Forehand rubber recommendation for my Zebarate

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Hi,
I am a returning player, ive played since my childhood days.. I am 39 now, havent played since 2012-13.. ive a health issue and was advised to take up exercise/sport by my doctor, so table tennis was the obvious choice, I purchased the TB ALC + Rakza 7 (R7) for my first blade, as it was highly recommended, but i soon found out that the setup was too fast for my all+ / off- play style. I then changed the rubber to R7 Soft, it was ok but still not good as it doesnt feel natural to me, i guessed that the blade with the outer ALC was the problem, so i bought the new Yasaka Zebarate (very similar to innerforce layer/Apolonia in feel and materials/layers) and i find it quite good.. here i am still using the R7 softs for both FH and BH, i felt i need a bit more control on my BH and switched to Yasaka Valmo (i am a yasaka fan way back from the old Mark V days), it is very good and much better than my R7 soft on my BH.. so my setup is now the Zebarate + R7 Soft FH + Valmo BH. i thought it was a very good setup for my play style at first as it was easy to do top spins, opening up under spins and serves, here my opponents are beginner to intermediate at best with relatively cheap blades and rubbers. Today i went to my local TT club and played against a friend with Apolonia ZLC + Dignics 05 FH + Barracuda BH.. i had no idea i would struggle so much just to open up or top spin his serves/under spin shots, from his dignics 05.. this has led me to believe that my FH rubber with the soft sponge is the culprit. So i would like some suggestions for a new FH rubber that could go against the dignics 05 and its heavy spin. my options are Rakza 7, Rakza X, Tenergy 05.. but i dont want to spend too much on the rubber, anything more expensive than the T 05 is a no go due to budget constraints. Do know that ive sold al the old rubbers and the TB ALC, so i am now with only my current blade and rubbers mentioned. I used to have an adidas C500 carbon + adidas P5 FH + adidas P3 BH which i really liked but since they arent available anymore, i do not know what rubber to choose. i mainly play from close to mid range from the table.

Option 1: Rakza 7
Option 2: Rakza X
Option 3: Tenergy 05
Option 4: ??
Option 5: ??

Any input or suggestions will be deeply appreciated. I would like to mention that I am by no means a novice/beginner, ive even won the inter college gold medal 2 times, a state level bronze, etc back in my younger days.. but as i havent played for a long time and due to my health issues, i will never be able to play at that level ever again, I am saying this because i dont want to be recommended a beginner rubber but i am not quite versed in the new rubbers and the new plastic 40+ balls. Cheers.

Attached a few pictures of my current setup.
IMG_20191123_151007.jpg IMG_20191123_164717.jpg IMG_20191209_135713.jpg
 
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Have you tried flipping your paddle and using Valmo on the forehand? Easy way to try another rubber.

On the other hand, soft sponged rubbers are usually easier to open up against underspin with. I'd imagine the biggest problem is that you're not used to playing an opponent with a paddle that's capable of generating good spin and that simply playing against your friend more will give you the experience needed to be more consistent.
 
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Slow and controllable yet more more spin vs Dignics= Hurricane 3.

But honestly, the problem is not your rubber vs his Dignics...

Hi, thanks for the response..What would be the problem? i was thinking using a harder sponge/faster rubber would be able to at least help in countering the dignics, i do think that the Soft sponge in my R7 soft is the main problem here, ive been playing again for more than 2 months now and have gained back some of my attack skills.. but the underlying problem i have is his underspin, I can attack it when i put more effort, i.e. full swing, but that brings a whole other problem as the attack tends to be quite slow and very easy to block/attack back, which i cannot respond to as im just recovering from my first attack.. If i were to use a T 05, wouldnt it be easier for me to attack his underspins/serves?
Edit: I havent thought of the H3, but i really dont like to use tacky rubbers, they get dirty too easily and isnt very durable to my experience.. maybe things have changed while i was away.

Have you tried flipping your paddle and using Valmo on the forehand? Easy way to try another rubber.

On the other hand, soft sponged rubbers are usually easier to open up against underspin with. I'd imagine the biggest problem is that you're not used to playing an opponent with a paddle that's capable of generating good spin and that simply playing against your friend more will give you the experience needed to be more consistent.
Hey, thanks for the reply, I havent tried the valmo in FH against him, as we played only a few games, i think ill try that next time we play.. thanks for the input.

I've thought about this too and yes i think i havent quite adjusted to his play style and his rubber + the different table they use. but it shouldnt be as hard after the 3rd or 4th game, but it still was.. my R7 Soft just couldnt do it consistently.
 
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Hi, thanks for the response..What would be the problem? i was thinking using a harder sponge/faster rubber would be able to at least help in countering the dignics, i do think that the Soft sponge in my R7 soft is the main problem here, ive been playing again for more than 2 months now and have gained back some of my attack skills.. but the underlying problem i have is his underspin, I can attack it when i put more effort, i.e. full swing, but that brings a whole other problem as the attack tends to be quite slow and very easy to block/attack back, which i cannot respond to as im just recovering from my first attack.. If i were to use a T 05, wouldnt it be easier for me to attack his underspins/serves?
Edit: I havent thought of the H3, but i really dont like to use tacky rubbers, they get dirty too easily and isnt very durable to my experience.. maybe things have changed while i was away.


Hey, thanks for the reply, I havent tried the valmo in FH against him, as we played only a few games, i think ill try that next time we play.. thanks for the input.

I've thought about this too and yes i think i havent quite adjusted to his play style and his rubber + the different table they use. but it shouldnt be as hard after the 3rd or 4th game, but it still was.. my R7 Soft just couldnt do it consistently.

No problem, hope it works out.

It could be that soft rubbers just don't work with your touch on FH - I actually have that problem myself. Any decent quality rubber can do everything you need it to, but if it doesn't give you the feel that you need then it'll make things harder for you.
 
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No problem, hope it works out.

It could be that soft rubbers just don't work with your touch on FH - I actually have that problem myself. Any decent quality rubber can do everything you need it to, but if it doesn't give you the feel that you need then it'll make things harder for you.

When i was using the TB ALC + R7, it was quite easy to loop, but i felt it lacked the control i wanted.
A friend is bringing a new T 05 tomorrow, i think ill try it out, as its recommended to me by my local mates. Thanks for the input.
 

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If you have been playing beginner-level players the first time you face a more serious player with proper equipment you will not be able to adjust. The spin is going to be so much more. If you play with him for five or six hours you will get used to it. You may want to change the R7soft anyway, but you could wait until it wears out naturally and then buy something else to replace it. But by then your brain will have adapted to his spin and you will be fine regardless.
 
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Not sure about your prefrence in speed and spin, but i've heard a lot good from the DNA M and DNA H. From reviews i've read and feedback i heard from players using it in my club, it seems to be a controllable and spinny rubber. I might not be the best to judge as i'm only 2 years into playing this sport, but might be something you'd preffer if you like controll. It would be good to try if you can find someone that already use the DNA rubber.
 
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If you have been playing beginner-level players the first time you face a more serious player with proper equipment you will not be able to adjust. The spin is going to be so much more. If you play with him for five or six hours you will get used to it. You may want to change the R7soft anyway, but you could wait until it wears out naturally and then buy something else to replace it. But by then your brain will have adapted to his spin and you will be fine regardless.

yea, you're correct.. i need to play more advanced players. regarding the rubber, i know that i will have trouble in opening heavy chops if i continue using this rubber, its to slow for my FH as my blade also isnt that fast. I am planning to get the T 05, if i cannot get that, ill get the Stiga DNA M instead as ive read reviews on this and seems to be quite similar to the T 05.

Not sure about your prefrence in speed and spin, but i've heard a lot good from the DNA M and DNA H. From reviews i've read and feedback i heard from players using it in my club, it seems to be a controllable and spinny rubber. I might not be the best to judge as i'm only 2 years into playing this sport, but might be something you'd preffer if you like controll. It would be good to try if you can find someone that already use the DNA rubber.


Thanks for your input, yea, i was looking at other options and came across the Stiga DNA M, and is much cheaper than the T 05, its in my options list.. if i cant get the T 05, ill get the DNA M, i dont really like hard rubbers/sponge.
 
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So, The T 05 arrived and i do hope its genuine, as it is quite expensive and i dont have any experience on butterfly rubbers.. if any one can verify if its legit, askin this because i bought it from a person im not much acquainted with, would be appreciated

IMG_20191215_225059.jpg

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IMG_20191215_225139.jpg
 

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Have you tried flipping your paddle and using Valmo on the forehand? Easy way to try another rubber.

On the other hand, soft sponged rubbers are usually easier to open up against underspin with. I'd imagine the biggest problem is that you're not used to playing an opponent with a paddle that's capable of generating good spin and that simply playing against your friend more will give you the experience needed to be more consistent.

UPDATE: I played with the T 05 today for about 2 hours, i must say opening up, drives and top spins are the best i have tried so far from any rubber, lots of spin and very fast when i attack, produces a good arc too, but for short strokes like chops and receiving serves, its quite hard at first, well.. very hard, at first my chops and receives went far away from the table even though the balls i received were very spinny and sometimes slow (i think its the tensor/springy sponge), slowly i tried to adapt my play style, bit by bit, and by the end of the session, i could receive and chop with less difficulty and made less mistakes.. not saying i have mastered it, on the contrary it is gonna take a lot of time for me to get fully acquainted with the rubber (at least at my level and ability).. the attack potential of this rubber is something else, please do understand that i am a returning player, so im not quite used to THIS kind of fast and spinny rubbers (tried the DN 05 + Apolonia ZLC but only for a few minutes so i cant make a good enough opinion on the rubber), even though i had the Rakza 7 for a few weeks, i feel that the R7 has similar speed but less spin and a more flat trajectory, this is better than i anticipated. looking forward to playing regularly with it. Im not saying it is the best rubber, but to me, it is very very good on my Zebarate.. lets see how it goes a few weeks in.
And huge thanks to everyone who were kind enough to give my post a thought and give me suggestions, I am also interested in a good BH rubber to go along with the T 05, reason being my FH rubber is now a lot faster than my BH rubber, i mean much much faster.


Thanks again to everyone, hope you guys have a wonderful day.

EDIT: I did try the valmo on my FH, it was just too slow to be use-able for attacking against an advanced player with a very good setup
 
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Not sure about your prefrence in speed and spin, but i've heard a lot good from the DNA M and DNA H. From reviews i've read and feedback i heard from players using it in my club, it seems to be a controllable and spinny rubber. I might not be the best to judge as i'm only 2 years into playing this sport, but might be something you'd preffer if you like controll. It would be good to try if you can find someone that already use the DNA rubber.

Have you tried the T 05 and the Stiga DNA M on the same blade, I think the DNA could be a very good BH rubber either in soft or medium sponge versions.
 
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Have you tried the T 05 and the Stiga DNA M on the same blade, I think the DNA could be a very good BH rubber either in soft or medium sponge versions.

I haven't tried them om same blade, however i have tried them both from other players. The DNA was very grippy and fast, but the tenergy 05 was faster. I think it could be a good combo to have DNA M on backhand as i've heard people compare it to dignics 05, wich is supposed to be a good backhand rubber.
When i tried the DNA M i was impressed with how much more spin it generated. I found flicks to be a dream with that rubber wich is something i loved! Please note that this was on a 5 ply allaround blade. Hence also why it grips a little more. However i think it will do the job for a backhand rubber.
 
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I haven't tried them om same blade, however i have tried them both from other players. The DNA was very grippy and fast, but the tenergy 05 was faster. I think it could be a good combo to have DNA M on backhand as i've heard people compare it to dignics 05, wich is supposed to be a good backhand rubber.
When i tried the DNA M i was impressed with how much more spin it generated. I found flicks to be a dream with that rubber wich is something i loved! Please note that this was on a 5 ply allaround blade. Hence also why it grips a little more. However i think it will do the job for a backhand rubber.

Alright, thanks, i will order the DNA S or M, when i get enough funds .. ive bought around 7-8 rubbers in just 2 months and not to mention the new blade and the T 05, so i think ill order it on the next payday, also, by DNA M, you mean this rubber right?
https://www.topspin.in/products/stiga-dna-pro-m-table-tennis-rubber-564/
 
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