Anyone tried this yet? (729 Pro Dragon L)

[John S]

I want a very cheap, soft and light rubber for my cpen and came across the 729 pro dragon L. It's not tacky and from what I understand, and it's not a high tension rubber either.

Has anyone played with it? How does it feel and play? Is it like a cheap chinese rubber that's just soft, like a yinhe mars or mercury? Or does it feel closer to an old euro rubber, like a mk5 and sriver? Does it have ok grip, any catapult, again the feeling, what's it like?

Thanks in advance!

 

[damszelfly]

One thing you will not get with Pro Dragon L, is soft and light rubber - the sheets weigh around mid-60s (a few of them can be even 68g, maybe the 'soft' sheets are around 63g). And yes, it is not high tension, it keeps its playing characteristics well.

The 'mid-soft' sponge feels like at leas 47˚eu (~37˚chn), and the topsheet might be even harder - and fairly thick. It has a mostly precise feel, but in this regard, DHS TinArc 3 is even better (maybe because it is coupled with a sponge being easier to use). The topsheet is meant to be almost non-tacky, but protective sheets are sticking to it very well. The sponge is not really bouncy (definitely needs some activating force to be used for attacking), but it has a lot of gears, when it is needed - combining it with the topsheet, this rubber is somewhat technically demanding to use it in a rewarding way (my practice partner complained he had great difficulties receiving my balls when I used longer swings, my topspin attacks and chops were equally dangerous - I am a shakehand player).

If you want rubber for Cpen, I think you should take a look at 729/Friendship Focus 3 Plus (jap. sponge), those are much easier to use (soft and light /~60g or less/, both granted). Or if you are more confident, you can get Yinhe Jupiter III Asia with 37° hardness (still easier to use than Pro Dragon L)

 

[John S]

One thing you will not get with Pro Dragon L, is soft and light rubber - the sheets weigh around mid-60s (a few of them can be even 68g, maybe the 'soft' sheets are around 63g). And yes, it is not high tension, it keeps its playing characteristics well.

The 'mid-soft' sponge feels like at leas 47˚eu (~37˚chn), and the topsheet might be even harder - and fairly thick. It has a mostly precise feel, but in this regard, DHS TinArc 3 is even better (maybe because it is coupled with a sponge being easier to use). The topsheet is meant to be almost non-tacky, but protective sheets are sticking to it very well. The sponge is not really bouncy (definitely needs some activating force to be used for attacking), but it has a lot of gears, when it is needed - combining it with the topsheet, this rubber is somewhat technically demanding to use it in a rewarding way (my practice partner complained he had great difficulties receiving my balls when I used longer swings, my topspin attacks and chops were equally dangerous - I am a shakehand player).

If you want rubber for Cpen, I think you should take a look at 729/Friendship Focus 3 Plus (jap. sponge), those are much easier to use (soft and light /~60g or less/, both granted). Or if you are more confident, you can get Yinhe Jupiter III Asia with 37° hardness (still easier to use than Pro Dragon L)

I'll look into the focus 3 and jupiter 3 then, thanks a lot!

 

[damszelfly]

One thing you will not get with Pro Dragon L, is soft and light rubber - the sheets weigh around mid-60s (a few of them can be even 68g, maybe the 'soft' sheets are around 63g). And yes, it is not high tension, it keeps its playing characteristics well.

I have to update this, as in the first weeks of use, I did not notice change in the behaviour of the sponge, but about 3 months from assembling my test racket, now I can say, that the sponge plays much more linearly, but thus, the rubber have transformed from a spin-power rubber (FH preferred) to a speed-control rubber (maybe both FH and BH). Grip is still good, but spin is not really great anymore, just around average (because it is significantly bouncier now). The sponge stayed relatively hard - probably top players bottom it out, but in general, it is not an issue.

 

[Doum]

Not worth it. If you want some catapult effect, look elsewhere. Tested one and quickly removed it. Now it sit in a ziploc bag. I will install it on a racket for my children if they want to play with me someday.

It's strange it's advertised as non tacky, but you can lift a ball with it and it's slooooowwwwwww.

 

[John S]

I have to update this, as in the first weeks of use, I did not notice change in the behaviour of the sponge, but about 3 months from assembling my test racket, now I can say, that the sponge plays much more linearly, but thus, the rubber have transformed from a spin-power rubber (FH preferred) to a speed-control rubber (maybe both FH and BH). Grip is still good, but spin is not really great anymore, just around average (because it is significantly bouncier now). The sponge stayed relatively hard - probably top players bottom it out, but in general, it is not an issue.

Ok, thanks for the update!

If that's the case then I'll probably just get a vega europe when I get the chance, it's light, soft and pretty cheap.

 

[igorponger]

One man's drink is another man's poison 👈

 

[John S]

One man's drink is another man's poison 👈

huh?