My National H3 and Skyline 3 Blue Sponge

[JustAlt]

As I wrote earlier(I guess everyone just ignored my post), the prott.cc owner used to be a provincial level player in China. I have not heard any complaints about the rubbers he is selling. They are expensive, but aren't they everywhere?
You can find the provincial and national level rubbers in the "special rubbers" section.

And btw Mr. RicharD, when you're "driving" you seem to take the ball really late.

 

[Mr. RicharD]

I am taking the ball late. I wasn't actually playing, but more showing a club member of mine that he needs to keep his elbow at the level of the ball. When I play I usually just third ball kill off the bounce. The player I am hitting with in the skyline video is a 1000 - 1200 U.S. level player that is over 40 years old and if I don't hit the ball late he won't be able to return the ball. I usually hit on the fall when I just do some practice shots with them because they are still only learning the technique.

As for the Provincial rubber I don't believe the Blue Sponge is the Chinese National Rubber. As my buddy is a dealer and has connections with the Chinese National team as well is a coach and 2400 U.S. rated player he was able to get the National rubbers for cheap and gave the Blue Sponge versions to me for free. The Provincial rubbers are better than the Commercial no doubt, but the price is till pretty high for Provincial. I prefer National now so that's what I'll be purchasing.

 

[cmetsbeltran15]

richard have you tried the commercial version of said rubbers enough to reach any conclusions

 

[Mr. RicharD]

Yes I've tried all of the trio (Skyline 2, 3, Hurrican 3) rubbers (Black only though) of each series with every sponge currently available excluding Sky 2 BS. I just haven't tried the rubbers speed glued or boosted. I guess here's the conclusion of what the rubbers are like and what type of styles should go with each rubber.

Skyline 2 - Has the most amount of spin for Chinese style strokes. If you don't like tacky rubbers this won't be for you, but if you want good short spinny services with great close to the table Third ball attacks this rubber is fantastic. It's got a medium high throw for a Chinese rubber. You can't go wrong with this rubber if you're a close to the table player whether shake hand or penhold. This rubber in my opinion has the best short game of the trio. If you want to flick or kill the ball from close to the net you really can't get anything better.

Skyline 3 - Has the most amount of speed again for Chinese Style strokes. With the Blue Sponge variant I would guess it is the fastest DHS rubber that is made. No matter which version you get from Commercial to National it is the fastest of each set of the trio. It really pops off the rubber well and just has nice smooth shots from both far away and close to the table. It also has a medium to medium high throw. It however has the least amount of spin compared to H3 or Sky2. But when I say least I just mean slightly less than H3. When I played against Sam Russel he said my shots are much faster for penhold with this rubber and the services are spinnier, but the loops are mostly faster rather than spinnier than commercial Skyline 2. This rubber is great for the attacker that needs an extra kick whether close to the table or mid distance. Of the trio this rubber is the best for counter looping in my opinion.

Hurricane 3 - is the Balance of both worlds in my opinion. It still holds the same throw maybe slightly less than Skyline 3, but it has less speed and more spin than Skyline 3. It's kind of like if Skyline 2 and 3 had a baby it would turn out to be Hurricane 3. It's got a great game both close to the table and mid distance. I would say it is the best of the trio for loop killing whether off the baseline or mid distance. For anyone that needs the control in their third ball attacks, but also wants to be able to counter from mid distance this rubber is for you.

Hope this helps guys. Go ahead and ask questions. I can try and explain or just make a video to show you guys how easy it is.

 

[JustAlt]

I am taking the ball late. I wasn't actually playing, but more showing a club member of mine that he needs to keep his elbow at the level of the ball. When I play I usually just third ball kill off the bounce. The player I am hitting with in the skyline video is a 1000 - 1200 U.S. level player that is over 40 years old and if I don't hit the ball late he won't be able to return the ball. I usually hit on the fall when I just do some practice shots with them because they are still only learning the technique.

Ok, for some reason I just thought the the video was about driving with the Skyline, not about blocking the ball that is driven with it.

As for the Provincial rubber I don't believe the Blue Sponge is the Chinese National Rubber.

Could you tell me what you mean by this as I really don't see any sense in this sentence? You're saying that you don't believe the Provincial rubber is a National rubber?

 

[Mr. RicharD]

No what I meant is that Provincial Blue Sponge is not given to the Chinese National Team. National Chinese Rubber is not sold by DHS, but rather sold by Chinese National Team members to other Dealers. It is very hard to come by this rubber so when you said it was Provincial Blue Sponge rubber that is not the same rubber the Chinese National Team uses.

 

[yang_fan]

So whats the difference between the provincial blue sponge and the orange sponge? I checked in China on an online website and when you specify to search only for genuine products (not replicates) they don't even have any blue sponge hurricane 3, only the orange ones. (I searched taobao.com probably one of the largest online marketplaces). I'll ask my Chinese friend later if he knows anything about the blue sponges.

 

[JustAlt]

No what I meant is that Provincial Blue Sponge is not given to the Chinese National Team. National Chinese Rubber is not sold by DHS, but rather sold by Chinese National Team members to other Dealers. It is very hard to come by this rubber so when you said it was Provincial Blue Sponge rubber that is not the same rubber the Chinese National Team uses.

I don't think I ever said the provincial rubber is the same that the CNT uses, that wouldn't make any sense.
What I said was that the prott.cc guy used to be a provincial level player in China, which would make it quite believeable that he could have connections to the national team. He is selling both the provincial and national versions in the "special rubbers" section of his site. Then I also said that the provincials aren't "that" expensive(you are in such a priviledged position by getting the nationals from your coach that you may differ) and if they're good enough for China provincial level players, they're good enough for anyone of us.

 

[yang_fan]

After talking with my Chinese connection he told me that 99% of the blue sponge hurricane 3s are fakes and to beware when you buy it. Just giving my fellow TT enthusiasts a heads up

 

[Mr. RicharD]

Yang I know what you mean. With so many replica companies out there it's no wonder people get ripped off. My buddy has personal connections with the CNT so I know he's getting the good stuff.

As for Justalt sorry about that buddy, I had misread your post. I thought you were saying that as he was a provincial player he was getting provincial rubbers from the CNT. There's no doubt that the Provincial is better than the Commercial, but as I've tried all the commercial and provincial rubbers the H3 and TG3 National versions are just way above them. If I were to give you a scale in comparison to say Tenergy 05 here is what it would be.

T05 is an 8.5/10 in spin, 7/10 in control, and 8.5/10 in speed.

H3 Commercial is a 8.5/10 in spin, 8/10 in control, and a 7.5/10 in speed.

H3 Provincial 8.5/10 Spin, 8.5/10 in control, 8/10 in speed.

H3 National 9.5/10 Spin, 10/10 in control, 8.5/10 in speed

TG2 Commercial is a 9/10 in spin, 9.5/10 in control, and a 7/10 in speed.

TG2 Provincial 9/10 Spin, 9.5/10 in control, 7.5/10 in speed.

TG2 National (this is the only rubber I haven't tried) I would imagine it to be 10/10 spin, 10/10 control, 8/10 speed

TG3 Commercial is a 8/10 in spin, 8.5/10 in control, and a 9/10 in speed.

TG3 Provincial 8.5/10 Spin, 9/10 in control, 9/10 in speed.

TG3 National 9/10 Spin, 10/10 in control, 10/10 in speed

 

[Culaopho]

ttnpp & prott.cc are reliable sources. I bought a lot of TT equipment from them for the last two years.

 

[Mr. RicharD]

We never said they weren't reliable only that the CNT rubbers are only available through select dealers. They are hard to come by as the dealers that do have relationships with the CNT players and coaches will try to buy as much as they can. I have no doubt that there are other dealers out there maybe even at those websites, but I would much rather trust a dealer I've met and played with versus something on the internet. It's just more credible that way.

 

[Culaopho]

I'm sorry Mr. Richard. I just want to answer a question from azlan. "Just curious, how reliable are prott.cc and ttnp.com? Anyone??".

 

[Trinita]

Hi all,

Thanks Mr Richard for the scale comparing TG2/TG3/H3, that can be quite usefull.
I want so much to try the blue sponge, particularly H3 neo Prov or Nat, but as said before it can be pretty much expensive and often fake unfortunately.

 

[Trinita]

If someone has on blue sponge for sale, new or slightly used H3 or TG3, that would be great, just let me know

 

[yang_fan]

Mr Richard: I was hoping you could give some detailed information on the difference between the orange sponge H3 National and the blue sponge H3 national. The orange sponge national version is much easier to buy and find, whereas the blue sponge is very hard to find.

THanks!

 

[ptnk_triz]

TG3 Blue Sponge is really cheap 20$.

Could you compare the TG3 Neo and the TG3 BS ? Richard ?

 

[Mr. RicharD]

Hey guys sorry I've been away, but I've been busy working for Joola. You can check out the Western Open I was video/photographing at www.facebook.com/joolausa

ptnk_triz - first off Welcome and I hope you find it a blast here in our discussions and knowledge base. TG3 BS National is very hard to come by. Because it isn't sold commercially. It's specifically made for the CNT and depending on what teams the players are on they are only sold to specific dealers with connections to the team members / coaches. The rubbers typically are sold for $100.00 + USD. If you are buying $20.00 TG3 BS that is used from a friend that's different, but if you're buying new rubber I assure you that you are being sold fake or provincial rubbers at deep discount.

To answer the questions about Orange sponge vs Blue sponge the top sheets are pretty much the same, but the Blue Sponge has a more lively feeling to it. The Orange I would say has a bit more control on the short game, but still provides great shots for the full loops. Blue Sponge on the other hand may have slightly less control on the short game, but you just feel more powerful shots coming off the full swings on the FH.

I haven't tried the rubbers for the BH enough to give a good estimate, but I would say that holds true for both wings.

 

[JustAlt]

TG3 Blue Sponge is really cheap 20$.

Could you compare the TG3 Neo and the TG3 BS ? Richard ?

The #21 blue sponge rubbers are meant to be tuned, so without a tuner you wont be using it's full speed and spin potential.

 

[decoy]

and once they are.. they stay Permanently tuned... i had a tg3 bs tuned it with falco long boost and DHS intensifier the effect is still there!!! after a year..