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Hi everyone!
I'm looking for MEDIUM PIPS for my hybrid backhand play style, I have a very precise straight smash with inverted rubbers, but at the same time I'm very confident at chopping and I love using long pips that reverse the spin, so I'm looking for medium pips to do both confidently.
The rubbers I tried in the last months are: long pips: Brutal Metal TT (0.5mm) and DHS Cloud & Fog 3 (1mm) on Stratus Power Defense; medium pips: Spinlord Keiler 2 1.8mm on an old Stiga Legend blade.
So the first experiment with brutal metal (good reversal, difficult to block/push, super difficult to drive/smash) made me realize that attacking with long pips isn't easy and what's needed is a precise upward/forward motion to send a deadly smash on dead/high balls. With the Fog3 the situation got better (less reversal, but easier blocks and smashes) but overall the rubber has nothing special, not disruptive enough and not dangerous enough. With Keiler 2 1.8mm it was the opposite, perfect for attacking, almost like using inverted, I could flick short spinny serves and get easy points in 1-3 hits as the pips didn't suffer spin, but it didn't satisfy me as chop/blocking and chopping from medium/far distance was impossible because of the catapult effect and 0 inversion/backspin so I just had to attack.
So now I have built a nice combination with Victas Koji Matsushita Offensive- blade and K3 hybrid FX 2.0mm, the response for my forehand is linear and I like it a lot for topsins and smashing overall, and I recently got Grass D.Tecs 1.2mm because I really wanted to try it anyway even if I know that long pips are not my go to at this point, but it's a very nice rubber, chopping is good, inversion is good, control is good with proper technique, attacking is ok if i make a precise stroke like a light backhand topspin and I can hit hard enough to make a deadly smashes if I'm focused and don't hit with too much rush, because when I do, the ball goes straight into the net while when I open the blade too much it floats outside (I accepted it, all long pips react like this, some are easier than others).
I truly feel like I need medium pips too feel at peace with a rubber that would allow me to play defensively as if I have long pips and offensively as if I have short pips (I also want to twiddle the blade sometimes to have all the possible combinations of hits so the rubber has to be easy to use also with forehand), I know it's physically difficult because one tends to exclude the other, if I want pips with good grip to make nice flat smashes like with keiler2 I will have almost no reversal that I have with metal/fog3/grass.
I've made much research already, the best candidates seem to be: Nittaku Super Do Knuckle, Victas Curl P2V, Dawei 388 C1/2, Friendship 729 563, Spinlord Gipfelsturm (all with pros and cons). Didn't find much information on Dr Neubauer's KO, Aggressor and Yinhe Pluto Moxa.
TLDR I want comfort for my offensive play not fearing smashing too many balls into the net or launching them outside like with long pips, and at the same time I want minimal reversal backspin when chopping to not send on the table dead smashable easy balls, is it possible to find such an item in medium pips category?
I'm looking for MEDIUM PIPS for my hybrid backhand play style, I have a very precise straight smash with inverted rubbers, but at the same time I'm very confident at chopping and I love using long pips that reverse the spin, so I'm looking for medium pips to do both confidently.
The rubbers I tried in the last months are: long pips: Brutal Metal TT (0.5mm) and DHS Cloud & Fog 3 (1mm) on Stratus Power Defense; medium pips: Spinlord Keiler 2 1.8mm on an old Stiga Legend blade.
So the first experiment with brutal metal (good reversal, difficult to block/push, super difficult to drive/smash) made me realize that attacking with long pips isn't easy and what's needed is a precise upward/forward motion to send a deadly smash on dead/high balls. With the Fog3 the situation got better (less reversal, but easier blocks and smashes) but overall the rubber has nothing special, not disruptive enough and not dangerous enough. With Keiler 2 1.8mm it was the opposite, perfect for attacking, almost like using inverted, I could flick short spinny serves and get easy points in 1-3 hits as the pips didn't suffer spin, but it didn't satisfy me as chop/blocking and chopping from medium/far distance was impossible because of the catapult effect and 0 inversion/backspin so I just had to attack.
So now I have built a nice combination with Victas Koji Matsushita Offensive- blade and K3 hybrid FX 2.0mm, the response for my forehand is linear and I like it a lot for topsins and smashing overall, and I recently got Grass D.Tecs 1.2mm because I really wanted to try it anyway even if I know that long pips are not my go to at this point, but it's a very nice rubber, chopping is good, inversion is good, control is good with proper technique, attacking is ok if i make a precise stroke like a light backhand topspin and I can hit hard enough to make a deadly smashes if I'm focused and don't hit with too much rush, because when I do, the ball goes straight into the net while when I open the blade too much it floats outside (I accepted it, all long pips react like this, some are easier than others).
I truly feel like I need medium pips too feel at peace with a rubber that would allow me to play defensively as if I have long pips and offensively as if I have short pips (I also want to twiddle the blade sometimes to have all the possible combinations of hits so the rubber has to be easy to use also with forehand), I know it's physically difficult because one tends to exclude the other, if I want pips with good grip to make nice flat smashes like with keiler2 I will have almost no reversal that I have with metal/fog3/grass.
I've made much research already, the best candidates seem to be: Nittaku Super Do Knuckle, Victas Curl P2V, Dawei 388 C1/2, Friendship 729 563, Spinlord Gipfelsturm (all with pros and cons). Didn't find much information on Dr Neubauer's KO, Aggressor and Yinhe Pluto Moxa.
TLDR I want comfort for my offensive play not fearing smashing too many balls into the net or launching them outside like with long pips, and at the same time I want minimal reversal backspin when chopping to not send on the table dead smashable easy balls, is it possible to find such an item in medium pips category?
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