Dignics 05........ not lasting as long as people say.

[NetProphet]

For me getting 3 months out of a rubber (as I do with Z03) is great. I also play about 6 hours a week, and D05 lasts me about 2 months, D09C about a month. But some people happily play rubber for 6 months or a year or more.

6 hrs a week and D09c lasts a month?? 😮
At what level are you playing?
You have be almost professional to think 09c is gone after ~25 hours.
Unless your a 2,500 player I have to call BS on this one.
Either that or you don't look after the rubber at all.

 

[Dr Evil]

You have be almost professional to think 09c is gone after ~25 hours.

Too far gone for me. I'm a good amateur but far from professional. Every rubber starts losing grip immediately, some faster than others. Hybrids fastest of all in my experience, which is why I don't use 09c. In major events, some pros use new rubber almost every match because of this. I doubt any pros use rubber for 100+ hours (except for teaching), but I know many amateurs who do. This is subjective in the extreme.

 

[NetProphet]

Too far gone for me. I'm a good amateur but far from professional. Every rubber starts losing grip immediately, some faster than others. Hybrids fastest of all in my experience, which is why I don't use 09c. In major events, some pros use new rubber almost every match because of this. I doubt any pros use rubber for 100+ hours (except for teaching), but I know many amateurs who do. This is subjective in the extreme.

I agree with much of that but I still don't understand how someone can think D09c is gone that quickly. I have two sheets that are coming up on 14 and 10 mths old and I can still generate massive spin and speed with them.
Perhaps (and this is really possible) I just don't have the observation to notice the difference between now and how they were at a few wks old.
And also not the skill level to notice the drop off either as I probably wasn't extracting 'maximum' spin from the rubber when it was new anyway.
But given the condition of my sheets I'd still expect most people to be happy playing with them.
Anyway, I've replaced one with G09c and the other will be replaced with T19 or G1 so my D09c experiment is over, just too demanding overall but was still fun as I gave everything trying to use it!

 

[yoass]

Planned obsolescence isn't news, indeed. I'm not putting up with it.

 

[NDH]

I agree with much of that but I still don't understand how someone can think D09c is gone that quickly. I have two sheets that are coming up on 14 and 10 mths old and I can still generate massive spin and speed with them.
Perhaps (and this is really possible) I just don't have the observation to notice the difference between now and how they were at a few wks old.
And also not the skill level to notice the drop off either as I probably wasn't extracting 'maximum' spin from the rubber when it was new anyway.
But given the condition of my sheets I'd still expect most people to be happy playing with them.
Anyway, I've replaced one with G09c and the other will be replaced with T19 or G1 so my D09c experiment is over, just too demanding overall but was still fun as I gave everything trying to use it!

I've been using 09c since it came out, but I'd say that the initial properties of 09c do tend to wear out after 2 months of "decent" playing time.

However.... I find it morphs more into a "traditional" tensor type rubber, and still extremely useable.

It's less sticky, you can create marginally less spin (still loads though), and it just feels like a harder sponged version of Dignics 05 really..... I can see why players are getting a year out of the rubber.

But if you want that initial tackiness, and can't play without it..... You'll need to be changing after a few months at most.

You notice the big difference when you've played with an old sheet of 09c for months, and then stick a new sheet on - The new one tends to be slower (in my experience) because it's tacky - But the spin is incredible.

 

[JoshD]

Have you looked after it and always covered and protected the top sheet?
All the 10 month claims are from people who've really looked after it.
I doubt the sponge has deteriorated any, unless it's being stored too hot or too cold.
It's probably the deteriorated top-sheet giving the dead effect.
In any case, that sucks man. Sorry to hear you only got 3-4 months from an €80 rubber 🫤
I have Dignics 80 almost a year now and at 6+ hrs a week it's still going strong, will certainly get a few more months from it but honestly I have looked after it with ridiculous care. Cleaned after every use, always with plastic sheet on it, in a plastic envelope, in its case, in my bag and stored safely!
Ott I know but worth it for 12 months +.
It is a BH rubber though so it takes less of a beating than a FH rubber

ah yes. your making a good point. I clean the rubber before a match. maybe also during. after I put it in those small pouches or bags with a zipper. I do not put these plastic sheets on it. I dropped this some time ago as I always found them getting dirty. So if I start using these plastic covers it will last almost 2x the length of time? Other than that it lays in the bag and inside a drawer in room temp the remaining of the time. So unless the plastic sheets will give it 2x the life extension I should not be doing anything else wrong as far as I know. Does anyone know if the Zyre is wrapped in plastic sheet inside? Might be able to use those for it. I dont think I have any here. And I live abroad so takes 3 weeks for things to arrive here.

 

[JoshD]

D05 is one of the most durable rubbers out there, but someone who hits hard and trains hard (if this is you) is not going to get to 10 months with 6 hours per week, without experiencing major changes in the rubber performance. You may have read a comment from someone who trains softer or less than you, or isn't as sensitive to changes in rubber performance. But even the most durable rubbers aren't getting to 240 hours of play on them without changing a lot.

I do train hard. hit hard. Also I realize 6 hours is my minimum weekly. Sometimes do 8 or more.

 

[JoshD]

But he's saying his friend's 6-month-old D09C is in better condition than his 3-/4-month-old D05. That doesn't add up, assuming they play just as much.

I just realized my friend actually didnt play more then a few times the first 3 months with his rubber. Last few months was as much as I do. It was misleading and incorrect as it has not been used as much as mine. My mistake.

 

[JoshD]

For me getting 3 months out of a rubber (as I do with Z03) is great. I also play about 6 hours a week, and D05 lasts me about 2 months, D09C about a month. But some people happily play rubber for 6 months or a year or more.

ok good to hear. Its not me being crazy then. Each time I get a new 05 I play SO much better. I beat players that I wouldnt beat with the older rubber. I thought it was just some ego tripping and blaming it on equipment always felt wrong. But each time a new rubber comes in.... I feel a dramatic difference. I trust the shots so much more. And they land where they are supposed to.

 

[JoshD]

I would spend some time investigating how your friend maintains their rubber and how they store it.

I am on the scale of over the top with how I look after my setups...but I get a lot longer life out of them....an example...my setups lives in a aircon cooled environment removed from their bags to remove humidity from the setup...it keeps that new snappy feeling in the setup longer......I know...I have a problem.

I play 12 hrs a week and get well above what people say.

You keep plastic cover on them?

 

[JoshD]

I've been using 09c since it came out, but I'd say that the initial properties of 09c do tend to wear out after 2 months of "decent" playing time.

However.... I find it morphs more into a "traditional" tensor type rubber, and still extremely useable.

It's less sticky, you can create marginally less spin (still loads though), and it just feels like a harder sponged version of Dignics 05 really..... I can see why players are getting a year out of the rubber.

But if you want that initial tackiness, and can't play without it..... You'll need to be changing after a few months at most.

You notice the big difference when you've played with an old sheet of 09c for months, and then stick a new sheet on - The new one tends to be slower (in my experience) because it's tacky - But the spin is incredible.

what you said:

You notice the big difference

I think thats it. For some they just enjoy the rubber even as it changes. Others remember how a new one feels like.

My 05 is dead. Its 6 months old. It has been dead for the last 2 at least. I think I even remember that "honeymoon" feeling disappearing 2 months are up. I would bet if I went nuts financially and just changed them every 2 months I would still feel a difference from 2 months old to new.

Its really annoying me its like this for me. I have friends who cant feel anything different. They play with most setups. dont care. However I can feel the difference playing against them what setup they use. The balls they return changes according to the setup, regardless of them being able to feel it or not.

I hate the fact I need to spend so much money on rubbers if I wish to keep them crisp.

 

[MORTtheORT]

You keep plastic cover on them?

Absolutely. Adhesive on normal rubbers and none adhesive on H3 rubbers.

 

[Dr Evil]

ok good to hear. Its not me being crazy then. Each time I get a new 05 I play SO much better. I beat players that I wouldnt beat with the older rubber. I thought it was just some ego tripping and blaming it on equipment always felt wrong. But each time a new rubber comes in.... I feel a dramatic difference. I trust the shots so much more. And they land where they are supposed to.

Same. For me it was 09c.

 

[ThePongCommenter]

I do train hard. hit hard. Also I realize 6 hours is my minimum weekly. Sometimes do 8 or more.

Then yeah, 3-4 months is pretty good durability in that situation...

 

[RefereeNumber2]

Rubbers aren’t meant to maintain their performance for that long, and that’s OK. The material just doesn’t work that way. Imagine a rubber band…if you stretch a rubber band to its limit repeatedly, it’s going to break down pretty fast. Even if it’s just sitting in the drawer it will oxidize and get brittle over time.

Unfortunately for us, rubbers cost more than rubber bands. But if you want top performance you need to use fresh rubbers. Even a long lasting rubber is going to be noticeably different from new after a short period.

Durability isn’t really about how long a rubber can go before it becomes objectively unusable, it’s about your personal tradeoff between the degradation and the cost of replacement. So take anyone else’s statement about how long rubber lasts for them with a large grain of salt. I don’t doubt that some people actually do use a single sheet of Dignics 09c for 6-12 months, but I personally cannot imagine using it for anywhere near that long. I’ve tried some old sheets that have been sitting around for that long and the sponge is just completely dead, presumably from oxidation. I replace mine on average about every 5-6 weeks, depending on conditions.

 

[NewGuyHere]

For me getting 3 months out of a rubber (as I do with Z03) is great. I also play about 6 hours a week, and D05 lasts me about 2 months, D09C about a month. But some people happily play rubber for 6 months or a year or more.

One month for such an expensive rubber??

 

[Dr Evil]

One month for such an expensive rubber??

That's why I don't use it. Otherwise it's my favorite rubber.

 

[JoshD]

Rubbers aren’t meant to maintain their performance for that long, and that’s OK. The material just doesn’t work that way. Imagine a rubber band…if you stretch a rubber band to its limit repeatedly, it’s going to break down pretty fast. Even if it’s just sitting in the drawer it will oxidize and get brittle over time.

Unfortunately for us, rubbers cost more than rubber bands. But if you want top performance you need to use fresh rubbers. Even a long lasting rubber is going to be noticeably different from new after a short period.

Durability isn’t really about how long a rubber can go before it becomes objectively unusable, it’s about your personal tradeoff between the degradation and the cost of replacement. So take anyone else’s statement about how long rubber lasts for them with a large grain of salt. I don’t doubt that some people actually do use a single sheet of Dignics 09c for 6-12 months, but I personally cannot imagine using it for anywhere near that long. I’ve tried some old sheets that have been sitting around for that long and the sponge is just completely dead, presumably from oxidation. I replace mine on average about every 5-6 weeks, depending on conditions.

And whats your level and how much do you play pr week?