Loki RXTON 9 new sponge.

[Haito]

I did thr switch as mentioned above and tried it out for a bit. The Rxton 7 really feels more like a ESN-ized Chinese rubber, like how ESN hybrids feel like sinicized tensors. In that respect it's a lot like the LAC, except softer and a bit more like a Chinese rubber.

In contrast, the Rxton 9 series feel much more like pure Chinese rubbers, with the new OS version closer to a Hurricane feel than the old BS version. The new OS version has this really incredible catch and hold feeling when doing a more brushing counter. It's really something that even Hurricanes can't seem to match. When driving through the sponge it does feel different though, as it's a bit easier to hit into but doesn't continue to have that insane hold and release feeling of a BS hurricane. The old BS Rxton 9 doesn't quite have the dwell on either brush nor drive loops.

Overall, I just feel the new Rxton 9 is more special, it's really a fairly unique rubber. Very tacky, incredible dwell on brush counters which happen often on the BH side, and a bit more direct and easier to hit into than Hurricanes when driving which is more suitable for the BH than the FH at least with the way I play. I think it lends to a WCQ style BH. You know how when he gets into a BH rally his BH looks more brushy and doesn't typically have the cracking sound that most other people do? I think that's what this rubber will excel at.

So in the end, I'm gonna slap the Rxton 9 back on my S968, and I'm gonna stick to it for now regardless of results. I'm committing to a long term evaluation of it.

I am really mad at myself that I did not buy the R7 from @barusu at the Dusseldorf meetup. I have no more time for EJing, I ordered 5 sheets of R9, should last me till next year.

I played about 20hrs with the rubbers. All time they performed amazing. The top sheet has not a single sign of usage.