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

[Oliverpool]

It also seems like they changed the top sheet formula? on the Rxton 9. The older sheets i had was so sticky you could actually "catch" the ball a little it was bouncing and your rubber was facing down on the table. But the recent new batches are as sticky as the new H3 or Xuperman rubber topsheet. Which is not very sticky just able to lift the ball a little before dropping.

 

[mattlamperouge]

Had my first bad experience with Loki yesterday.

I've gotten great performance and life out of every other Loki rubber I've tried. Rxton 3 Blue and LAC were some of my best performers and I got around 50 hrs of play from them each and they're still in good enough shape to use.

I recently put two layers of seamoon on a new Rxton 3 Pink. After using it for a couple of hours I noticed that the top sheet separated from the sponge. Maybe 33% of the rubber had come off.

This is pretty surprising since I put 2 layers on Rxton 3 Blue and no problem at all. I bought this rubber over a year ago and it was likely an early batch.

Blue and pink are considered the same rubber except for color. So my guess is that somwhere down the line Loki started using some bad glue and it affected a good amount of their product. This might be the source of the infamous LAC bubbling issue. And it looks like some batches of Rxton 3 Pink were affected.

Haven't heard of any problems with their newer rubbers like the Rxton Pro series or the Telson, so hopefully the bad batches have stopped.

Wish there was a way of knowing which rubbers were affected without actually using it.

I had the same experience with my personal R3 pink. After boosting it worked great for a about a month or two, then started peeling from the edge & some bubble formed.
I glued & pressed the edges but it kept separating so i decided to reglue with contact cement. The topsheet separated easily without broken pips, stronger glue seems to do the job and its still playing fine for the last few weeks.
I tested cuts from 3 different R3 pink and 3 Blue from different batches. 2 of the R3 pink separated easily. The newer one didn't, so glue seems stronger on the last batch. The blue ones didn't have the same problem.

 

[lodro]

It also seems like they changed the top sheet formula? on the Rxton 9. The older sheets i had was so sticky you could actually "catch" the ball a little it was bouncing and your rubber was facing down on the table. But the recent new batches are as sticky as the new H3 or Xuperman rubber topsheet. Which is not very sticky just able to lift the ball a little before dropping.

Yep, it is a conspiracy , the anti-sticky conspiracy 🤣

Yesterday I peeled an 4 year old neo 37 red of a blade because it started to look a bit "grotty ". This old rubber is still stickier than any rubber sold these days be it by DHS and /or Loki.

 

[lodro]

I had the same experience with my personal R3 pink. After boosting it worked great for a about a month or two, then started peeling from the edge & some bubble formed.
I glued & pressed the edges but it kept separating so i decided to reglue with contact cement. The topsheet separated easily without broken pips, stronger glue seems to do the job and its still playing fine for the last few weeks.
I tested cuts from 3 different R3 pink and 3 Blue from different batches. 2 of the R3 pink separated easily. The newer one didn't, so glue seems stronger on the last batch. The blue ones didn't have the same problem.

i just checked my ali account and it showed i ordered the pinker in july 2023 from the Goo store. Maybe i got the later, tuff version that is made like a brick shit house ..... and plays like it 😁

maybe i should use it to make some sandals

 

[turbozed]

Here's my order history of Loki rubbers:

Loki Rxton 3 Blue - March 2023, GOO Store - this rubber was a tank, 50 hours still going strong, boosted without separating
Loki Arthur China - June 2023, Loki Official Store - bought two sheets; both durable and good quality 50+ hours on one and still has life
Loki Rxton 3 Pink - November 2023, Bought on Lazada Vietnam - Boosting caused bubble, sheet separated after an hour of use

Have two new sheets of Rxton 3 Pink and Blue bought a week ago. Will update on how those do.

 

[MonkeyDLuffy]

It also seems like they changed the top sheet formula? on the Rxton 9. The older sheets i had was so sticky you could actually "catch" the ball a little it was bouncing and your rubber was facing down on the table. But the recent new batches are as sticky as the new H3 or Xuperman rubber topsheet. Which is not very sticky just able to lift the ball a little before dropping.

Had the same experience. I compared the topsheets of my older sheets vs new ones and the old one was a bit shinier then the new ones which looked a bit matte.

 

[turbozed]

i do have a pinky which i hate with a passion.I have already boosted it several times in hope to get any desirable effects from it but no luck. The "friggen thing" still looks like new. It being colored, i bought it for the BH but tried it lastly as a forehand rubber but Rxton 3pro is much better and cost half the money.

Yeah I boosted the Blue and it curled up significantly. Pink barely curled after 2 layers of Seamoon. The sponge did soften from 52.5d or so to around 50 so it did have some effect.

The reason I like the R3 Blue is that it performs BH punches really well. There's this loud pop and the ball gains speed and the arc flattens a bit resulting in a great change of pace compared to a regular BH drive. I kinda want to develop this as a point winner in BH to BH exchanges. I also dig the cool colors (esp the pink for some reason).

Does the R3 Pro have this same property on BH punches?

 

[TensorBackhand]

Here's my order history of Loki rubbers:

Loki Rxton 3 Blue - March 2023, GOO Store - this rubber was a tank, 50 hours still going strong, boosted without separating
Loki Arthur China - June 2023, Loki Official Store - bought two sheets; both durable and good quality 50+ hours on one and still has life
Loki Rxton 3 Pink - November 2023, Bought on Lazada Vietnam - Boosting caused bubble, sheet separated after an hour of use

Have two new sheets of Rxton 3 Pink and Blue bought a week ago. Will update on how those do.

Did booster have a strong catapult effect on rxton 3 blue/pink? How about LAC?

 

[lodro]

Yeah I boosted the Blue and it curled up significantly. Pink barely curled after 2 layers of Seamoon. The sponge did soften from 52.5d or so to around 50 so it did have some effect.

The reason I like the R3 Blue is that it performs BH punches really well. There's this loud pop and the ball gains speed and the arc flattens a bit resulting in a great change of pace compared to a regular BH drive. I kinda want to develop this as a point winner in BH to BH exchanges. I also dig the cool colors (esp the pink for some reason).

Does the R3 Pro have this same property on BH punches?

r3 pro i only have in black on my FH so can not give info.
On my FH i like it because my balls now land on the table instead than too long. It is similar to rozena.

 

[turbozed]

Some more observations about Loki Rxton 3 Blue vs Pink (the new batch)

Rxton 3 Pink weighs 64g uncut. Rxton 3 Blue weighs 66g uncut.

Pink on my durometer was 50d. Blue on the durometer was 49-50d. Blue on my durometer was around 51d.

Pink has a heavy gasoline smell. Blue smells just like rubber, no gasoline smell.

My Pink has a mild curl to it. The Blue lies completely flat.

This leads me to believe that the sponge of the Pink was treated somehow, and it is indeed 1 degree softer than Blue. This also might explain why there is more topsheet separation with the Pink, since it's already somewhat factory boosted and may affect the glue holding the topsheet to the sponge. Also may explain why 2 layers of booster curled the Blue up but not the Pink.

Just my observations and theories but I think the smell is the most telling clue. It's a night and day difference. Incidentally, I don't recall my other Pink smelling like this and it was also harder sponge at 52d, so maybe they used a different treatment sometime recently. Maybe for cost-cutting, to rectify the separation issue, or just supply chain change, I don't know.

But I'll be glueing the Pink and testing how it plays and holds up. Will test the topsheet adhesion with the cuttings.

Edit: Tried to peel the topsheet from the sponge on a new batch Rxton 3 Pink. Adhesion is very good as the glue was the strongest point. Either the pips or sponge ripped before the bond between them failed! Good sign.

 

[lodro]

There is of course no rule that dictates where a rubber has to be fitted for BH or FH but when a rubber is only sold in black, like several loki rubbers, then I assume it is being made as a FH rubber.
Equally, if a rubber is sold only in the new colors, as in pink or blue etc. I assumed it is being made as a BH rubber.

As i could not get the pink R3 to work on BH on any blade i own I tried it finally as a FH with some layers of booster and I can use it now..................as long as I won't forget that on this blade only: """ black is back."""

oh deary me, why do i bother 😂

 

[longle]

There is of course no rule that dictates where a rubber has to be fitted for BH or FH but when a rubber is only sold in black, like several loki rubbers, then I assume it is being made as a FH rubber.
Equally, if a rubber is sold only in the new colors, as in pink or blue etc. I assumed it is being made as a BH rubber.

As i could not get the pink R3 to work on BH on any blade i own I tried it finally as a FH with some layers of booster and I can use it now..................as long as I won't forget that on this blade only: """ black is back."""

oh deary me, why do i bother 😂

as long as you don't compete in tournaments, blue and pink to go

 

[turbozed]

Just wanted to pop in to report that the latest batch of Rxton 3 Blue and Pink bought a couple months ago have had zero problems with bubbling and sponge separation.

Boosted Rxton 3 Blue with just 1 layer of Seamoon. It curled up and stayed curled for about a day and a half so the reaction is pretty strong.

After cutting and gluing, I took at the remaining rubber bits to see how strong the bond between the topsheet and sponge was. Despite boosting it, I could not pull the topsheet from the sponge. The booster actually made the sponge a bit less crumbly and it was actually not even possible for me to separate the topsheet from the sponge. Rxton 3 Pink with no booster the sponge was crumbly enough that I could tear it.

But Rxton 3 Blue with mild boosting may have the best topsheet+sponge resiliency I've ever seen. Loki seems to have addressed this QC issue.

@TensorBackhand to answer your question about boosting affecting catapult effect, I think there's a noticeable addition of catapult and the rubber feels faster and more powerful. I think it's a worthwhile experiment to buy a 2024 batch of Rxton 3 Blue and try it with 1 layer of SM.

It's so far my favorite rubber for the BH and suits me more than Yinhe Moon 12 (I've tried M- and M+).

 

[mattlamperouge]

Just wanted to pop in to report that the latest batch of Rxton 3 Blue and Pink bought a couple months ago have had zero problems with bubbling and sponge separation.

Boosted Rxton 3 Blue with just 1 layer of Seamoon. It curled up and stayed curled for about a day and a half so the reaction is pretty strong.

After cutting and gluing, I took at the remaining rubber bits to see how strong the bond between the topsheet and sponge was. Despite boosting it, I could not pull the topsheet from the sponge. The booster actually made the sponge a bit less crumbly and it was actually not even possible for me to separate the topsheet from the sponge. Rxton 3 Pink with no booster the sponge was crumbly enough that I could tear it.

But Rxton 3 Blue with mild boosting may have the best topsheet+sponge resiliency I've ever seen. Loki seems to have addressed this QC issue.

@TensorBackhand to answer your question about boosting affecting catapult effect, I think there's a noticeable addition of catapult and the rubber feels faster and more powerful. I think it's a worthwhile experiment to buy a 2024 batch of Rxton 3 Blue and try it with 1 layer of SM.

It's so far my favorite rubber for the BH and suits me more than Yinhe Moon 12 (I've tried M- and M+).

That's great to hear, I didn't had problems with older Rxton 3 Blue, 2 pinks had weaker bond.

 

[TensorBackhand]

Just wanted to pop in to report that the latest batch of Rxton 3 Blue and Pink bought a couple months ago have had zero problems with bubbling and sponge separation.

Boosted Rxton 3 Blue with just 1 layer of Seamoon. It curled up and stayed curled for about a day and a half so the reaction is pretty strong.

After cutting and gluing, I took at the remaining rubber bits to see how strong the bond between the topsheet and sponge was. Despite boosting it, I could not pull the topsheet from the sponge. The booster actually made the sponge a bit less crumbly and it was actually not even possible for me to separate the topsheet from the sponge. Rxton 3 Pink with no booster the sponge was crumbly enough that I could tear it.

But Rxton 3 Blue with mild boosting may have the best topsheet+sponge resiliency I've ever seen. Loki seems to have addressed this QC issue.

@TensorBackhand to answer your question about boosting affecting catapult effect, I think there's a noticeable addition of catapult and the rubber feels faster and more powerful. I think it's a worthwhile experiment to buy a 2024 batch of Rxton 3 Blue and try it with 1 layer of SM.

It's so far my favorite rubber for the BH and suits me more than Yinhe Moon 12 (I've tried M- and M+).

I really want to boost my rxton pink for the catapult, but i feel it would bubble easily. The cutout pieces separate very easily when i pull them apart.

 

[turbozed]

I really want to boost my rxton pink for the catapult, but i feel it would bubble easily. The cutout pieces separate very easily when i pull them apart.

Yeah I wouldnt do it. I imagine it'll bubble and separate quickly.

From now on I'm going to be buying the Blue and then boosting it to soften the sponge a bit.

Another thing I noticed is that with the Blue I can produce this cracking powerful BH shot by making my contact a bit flatter. This I can't produce reliably on the Pink.

 

[TensorBackhand]

Yeah I wouldnt do it. I imagine it'll bubble and separate quickly.

From now on I'm going to be buying the Blue and then boosting it to soften the sponge a bit.

Another thing I noticed is that with the Blue I can produce this cracking powerful BH shot by making my contact a bit flatter. This I can't produce reliably on the Pink.

you know what I could do though... I have a old bubbled Rxton pink. Maybe I can just boost that and see how much catapult is added.

 

[turbozed]

you know what I could do though... I have a old bubbled Rxton pink. Maybe I can just boost that and see how much catapult is added.

Maybe take look at the video I posted a while back with the Blue. If the Pink makes that loud cracking sound and has that sort of speed boost, then maybe the boosted Pink is the same.

They seem to feel different to me tho. Whatever gasoline smelling thing they used to soften the sponge compared to the blue has tamed the whole thing down, without increasing the tension much.

Also, if you do 2 layers of seamoon on the old bad batch of Pink, the top sheet will just come clean off the sponge. So maybe just try one.

 

[kolyasya]

It's so far my favorite rubber for the BH and suits me more than Yinhe Moon 12 (I've tried M- and M+).

What is the main difference between these 2? I'm a happy Moon 12 user, so I'm wondering if I need to try Rxton 3.

 

[turbozed]

What is the main difference between these 2? I'm a happy Moon 12 user, so I'm wondering if I need to try Rxton 3.

Moon 12 to me is a bit more bouncy and the sponge has a more airy feeling. The Rxton 3 Blue has a harder sponge, feels more dense, and is slightly tacky. For how I play the Rxton is more comfortable to play with while having much better top end speed and flat hitting.