Review Yinhe Moon 12 Blue

[Tyce]

A need to penetrate the sponge for grip means the topsheet is not very grippy. Thin brushing contact is useless with this rubber, slow short pushes have zero spin because of this.
I actually did find it better on FH because when you do penetrate the sponge thoroughly, it actually generates a bit of catapult and spin.

So if this is not a grippy topsheet, not a tacky topsheet, then what is it? It actually resembles premades rubbers. Feels plasticky, a bit like polyurethane.

In its defense, it looks absolutely gorgeous.

 

[Angerer]

The mentioned rubbers are far from being a competitor to Moon Blue 12. Completely different department of rubbers and most certainly a whole different kind of level of player. While most the mentioned rubbers are quite advanced, Moon Blue 12 can be played for developing things, and to control stuff.
In my review i wrote several usecases for that rubber, that are far from the ones mentioned by you^^

And yes that rubber can be played for fh by beginners (maybe) but if you developed some kind of decent fh, you need the harder versions or better - a total different rubber.
For bh however it can be used quite well.

I am not expecting a €10 rubber to outperform €50 rubbers but I had decent expectations after reading this topic and several other reviews
I was hoping for a BH rubber that could create some pace via a short stroke/brush to later utilize via forehand. But Moon 12 requires to engage the sponge to generate some spin/speed, while the brushing/short strokes generate very little power, easily dismissed by opponents.
If a BH requires full arm movement to create pace, then it's better to go crazy and put H3N on the BH

On the redeeming note, the 44g weight is very user-friendly.

 

[NetProphet]

My experience with Moon 12 (medium) was also a disappointment. Maybe it was the rubbers I compared it to, but it felt like several leagues below the competitors (Hammond Z2, Omega 5 tour, and H3N Nat Bs 40) during a 3-4 hour session. I think the rubber is made solely for the backhand, because it just plays bad on the forehand.
I will try to break it down a bit:

1) grip - good, the rubber feels semi-tacky and grips the ball well.
2) blocking - good but not excellent. I expected the block to be a bit better, especially after I applied 2 thick layers of booster. Without a booster the rebound was so low I was scared I wasn't going to send the ball over the net. So it's pretty easy to block the balls, the rubber kills the incoming spin and returns slow awkward half-long balls. However, an experienced opponent can keep going with attacks as such blocks don't pose any threat.
3) flat hitting - average. Although it's pretty easy to hit the ball, the speed has its limits, which aren't high.
4) topspin/spin - just BAD. It's easy to spin the ball to a certain degree, but the amount of that is spin low. At no point was I or my partner able to spin the ball where it would be dangerous.
5) serve/receive - below average. The rubber produces little spin on serves. While it's good at ignoring the incoming spin during receiving, you also don't produce much of your own.

The rubber felt much deader than I expected. For me, it only became playable after a booster, and even then it was much slower than soft European hybrids.
The feel was very similar to softer versions of Jupiter 2 but way less tacky.
I think it's a decent rubber for beginners and I even wish I started my TT journey with this rubber instead of Venus/Mars/Mercury/Jupiter. It's all about control but it also doesn't cause trouble for opponents.

It's a beginners rubber for sure, nowhere near the Z2. But it's a good beginners rubber, it rewards proper technique and forces you to generate your own power and when you do there is lots of spin.
Playing more powerful shots with it as a 'not beginner' gave loads of spin but while it's linear it's not very fast.

 

[Angerer]

It's a beginners rubber for sure, nowhere near the Z2. But it's a good beginners rubber, it rewards proper technique and forces you to generate your own power and when you do there is lots of spin.
Playing more powerful shots with it as a 'not beginner' gave loads of spin but while it's linear it's not very fast.

True that. But if you're not a beginner and there's proper technique, it's probably better to go with a more powerful semi-tacky rubber
I just don't see how Moon 12 fits people with a compact BH movement.

 

[NetProphet]

True that. But if you're not a beginner and there's proper technique, it's probably better to go with a more powerful semi-tacky rubber
I just don't see how Moon 12 fits people with a compact BH movement.

Yeah, agreed.
I have to say I completely agree with Attitudes initial review of this rubber.
How he describes it is exactly how I found it too.

 

[Angerer]

Yeah, agreed.
I have to say I completely agree with Attitudes initial review of this rubber.
How he describes it is exactly how I found it too.

I noticed that his backhand has a much wider swing, the position of the racket is almost vertical (especially during blocks), and there is a lot of upward motion during topspins. I think Moon 12 (alongside other chinese rubbers) perfectly matches his technique and he gets what he needs out of the rubber.
I feel that people with the more compact and forward BH motion have a harder time generating speed/spin with such "tamer" rubbers

 

[Attitude]

I noticed that his backhand has a much wider swing, the position of the racket is almost vertical (especially during blocks), and there is a lot of upward motion during topspins. I think Moon 12 (alongside other chinese rubbers) perfectly matches his technique and he gets what he needs out of the rubber.
I feel that people with the more compact and forward BH motion have a harder time generating speed/spin with such "tamer" rubbers

It got more like this because of my time with H3 on bh. And i sticked with it for LAC. Is was shorter and a little more compact back then. I learned to flick with it with a faster and more open angled movement. Moon blue is quite forgiving in terms of your own power.

So as ive said, i hardly disagree that it is hard to grip anything with it, at least with the M hardness versions.
I tried the H ones and couldnt get to like it. Maybe that is why the feedback differs in that department.

 

[Zwill]

I think the topsheet with the new Yinhe logo is gripper than the topsheet with the old logo. But I have only seen the M- hardness with the new logo.

 

[Grumms]

Which new logo? This one ?

Or this one :

Some have corners cut and some does not, what's the difference ?

 

[longle]

True that. But if you're not a beginner and there's proper technique, it's probably better to go with a more powerful semi-tacky rubber
I just don't see how Moon 12 fits people with a compact BH movement.

you got a point, I have a full swing BH so I can make use of it.

it's a do-everything rubber (it shines in blocking and counter topspin) although it will require a bit more effort to generate power. My teammate who is lower ranked than me he couldn't use it because he relies on the tackiness to topspin. But if you get used to it, you'll be more lethal upgrading to higher end rubbers

 

[Zwill]

Which new logo? This one ?
View attachment 35356

Or this one :
View attachment 35357

Some have corners cut and some does not, what's the difference ?

The bottom one is the new logo.

 

[Attitude]

you got a point, I have a full swing BH so I can make use of it.

it's a do-everything rubber (it shines in blocking and counter topspin) although it will require a bit more effort to generate power. My teammate who is lower ranked than me he couldn't use it because he relies on the tackiness to topspin. But if you get used to it, you'll be more lethal upgrading to higher end rubbers
View attachment 35355

Sexy execution 😍
Damn id love to play against you^^

 

[longle]

Sexy execution 😍
Damn id love to play against you^^

yess

but I agree that in matches with higher level players the Moon 12 caused too much wasted movements, my FH were suffered from it.

 

[Attitude]

yess

but I agree that in matches with higher level players the Moon 12 caused too much wasted movements, my FH were suffered from it.

Well i used it solely for around 3 months relearning and reevaluating my backhand in the offseason and for the first matches.
There i hit that very issue. Especially over the table shots were hard to get them deep into the opponents side.
I switched to lac - h3 and back to lac now for that same reason.

 

[longle]

Well i used it solely for around 3 months relearning and reevaluating my backhand in the offseason and for the first matches.
There i hit that very issue. Especially over the table shots were hard to get them deep into the opponents side.
I switched to lac - h3 and back to lac now for that same reason.

the reason why I switched to H3 38 because it feels almost the same hardness as Moon 12 H- so transition is effortless.. If you use M+ that'll be equivalent to H3 37 I guess.

I didn't try LAC on BH but my teammate loves it - he likes to flick underspin ball then punch punch

 

[Grumms]

the reason why I switched to H3 38 because it feels almost the same hardness as Moon 12 H- so transition is effortless.. If you use M+ that'll be equivalent to H3 37 I guess.

I didn't try LAC on BH but my teammate loves it - he likes to flick underspin ball then punch punch

Boosted or unboosted (for M12 and H3 37) ?

 

[longle]

Boosted or unboosted (for M12 and H3 37) ?

in my case, M12 H- unboosted, H3 market neo 38 with 1 Haifu layer

 

[Grumms]

in my case, M12 H- unboosted, H3 market neo 38 with 1 Haifu layer

This topic almost tempted me into buying a H- or H+ M12, but I already have M- and M+, and was not convinced. I prefer big Tensor rubbers for BH or heavy boosted H3 or Hybrid (Gewo Codexx for me right now).

 

[TensorBackhand]

This topic almost tempted me into buying a H- or H+ M12, but I already have M- and M+, and was not convinced. I prefer big Tensor rubbers for BH or heavy boosted H3 or Hybrid (Gewo Codexx for me right now).

M12 is not a perfect substitute for tensor. But it's the best that Yinhe has. For me, I find the H- and M+ to be reasonably close substitute for a 50d tensor.

 

[Grumms]

M12 is not a perfect substitute for tensor. But it's the best that Yinhe has. For me, I find the H- and M+ to be reasonably close substitute for a 50d tensor.

I disagree. J3 37° boosted seems better for me on BH. But I loved M12 on the FH when I tested it almost one year ago. I might want to give it another try on the BH, but I don't forecast any + compared to what I already played with for the last 6 months. The closest would be Loki Telson 100, which is better.