Anyone know which sponge thickness is the "best" for modern defender playstyle chopping far away from the table? I am planning to use the Barna Original Legend Long with a 0.5mm sponge thickness because of this video showcasing it (
Guy in the video was using 0.5mm sponge thickness. My question is which sponge thickness should I go for and what are the main differences between these two sponge thicknesses?
Long Pimples Sponge Thickness 0.5mm or 1.0mm ? Modern Defender Chopping
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Stable chopping 0.5 is best.
Going up in sponge thickness means more ability for spin manipulation at the cost of the LP becoming faster and less easier to handle control-wise.
Japanese coaches usually start their kids with 0.5 and keep at or around this thickness, whilst Korean philosophy is to go as high a thickness as one can handle as soon as possible.
As a side note Chinese philosophy is the use of SP for best spin variation.
Going up in sponge thickness means more ability for spin manipulation at the cost of the LP becoming faster and less easier to handle control-wise.
Japanese coaches usually start their kids with 0.5 and keep at or around this thickness, whilst Korean philosophy is to go as high a thickness as one can handle as soon as possible.
As a side note Chinese philosophy is the use of SP for best spin variation.
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I just remember that OX sponge is not allowed, otherwise, I can't remember the minimum thickness of it.
Yeah that is what @Fantastic_Muffin_D meant, I had to re-read it a few times as well seeing it was a bit of a random comment to throw into a LP discussion
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Yes! I started out with 0.6mm and gradually moved to 1.4mm TSP P1-R.
Thicker sponges will absorb more energy so the rebound won't be so fast. The thicker sponge will let the ball sink in so there should be more friction that can be useful if the chopper really likes to chop by "brushing" on the bottom side of the ball.
0.6 is a good place to start. After that it is a preference. The thinner rubbers will allow one to play more of a pushblocker game if the chopper is not mobile enough to get back from the table.
Yikes… this is… wrong yet could still be correct under the right assumptions… except thinner sponge, this is completely wrong. ~0.5/0.6 is usually suggested as the starting point as it gives high stability and ease of use.
No doubt you’re passionate and eager to learn so I suggest you direct your energy to the OOAK forum and start educating yourself there. Also noppen-test with the help of inbuilt browser translator if you don’t understand German.
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Yes, more control for WHAT is the key question. If you are far from the table trying to chop back a fast loop, a thicker sponge offers more control. If you are at the table trying to receive a spinny serve, OX is easier...
As you say 0.5mm is a decent middle ground between the two, which is why it's often recommended.
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I have used both thicknesses, 0.5 can feel limited when trying to load the ball with spin but it’s much easier to keep the ball low. I use Donic Spike P1 1.0-1.3 which I find even better than TSP Curl. I’ve put a few of my matches using it on my channel: The link is https://www.youtube.com/@lwaddup88
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Here is an interview with Masato Shiono. https://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=24574
He was one of the rare professional choppers who used 0.5mm sponge thickness. Usually at a pro level they play with thicker sponge (Gionis, Filus, Kang Dangsoo...)
In the end, it comes to personal preference and feeling.
He was one of the rare professional choppers who used 0.5mm sponge thickness. Usually at a pro level they play with thicker sponge (Gionis, Filus, Kang Dangsoo...)
In the end, it comes to personal preference and feeling.
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Completely agree, I think with 0.5 it’s probably slightly easier to read the amount of spin so you probably have to be prepared to play a few more shots compared to the variations of the thicker sponge, but definitely down to personal preference and style.
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