DHS Hurricane 3 Neo National Blue Sponge unboosted for FH good choice?

[struke]

Hi everyone,


I would like to get advice mainly about my forehand rubber choice.


I am considering buying one of these premium DHS blades:

1. DHS W968 Hurricane Long 5 National
2. DHS W968 Gold Grand Slam
3. DHS Golden 6 W968 / W968S Ma Long
4. DHS Q968 Hurricane King National

For my setup, I was thinking:


FH: DHS Hurricane 3 Neo National 40 Blue Sponge 2.1
BH: Butterfly Dignics 05 2.1


The main reason I bought the H3 Neo National 40 Blue Sponge is that, from what I have read, the Neo National version comes factory-tuned by DHS to some extent. I do not want to use booster or re-boost the rubber myself. I prefer to use the rubber exactly as it comes from the factory.


I am not a professional or competitive tournament player. I would describe myself as an intermediate-to-advanced club player. I have been training for more than two years, around three times per week, and my basic FH, BH, topspin and push technique are quite stable for my level.


For backhand, I plan to use Dignics 05 2.1 because I have been using it for almost a year and I really love it, especially on inner-carbon blades. So my main question is about the forehand rubber.


Do you think DHS Hurricane 3 Neo National 40 Blue Sponge 2.1 is a good FH choice for a player like me if I do not want to add booster?


Is the factory-tuned Neo version playable enough out of the package, or would it still feel too hard/dead without additional boosting?


Would it make sense on a premium DHS blade like W968 National or Q968, or would you recommend a different tacky Chinese-style rubber that is easier to use unboosted?


I would appreciate honest opinions, especially from players who have used H3 Neo National Blue Sponge without booster.


Thank you.

 

[boretennis]

why not continue in your other thread?

 

[Matteones]

https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/topics/dhs-hurricane-3-neo-unboosted.38941/

.
To sum it up: not a good idea to play it unboosted. Pick a rubber that is ready to go out of the package if you don't want to boost, there are so many.

 

[struke]

Hi everyone,


I would like to get advice mainly about my forehand rubber choice.


I am considering buying one of these premium DHS blades:

1. DHS W968 Hurricane Long 5 National
2. DHS W968 Gold Grand Slam
3. DHS Golden 6 W968 / W968S Ma Long
4. DHS Q968 Hurricane King National

For my setup, I was thinking:


FH: DHS Hurricane 3 Neo National 40 Blue Sponge 2.1
BH: Butterfly Dignics 05 2.1


The main reason I bought the H3 Neo National 40 Blue Sponge is that, from what I have read, the Neo National version comes factory-tuned by DHS to some extent. I do not want to use booster or re-boost the rubber myself. I prefer to use the rubber exactly as it comes from the factory.


I am not a professional or competitive tournament player. I would describe myself as an intermediate-to-advanced club player. I have been training for more than two years, around three times per week, and my basic FH, BH, topspin and push technique are quite stable for my level.


For backhand, I plan to use Dignics 05 2.1 because I have been using it for almost a year and I really love it, especially on inner-carbon blades. So my main question is about the forehand rubber.


Do you think DHS Hurricane 3 Neo National 40 Blue Sponge 2.1 is a good FH choice for a player like me if I do not want to add booster?


Is the factory-tuned Neo version playable enough out of the package, or would it still feel too hard/dead without additional boosting?


Would it make sense on a premium DHS blade like W968 National or Q968, or would you recommend a different tacky Chinese-style rubber that is easier to use unboosted?


I would appreciate honest opinions, especially from players who have used H3 Neo National Blue Sponge without booster.


Thank you.

why not continue in your other thread?

You’re right, I opened a separate thread because I wanted to focus only on the FH rubber question here, especially about using DHS Hurricane 3 Neo National Blue Sponge unboosted.


The other thread was mainly about choosing between the premium DHS blades. This one is specifically about whether H3 Neo National Blue Sponge is a good FH rubber choice without additional booster.


Sorry if it looks duplicated.

why not continue in your other thread?

You’re right, I opened a separate thread because I wanted to focus only on the FH rubber question here, especially about using DHS Hurricane 3 Neo National Blue Sponge unboosted.


The other thread was mainly about choosing between the premium DHS blades. This one is specifically about whether H3 Neo National Blue Sponge is a good FH rubber choice without additional booster.


Sorry if it looks duplicated.

@boretennis You’re right, I opened a separate thread because I wanted to focus only on the FH rubber question here, especially about using DHS Hurricane 3 Neo National Blue Sponge unboosted.

The other thread was mainly about choosing between the premium DHS blades. This one is specifically about whether H3 Neo National Blue Sponge is a good FH rubber choice without additional booster.

Sorry if it looks duplicated.

 

[struke]

https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/topics/dhs-hurricane-3-neo-unboosted.38941/

.
To sum it up: not a good idea to play it unboosted. Pick a rubber that is ready to go out of the package if you don't want to boost, there are so many.

Thanks everyone for the replies so far.


I would like to ask one more focused question:


If I decide that I do not want to use booster at all — not now and not in the future — what would be the best forehand rubber alternative to DHS Hurricane 3 Neo National 40 Blue Sponge 2.1?


My goal is to get the closest possible performance and feeling to a boosted H3 Neo National Blue Sponge, but with a rubber that works well straight from the package without any boosting or re-boosting.


The blade I am considering is mainly DHS W968 National, and my backhand rubber will be Butterfly Dignics 05 2.1.


I am an intermediate/intermediate-advanced club player, not a professional player. Price is not a factor for this question — I only want the best and most proven option.


What I am looking for on FH:

• tacky Chinese-style feeling
• strong spin
• heavy FH topspin
• good grip on slow and powerful shots
• more built-in catapult/liveliness than unboosted H3 National Blue Sponge
• better usability without booster
• suitable for W968 National
• not too dead or too demanding for an intermediate player

Which rubber would you recommend as the closest and best alternative?


For example, would you suggest something like Buuterfly 09c, DHS Hurricane 8, 729 Battle III, Nittaku Hurricane 3 Turbo, Sanwei Target National, or something else?


I would really appreciate recommendations from players who have used H3 National Blue Sponge and also tried easier unboosted alternatives.

 

[Matteones]

I have used Bluegrip J1 and found it quite nice, a hard hybrid closer to H3 than other hybrids. I still use it sometimes on back-up blades.
Please notice that W968 is an extremely demanding blade (especially if the full setup is heavier than 200 grams), I am your age and several playing levels over yours, training 2 hours (not counting the hours I coach) every day + competition on national level and I am still considering to move away from this blade this summer, because on days I am just a little bit more tired it is hard to play.

 

[jonol]

If price isn't an issue, you may as well just boost.

If you are intent on not boosting, then a hybrid rubber is a better option.