Need a Rubber Recommendation

[Keystoner]

First post here. Thanks in advance.

I'm in my 50s, 30 years past my prime, and I plan to get back into playing regularly. My prime was a good recreational player at best. My paddle is from the 90s: Primorac Off-. I don't want to change that. My original and current rubbers (I replaced 5 years ago in-kind) were recommended by a friend who played on the junior team in Poland and assessed my game at that time. They're Sriver (1.9mm FH/1.7 mm BH). I beat that friend once in my life. I want to upgrade but I'm overwhelmed by choices. I want to stick with Butterfly.

I'll try to describe my game, but I'm not fully up on the lexicon. I'm not very aggressive. I can put decent topspin on my forehand and sometimes on my backhand but I rely more on shot placement and moving my opponent back and forth. I chop/hit backspin a lot when I'm on the defensive and when I get mental and lose confidence. I get into long back and forth rallies where I chop everything, forehand and backhand, because I'm afraid to hit a topspin. I've been told I put a lot of spin on my serves, but better players figure them out in no time. I need and want to learn more modern serves.

I'm looking at all the Tenergy offerings. The 25FX seems the least jump from the Sriver that I'm used to. I've read how popular 05 is for forehand and 64 for backhand, but I'm afraid it will be too advanced for me. I picked the 'FX' version of the 25 because I suspect I need the more forgiving version. I'm thinking I should stick with my current thicknesses.

Thanks again in advance.

 

[Scarfed Garchomp]

Tenergy and even Rozena are noticeably faster than Sriver. I think Glayzer 09C is more up your alley if you like chopping and spinning, it is slower and steadier with a focus on spin

 

[Jon Snow]

Hi Friend,
According to your description, I think most of the rubbers can meet your needs, if you have to choose butterfly, you can try G09c for both sides（same with the 2 floor post）, although its speed is not a strong point, but the friction is very good, suitable for your "backspin" needs.
I understand that you are afraid of topspin, and I can see that you have been using a rubber for 5 years. Apart from the technical reasons, I think it may be partly due to the rubber, as the surface oxidises after a long time, the rubber is prone to dropping the ball, which means that the rubber can't catch the ball. So the rubber can start with a cheap one, like palio CJ8000 Pro. It's only $10. But change it at least once a year (every rubber).
You can share play videos with me by whatsapp, we can talke more.

 

[Topspinslinger]

Considering your playstyle, i'd recommend for your backhand either sriver 1.9 or Donic Acuda s1 in 1.8.

Both have amazing control, Acuda has better control for offense and Sriver flat hits and chops. But there isn't a huge diffirence.

Forehand you said you wanted to get more modern serves, why not go for modern hybrid. A good one from butterfly is the new glayzer 09c. Has good spin, easy to use for service and receive.

a old classic that give more spin with forehand chops is Joola topspin c, Tho i'd say you need to be intermediate for it to accually make a difference. It is tackier then G09c, so better for service. It is not very good for offensive play.

 

[Gozo Aruna]

start with the Rozenas and work your way up to Tenergy et al.

BTW, Sriver is still on sale from BTY. Butterfly has not given up on Sriver yet.

 

[Keystoner]

Thanks fellas.

I forgot to mention that I'm an engineer, and because of this, I tend to overthink and overanalyze everything. (I haven't made a spreadsheet for this--yet.)

No one has mentioned the rubber I was considering, Tenergy 25 FX. Looking at the Butterfly Rubber Matrix graph, it's the closest step up to the Sriver that I use. That Glayzer 09C is practically the furthest away from Sriver on the spin scale of all the rubbers. I'm hesitant to make that much of a jump. The T25 FX seems to be the black sheep of the Butterfly lineup, but I can't figure out why.

 

[CPH_Tiny]

Hey! First post here, too. But I had to give my input here.

Honestly, after a quick read, if you want to go with T25FX, go with it. But my advice would be to go with Rozena or Glazyer and be able to change them more regularly than every five years. The speed should be more than ok with either of them and so much more than Sriver that you will be happy regardless of how much exactly.

 

[Lazer]

Keep in mind that T05 FX makes life extremely difficult when it comes to the short and slow game due to its catapult.
This goes to a certain extent to normal T05 as well.

I would choose a different rubber than butterfly, but if You must, choose Rozena. For now stay away from Tenergy 05 in any form. Its super reactive. Can't say anything about T25.

Donic Accuda S1 on FH and S2 on BH would otherwise be a good choice to start with.

All rubbers mentioned above (don't know about T25) are significantly faster than Sriver...

Cheers
L-zr

 

[Keystoner]

Can someone explain Butterfly's spin rating to me? I'm assuming the higher the rubber is on the spin scale, the easier it is for the user to impart more spin to the ball, but I often see reviewers use the term "spin sensitive." Does higher on the scale mean the rubber is also more spin sensitive? Does it mean that although I'll be able to put more spin on the ball, it will be more difficult to react to the spin put on the ball by my opponent?

 

[Lazer]

Can someone explain Butterfly's spin rating to me? I'm assuming the higher the rubber is on the spin scale, the easier it is for the user to impart more spin to the ball, but I often hear reviewers use the term "spin sensitive." Does higher on the scale mean the rubber is also more spin sensitive? Does it mean that although I'll be able to put more spin on the ball, it will be more difficult to react to the spin put on the ball by my opponent?

Not necessarily.

The higher the rating the higher the possible spin is. If it is difficult to set spin but You can get a lot, the rubber is NOT spin sensitive. If it is easy to set spin on it regardless of the top capability the rubber is spin sensitive.

Some rubbers have a really high maximum spin level, but it takes so much to reach this that it is not worth it for most players.

T05 is a rubber which is easy to spin with and is thus very reactive (spin sensitive and catapult). Hard to play touchy slow game and serve receive with. Easy to serve with...

Cheers
L-zr

 

[PoorPingPong&PianoPlayer]

I forgot to mention that I'm an engineer, and because of this, I tend to overthink and overanalyze everything. (I haven't made a spreadsheet for this--yet.)

It's funny. I'm an engineer, recreational player LP chopper, who decided to return and change the play style in his 50+. And I tend to over-analyze everything, too :-D And this is my first post here as well :-D

I made my own research and some testing, and I could recommend you to upgrade your Primorac Off- to Ma Lin Carbon OFF, which is significantly faster with a much more power, still controllable even for such an intermediate player like me.

According to rubbers I guess that combo Rozena + Glayzer 09C is really a very good option. Initially I planned Rozena for BH but in the end I understood that Glayzer 09C is not so fast for FH, still it's very good for BH and I swapped my sides.

Another option is a combo Rakza Z + Rakza Z Extra Hard as both Glayzer 09C and Rakza Z are quite similiar sticky rubbers. I know you mentioned you want to stick with Butterfly, still being in your shoes I would definitely order Ma Lin Carbon + Rakza Z + Rakza Z Extra Hard in max thickness, it's a really great setup ;-)

That's my two cents. Currently I'm experimenting with short pips, which is a different story... and still do not need any spreadsheet for it neither

 

[Keystoner]

It's funny. I'm an engineer, recreational player LP chopper, who decided to return and change the play style in his 50+. And I tend to over-analyze everything, too :-D And this is my first post here as well :-D

I made my own research and some testing, and I could recommend you to upgrade your Primorac Off- to Ma Lin Carbon OFF, which is significantly faster with a much more power, still controllable even for such an intermediate player like me.

According to rubbers I guess that combo Rozena + Glayzer 09C is really a very good option. Initially I planned Rozena for BH but in the end I understood that Glayzer 09C is not so fast for FH, still it's very good for BH and I swapped my sides.

Another option is a combo Rakza Z + Rakza Z Extra Hard as both Glayzer 09C and Rakza Z are quite similiar sticky rubbers. I know you mentioned you want to stick with Butterfly, still being in your shoes I would definitely order Ma Lin Carbon + Rakza Z + Rakza Z Extra Hard in max thickness, it's a really great setup ;-)

That's my two cents. Currently I'm experimenting with short pips, which is a different story... and still do not need any spreadsheet for it neither

Thanks. Do your recommendations correlate with the playing style I described?

 

[PoorPingPong&PianoPlayer]

Thanks. Do your recommendations correlate with the playing style I described?

Fair question. It depends what do you mean by 'upgrade' exactly.

Rozena, Glayzer 09C and Rakza Z are good rubbers in general. I like them as a former LP chopper, so it could fit to your style as well, I think.

Primorac Off- is a good blade, you could stay with it if you're happy with the current speed & power of your shots. If you want to increase them, Ma Lin Carbon is a choice. I tried Primorac Off- but my shots lacked a real power. With Ma Lin Carbon it's not a case anymore.