Hurricane 3 Neo (Provincial Blue Sponge, 40 degrees) is the longest living (and the best) rubber I have ever tried.

[Matteones]

It's now been 2 full months I have played with it on my forehand, more or less 150 hours of active training and sanctioned matches play.
I have boosted it with 2 (later I realized very thin) layers of Haifu National Yellow booster at the beginning and glued it with 3 layers of DHS 15. I have reboosted 2 weeks later (taking off the previous layers of glue) with a normal layer of the same booster. I have reboosted again 2 weeks later. It still plays wonderful, retains all its characteristics and it's 4 weeks now from the last boost, I probably will give it another layer this week, it feels like every time I reboost it the window of time it works gets longer and longer (but the rubber also gets a bit softer - at the moment it still feels the same hardness as a 55 degrees ESN rubber, maybe a tad harder).
It has already lasted me double the time of any other hybrid rubber I have tried and it's still going.

It costs me 35 euros on prott, add the booster and glue expense and you get to 40 euros more or less. It's at least two times cheaper than the discounted ESN hybrids , going strong to be 3-4 times cheaper.

Not only this, I am quite convinced it is a rubber that everyone who has serious training and a coach and no mobility issue would benefit from (on the forehand), it's the most precise rubber I have ever had and even when I put it in the net or outside, I know exactly what I did wrong. And being quite a DIY rubber, you can choose how hard you want it and how much you boost it to have a rubber that fits your characteristics.

 

[victormanriquey]

Hey @Matteones , I agree with you, for me there is nothing better than a well boosted H3N BS on forehand, it's almost magical. You do boost more often than I do, I re-boost every 2 months (max twice) cause I'm a bit lazy and don't want to damage the blade so much (I don't like the feel of the blade seal). DHS 15 is indeed the glue to use, but for the blade I prefer revolution 3, the dhs15 on my unvarnished dhs blade is hard to apply properly, again, bit lazy here haha

Do take into account that after 4 layers of booster spread through time it will probably reach its max, sometimes you can do one more if sponge is 40 or 41 and if you apply them very thin but that's that, the blue sponge is very prone to bubbles and I'm sure you are hitting it hard

In any case, value for money is amazing and that's why 'm making soon a guide on H3N to help others understand the rubber better, I think most people don't get why it's so good or have misconceptions around boosting, sponge colour, hardness, versions and so forth.

 

[Matteones]

Hey @Matteones , I agree with you, for me there is nothing better than a well boosted H3N BS on forehand, it's almost magical. You do boost more often than I do, I re-boost every 2 months (max twice) cause I'm a bit lazy and don't want to damage the blade so much (I don't like the feel of the blade seal). DHS 15 is indeed the glue to use, but for the blade I prefer revolution 3, the dhs15 on my unvarnished dhs blade is hard to apply properly, again, bit lazy here haha

Do take into account that after 4 layers of booster spread through time it will probably reach its max, sometimes you can do one more if sponge is 40 or 41 and if you apply them very thin but that's that, the blue sponge is very prone to bubbles and I'm sure you are hitting it hard

In any case, value for money is amazing and that's why 'm making soon a guide on H3N to help others understand the rubber better, I think most people don't get why it's so good or have misconceptions around boosting, sponge colour, hardness, versions and so forth.

Even if a bubble appears on it tomorrow I am more than satisfied with how long it lasted, and especially with the fact that it retained all the characteristics I love for the whole time: serve and receive are still amazingly tight and spinny, it has an amazing arc when opening up half-long balls, when you hit strongly at full throttle it never bottoms out.

I have a varnished blade and DHS 15 is so easy to apply and most of all to peel off (2-3 minutes), and it leaves 0 damage to the sponge.
I have found my holy grail of forehand rubbers, which was the last piece missing, now I have equipment total piece of mind

 

[victormanriquey]

Even if a bubble appears on it tomorrow I am more than satisfied with how long it lasted, and especially with the fact that it retained all the characteristics I love for the whole time: serve and receive are still amazingly tight and spinny, it has an amazing arc when opening up half-long balls, when you hit strongly at full throttle it never bottoms out.

I have a varnished blade and DHS 15 is so easy to apply and most of all to peel off (2-3 minutes), and it leaves 0 damage to the sponge.
I have found my holy grail of forehand rubbers, which was the last piece missing, now I have equipment total piece of mind

Yes agreed, value for money is just incredible, I think in the same way!!

And man serve and receive are a nightmare for the opponents, the pendulum well done omg <3 Agreed on half long balls too.

How did you like the varnish and what did you use? To me it felt like the blade become a bit stiffer and I didn't enjoy it as much, but maybe your experience is different

 

[Matteones]

Yes agreed, value for money is just incredible, I think in the same way!!

And man serve and receive are a nightmare for the opponents, the pendulum well done omg <3 Agreed on half long balls too.

How did you like the varnish and what did you use? To me it felt like the blade become a bit stiffer and I didn't enjoy it as much, but maybe your experience is different

I have always had all my blades varnished directly from the stores that sell them, and in this case I bought a second hand W968 here from the forum that was already varnished, so I wouldn't really know how they play unvarnished, I don't think it's worth it for me as they'd become ruined real soon.

 

[Deep74]

It's now been 2 full months I have played with it on my forehand, more or less 150 hours of active training and sanctioned matches play.
I have boosted it with 2 (later I realized very thin) layers of Haifu National Yellow booster at the beginning and glued it with 3 layers of DHS 15. I have reboosted 2 weeks later (taking off the previous layers of glue) with a normal layer of the same booster. I have reboosted again 2 weeks later. It still plays wonderful, retains all its characteristics and it's 4 weeks now from the last boost, I probably will give it another layer this week, it feels like every time I reboost it the window of time it works gets longer and longer (but the rubber also gets a bit softer - at the moment it still feels the same hardness as a 55 degrees ESN rubber, maybe a tad harder).
It has already lasted me double the time of any other hybrid rubber I have tried and it's still going.

It costs me 35 euros on prott, add the booster and glue expense and you get to 40 euros more or less. It's at least two times cheaper than the discounted ESN hybrids , going strong to be 3-4 times cheaper.

Not only this, I am quite convinced it is a rubber that everyone who has serious training and a coach and no mobility issue would benefit from (on the forehand), it's the most precise rubber I have ever had and even when I put it in the net or outside, I know exactly what I did wrong. And being quite a DIY rubber, you can choose how hard you want it and how much you boost it to have a rubber that fits your characteristics.

Absolutely a great rubber to use and durability is so good for such a good price. I have use H3N bs for 4 yrs coming from D09C and can’t see me changing. Originally used 39 degrees but past yr and a bit using 40. Great rubber and prott great online store. I generally reboost after 3 months and then use another 3 months then paste new rubbers even tho it can go on for longer than 6 months but at that price why not have fresh rubbers every 6 months. lol

 

[Zezima]

Interesting that I ended up having the opposite opinion coming from d09c.
If I had played h3n for years and then play with d09c I would be questioning myself why I ever bothered with boosting and playing with h3 when d09c exists. The feeling you get with d09c when you activate is much better than the dead h3n feeling.

 

[rbtitco]

I dont think h3 feels all that dead when boosted right. D09 is great but, that high throw angle is suboptimal & a lot of people cant get past that. Not having to boost is awesome and its more forgiving of shit footwork, but its too expensive... Theres a case to be made for both, but i went back to 40 degree BS and im happy with it.

 

[Matteones]

Interesting that I ended up having the opposite opinion coming from d09c.
If I had played h3n for years and then play with d09c I would be questioning myself why I ever bothered with boosting and playing with h3 when d09c exists. The feeling you get with d09c when you activate is much better than the dead h3n feeling.

I have never tried d09C as I've never felt comfortable with butterfly products (I tried tenergy for a couple of months many years ago when it was all the rage and absolutely hated it - on hindsight I probably should have tried T05 hard as I found T05 to be much too soft for me) and I don't like their pricing policies, so I can't really compare it with D09C.
As I understand it you used d09c, then tried boosted h3 and then went back to d09c because unsatisfied with the dead feeling? I imagine that's why D09C exists, different people having different opinions, I think that "dead" feeling you feel with H3n might be precisely what I love about it.

 

[Tyce]

I don't even think unboosted H3 Neo feels "dead". If you want it really dead, get a fresh sheet of Super Fx, or a classic Chinese rubber like Cj8000... The first few sessions until those break in are a nightmare to even get the ball over the net

 

[Federal_Agent]

H3 neo BS [prov / nac] > Zyre03 > Dig09C

The best forehand rubbers 💎🏓💎

 

[lodro]

How did you like the varnish and what did you use? To me it felt like the blade become a bit stiffer and I didn't enjoy it as much, but maybe your experience is different

when i first started varnishing I used a spray -can of polyurethane ans layered up until i had a sweet glossy layer which i then lightly sanded to a matt finish. Long time later , I now take a lint-free rag, dip it lightly in a waterbased urethane and rub the stuff onto my blade. There is no layer build up and only the very outer wood fibers are being sealed.There is no measurable weight gain and no difference how the blades play......unless you are as sensitive as the princess on the pea 😂

 

[victormanriquey]

Absolutely a great rubber to use and durability is so good for such a good price. I have use H3N bs for 4 yrs coming from D09C and can’t see me changing. Originally used 39 degrees but past yr and a bit using 40. Great rubber and prott great online store. I generally reboost after 3 months and then use another 3 months then paste new rubbers even tho it can go on for longer than 6 months but at that price why not have fresh rubbers every 6 months. lol

Yes same, 6 months is good enough :

when i first started varnishing I used a spray -can of polyurethane ans layered up until i had a sweet glossy layer which i then lightly sanded to a matt finish. Long time later , I now take a lint-free rag, dip it lightly in a waterbased urethane and rub the stuff onto my blade. There is no layer build up and only the very outer wood fibers are being sealed.There is no measurable weight gain and no difference how the blades play......unless you are as sensitive as the princess on the pea 😂

Hahaha I want to believe im not that sensitive, so I probably did it wrong and applied too much haha thanks and I will try again, I have made some damage to a couple DHS blades due to not varnishing before

 

[lodro]

Yes same, 6 months is good enough :

Hahaha I want to believe im not that sensitive, so I probably did it wrong and applied too much haha thanks and I will try again, I have made some damage to a couple DHS blades due to not varnishing before

one sort of applies the varnish with the rag evenly spread and the gently wipes any excess off. On hot days i put my blades in the fridge for a few minutes otherwise the varnish dries too quickly and we can not get rid of the excess if there is any

 

[victormanriquey]

one sort of applies the varnish with the rag evenly spread and the gently wipes any excess off. On hot days i put my blades in the fridge for a few minutes otherwise the varnish dries too quickly and we can not get rid of the excess if there is any

Excellent tip the one of thr fridge, everyday I learn something new, the beauty of this sport! thanks a lot and will try again!

 

[belllfador]

My most played H3 is prov BS 39 degrees, which I bought for just €20 from aliexpress (with a random hardness between 39 and 40). I boosted it with one layer of Seamoon II and one Falco platinum. The hardness became 50 shore O. But after a couple of weeks, the rubber became a bit harder, so I reboost it with one more layer Falco platinum. That happens because most boosters have a temporary effect. Drop of Seamoon II evaporates for just 2 weeks, but Falco platinum doesn't evaporate at all. So I stopped using seamoon. And 9 months (70–80 hours) later, it is still going strong. The grip is excellent, but requires serious maintenance to prevent surface oxidation. I also have H3N BS national and it is very similar to the provincial BS. Probably will never buy the national version again 😃

For blade sealing, I use water based PU lacquer in 2 layers. For the first layer, I am using a moisturized sponge to increase the time for drying. The weight increase is below 0.5g, and I can't detect a difference in blade behavior. Also, resonant frequency remains the same.

@Wakkibatty recommends OSMO oil as a healthy/green option for blade sealing. And I tried it - is easy for work, because it doesn't dry fast. The added weight is more — 2 layers are around 1g. So, probably one layer is enough.

 

[Wakkibatty]

My most played H3 is prov BS 39 degrees, which I bought for just €20 from aliexpress (with a random hardness between 39 and 40). I boosted it with one layer of Seamoon II and one Falco platinum. The hardness became 50 shore O. But after a couple of weeks, the rubber became a bit harder, so I reboost it with one more layer Falco platinum. That happens because most boosters have a temporary effect. Drop of Seamoon II evaporates for just 2 weeks, but Falco platinum doesn't evaporate at all. So I stopped using seamoon. And 9 months (70–80 hours) later, it is still going strong. The grip is excellent, but requires serious maintenance to prevent surface oxidation. I also have H3N BS national and it is very similar to the provincial BS. Probably will never buy the national version again 😃

For blade sealing, I use water based PU lacquer in 2 layers. For the first layer, I am using a moisturized sponge to increase the time for drying. The weight increase is below 0.5g, and I can't detect a difference in blade behavior. Also, resonant frequency remains the same.

@Wakkibatty recommends OSMO oil as a healthy/green option for blade sealing. And I tried it - is easy for work, because it doesn't dry fast. The added weight is more — 2 layers are around 1g. So, probably one layer is enough.

Yeah spot on re: Osmo. One layer is all I ever use , and does the job well. If you re-glue your rubbers a lot them I find you sometimes need to re-apply nother single coat after about 6-9 months, but it varies depending on the rubber glue you use.

 

[victormanriquey]

I also have H3N BS national and it is very similar to the provincial BS. Probably will never buy the national version again 😃

I missed this before, yes, I fully agree, writing an amateur guide now to H3N and this is my advice as well.

Yeah spot on re: Osmo. One layer is all I ever use , and does the job well. If you re-glue your rubbers a lot them I find you sometimes need to re-apply nother single coat after about 6-9 months, but it varies depending on the rubber glue you use.

Will have a look! Wich osmo oil product exactly? There are different variants

 

[Wakkibatty]

I missed this before, yes, I fully agree, writing an amateur guide now to H3N and this is my advice as well.


Will have a look! Wich osmo oil product exactly? There are different variants

Myself I use Osmo Polyx Original -- it's a blend of natural semi-drying oils, plant-based waxes, plus a bit of beeswax, with a tiny bit of white spirit added to homogenise the mix.

It's a bloody expensive product but it's really good stuff... Highly recommended.

 

[firefox22]

i have a comercial version with me, i swear to god, its been 5 years and still i can generate spin, its crazy
last time i boosted, 6 months ago
ok i have 7 years playing, but it's not dead yet, thats crazy