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

[Zwill]

The proof shall be in the pudding, as they say. I am the opposite of you, an old decrepit weakling.
If it bubbles up it will most definitively not be because of me hammering it too strongly 😂

You must be the most clued-up old decrepit weakling in memes.
I don't know why but when I think about you I just picture Anthony Hopkins peeing on his lemon tree. I know he's not a kiwi but he sure portrays an old "decrepit" kiwi with a passion for speed, wheelspin and a sense of humor.

 

[Scarfed Garchomp]

Folks who have been playing long enough to remember Gambler Outlaw might be able to relate 😂 Feels like bubbling like this was much more common with Chinese rubbers back in the day

 

[Zwill]

Folks who have been playing long enough to remember Gambler Outlaw might be able to relate 😂 Feels like bubbling like this was much more common with Chinese rubbers back in the day

I don't know about that rubber, but some "older folks" told me that Haifu Whale was like this too. If one was lucky they got 2 years life out of a sheet and that sheet was cherished like it was some goddess's virginity, but chances were that it bubbled up on you prematurely.

Around 2012 I actually bought myself a sheet of Blue Whale 2 factory boosted and a Haifu Shark 2???
At that time I think I used them with a Yasaka Synergy blade which was a light blade. Funnily enough, I liked the Blue Whale a lot on that blade but not the Shark.

Then about 6-7 years later I revisited the same Shark rubber on an Xiom Ice Cream and I really loved it until it bubbled up on my BH side. Maybe the ball change changed my opinion of that rubber.

 

[lodro]

You must be the most clued-up old decrepit weakling in memes.
I don't know why but when I think about you I just picture Anthony Hopkins peeing on his lemon tree. I know he's not a kiwi but he sure portrays an old "decrepit" kiwi with a passion for speed, wheelspin and a sense of humor.

😁😁😁 I am also not a Kiwi and these days pissing against the lemon tree would likely get me arrested for indecent exposure.
As for Anthony, I am more like him in the movie "Instinct"

 

[longle]

okay, my 4th sheet lived through the 4th day 😛 but as @Zwill said, it's quite easy to seperate the topsheet from the sponge. I also use Winion glue, removing the glue from the sponge is a breeze (the glue that sticks the sponge and the blade to clarify) - you can pull out the glue layer from the sponge in just 1 go. I guess that's the downside of this "cake" sponge - it does not hold the glue so well

 

[TensorBackhand]

View attachment 25880

Did you hit the rubber on the table? or it just detached on its own?

This is exactly what happened to my Triple Double after boosting.

Btw, I just can't resist the beauty of the red sponge on the black topsheet.

 

[longle]

Did you hit the rubber on the table? or it just detached on its own?

This is exactly what happened to my Triple Double after boosting.

Btw, I just can't resist the beauty of the red sponge on the black topsheet.

no boosting, so hitting, actually it only seperate a little, and I try to seperate it more by force and confirm that it's very easy to seperate the topsheet

 

[TensorBackhand]

I wonder what makes it easy to separate? Is it the glue that is weak? or the sponge that is weak?

 

[longle]

I wonder what makes it easy to separate? Is it the glue that is weak? or the sponge that is weak?

I guess more likely the sponge, it's brittle and easy to tear down

 

[TensorBackhand]

I guess more likely the sponge, it's brittle and easy to tear down

I have a boosted sheet of Nittaku H3 Orange. I find that the edges are detaching in 3 or 4 different large sections. but luckily the center of the sheet has not bubbled yet

 

[Zwill]

I don't know why I speculated yesterday if the glue bond is weak or the sponge or the pips.
I just cut into the bubble and checked. The sponge is the weakness, I can see some sponge remnants on the little pips.

Rubber autopsy works.

 

[lodro]

Rubber autopsy works.

autopsy ???? I s'pouse you meant to say vivisection 🤣

 

[Zwill]

autopsy ???? I s'pouse you meant to say vivisection 🤣

I should have not brought up Anthony Hopkins and you in the same sentence. Your Hannibal Lecter is showing all of a sudden 😰

 

[mattlamperouge]

I don't know why I speculated yesterday if the glue bond is weak or the sponge or the pips.
I just cut into the bubble and checked. The sponge is the weakness, I can see some sponge remnants on the little pips.

Rubber autopsy works.

Thats interesting to know, and it also make sense that different hardness sponges seem to break easier. Lets hope they have improved sponges for Rxton7 & 9. Especially 7 that seems to aim for the same market

 

[lodro]

I don't know why I speculated yesterday if the glue bond is weak or the sponge or the pips.
I just cut into the bubble and checked. The sponge is the weakness, I can see some sponge remnants on the little pips.

Rubber autopsy works.

Now before we draw final conclusions let us just take a deep breath and consider :
Is it at all possible that is actually the glue that makes the sponge weak and maybe brittle ????
of course I am talking about the glue they use to marry the top to the sponge.

 

[Attitude]

Now before we draw final conclusions let us just take a deep breath and consider :
Is it at all possible that is actually the glue that makes the sponge weak and maybe brittle ????
of course I am talking about the glue they use to marry the top to the sponge.

Interesting thought.
But i do have some newer experiences i will try to share when ive made the pictures and im back at my pc, because posting stuff with my smartphone is a pain in the ass.

I hope tomorrow i will have the chance and time.

 

[longle]

My 4th sheet (14$) on the same store (10/7/2023 - 16/7/2023) with 6 bubbles. Now I'm gluing the expensive sheet (21$) to see how long it can last 😂

 

[Attitude]

My 4th sheet (14$) on the same store (10/7/2023 - 16/7/2023) with 6 bubbles. Now I'm gluing the expensive sheet (21$) to see how long it can last 😂

View attachment 25899

Jesus 6 days and your sheet looks like shit. No other way to describe this^^
And again your topsheet overall looks quite different than all of mine.
For comparison here are my current 2 sheets, around 2 months in use: https://photos.app.goo.gl/M3vJQBMtPraBznjf9

The edges were losing it too now. Although mostly due to the fact that i used edge tape at the beginning and didnt cover the whole rubber. And i hit a lot of edges, which caused the rubber to lose its grip on the sponge because the sponge was protected through the edge tape.

Thanks to you guys i got a bit paranoid and check my rubber thoroughly every training day if it bubbled up too in the middle of the rubber.
Today i tested the LAC on my Yinhe Pro 01 for several hours. But no lose spots here.

My foreign friend has the same experience with his 3/4 months old LAC. Some shitty spots at the edges but topsheet and the rest of the rubber is fine. In the meantime he tested 2 more blades with it, and no issues whatsover.
He is pretty much happy with it, though finds it a bit harder to generate spin with harder blades. Still possible, but requires really good technique and is overall harder to perform.

 

[Zwill]

Is the "expensive" sheet also 40 degree hard or 41deg?
Probably the 40 degree sponge is weaker than 41, but even the 41 is fragile.

 

[turbozed]

Jesus 6 days and your sheet looks like shit. No other way to describe this^^
And again your topsheet overall looks quite different than all of mine.
For comparison here are my current 2 sheets, around 2 months in use: https://photos.app.goo.gl/M3vJQBMtPraBznjf9

The edges were losing it too now. Although mostly due to the fact that i used edge tape at the beginning and didnt cover the whole rubber. And i hit a lot of edges, which caused the rubber to lose its grip on the sponge because the sponge was protected through the edge tape.

Thanks to you guys i got a bit paranoid and check my rubber thoroughly every training day if it bubbled up too in the middle of the rubber.
Today i tested the LAC on my Yinhe Pro 01 for several hours. But no lose spots here.

My foreign friend has the same experience with his 3/4 months old LAC. Some shitty spots at the edges but topsheet and the rest of the rubber is fine. In the meantime he tested 2 more blades with it, and no issues whatsover.
He is pretty much happy with it, though finds it a bit harder to generate spin with harder blades. Still possible, but requires really good technique and is overall harder to perform.

Can you give us a sense of what the heat and humidity is like when you play?

Both longle and Zwill play in hot and humid environments and I'm wondering if that plays any role in the glue bond being weakened.