So it's faster and spinnier than AK47? It sounds like it must be really good.
In what way is it less than T05? Is it same speed and catapult?
Probably the balance between top sheet & sponge really.... That, combined with gear balance.
Everyone's playing touch is different, but for me, what makes the T05 a great rubber is neither its top sheet or sponge dominate -- it's actually a really great teaming of materials. The T05 has high speed without overly sacrificing spin or control -- catapault effect doesn't override dwell time. Top sheet and sponge work together and compliment each other to provide high spin & speed while still being reasonably manageable at every distance.
The T100 I played with however is a little too reliant on its hard 47.5 degree sponge to generate speed. The catapult effect dominates proceedings a bit too much, so to some degree it's a rubber that ALWAYS emphasises speed, whether you want it or not. It's spin levels - while being very, very good - are rarely truly outstanding, whereas the T05 blends these two qualities far better.
It also lacks a few mid-range gears, or at least it has done for me so far. Blade choice really does make or break this rubber -- harder outers make it almost unplayable close to the table for all but the most skillful players. Softer flexier blades help tame it, but it's still a fussy beast. With the T05, I find you get almost the same performance regardless of what you strap it to.... The blade makes a difference with the T05 as well, but it not a huge one in most cases -- or at least, it's not the huge difference you can get with the T100.
Please don't see these as huge negatives or deal-breakers though, because really they're just things you need to adjust to.
Speed is probably the closest match a T100 has to a T05, and given its sponge, that's understandable When Loki say 47.5 degree sponge, they 'ain't kidding! Despite being a tensor style sponge, it's really pretty bloody firm stuff. Some at my club put it around 50 degrees, myself I think 47.5 is about right.
With the Rxton 3 Blue, and R3Pink, I always thought Loki's claims of 40 degree and 39 degree sponge were exaggerated (I always judged them at about 45 and 42 degrees myself). The T100 however establishes Loki's hardness scale is consistent. The T100 has *considerably* firmer sponge than the R3Blue, Pink and Pro. In a side by side pinch test, the blue's claims of 40 degree sponge feels about right. If you've played with a blue however you know how hard they feel in isolation.
I used the R3Blue on my Stargazer (ie: a hard, fast ALC-like attacking blade I manufacture) for several months, and I really loved the punchy feel, speed, spin and low ball trajectory I got with it. On the same blade, the T100 however takes all those qualities, and more than doubles them. Speed is bonkers, spin is excellent, trajectory off the blade is flat as a pancake.
It's not overstating it to say on my Stargazer, the T100 had literally the flattest rubber trajectory I've ever seen... You gotta take two steps back to even think about hitting the table with that combo, and even then, you're only JUST hitting the corners / end line. Plus unlike the R3 Blue, during a BH counter-hit / punch, there is NO dwell time on the rubber whatsoever... Literally blink and you'll miss it. On a hard stiff composite blades, the T100's catapult is just crazy -- higher than a standard T05. With the R3Blue, my standard BH counter is a quick spinny punch. With the T100, it's a goddam bullet.
What's remarkable about the T100 though, is that even with that tiny dwell time on a BH punch, spin is still more than reasonable. It also is very controllable when pushing during the short game, due to that dead-bounce feeling on low impact shots I described earlier. The pimple diameter seems pretty wide for a Loki rubber, and the pimple spacing seems pretty tight, which partially explains the dead-push thing -- it's not in Rasanter territory in regard to pimple structure, but it's getting close.
It's got a genuine Japanese-style top sheet no question, though frankly I couldn't say whose. It's a firmer top-sheet than on my Victas VJ 07 Stiff or Rakza 07 Soft, and is very elastic. The top sheet material also seems a bit... I dunno... *tighter* than that of my Glazner, Roenza, T05 or Dignics test sheets (though granted they're all pretty worn out now) so I don't think it's a Butterfly top sheet either (I also can't conceive of Butterfly licensing out their top-sheet tech to anybody!)
Maybe it's a Nittaku design?? I initially thought it similar to a Hammond Z2 due to the waves on the top sheet (something I've since been told was a Loki thing) and while I've never played with a HZ2, the descriptions of their speed, spin and hardness still really seem to fit, (as does the general ball trajectory I've seen in review videos.)
The only other rubber I've seen behave like the T100 is the TCore Master 47 -- a hard-sponged spinny rocket launcher from Korea. Again I've not tried one myself, but I. The review vid I saw, it had the same super-flat trajectory on hard punchy hits.
Just to be clear, you CAN get really high trajectory loops with the thing. I know I'm repeating myself, but you just really do need a slower all-wood blade with more dwell time to it with this rubber... In that respect it's the fussiest rubber I've come across in ages.
Once I fitted the rubber to my Yabbie and switched the T100 to my FH, it was a very different story. Looping away from the table with it was an absolute joy
(NB: for reference purposes, the Wakkibat Yabbie is an attacking all-wood blade I make, with a balsa core and Tassie Oak outers. They're a coarser-grained, softer & far more elastic outer wood than the Tassie Blackwood I use on my Stargazer, so the dwell time is higher. It plays a bit like a faster Donic Cayman but is very linear and well behaved, without any balsa effect.)
This rubber really does have potential, so at some point I'll probably revisit this rubber for my own personal game, and try to find a blade in my collection of IP that suits it a bit better than the Yabbie. For now however I'll leave it be, as I currently have far too much work on my plate to devote to my own game 😂😂 The Veterans world champs are coming up quick and I have orders up to my ears, so don't be surprised folks if you don't hear from me for a while 🤣🤣
