Less hard rubber than Victas VS401 for defence [FOREHAND]

[MarcAnt01]

Hey, everyone I am a defender who chops quite frequently in the forehand side. I would not classify myself as modern/classical since I vary the tactic much depending on the opponent. I'm not a Wang Xi/Chen-Weixing-like defender looping/smashing anything on my forehand, neither a purely classical defender like Matsushita or Chtchetinine. If I meet an attacker, I classify myself as a classical defender, attacking only on easy balls, otherwise with other defenders or player who don't attack I sometimes take control of the game.
I've been playing for two years with a Victas VS > 401. It is the rubber that allowed me to do the big step up.
My blade now is the famous Koji Matsushita (relatively fast defense blade).
A defender in my club who plays at a higher level suggested me to go for a less hard rubber for forehand to feel the ball better. I love my Victas Vs>401 for chopping on spinny ball and smashing, but I struggle chopping on dead balls and doing the forehand loop (my tecnique is probably not as good as hard rubbers require).
I have asked a friend to try his Tackiness Chop, but I am afraid it will be too slow, so I'm asking for your suggestions.

To sum up I would like a rubber which is similar to the Victas VS>401, but softer

Please, anyone who doesn't play defense or doesn't chop frequently with forehand do not step in the discussion.

 

[hclnnkhg]

https://www.victas.com/en_gb/products/rubber/pinplein/allround/vs-401

https://www.victas.com/en_gb/products/rubber/pinplein/allround/vs-402

VS >402 is 50 deg whereas VS > 401 is 57.5 deg, it may be what you are looking for. I have no actual experience with either of them though.

 

[Kolev]

I would suggest you to try the OOAK forum(if you haven't done it yet). They seem to be quite specialized and knowledgeable about any kind of defensive material. Hagisiv is the main figure there

 

[MarcAnt01]

https://www.victas.com/en_gb/products/rubber/pinplein/allround/vs-401

https://www.victas.com/en_gb/products/rubber/pinplein/allround/vs-402

VS >402 is 50 deg whereas VS > 401 is 57.5 deg, it may be what you are looking for. I have no actual experience with either of them though.

This is a faster rubber and it is not thought for defence

 

[MarcAnt01]

I would suggest you to try the OOAK forum(if you haven't done it yet). They seem to be quite specialized and knowledgeable about any kind of defensive material. Hagisiv is the main figure there

I tried there, but haven't gotten any helpful reply unfortunately

 

[pingpongpaddy]

Hey, everyone I am a defender who chops quite frequently in the forehand side. I would not classify myself as modern/classical since I vary the tactic much depending on the opponent. I'm not a Wang Xi/Chen-Weixing-like defender looping/smashing anything on my forehand, neither a purely classical defender like Matsushita or Chtchetinine. If I meet an attacker, I classify myself as a classical defender, attacking only on easy balls, otherwise with other defenders or player who don't attack I sometimes take control of the game.
I've been playing for two years with a Victas VS > 401. It is the rubber that allowed me to do the big step up.
My blade now is the famous Koji Matsushita (relatively fast defense blade).
A defender in my club who plays at a higher level suggested me to go for a less hard rubber for forehand to feel the ball better. I love my Victas Vs>401 for chopping on spinny ball and smashing, but I struggle chopping on dead balls and doing the forehand loop (my tecnique is probably not as good as hard rubbers require).
I have asked a friend to try his Tackiness Chop, but I am afraid it will be too slow, so I'm asking for your suggestions.

To sum up I would like a rubber which is similar to the Victas VS>401, but softer

Please, anyone who doesn't play defense or doesn't chop frequently with forehand do not step in the discussion.

hi marc
I once had a similar problem : I wanted a more "woody feel" but was afraid that I would lose power with my smash
Somebody suggested I use the same rubber but in 1.3 instead of 1.8 and add a small lead strip to the blade to adjust for the lighter rubber sheet and maintain penetration for my attacking shots. This worked very well for me allowing me more control on touch shots and more oomf on power shots.
The lead strips you can get from a Lawn tennis shop. You bend them onto the racket edge and cover with glue the edge tape. Its amazing how even one 6 inch strip can change how the racket feels.
I note your chosen rubber comes in 3 thicknesses so you might consider it