Experience with some other Loki rubbers - Arthur China, GTX Pro (inc)

[Attitude]

Does it matter actually? I mean if it is the sponge or the glue/bond, the result is either way a flawed rubber, that wont sustain for a decent amount of time if you hit hard enough with it.
Not sure what i would gain, if know that the issue is the sponge and nothing else.

Speaking of which my next fh sheet started to slightly bubble up within my last training Session. Currently it is hard to see, but while i had my next matches today i got 2 more slight "bubble spots" in the main hitting area. This becomes a bit annoying, especially because this sheet just sustained for 2-3 weeks. I will probably still use the other 2 LACs i have in the bag, but if this keeps up, i am seriously inclined to make another switch (i mean Rxton 9 incoming^^).

At least i never managed to bubble a bh sheet, but i must say, that the 41 is a struggle to use for bh. Slight lose, undisciplined shots, and the ball does close to nothing...
I still managed to play 1:1 against players who are around 100TTR above me, but that feeling bothered my quite much.

 

[mattlamperouge]

I also dont think its the glue bond, mine Is hard to separate & it leaves sponge residue on each pip like @turbozed described.

Does it matter actually? I mean if it is the sponge or the glue/bond, the result is either way a flawed rubber, that wont sustain for a decent amount of time if you hit hard enough with it.
Not sure what i would gain, if know that the issue is the sponge and nothing else.

Speaking of which my next fh sheet started to slightly bubble up within my last training Session. Currently it is hard to see, but while i had my next matches today i got 2 more slight "bubble spots" in the main hitting area. This becomes a bit annoying, especially because this sheet just sustained for 2-3 weeks. I will probably still use the other 2 LACs i have in the bag, but if this keeps up, i am seriously inclined to make another switch (i mean Rxton 9 incoming^^).

At least i never managed to bubble a bh sheet, but i must say, that the 41 is a struggle to use for bh. Slight lose, undisciplined shots, and the ball does close to nothing...
I still managed to play 1:1 against players who are around 100TTR above me, but that feeling bothered my quite much.

It could maybe matter if they decided to address the issue on a future production run.
But i bet they dont get enough complaints about Lac, and if they need to change the sponge to solve the problem it wouldnt make much Sense since its probably hard to keep the rubber the same.

They are also developing Rxton7 as a D09c/K3 alternative so its probably better if they focus resources to make it a better rubber, learning from the Arthur series & gtx.

Specially if Rxton9 does well & get good reviews, if i was them, from a marketing standpoint i would push it as the flagship for chinese Tacky FH & release Rxton7 at the same price range as LAC as the New improved hybrid for BH.

For the Non Tacky market they are also making the Telson series to compete on that segment.
So i would spect them to locate resources on that future lineup.
Just my opinion.😌🤷🏓

 

[turbozed]

Does it matter actually? I mean if it is the sponge or the glue/bond, the result is either way a flawed rubber, that wont sustain for a decent amount of time if you hit hard enough with it.
Not sure what i would gain, if know that the issue is the sponge and nothing else.

Speaking of which my next fh sheet started to slightly bubble up within my last training Session. Currently it is hard to see, but while i had my next matches today i got 2 more slight "bubble spots" in the main hitting area. This becomes a bit annoying, especially because this sheet just sustained for 2-3 weeks. I will probably still use the other 2 LACs i have in the bag, but if this keeps up, i am seriously inclined to make another switch (i mean Rxton 9 incoming^^).

At least i never managed to bubble a bh sheet, but i must say, that the 41 is a struggle to use for bh. Slight lose, undisciplined shots, and the ball does close to nothing...
I still managed to play 1:1 against players who are around 100TTR above me, but that feeling bothered my quite much.

Maybe it doesn't matter. The only thing I can think of is that maybe some sort of light treatment or booster can be used to make the sponge a bit more supple without putting anymore stress on the sponge. Maybe someone with good chemistry knowledge can weigh in on that.

 

[lodro]

Maybe it doesn't matter. The only thing I can think of is that maybe some sort of light treatment or booster can be used to make the sponge a bit more supple without putting anymore stress on the sponge. Maybe someone with good chemistry knowledge can weigh in on that.

no need for research, this is a perfect case for Johnson Baby-oil .If it can soften baby bottoms it can soften the sponges 🤣🤣🤣

 

[turbozed]

no need for research, this is a perfect case for Johnson Baby-oil .If it can soften baby bottoms it can soften the sponges 🤣🤣🤣

I'll try putting one layer on some of the cuttings and see how that changes the crumbliness of the sponge.

Maybe we can just keep experimenting with different oils/boosters and see which one seems to make the sponge less likely to tear. If it's just a matter of finding the right one to extend the life of LAC, we might be able to get a pretty good deal since they seem to be getting discounted more and more due to the bubbling issue.

 

[longle]

well, if there was a de-boosting oil what would help - instead of softening the sponge, it will harden it, to make the sponge denser

 

[TischTenniser]

Hi guys, could anyone please tell me which rubbers among the Loki is good for BH/FH ?

 

[TensorBackhand]

Hi guys, could anyone please tell me which rubbers among the Loki is good for BH/FH ?

Arthur china, gtx, rxton 9 are good for fh.

T3, arthur Diamond are good for bh.

Also, seemingly the forgotten rubber is N80, which should be good for fh

 

[lodro]

I'll try putting one layer on some of the cuttings and see how that changes the crumbliness of the sponge.

I still got my edge cuttings so i will do the same, although my sponges never showed signs of crumbling.

 

[longle]

I also dont think its the glue bond, mine Is hard to separate & it leaves sponge residue on each pip like @turbozed described.

It could maybe matter if they decided to address the issue on a future production run.
But i bet they dont get enough complaints about Lac, and if they need to change the sponge to solve the problem it wouldnt make much Sense since its probably hard to keep the rubber the same.

They are also developing Rxton7 as a D09c/K3 alternative so its probably better if they focus resources to make it a better rubber, learning from the Arthur series & gtx.

Specially if Rxton9 does well & get good reviews, if i was them, from a marketing standpoint i would push it as the flagship for chinese Tacky FH & release Rxton7 at the same price range as LAC as the New improved hybrid for BH.

For the Non Tacky market they are also making the Telson series to compete on that segment.
So i would spect them to locate resources on that future lineup.
Just my opinion.😌🤷🏓

Now I'm getting confused with their Rxton naming chain - so Rxton 9 is an alternative for H3 Pro Blue - Rxton 7 is an alternative for K3/Dragon Grip ? IMO putting those 2 rubbers in the Arthur line sounds simpler, Arthur China Blue/Arthur Dragon sounds much cooler

 

[mocker88]

Yes. It might still be an uneven glue job. Sometimes, stuff moves around becomes more visible after use. But time will tell.

Yes it might be about the gluing. But it's not that common for me. I had a 729 - Dragon F rubber with strange bubbles in the middle of the rubber. It felt almost normal playing with, but I took it off and the bubbles went away, and when gluing it again it's like new. So I did something wrong then. But these bubbles I've seen in the pictures hre looks a bit more nasty...

 

[mocker88]

After more training this week, here are some ratings for the Rxton 9:

Serves: 9/10
Short game: 9.5/10
Looping: 9.5/10
Spin : 9,5/10
Speed : 9/10 (if unlocked, read below)
Blocking: 8/10
Tackiness: 8/10
Feeling of Safety: 9/10


More info and context:
For serves and short game its like a normal chinese rubber,
great at it and better than almost all the others I had so far.

Same goes for spin, in serves and attacks.

The rubber is excellent for topspin shots.
Even with minimal body movement, the balls find their way onto the table.
However, when you put in proper body effort, the balls are loaded with spin, speed.
The balls usually clear the net with ease and then follow a flat trajectory to win most points.
While the rubber may be slow initially, it gains speed when you put in the effort,
as expected from such a chinese rubber.
The speed doesn't stop at a certain point when you swing harder.

It took me a little to adapt to blocking but it does the job.
It is quite tacky, and can lift the ball up for a couple seconds.
You can definitely feel the stickiness with your finger.

I added "Feeling of Safety" because thats something I got from this rubber.
I no longer worry about whether the ball will go out or into the net.
This goes for all shots(defensive, offensive).
I can play with confidence.

I would chose this rubber over my H3 Neo Blue sponge.
No durability issues yet.
The cut-off remaining rubber also looks sturdy and stable.


Other rubbers I played before:
H3 Neo Blue sponge provincial
H8-80s,
Nittaku hurricane pro 3 Turbo blue,
LACs.
more that werent mine.

If I missed something or ther are any question.
Just ask.​

I'm curious about the Rxton 9, as you say that you would choose this one over your H3 Neo BS. What hardness in H3 do you play with, and could you compare it with the Rxton 9?

 

[mattlamperouge]

Now I'm getting confused with their Rxton naming chain - so Rxton 9 is an alternative for H3 Pro Blue - Rxton 7 is an alternative for K3/Dragon Grip ? IMO putting those 2 rubbers in the Arthur line sounds simpler, Arthur China Blue/Arthur Dragon sounds much cooler

Well that could also make sense but as a designer if i had to choose a series to work with now it would be Rxton, ideally they should of released Rxton 7 & 9 at about the same time, i bet that was their plan but R7 still needed testing to go into production.
Rxton 9 = H3NEO Blue sponge national
Rxton 7 = D09c

As the reasoning its just a Guess, but Rxton Is the newer series, sales of their initial rubbers & specially Rxton 3 pink/Blue Is probably higher than all other series, and it also seem to be getting More tracktion & positive international reviews, so if i had to choose i would allocate resources on the Rxton brand. Just my opinion

 

[longle]

Well that could also make sense but as a designer if i had to choose a series to work with now it would be Rxton, ideally they should of released Rxton 7 & 9 at about the same time, i bet that was their plan but R7 still needed testing to go into production.
Rxton 9 = H3NEO Blue sponge national
Rxton 7 = D09c

As the reasoning its just a Guess, but Rxton Is the newer series, sales of their initial rubbers & specially Rxton 3 pink/Blue Is probably higher than all other series, and it also seem to be getting More tracktion & positive international reviews, so if i had to choose i would allocate resources on the Rxton brand. Just my opinion

trying to imitate Xiom I see, both in the naming and the rubber logos

 

[mattlamperouge]

trying to imitate Xiom I see, both in the naming and the rubber logos

Haha they sure took some "inspiration" from Xiom for the design, with the geometric shapes & metallic foil. specially the first packaging of Rxton with the name on top, even the Main Loki logo has a similar typeface.

Now they are updating & cleaning the look a bit.

I personally like the clean look of Loki Rxton1 Special & Rxton 3 pink/blue with the silver foil, it has a somewhat premium look & feel in person, doesnt look like cheap rubbers at all! They dont have any information on the back though.

 

[lodro]

I'll try putting one layer on some of the cuttings and see how that changes the crumbliness of the sponge.

Maybe we can just keep experimenting with different oils/boosters and see which one seems to make the sponge less likely to tear. If it's just a matter of finding the right one to extend the life of LAC, we might be able to get a pretty good deal since they seem to be getting discounted more and more due to the bubbling issue.

Here are my cut off edges from LAC the front piece had 1 layer of J-baby oil .
Originally the rubber is 3.65mm thick, the treated edge is 3.85 mm.
The rubber does feel softer and a bit more pliable.

This experiment is just a bit of fun to find if the treatment softens the sponge and prevents it from crumbling. This is NOT about BOOSTING.

 

[turbozed]

I also just tried pulling apart the baby oil treated LAC rubber cuttings. One light layer left out about 20 hours.

Instead of every pip having some sponge attached, some of the pips failed before the sponge did when pulled apart and came off with the sponge. This doesn't necessarily mean that the sponge is now more resilient. It could also mean that the baby oil weakened the topsheet pips. Subjectively, it feels like the sponge is more supple and less crumbly though, so I would say it's more likely the sponge being less easy to tear than the pips being more easy to tear.

Finally, there were no clean pulls from the pips from the sponge. Either the sponge was left on the pips, or the pips were torn and left on the sponge. So the glue was never the point of failure, even after the layer of baby oil.

This may only be a temporary effect of course. After a while, one would expect some moisture loss from the mineral oil. But I'm reading that mineral oil doesn't evaporate quickly, so it's possible this effect will last for the lifetime of the rubber.

If my untreated LAC starts to bubble, I'll probably be applying a thin layer to my second sheet of LAC and see if it makes a difference. I track how many hours of play I get out of a rubber in a spreadsheet after every session. If there's a significant difference, I'll report back. This might take a couple of months of play however, depending how resilient my LACs are.

 

[lodro]

I also just tried pulling apart the baby oil treated LAC rubber cuttings. One light layer left out about 20 hours.

Instead of every pip having some sponge attached, some of the pips failed before the sponge did when pulled apart and came off with the sponge. This doesn't necessarily mean that the sponge is now more resilient. It could also mean that the baby oil weakened the topsheet pips. Subjectively, it feels like the sponge is more supple and less crumbly though, so I would say it's more likely the sponge being less easy to tear than the pips being more easy to tear.

Finally, there were no clean pulls from the pips from the sponge. Either the sponge was left on the pips, or the pips were torn and left on the sponge. So the glue was never the point of failure, even after the layer of baby oil.

This may only be a temporary effect of course. After a while, one would expect some moisture loss from the mineral oil. But I'm reading that mineral oil doesn't evaporate quickly, so it's possible this effect will last for the lifetime of the rubber.

If my untreated LAC starts to bubble, I'll probably be applying a thin layer to my second sheet of LAC and see if it makes a difference. I track how many hours of play I get out of a rubber in a spreadsheet after every session. If there's a significant difference, I'll report back. This might take a couple of months of play however, depending how resilient my LACs are.

looking good, it is 1 to zero for baby oil 🤣

 

[longle]

I tried Rxton 3 Pro on my friend's ZJK ALC today, got a sale off (I bought it for 9.5$)

The rubber looks okay, with matte topsheet and soft black sponge - feels like H37 in hardness

It performs not quite like I expected, tooooo slowwww. It's not spinny either. Nothing extraordinary.

One funny thing is that when I remove the rubber from the blade, the glue sticks tighter to the blade than the rubber as you see in the 2nd pic. The cleanest peeling way I've ever seen 🤣

 

[TensorBackhand]

Sounds like Rxton 1

I tried Rxton 3 Pro on my friend's ZJK ALC today, got a sale off (I bought it for 9.5$)

The rubber looks okay, with matte topsheet and soft black sponge - feels like H37 in hardness

It performs not quite like I expected, tooooo slowwww. It's not spinny either. Nothing extraordinary.

One funny thing is that when I remove the rubber from the blade, the glue sticks tighter to the blade than the rubber as you see in the 2nd pic. The cleanest peeling way I've ever seen 🤣

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