Friendship 729 Battle 2 National vs Friendship 729 Battle 3

[jekyll&hyde]

Assuming that both are unboosted and of the same degree of sponge hardness, how would the 2 rubbers compare against one another?

 

[mocker88]

B2 has more kick in the spin and B3 is a bit easier to play with and sort of bouncier, in short...

 

[jekyll&hyde]

B2 has more kick in the spin and B3 is a bit easier to play with and sort of bouncier, in short...

I'm guessing that this means that B2 national is a traditional Chinese rubber while B3 behaves a tad more like European rubbers?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but does the following make sense?

Low Strength Used:

B2 National:
- Deader
- Less Spin
- Ball stays flat on short pushes
- Less Speed

B3:
- Livelier
- More Spin
- Ball pops up a bit on short pushes
- More speed as it is bouncier and more elastic

High Strength Used:

B2 National:
- More spin
- Faster

B3:
- Less Spin
- Slower

 

[mocker88]

I'm guessing that this means that B2 national is a traditional Chinese rubber while B3 behaves a tad more like European rubbers?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but does the following make sense?

Low Strength Used:

B2 National:
- Deader
- Less Spin
- Ball stays flat on short pushes
- Less Speed

B3:
- Livelier
- More Spin
- Ball pops up a bit on short pushes
- More speed as it is bouncier and more elastic

High Strength Used:

B2 National:
- More spin
- Faster

B3:
- Less Spin
- Slower

Almost what I feel but B2 gives better spin on low strength as well.

B3 isn't that different from B2 on short pushes.

Correct. B2 is a traditional Chinese rubber, rewarding hard brushes and so. From B3 I didn't quite get that kick, but it almost feels the same when brushing. Just the effect that is lower.

B3 gives a better game play when playing more flat, so yes, more European like.

Now I tried the B3 40deg and compares it to the B2 40deg. It might be so that the softer B3's might work better sponge/top sheet as the top sheet feels a bit more elastic. But I haven't tried that yet.

 

[longle]

I played all versions of B2, most favorite was B2 NT Blue - tried B3 for 1 week and ditched it due to its too soft and lost the linearity of B2. I guess nowaday an upgraded version of a Chinese rubber will be going towards hybrid - European rubber. If you feel that B2 lacks spin then you can try 729 Bloom Power, it's a better all around Chinese rubber

 

[JustANoob]

If you feel that B2 lacks spin then you can try 729 Bloom Power, it's a better all around Chinese rubber

Do you boost the BP?

 

[Zwill]

I played all versions of B2, most favorite was B2 NT Blue - tried B3 for 1 week and ditched it due to its too soft and lost the linearity of B2. I guess nowaday an upgraded version of a Chinese rubber will be going towards hybrid - European rubber. If you feel that B2 lacks spin then you can try 729 Bloom Power, it's a better all around Chinese rubber

I had the chance to try B3 and I hated it to be honest. I am not even a huge fan of B2 blue and I think I just liked the B2 provincial orange or the golden edition the best. Probably the golden is the best until the topsheet just stretches out and becomes a diaper.

 

[longle]

Do you boost the BP?

At first I played it unboosted, super spinny and loops are controllable, but I want to have some more power so now I applied 2 layers of Falco and it seems very stable now, after 2 weeks it shows no sign of bubbling so I guess this is a very durable rubber.

 

[longle]

I had the chance to try B3 and I hated it to be honest. I am not even a huge fan of B2 blue and I think I just liked the B2 provincial orange or the golden edition the best. Probably the golden is the best until the topsheet just stretches out and becomes a diaper.

I liked the B2 Golden very much, mostly due to its purple sponge - but now I love the Bloom Power even more, it also has purple sponge and is even spinnier than B2 Gold, and cheaper

 

[Lazer]

Do you boost the BP?

You have to boost bloom power, otherwise it’s like playing with a brick. It’s very slow in the beginning but after the initial tackiness wears down and the sponge softens a bit it’s quite comfortable. But still a bit slow For me after 2 months with 4 sessions a week almost no tackiness left.

Cheers
L-zr

 

[netdriver]

I had the chance to try B3 and I hated it to be honest. I am not even a huge fan of B2 blue and I think I just liked the B2 provincial orange or the golden edition the best. Probably the golden is the best until the topsheet just stretches out and becomes a diaper.

its been two weeks and i still dont have the slightest clue on how to make my B2 blue sponge work

too fast for close-to-the-table, too low throw for mid/far distance. the ball slippage being the cherry on top despite my sheet still feeling tacky

im going to go nuts and put more layers of booster on it and see what happens

blue sponge tirade aside i like B2 prov orange too

 

[SlowPower]

You have to boost bloom power, otherwise it’s like playing with a brick. It’s very slow in the beginning but after the initial tackiness wears down and the sponge softens a bit it’s quite comfortable. But still a bit slow For me after 2 months with 4 sessions a week almost no tackiness left.

Cheers
L-zr

Wow, do you use protection sheets after cleaning?
Have 2 Bloom Power and 2 Bloom Spin at higher age [2-3 Years) and can still lift the ball for seconds. Still more tacky than any hybrid rubber...

 

[Lazer]

Wow, do you use protection sheets after cleaning?
Have 2 Bloom Power and 2 Bloom Spin at higher age [2-3 Years) and can still lift the ball for seconds. Still more tacky than any hybrid rubber...

Yep, like clock work, never missed and only clean with water.
If played with I would expect them to last ~3 months at the most. We probably have different expectations.

This is consistent with my experience from long time ago with Chinese rubbers. But if they are inexpensive enough I would still use them. Bloom power is right on the edge. Its about $20 for me so its not very expensive, but with the added boosting hassle it becomes less interesting. Before this I used Tibhar hybrid MK for about $50. No boosting required and a tiny bit of tackiness makes it very grippy and it stays more consistent through its life.

I have already tried Friendship 729, dirt cheap but unfortunately no spin nor speed.... Next up is H3 prov. This one was more expensive so I really hope it will last longer, but my expectations are not that high.

Cheers
L-zr

 

[Tomboov247]

I played all versions of B2, most favorite was B2 NT Blue - tried B3 for 1 week and ditched it due to its too soft and lost the linearity of B2. I guess nowaday an upgraded version of a Chinese rubber will be going towards hybrid - European rubber. If you feel that B2 lacks spin then you can try 729 Bloom Power, it's a better all around Chinese rubber

Bloom power is amazing

 

[Spinsanity]

I have all 3 -

Battle 3 40 orange sponge
Battle 2 Prov 40 blue sponge
Bloom Power purple sponge

Battle 3 is junk - not for high level play - no spin no power - hollow feeling. It is hyped up by people who can not use hard Chinese rubber due to deficiencies in their technique and power. For them Battle 3 is easier to use than Battle 2 provincial.

Battle 2 Prov is the most suited for high level play out of these 3. The sponge in the Battle 2 provincial is much denser than Battle 3 and has great power and spin - even more than H3 National. There is weight in the ball from the Battle 2. The throw is medium to low.

My favourite is Bloom Power. The spin, the power, the price! And it does not need boosting. It's the best Chinese rubber for me. May be it is lacking in power a bit far from the table but it is fantastic close to the table.

 

[Tomboov247]

I have all 3 -

Battle 3 40 orange sponge
Battle 2 Prov 40 blue sponge
Bloom Power purple sponge

Battle 3 is junk - not for high level play - no spin no power - hollow feeling. It is hyped up by people who can not use hard Chinese rubber due to deficiencies in their technique and power. For them Battle 3 is easier to use than Battle 2 provincial.

Battle 2 Prov is the most suited for high level play out of these 3. The sponge in the Battle 2 provincial is much denser than Battle 3 and has great power and spin - even more than H3 National. There is weight in the ball from the Battle 2. The throw is medium to low.

My favourite is Bloom Power. The spin, the power, the price! And it does not need boosting. It's the best Chinese rubber for me. May be it is lacking in power a bit far from the table but it is fantastic close to the table.

I regularly train and play against an rpb penhold player who uses bloom power on FH... The spin -AND spin variation it offers is very very high and reminds me of Adidas p7

It's not bouncy, so serve, receive, touch shots are all amazing - yet as soon a you go 70% + power it's really fast and deadly. In this respect it outshines many ESN which are too bouncy to really play a tight touch / short game.

On blocks, the angle has to be closed because it's a very spinny rubber so it does react to topspin. On counters it's amazing because it doesn't react much and it can borrow your opponents speed and spit it back!

I find it absolutely great on the avalox P500 because it has flex and speed. I think bloom power should be played on slightly Flexi blades with high control to make it shine.

Far from the table it's possible to play, a bit harder than a Tenergy but with good technique it can be played. I think you'd want to go back to medium/ short distance asap though as this is where the rubber is actually better than ESN/ Tenergy

 

[_ak]

Battle 3 is junk - not for high level play - no spin no power - hollow feeling. It is hyped up by people who can not use hard Chinese rubber due to deficiencies in their technique and power. For them Battle 3 is easier to use than Battle 2 provincial.

You can get speed, spin and power even from Big Dipper if you don't have deficiencies in your technique and power.
B3 feels quite similar to boosted H3 OS but with better flat hit and slightly lower tackiness.
B2 Prov is like H3 BS, their fans love to talk about impossible to return topsins but rarely execute them

 

[longle]

The new Battle 2 is out, they upgraded the sponge to 2.15, don't know if they have H41

 

[Zwill]

The new Battle 2 is out, they upgraded the sponge to 2.15, don't know if they have H41
View attachment 32473

I think from the old national version they had 41deg hard. (maybe the only rubber from 729 that had 41deg hard)
Is there any other update on the sponge besides increasing the thickness by 0.05mm? That would be a bit disappointing by itself.
But I do feel like on B2 the 40deg matches with H3N 40deg pretty well. (standard prov and national hardness)
I'm not sure but this blue pack looks like it's a vacuum pack like H3N. Maybe factory boost + glue on sponge?

 

[longle]

I think from the old national version they had 41deg hard. (maybe the only rubber from 729 that had 41deg hard)
Is there any other update on the sponge besides increasing the thickness by 0.05mm? That would be a bit disappointing by itself.
But I do feel like on B2 the 40deg matches with H3N 40deg pretty well. (standard prov and national hardness)
I'm not sure but this blue pack looks like it's a vacuum pack like H3N. Maybe factory boost + glue on sponge?

there's no information yet, I will keep updating