This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Yasaka Rakza XX
Weight:71 grams uncut
Hardness: Hard
Speed: Off++
Spin: Extremely High
The Yasaka XX is the newest rubber from Yasaka. This is their new flagship rubber after releasing Yasaka Rakza Z and Rakza Z EH rubebrs a few years back which I was able to test. The Yasaka Rakza XX has a similar design with the older Yasaka Rakza X in which both rubbers are non-tacky and both are designed more on speed. I do not have the exact hardness of Yaskaa XX and I will be asking Yasaka Sweden if they can reveal it in public but just as a comparison. Both topsheet and sponge combined have a hardness above Rakza 7 and Rakza X. The Rakza XX’s hardness is noticeable compared to the 2 previous mentioned Rakza rubbers but the Rakza 9, Rakza Z and Rakza Z EH. The topsheet is very grippy. I cannot say it is tacky but it is one of the grippiest topsheets among new rubbers in the market right now. The sponge of Rakza XX is very firm and maybe as hard as 48 degrees or greater but I need to confirm this with Yasaka Sweden first. The sponge has pores but it is very small making the whole rubber dense and a bit heavy but the weight is normal among newer rubbers in the market right now.
The Rakza XX is built for speed. It is one of the fastest non-tacky ESN rubbers that I have tried among the newer generations of ESN rubbers that came out in the market. It reminds me of an ESN rubber in the 55-degree range wherein it is almost as fast but softer by a few degrees and has better control. Tested the Rakza XX with several Yasaka blades like Ebony Carbon, Goiabao and EK Carbon. The EK Carbon was the longest blade I have tested with the Rakza XX. I also tested it with an all-around cheap Chinese blade just to see the speed of the XX. I distanced myself at far-distance from the table which is about 8 feet from the edge of the table and I could still feel its power and speed despite the great distance and also the slow all-around blade. This is a testament of the Rakza XX’s speed and power especially at far distance from the table. I cannot deny that there is a reduction of speed when you use an all-around blade away from the table even with an off++ rubber but use with off+ blades like Ebony Carbon and you will have a stable and fast blade away from the table. I would say this is faster than Tenergy 05 or Tenergy 64 and in the level of Dignics 08’s speed. This rubber packs a serious punch! It is very fast but redeeming quality is that it is not too hard to control compared to other ultra-fast rubbers in the market. To further compare this with previous Yasaka rubbers, the Rakza XX is like 30% faster than the Rakza 7 and about 20% faster than Rakza X. The Rakza Z EH though harder than the Rakza XX is significantly slower due to the tackiness that decreases the speed of the rebound upon contact of the ball with the topsheet. I would say this is a high-performance rubber and also needs higher level of skills to fully utilize this rubber. The Rakza XX is not intended for intermediate players, I myself, prefer the Rakza Z EH forehand and Rakza Z backhand because the Rakza XX needs a player who practices seriously everyday with the above-average skills and control. The Rakza XX has this particular characteristic wherein partial engagement or partial compression of the sponge already produces a great amount of speed. This is outright very bouncy and this is the reason why I do not recommend this with intermediate or lower-level players.
Surprisingly, the Rakza XX never lacked in the spin department. It is very common that very fast rubbers in the market have either lesser amount of spin potential because the rubber is just too bouncy to brush the ball properly or to maximize the speed, the grip is lessened with the rubber. The new ESN rubbers nowadays are very fast but most of them offer a lot of spin. This is my observation among the trends with ESN rubbers in the market which are new or previously released. There came a time that in order to increase more spin with each ESN rubber, ESN would shift to a hybrid-like rubber, i.e., making the topsheet tacky in various degrees and partnered with a springy sponge. The newer non-tacky rubbers nowadays from ESN like the Rakza XX have a very good grip with the ball and offers high-spin potential. It is fair to say that most modern grippy ESN rubbers today can be as spinny as Tenergy 05. The topsheet and sponge combination can easily wrap itself onto the ball producing heavy spin. I have always mentioned that balancing the speed and spin generation of a rubber is a very hard process among rubber companies because you cannot have both factors equally and one factor must be prioritized over the other. The Rakza XX is a speed-oriented rubber and therefore the spin is the second priority only. Still, the loops are very spinny with a medium-low arc to medium height.
If you ask me about control, I guess it’s more relative on the skill and level you have in order to use this rubber. Granting you have the right skills (on this rubber which needs above average skills), even the drops shots and short pushes are not an issue. Though if you use this rubber, 90% of the time you would really be tempted to just attack because that is the Rakza XX’s strength. Overall, an awesome hard-hitting rubber from Yasaka. If I would suggest to people with great backhands but want more control, I suggest using the Rakza XX for backhand and Rakza Z for the forehand. If you are an all-out attacker whether near or far from the table then by all means you can have both Rakza XX on each side. This rubber is also affordable at 50 euros (depending on the region). Also, with about a month of using it, this is much more durable than the previous Rakza X.
Weight:71 grams uncut
Hardness: Hard
Speed: Off++
Spin: Extremely High
The Yasaka XX is the newest rubber from Yasaka. This is their new flagship rubber after releasing Yasaka Rakza Z and Rakza Z EH rubebrs a few years back which I was able to test. The Yasaka Rakza XX has a similar design with the older Yasaka Rakza X in which both rubbers are non-tacky and both are designed more on speed. I do not have the exact hardness of Yaskaa XX and I will be asking Yasaka Sweden if they can reveal it in public but just as a comparison. Both topsheet and sponge combined have a hardness above Rakza 7 and Rakza X. The Rakza XX’s hardness is noticeable compared to the 2 previous mentioned Rakza rubbers but the Rakza 9, Rakza Z and Rakza Z EH. The topsheet is very grippy. I cannot say it is tacky but it is one of the grippiest topsheets among new rubbers in the market right now. The sponge of Rakza XX is very firm and maybe as hard as 48 degrees or greater but I need to confirm this with Yasaka Sweden first. The sponge has pores but it is very small making the whole rubber dense and a bit heavy but the weight is normal among newer rubbers in the market right now.
The Rakza XX is built for speed. It is one of the fastest non-tacky ESN rubbers that I have tried among the newer generations of ESN rubbers that came out in the market. It reminds me of an ESN rubber in the 55-degree range wherein it is almost as fast but softer by a few degrees and has better control. Tested the Rakza XX with several Yasaka blades like Ebony Carbon, Goiabao and EK Carbon. The EK Carbon was the longest blade I have tested with the Rakza XX. I also tested it with an all-around cheap Chinese blade just to see the speed of the XX. I distanced myself at far-distance from the table which is about 8 feet from the edge of the table and I could still feel its power and speed despite the great distance and also the slow all-around blade. This is a testament of the Rakza XX’s speed and power especially at far distance from the table. I cannot deny that there is a reduction of speed when you use an all-around blade away from the table even with an off++ rubber but use with off+ blades like Ebony Carbon and you will have a stable and fast blade away from the table. I would say this is faster than Tenergy 05 or Tenergy 64 and in the level of Dignics 08’s speed. This rubber packs a serious punch! It is very fast but redeeming quality is that it is not too hard to control compared to other ultra-fast rubbers in the market. To further compare this with previous Yasaka rubbers, the Rakza XX is like 30% faster than the Rakza 7 and about 20% faster than Rakza X. The Rakza Z EH though harder than the Rakza XX is significantly slower due to the tackiness that decreases the speed of the rebound upon contact of the ball with the topsheet. I would say this is a high-performance rubber and also needs higher level of skills to fully utilize this rubber. The Rakza XX is not intended for intermediate players, I myself, prefer the Rakza Z EH forehand and Rakza Z backhand because the Rakza XX needs a player who practices seriously everyday with the above-average skills and control. The Rakza XX has this particular characteristic wherein partial engagement or partial compression of the sponge already produces a great amount of speed. This is outright very bouncy and this is the reason why I do not recommend this with intermediate or lower-level players.
Surprisingly, the Rakza XX never lacked in the spin department. It is very common that very fast rubbers in the market have either lesser amount of spin potential because the rubber is just too bouncy to brush the ball properly or to maximize the speed, the grip is lessened with the rubber. The new ESN rubbers nowadays are very fast but most of them offer a lot of spin. This is my observation among the trends with ESN rubbers in the market which are new or previously released. There came a time that in order to increase more spin with each ESN rubber, ESN would shift to a hybrid-like rubber, i.e., making the topsheet tacky in various degrees and partnered with a springy sponge. The newer non-tacky rubbers nowadays from ESN like the Rakza XX have a very good grip with the ball and offers high-spin potential. It is fair to say that most modern grippy ESN rubbers today can be as spinny as Tenergy 05. The topsheet and sponge combination can easily wrap itself onto the ball producing heavy spin. I have always mentioned that balancing the speed and spin generation of a rubber is a very hard process among rubber companies because you cannot have both factors equally and one factor must be prioritized over the other. The Rakza XX is a speed-oriented rubber and therefore the spin is the second priority only. Still, the loops are very spinny with a medium-low arc to medium height.
If you ask me about control, I guess it’s more relative on the skill and level you have in order to use this rubber. Granting you have the right skills (on this rubber which needs above average skills), even the drops shots and short pushes are not an issue. Though if you use this rubber, 90% of the time you would really be tempted to just attack because that is the Rakza XX’s strength. Overall, an awesome hard-hitting rubber from Yasaka. If I would suggest to people with great backhands but want more control, I suggest using the Rakza XX for backhand and Rakza Z for the forehand. If you are an all-out attacker whether near or far from the table then by all means you can have both Rakza XX on each side. This rubber is also affordable at 50 euros (depending on the region). Also, with about a month of using it, this is much more durable than the previous Rakza X.
