradeoff and it's pretty much why softer-sponged variants of rubbers exist. Sensible to some, but not to everyone IMO.

As NL correctly points out, player level and expectations should always be taken into consideration here. I (still) see a lot of high level players using T05, and it's probably not sensible to suggest T05-FX to those guys (with some exceptions, as always).

From your description above, I'm not sure that hybrids are going to offer enough of what you need to offset the disadvantages you'd encounter. I love the spin manipulation and close-in options they give me, and I spend far less time from distance going loop-loop these days. From your perspective, scrubbing off low-end speed with a tacky topsheet and the power delivery flattening out earlier is probably a hard sell. But it's always tough to predict these things over the internet and who can say for sure? All I can say is how these things seem to me, YMMV, all the caveats and pinches of salt etc

 

[AndySmith]

@AndySmith - how do you feel the C45 now? There's a discount of 30% on TT11, so wanted to know your thoughts.

The info I gave above is fairly recent, I've been training with it for a few months now and it's a good fit for me. I'll be using it on BH for the coming season. It has strengths where I need them at the moment, and the weaknesses don't really apply to my level or style of game.

I guess the caution for anyone wanting to try it would be - it's very spinny, so quite reactive in passive play. Not hugely fast, so don't expect a cannon (I wouldn't call it slow though). And hybrids need active stroke play to get the best out of them.