Loki RXTON 9 new sponge.

[Kilogramme]

I think you can get away with not boosting if you choose the softer sponge version, up to about 40 degrees 🤔🤔 With the harder rubbers however (40.5 degrees - 42 degrees) boosting is virtually a must, unless you hit the ball like a sledgehammer.

The spin and playing feel of the OS versions reminds me a lot more of Nittaku's H3 Neo rather than the traditional chinese DHS H3.

Admittedly I havent played with the H3N in a good long while, but from memory the softer H3Ns are the same -- you can get away with not boosting them, so long as you choose the softer version, use a proper kinetic chain during shots, and don't mind a really firm and unyielding playing feel to the sponge.

On reflection, I found with the R9 OS red in 37.5 degrees, I had a lot of trouble engaging the sponge on my BH side. I use a fair bit of wrist with my bh drive & loop through years of habit, but can still manage a more orthodox BH loop I I remember to stiffen up my wrist a bit. But no matter how hard I tried, engaging the unboosted sponge on BH was genuinely difficult for me.

On my FH however (and on my linear chuditch blade) engaging the sponge was quite manageable and the spin and speed on the ball was massive. On the FH side the 37.5mm red R9 was a genuine beast once you engaged the sponge... but attempting that on my BH side risked me blowing out my elbow.

This OS version has a very different feel to the previous sponge -- like I said in my earlier post, to my hand at least this rubber has a real two-speed feeling going on. When pushing and serving you can feel the ball dig into the top sheet and the upper surface of the sponge, but the ball itself still moves slowly as the rubber just feels a bit dead. When you're opening up or looping / driving on your forehand however, your strokes are genuinely quick, despite me only driving the ball slightly further into the sponge.

If you want to use the R9 OS on your blade hor its massive spin levels (but dont want to boost), then I advise you use the 37.5, 38 or 39 degree sponge on your FH, and use something else entirely on your BH.

They're all genuinely great rubbers, but they need to be thought of as a H3N substitute. Only the Red version really suited my current game and conditioning down to the ground, and didn't require me to boost at all.

The 37.5 exist in black and red ? Or only red ?

 

[Wakkibatty]

The 37.5 exist in black and red ? Or only red ?

I bought mine about two months back. At the time, it was only available in red -- the softest Black R9 they sold was 39 degrees.

That being said, this is also Loki we're talking about, so who knows what they'll be offering in 6 months time 🤷‍♂️😂

 

[victormanriquey]

Thanks for the extra info @Wakkibatty , I will test very soon boosted and unboosted and let you know, it feels to me like both need boosting, one layer probably, but let's see, now I have all info from you guys so let's see how it feels, I'm very curious! More on this soon

 

[Grumms]

After the aborted trial 2 weeks ago, I finally could test the Rxton 9 Neo (40,5º) tonight. For the context, it's in an insanely fast gymnasium. Usually I don't feel the difference between them, but there, I feel like I play with the old balls... I don't know to what extend it can influence the test, but I just can't play the same game here.

So, verdict : R9 Neo is not that different from former R9 BS, or Battle 2 BS, or Target National. Arc is low, speed is there. I'm in conquered territory here. And to be honest, I don't feel the difference with the ones above. So, good rubber, but it's not worth the extra buck compared to Target National 3.