My experience with Chinese rubbers

[Wakkibatty]

Any updates on how the Loki 3 Pro performs? I'm a big fan of the R3 Blue myself and I'm looking for a good quality black rubber to team it with at around the same price point.

 

[enoxzr]

Any updates on how the Loki 3 Pro performs? I'm a big fan of the R3 Blue myself and I'm looking for a good quality black rubber to team it with at around the same price point.

Only had one session with it so far due to the holidays, back in the training hall tonight.

So far it seems softer than advertised, the rubber feels more like 38 degrees than 40. Seemed to work well on a flexible blade, bit less on a stiff blade.

In comparison with R3 Pink and Blue I'd say its a tad more bouncy, has a softer feel and is a bit more tacky (however, that might wear off when the R3 Pro is broken in more).

First impressions for my style on my more flexible blade were good and I will continue with playing with it for at least the next two weeks, with 2 local tournaments in sight.

 

[enoxzr]

After another 2 hours yesterday I am pretty happy with the Rxton 3 Pro as my FH rubber on my Butterfly Basla Carbo blade. Controlled in the short play, right amount of feeling, accelerates when needed. My FH blocks and pushes improved a lot, which helps my game significantly.

Currently a bit undecided what to with my backhand though. Got a Battle Pro Max 38 on the BH, which is fine, but bit too hard and fast, feels like a FH rubber for me. Debating whether to change it out before this Sunday, or sticking with it and changing it after.

Got a Jupiter III 37, Rxton 1 and Sanwei Au Golden available as options, edging towards glueing the J3 on today and using that in the tournament I have got lined up.

 

[TensorBackhand]

which is faster? Battle max or rxton 3 pro?

After another 2 hours yesterday I am pretty happy with the Rxton 3 Pro as my FH rubber on my Butterfly Basla Carbo blade. Controlled in the short play, right amount of feeling, accelerates when needed. My FH blocks and pushes improved a lot, which helps my game significantly.

Currently a bit undecided what to with my backhand though. Got a Battle Pro Max 38 on the BH, which is fine, but bit too hard and fast, feels like a FH rubber for me. Debating whether to change it out before this Sunday, or sticking with it and changing it after.

Got a Jupiter III 37, Rxton 1 and Sanwei Au Golden available as options, edging towards glueing the J3 on today and using that in the tournament I have got lined up.

 

[enoxzr]

which is faster? Battle max or rxton 3 pro?

I think the Battle Pro Max is a hair faster, or maybe it feels like that since it's touch is a bit denser, they are very similar in that regard. Because of the denser touch the Battle Pro Max feels more like a FH rubber to me.

After debating it with a teammate I decided to glue the Jupiter 3 37 on my BH. After glueing I instantly noticed how much lighter it felt opposed to the Battle Pro Max, something I was pleasantly surprised about.

 

[Pepo]

Sanwei Target National MAX old version 62-001 - very good FH rubber, spin is great.... but id say can be better, lot of speed, great for the game away from table and also for short game, recommend to advanced players, that are aware or they want low to medium low throw angle, proper technique is rewarded with killer shots

Yinhe Big Dipper 38 MAX 49-007 - i instantly fell in love with this rubber, 38 is too soft for FH, easy to engage sponge, very good spin for softer rubber, good speed, great short game, price and performance ratio is just wau. for me BD38 is backhand rubber - i want to try jupiter 3 38 for backhand, hopefully will get to it soon

i didnt boost any rubber (BD comes factory boosted)

 

[SFF_lib]

Sanwei Target National MAX old version 62-001 - very good FH rubber, spin is great.... but id say can be better, lot of speed, great for the game away from table and also for short game, recommend to advanced players, that are aware or they want low to medium low throw angle, proper technique is rewarded with killer shots

Yinhe Big Dipper 38 MAX 49-007 - i instantly fell in love with this rubber, 38 is too soft for FH, easy to engage sponge, very good spin for softer rubber, good speed, great short game, price and performance ratio is just wau. for me BD38 is backhand rubber - i want to try jupiter 3 38 for backhand, hopefully will get to it soon

i didnt boost any rubber (BD comes factory boosted)

I have played both. STN is tackier and is an excellent fh rubber TBH. Easier to play and higher accuracy than boosted H3.

 

[TensorBackhand]

I have played both. STN is tackier and is an excellent fh rubber TBH. Easier to play and higher accuracy than boosted H3.

Wasnt the throw angle absurdly low? I couldnt do any loops

 

[SFF_lib]

Wasnt the throw angle absurdly low? I couldnt do any loops

It’s lower than boosted H3 but the ease of unleashing power really helps.

 

[enoxzr]

After playing a tournament today I decided make some changes to the blades I am trialing at the moment.

The Loki Rxton 3 on my main blade is here to stay, however, not sure if this is as BH of FH option. Glued my Bloom Power to it and will swap the blade round to see how we will end up.

The Jupiter III 37 I glued to my T11s. Okay rubber, but not what I am looking for as BH rubber. I think it needs a faster blade, hence the T11s.

At the tournament today I bought a sheet or H3N 39 and H8 39 for a very reasonable price. I glued to the H3N to a Stuor Long V clone with a Sanwei Au Golden on the BH, just for fun. Also the blade is oversized, so in case I really like the H3N I can reglue it to one of the other blades.

Eager for another week of training, club championships next weekend!

 

[TensorBackhand]

After playing a tournament today I decided make some changes to the blades I am trialing at the moment.

The Loki Rxton 3 on my main blade is here to stay, however, not sure if this is as BH of FH option. Glued my Bloom Power to it and will swap the blade round to see how we will end up.

The Jupiter III 37 I glued to my T11s. Okay rubber, but not what I am looking for as BH rubber. I think it needs a faster blade, hence the T11s.

At the tournament today I bought a sheet or H3N 39 and H8 39 for a very reasonable price. I glued to the H3N to a Stuor Long V clone with a Sanwei Au Golden on the BH, just for fun. Also the blade is oversized, so in case I really like the H3N I can reglue it to one of the other blades.

Eager for another week of training, club championships next weekend!

I also tried Jupiter 3 37d on the bh, but it doesn't have the "magic" that 39+ has on the FH.

I think because the topsheet is too tacky, it slows down the ball too much on the bh side and doesn't quite work as well.

I haven't tested Rxton 3 Pro yet, but the look and feel of it seems very close to GTX, so it is promising. I think it might indeed be very good.

 

[enoxzr]

Loki Rxton 3 Pro
Tested mainly on Butterfly Balsa Carbo X7 22, with some limited time on the Yinhe T11s.

To start of, this rubber will be my go-to forehand rubber on my main blade for the time being. From the rubbers I have played with this is easily the best rubber for my forehand for my style and level and in my eyes absolutely unbeaten for its price (~€13,50 on AliExpress in Choice selection) and even for many more expensive rubbers.

Marketed at 40 degree hardness, the rubber is most definitely softer than that. My guess would be ~39 degrees when fresh and ~38 degrees when broken in. The Bloom Power 45 I have on my backhand is on the same level of hardness, topsheet of the Bloom Power feels a bit softer, but that has a firmer sponge.

I have good control on my service and can place the ball anywhere I want, with the amount of power I want, even playing some flat fast services. My forehand serve receive over the table improved a lot as I finally had the confidence going for both pushes, even aggressive pushes and also flicks, to the point where I feel that when I judge the spin right, I get the receive on the table 10 out of 10 times.

In open play I can loop and drive with ease. Speed is pretty linear, whatever speed you put in, you get the speed on the ball, with a little acceleration on the top end, when you are really going for it. The rubber isn't insanely fast overall, but should be more than fast enough for everyone on an intermediate level.

The most surprising aspect of the rubber was the ease I could block topspin balls with my FH. I hardly ever blocked on my FH, unless absolutely necessary, but since I started playing with the Rxton 3 Pro I started many more well placed FH blocks. The rubber likes an active block, just holding out your hand will most likely see the ball shoot over the table, but giving the ball a bit more follow through movement and your blocks will land.

So far I have noticed that I like the rubber more on a blade with a bit more flex, on my Yinhe T11s I enjoyed it less than my main blade. However I think the rubber could work as a BH rubber on a stiff blade, but I think there are better suited options going that route. I did twiddle the rubber to my BH on my main blade too, which was okay, but the rubber shines a lot more on the larger forehand strokes.

All in all this rubber will be a main stay for me on my main blade for my local league competition. Last night I saw AliExpress had some deals going and I found the rubber for €8,60 in the Choice Selection, so I bought 2 as spare rubbers, an absolute steal for that price. After the league season I might try some other options, but I think it will be hard to beat the Loki Rxton 3 Pro for me as my FH rubber.

 

[enoxzr]

Friendship Bloom Power 45 Red
Tested as FH rubber on a Yinhe T11s and bit more extensively as BH rubber on my Butterfly Balsa Carbo X7 (main blade).

Initially I tried this rubber on my FH on the Yinhe T11s, with SP on the BH. This was very enjoyable as the rubber provided me with great control and decent enough speed, especially the base speed of the rubber. I especially enjoyed over the table play as I could be very precise with my shots. Once broken in the rubber got a bit softer and I started enjoying it a bit less, it lacked an "edge" so to say.

I then started shuffling around with my equipment and eventually the rubber ended up as my BH rubber on my main blade, after twiddling it to BH on the Yinhe T11s and liking that experience. Once adjusted, this rubber is servicing me very well as an attacking BH rubber. Still has great control, can push well and it gives me the confidence to develop my BH flick and loop more.

The only challenge I currently have with the rubber is that I am still adjusting to blocking with the rubber. Straight on topspin drives are no problem, but very spinny loops or a fast and long serve into BH are very challenging at the moment. It feels like it has a bit to high base speed for the way I am used to handling those shots and me having a hard time adjusting to that with different blocks or counter looping instead.

The overall experience is good and I really hope I can adjust to the rubber more to make my blocks more consistent. If times proves that this remains challenging I am going to try a non sticky rubber for my BH, for which I have now glued a Yinhe Moon 12 in blue to the Yinhe T11s as a preliminary test.

 

[TT Lover]

Loki Rxton 3 Pro
Tested mainly on Butterfly Balsa Carbo X7 22, with some limited time on the Yinhe T11s.

To start of, this rubber will be my go-to forehand rubber on my main blade for the time being. From the rubbers I have played with this is easily the best rubber for my forehand for my style and level and in my eyes absolutely unbeaten for its price (~€13,50 on AliExpress in Choice selection) and even for many more expensive rubbers.

Marketed at 40 degree hardness, the rubber is most definitely softer than that. My guess would be ~39 degrees when fresh and ~38 degrees when broken in. The Bloom Power 45 I have on my backhand is on the same level of hardness, topsheet of the Bloom Power feels a bit softer, but that has a firmer sponge.

I have good control on my service and can place the ball anywhere I want, with the amount of power I want, even playing some flat fast services. My forehand serve receive over the table improved a lot as I finally had the confidence going for both pushes, even aggressive pushes and also flicks, to the point where I feel that when I judge the spin right, I get the receive on the table 10 out of 10 times.

In open play I can loop and drive with ease. Speed is pretty linear, whatever speed you put in, you get the speed on the ball, with a little acceleration on the top end, when you are really going for it. The rubber isn't insanely fast overall, but should be more than fast enough for everyone on an intermediate level.

The most surprising aspect of the rubber was the ease I could block topspin balls with my FH. I hardly ever blocked on my FH, unless absolutely necessary, but since I started playing with the Rxton 3 Pro I started many more well placed FH blocks. The rubber likes an active block, just holding out your hand will most likely see the ball shoot over the table, but giving the ball a bit more follow through movement and your blocks will land.

So far I have noticed that I like the rubber more on a blade with a bit more flex, on my Yinhe T11s I enjoyed it less than my main blade. However I think the rubber could work as a BH rubber on a stiff blade, but I think there are better suited options going that route. I did twiddle the rubber to my BH on my main blade too, which was okay, but the rubber shines a lot more on the larger forehand strokes.

All in all this rubber will be a main stay for me on my main blade for my local league competition. Last night I saw AliExpress had some deals going and I found the rubber for €8,60 in the Choice Selection, so I bought 2 as spare rubbers, an absolute steal for that price. After the league season I might try some other options, but I think it will be hard to beat the Loki Rxton 3 Pro for me as my FH rubber.

Rxton 3 Pro and Bloom Power 45, which rubber is more Spin and softer sponge feeling.

Thank you sir.
Best regards,

 

[Sincerarity]

After playing a tournament today I decided make some changes to the blades I am trialing at the moment.

The Loki Rxton 3 on my main blade is here to stay, however, not sure if this is as BH of FH option. Glued my Bloom Power to it and will swap the blade round to see how we will end up.

The Jupiter III 37 I glued to my T11s. Okay rubber, but not what I am looking for as BH rubber. I think it needs a faster blade, hence the T11s.

At the tournament today I bought a sheet or H3N 39 and H8 39 for a very reasonable price. I glued to the H3N to a Stuor Long V clone with a Sanwei Au Golden on the BH, just for fun. Also the blade is oversized, so in case I really like the H3N I can reglue it to one of the other blades.

Eager for another week of training, club championships next weekend!

Jup 3 is too tacky to be used on the BH IMHO ... it does not have the throw or catapult needed to get the ball over on BH. Great FH rubber by the way. I've soft of given up on finding Chinese options on my BH momentarily - the last good option was Palio AK47 Blue. Trying out a few ESN and Japanese options on a couple of Yinhe blades.

 

[enoxzr]

Rxton 3 Pro and Bloom Power 45, which rubber is more Spin and softer sponge feeling.

Thank you sir.
Best regards,

I'd say overall hardness is very similar. The Rxton 3 Pro has a stiffer topsheet, with a softer sponge, Bloom Power has a softer topsheet with harder sponge. I think that spin level would also be similar, think that on full FH strokes the Rxton 3 Pro is more suitable, where as with shorter strokes the Bloom Power feels a bit better.

Jup 3 is too tacky to be used on the BH IMHO ... it does not have the throw or catapult needed to get the ball over on BH. Great FH rubber by the way. I've soft of given up on finding Chinese options on my BH momentarily - the last good option was Palio AK47 Blue. Trying out a few ESN and Japanese options on a couple of Yinhe blades.

Liking the Bloom Power so far, but must say that I am going to try non-sticky options if I decide to swap out the Bloom Power. Got a Yinhe Moon and Sanwei Au Golden on my spare blades to try currently and a Sanwei Gear Hyper (which is a hybrid, but not a true Chinese sticky rubber) as back up. If thats not the end all, I most likely will give the Palio AK47 Yellow a try, but otherwise I am going to look at non-chinese BH options like the Xiom Vega Europe, Andro Hexer (Power)Grip SFX etc.

 

[enoxzr]

Had glued the Yinhe Moon 12 to my T11s blade and played a training session with it yesterday.

Came to two conclusions, the Yinhe T11s is way to hard for me and the Moon 12 is a great safe BH rubber at first glance. Reglued it to my main blade and hope to squeeze in a training session tonight to test it out, I have high hopes for the combination!

 

[TensorBackhand]

Jup 3 is too tacky to be used on the BH IMHO ... it does not have the throw or catapult needed to get the ball over on BH. Great FH rubber by the way. I've soft of given up on finding Chinese options on my BH momentarily - the last good option was Palio AK47 Blue. Trying out a few ESN and Japanese options on a couple of Yinhe blades.

Moon 12 is good. Aurora max boosted is good. Ak47 red is good.

 

[mattlamperouge]

Jup 3 is too tacky to be used on the BH IMHO ... it does not have the throw or catapult needed to get the ball over on BH. Great FH rubber by the way. I've soft of given up on finding Chinese options on my BH momentarily - the last good option was Palio AK47 Blue. Trying out a few ESN and Japanese options on a couple of Yinhe blades.

Did you try Loki T3? I tested normal & T3 Speed on a 7ply clipper style blade. Both Versions have good bounce, speed & enough grip, T3 Speed feels quite a bit softer as expected, only suitable on BH, overrall price/performance Is pretty good, Easy to use.

 

[enoxzr]

After playing with Moon 12 as the BH in my main blade for a week (~6 hours including a league game) I took it off again. The feeling it had on my T11s I could only reproduce on blocks on my Balsa Carbo X7, which left me powerless for other BH shots, it was too safe.

So I stuck the Moon 12 back on the T11s, didn't change the FH on that blade, gonna keep it around as it still remains in my head to give it a good try.

For BH on my main blade I glued on the Sanwei Gear Hyper. Eager to see how that one plays out on my BH!