Joola Rhyzen Ice - Rubber Review

[cruzctrl]

Joola Rhyzen Ice - Review

Specs:

• The uncut weight of a MAX sheet is 68 grams and 64 grams at 2.0 mm. The topsheet and sponge don’t feel as soft as the Tronix CMD or Xiom Vega Europe. The sponge feels closer to Donic Barracuda (45 degrees) and the topsheet is also somewhat hard, but does not feel high-tensioned. The surface is very grippy and the pimples are not visible through black or blue sheets.
• Durability was fantastic, and it did not chip or rip easily. It kept its grip for a VERY long time, over 6 months with almost no change.

Playing:

• Used on a MK Carbon and Xiom ZL Pro. In both MAX and 2.0 on both FH/BH at various points. I went a bit crazy with this rubber…I used it for multiple months on various blades.
• MAX thickness did not seem to have a significant speed increase, but instead made the feeling more soft and mushy whereas the 2.0 felt more direct and woody.
• Joola says this rubber is ‘Soft+’ which I would agree with in play feeling, not actual hardness. The most impressive things about this rubber are the dwell time and control. This rubber is not very fast, and makes every blade feel slower, similar to the Xiom Vega Intro. It’s like the ball just sits on the blade for a while. This is a double edged sword, however. On one hand, the spin is INSANE and loops are deadly and feel like they can’t miss. The short game on ANY blade becomes easy regardless of your skill. In essence, it is NOT bouncy. The downside is that it’s not bouncy, lol. It has more tension than a speed-glue rubber like Sriver, but nowhere near Barracuda. Passive blocks will fall into the net more often than go off the end of the table. Short pushes are easy, but you really have to put some oomph into it to make it go over. Even with that oomph, it lands just barely over the net (which is neat for that regard). Flat hits do not feel good. It just feels like the racket holds the ball too long, and does not make it bounce off.
• If I had to put the range of speed on a scale of 1-10, I would say it has gears 1-6, whereas Xiom Vega Europe might have 2-7 and Tronix CMD has 2-9. So it does all the soft shots well, but it doesn’t have enough speed for me.

If you want a rubber with a lot of spin that can tame a faster blade like the MK Carbon or Viscaria, this is an excellent pick. On a slower blade like an Innerforce, this could be a good control/chopping rubber.

 

[SKARIZARD]

Thank you for this comprehensive review. I have seen a few other reviews of Rhyzen Ice, but it was always compared to other Joola rubbers, which I'm not very familiar with. I have a friend that is looking for a new rubber, and he wanted something very spinny. Naturally, Donic Baracuda came to mind, but we were worried about the amount of catapult in that rubber being more than what he wanted. With Rhyzen Ice having noticeably less catapult effect, it may be a more suitable option. Without the catapult, is this spin significantly less than that of Baracuda?

 

[cruzctrl]

Thank you for this comprehensive review. I have seen a few other reviews of Rhyzen Ice, but it was always compared to other Joola rubbers, which I'm not very familiar with. I have a friend that is looking for a new rubber, and he wanted something very spinny. Naturally, Donic Baracuda came to mind, but we were worried about the amount of catapult in that rubber being more than what he wanted. With Rhyzen Ice having noticeably less catapult effect, it may be a more suitable option. Without the catapult, is this spin significantly less than that of Baracuda?

Not at all! I used Barracuda on my Forehand for about 3 months, and it was fine but definitely felt like it missed something. The topsheet grip is about the same, but the Ice has less bounce and a flatter arc so it is much more controllable. The increased dwell time on Ice meant I could load up every shot with spin, so in many ways it is spinnier than the Barracuda. Ice is also 4 grams lighter at the same thickness, so I saw that as a plus.

 

[cruzctrl]

Joola Rhyzen Ice - Review

Specs:

• The uncut weight of a MAX sheet is 68 grams and 64 grams at 2.0 mm. The topsheet and sponge don’t feel as soft as the Tronix CMD or Xiom Vega Europe. The sponge feels closer to Donic Barracuda (45 degrees) and the topsheet is also somewhat hard, but does not feel high-tensioned. The surface is very grippy and the pimples are not visible through black or blue sheets.
• Durability was fantastic, and it did not chip or rip easily. It kept its grip for a VERY long time, over 6 months with almost no change.

Playing:

• Used on a MK Carbon and Xiom ZL Pro. In both MAX and 2.0 on both FH/BH at various points. I went a bit crazy with this rubber…I used it for multiple months on various blades.
• MAX thickness did not seem to have a significant speed increase, but instead made the feeling more soft and mushy whereas the 2.0 felt more direct and woody.
• Joola says this rubber is ‘Soft+’ which I would agree with in play feeling, not actual hardness. The most impressive things about this rubber are the dwell time and control. This rubber is not very fast, and makes every blade feel slower, similar to the Xiom Vega Intro. It’s like the ball just sits on the blade for a while. This is a double edged sword, however. On one hand, the spin is INSANE and loops are deadly and feel like they can’t miss. The short game on ANY blade becomes easy regardless of your skill. In essence, it is NOT bouncy. The downside is that it’s not bouncy, lol. It has more tension than a speed-glue rubber like Sriver, but nowhere near Barracuda. Passive blocks will fall into the net more often than go off the end of the table. Short pushes are easy, but you really have to put some oomph into it to make it go over. Even with that oomph, it lands just barely over the net (which is neat for that regard). Flat hits do not feel good. It just feels like the racket holds the ball too long, and does not make it bounce off.
• If I had to put the range of speed on a scale of 1-10, I would say it has gears 1-6, whereas Xiom Vega Europe might have 2-7 and Tronix CMD has 2-9. So it does all the soft shots well, but it doesn’t have enough speed for me.

If you want a rubber with a lot of spin that can tame a faster blade like the MK Carbon or Viscaria, this is an excellent pick. On a slower blade like an Innerforce, this could be a good control/chopping rubber.

View attachment 40075View attachment 40076

Update! They now have 1.8mm available on TT11. Also, the weights have been lowered on 4 sheets I had recently bought to about 61 grams and 59 grams for the 2.0/1.8 uncut. Much lighter than last year when I bought it first.

 

[golden_son]

I didn't weigh my sheet (oops) but it felt surprisingly heavy for a 42° rubber. I agree with your earlier review that it feels a bit harder than advertised, both the sponge and topsheet; it plays more like a slightly tamer Rasanter R45 than e.g. R42 or Vega Europe. I also agree that it needs more engagement than those somewhat-bouncier rubbers, but it can produce good balls when you really commit. I think in a similar price range Rozena performs better, but Ice a good intermediate rubber for BH. (I found it completely dead on FH, however.)

 

[cruzctrl]

I didn't weigh my sheet (oops) but it felt surprisingly heavy for a 42° rubber. I agree with your earlier review that it feels a bit harder than advertised, both the sponge and topsheet; it plays more like a slightly tamer Rasanter R45 than e.g. R42 or Vega Europe. I also agree that it needs more engagement than those somewhat-bouncier rubbers, but it can produce good balls when you really commit. I think in a similar price range Rozena performs better, but Ice a good intermediate rubber for BH. (I found it completely dead on FH, however.)

I think the Ice one of my favorite rubbers for controlled looping and touch play, but I don't like it for flat hits or power looping. Rozena is better for the latter two and excels in looping too, but at a slight expense of touch play due to the bounciness.