Rubber recommendations to replace Friendship 729 Battle 2 National B.S

[lilupz]

Hello,

I’ve played with battle 2 national gold blue sponge in 39 deg on my FH . Used it fresh out of the packaging, speed was amazing but spin was a little lacklustre. I tried boosting it (2 layers of falco tempo long), sponge become softer but the moment i pasted it, miraculously the sponge became hard again 😂 felt like a h3 neo commercial fresh out of the packaging.

I’m looking for the best battle 2 / battle 3 variant or any other rubber that might suit my preferences. I liked the high arc and the spin potential the OG battle 2 prov had, but i felt like it was too much like a h3 neo rubber. I want something that is easier to play with, almost like a hybrid rubber, but with good rotation capabilities.

I play mid-distance away from the table and I like to counter attack. I am using a Sanwei 75 Inner blade now.

When it comes to hybrid rubbers, I have played with D09C but i didn’t like how spin sensitive it was. I also felt like the Xiom Jekyll & Hyde Z52.5 was too slow.

 

[JJ Ng]

Hello,

I’ve played with battle 2 national gold blue sponge in 39 deg on my FH . Used it fresh out of the packaging, speed was amazing but spin was a little lacklustre. I tried boosting it (2 layers of falco tempo long), sponge become softer but the moment i pasted it, miraculously the sponge became hard again 😂 felt like a h3 neo commercial fresh out of the packaging.

I’m looking for the best battle 2 / battle 3 variant or any other rubber that might suit my preferences. I liked the high arc and the spin potential the OG battle 2 prov had, but i felt like it was too much like a h3 neo rubber. I want something that is easier to play with, almost like a hybrid rubber, but with good rotation capabilities.

I play mid-distance away from the table and I like to counter attack. I am using a Sanwei 75 Inner blade now.

When it comes to hybrid rubbers, I have played with D09C but i didn’t like how spin sensitive it was. I also felt like the Xiom Jekyll & Hyde Z52.5 was too slow.

Donic BlueStar A1 or A2 depending on how hard you like the sponge to be? I have not played with that rubber since I like my forehand with H3 neo blue sponge; I like it spinny and low arc. I never like high arc on my forehand side. I have a couple clubmates who have tried Bluestar A1 and like it. It is not tacky tacky like Chinese rubbers are. But you can put good spin on it and it has high arc and some catapult effect. So you might like it!

 

[Zwill]

For B2 blue alternative I guees the B2 gold version with the purple sponge could be an option. Or you can look at Powerplay-x from Xu Xin.
Actially the Pinyi Fengcui is also a great rubber I would recommend it if you can Taobao it. It's cheap but don't let it fool you, it's good. I'm pretty sure the Powerplay-x and Fengcui and B2 are made in the same Tianjin factory, but they are different.

Regarding hybrid Chinese rubbers, Hurricane 8-80, Loki Arthur China and maybe even Double Fish Qiji red sponge version could be options.

 

[netdriver]

For B2 blue alternative I guees the B2 gold version with the purple sponge could be an option. Or you can look at Powerplay-x from Xu Xin.
Actially the Pinyi Fengcui is also a great rubber I would recommend it if you can Taobao it. It's cheap but don't let it fool you, it's good. I'm pretty sure the Powerplay-x and Fengcui and B2 are made in the same Tianjin factory, but they are different.

Regarding hybrid Chinese rubbers, Hurricane 8-80, Loki Arthur China and maybe even Double Fish Qiji red sponge version could be options.

i recall that you didnt like powerplay-x that much

did you change ur mind about the rubber?

 

[Zwill]

i recall that you didnt like powerplay-x that much

did you change ur mind about the rubber?

I played the Special version and I didn't boost it. It was OK but unboosted nothing that special, I thought it was well factory boosted already - I was wrong. After boosting it's comparable to other blue sponged rubbers but on taobao I saw 42deg version which is not really available anywhere else except H3N BS in special player version for 100USD or something similar price.
The biggest problem with the Powerplay-X is the same as with Dingtian, 729 B2 BS, etc etc is their weight. They are in the 53g range boosted/cut while H3N BS is 48g... One might scoff at that but I don't.

Maybe that is why I liked the Golden Battle 2, because it was comparable in weight and performance with H3N BS.

 

[proximang]

Hello,

I’ve played with battle 2 national gold blue sponge in 39 deg on my FH . Used it fresh out of the packaging, speed was amazing but spin was a little lacklustre. I tried boosting it (2 layers of falco tempo long), sponge become softer but the moment i pasted it, miraculously the sponge became hard again 😂 felt like a h3 neo commercial fresh out of the packaging.

I’m looking for the best battle 2 / battle 3 variant or any other rubber that might suit my preferences. I liked the high arc and the spin potential the OG battle 2 prov had, but i felt like it was too much like a h3 neo rubber. I want something that is easier to play with, almost like a hybrid rubber, but with good rotation capabilities.

I play mid-distance away from the table and I like to counter attack. I am using a Sanwei 75 Inner blade now.

When it comes to hybrid rubbers, I have played with D09C but i didn’t like how spin sensitive it was. I also felt like the Xiom Jekyll & Hyde Z52.5 was too slow.

You can use B2 golden 2.15mm, 40 degree, it provides more spin and more tacky than B2 Nation. However it requires an effort to produce spin and speed.

Can you compare yasaka Hovering and G1 on the backhand ? spin, speed and control .

Thanks

 

[lilupz]

w

For B2 blue alternative I guees the B2 gold version with the purple sponge could be an option. Or you can look at Powerplay-x from Xu Xin.
Actially the Pinyi Fengcui is also a great rubber I would recommend it if you can Taobao it. It's cheap but don't let it fool you, it's good. I'm pretty sure the Powerplay-x and Fengcui and B2 are made in the same Tianjin factory, but they are different.

Regarding hybrid Chinese rubbers, Hurricane 8-80, Loki Arthur China and maybe even Double Fish Qiji red sponge version could be options.

thanks alot! which variant of the pinyi cui feng would u recommend for FH? i saw that theres a purple sponge version & a blue sponge version. And in what way is it different from battle 2 national BS?

 

[lilupz]

You can use B2 golden 2.15mm, 40 degree, it provides more spin and more tacky than B2 Nation. However it requires an effort to produce spin and speed.

Can you compare yasaka Hovering and G1 on the backhand ? spin, speed and control .

Thanks

i see, so almost like h3 neo BS?

I’ll make a detailed comparison of both the rubbers soon

 

[Zwill]

w

thanks alot! which variant of the pinyi cui feng would u recommend for FH? i saw that theres a purple sponge version & a blue sponge version. And in what way is it different from battle 2 national BS?

Well I tried both the purple and the blue one, both in their hardest form. The purple was kinda like a hybrid rubber, didn't need boosting but had quite a nice bounce. It's a heavy rubber 55-56g so only really an option if you have a very light BH rubber like Vega Asia, T64, Glayzer, and if my memory serves me right the Hovering Dragon is pretty light.
The problem with this is that I think it's discontinued. So not sure if it can be bought. It would be nice I think it has many merits over K3 or other German hybrids.

The blue sponge is more like a classical Chinese tacky rubber with blue sponge but for me it felt that it has very good bounce too after boosting, better than B2 BS, and it is harder. Both topsheet and sponge.

Maybe these are not as delicate as B2 or H3N on fine touches since the topsheet is harder but once you start hitting hard they perform better.

It's very easy to boost the blue sponge Fang Cui, it sucks in booster, but so does the Powerplay-X. I think these are kind of related rubbers...

 

[Kazama]

If you want something easier to play with try Battle 2 Soft.

 

[mocker88]

I think 729 - Battle III could fit you good. Type 10-20% easier to play with and a little bouncier.
Some others are LOKI - Rxton IX 39deg. Really nice and a softer feel.
Yinhe - Big Dipper 39deg. Kind of half-hybrid with more Chinese feel.
Giant Dragon - TopEnergy Soft. Quite similar to Big Dipper, but it's a bit harder.

Tuttle - President G20 Green 50deg is a really nice rubber as well. Perhaps a little too hard, but really good tack/grip and good speed.

 

[RomanAngerer]

I played the Special version and I didn't boost it. It was OK but unboosted nothing that special, I thought it was well factory boosted already - I was wrong. After boosting it's comparable to other blue sponged rubbers but on taobao I saw 42deg version which is not really available anywhere else except H3N BS in special player version for 100USD or something similar price.
The biggest problem with the Powerplay-X is the same as with Dingtian, 729 B2 BS, etc etc is their weight. They are in the 53g range boosted/cut while H3N BS is 48g... One might scoff at that but I don't.

Maybe that is why I liked the Golden Battle 2, because it was comparable in weight and performance with H3N BS.

Used B2 Golden for quite a while but came back to H3N BS National.

B2G is excellent because it requires no boosting or very little of it. It also produces fairly difficult attacks thanks to its consistent spin and low arc.
However, these are the the reasons why I came back to Hurricane. You still gotta work for that spin (for example, getting spin out of Jupiter 3 38 is way easier), shot consistency means people can accustom their block angle, and low & long trajectory means you always gotta be in position for shots. And there is no 'Hurricane toxicity ' in B2G attacks, the ball doesn't randomly curve/accelerate or dive like it does during H3N attacks.

So, the short game and first attacks are excellent for B2G but in everything else H3N is superior, especially during longer rallies.

 

[Zwill]

Used B2 Golden for quite a while but came back to H3N BS National.

B2G is excellent because it requires no boosting or very little of it. It also produces fairly difficult attacks thanks to its consistent spin and low arc.
However, these are the the reasons why I came back to Hurricane. You still gotta work for that spin (for example, getting spin out of Jupiter 3 38 is way easier), shot consistency means people can accustom their block angle, and low & long trajectory means you always gotta be in position for shots. And there is no 'Hurricane toxicity ' in B2G attacks, the ball doesn't randomly curve/accelerate or dive like it does during H3N attacks.

So, the short game and first attacks are excellent for B2G but in everything else H3N is superior, especially during longer rallies.

I agree that H3, J3 Asia, Battle 3 have some quirkyness to them(and other rubbers too), but I also find that if one starts boosting them this quirkyness fades away or is less pronounced.
I have two theories maybe both are true. (Maybe neither)
Unboosted all of these rubbers are a bit dead. So the speed spin ratio is tilting towards spin so when the ball bounces on the table it speeds up and jumps. Strong second bounce kick effect.

Unboosted it's a bit hard to hit through these rubbers so there is a randomness when the player hits through or not and when they don't the ball is fairly slow but when they do the ball is actually fast and it's hard to judge from only the arm swing since it more relies on how open or closed racket angle the player hits the ball with.

After boosting the speed is faster all the time so this effect kind of disappears and the spin speed ratio is tilting towards a neutral zone. Maybe that's why the golden B2 is lacking the quirkyness. But I could say D09c or ESN hybrids too.

 

[RomanAngerer]

I agree that H3, J3 Asia, Battle 3 have some quirkyness to them(and other rubbers too), but I also find that if one starts boosting them this quirkyness fades away or is less pronounced.
I have two theories maybe both are true. (Maybe neither)
Unboosted all of these rubbers are a bit dead. So the speed spin ratio is tilting towards spin so when the ball bounces on the table it speeds up and jumps. Strong second bounce kick effect.

Unboosted it's a bit hard to hit through these rubbers so there is a randomness when the player hits through or not and when they don't the ball is fairly slow but when they do the ball is actually fast and it's hard to judge from only the arm swing since it more relies on how open or closed racket angle the player hits the ball with.

After boosting the speed is faster all the time so this effect kind of disappears and the spin speed ratio is tilting towards a neutral zone. Maybe that's why the golden B2 is lacking the quirkyness. But I could say D09c or ESN hybrids too.

I very much agree with everything you said. Although people say that boosters add spin, I would rather say they don't, and the unpacked Chinese rubbers are at their peak spin and toxicity.

But I would still boost any day of the week - my H3N feels more like a 38 degree rubber or softer after I apply several layers of Falco Long. The toxicity is way less prominent but the dwell time, higher arc, and overall ease of play are worth it. It becomes possible to spin every ball even if you're late, which is harder to achieve with B2G, imo. For some reason, B2G is more resistant towards boosters, and I couldn't tune it to a point, where it became 'easy' to play.

 

[Rinforzando]

I agree that H3, J3 Asia, Battle 3 have some quirkyness to them(and other rubbers too), but I also find that if one starts boosting them this quirkyness fades away or is less pronounced.
I have two theories maybe both are true. (Maybe neither)
Unboosted all of these rubbers are a bit dead. So the speed spin ratio is tilting towards spin so when the ball bounces on the table it speeds up and jumps. Strong second bounce kick effect.

Unboosted it's a bit hard to hit through these rubbers so there is a randomness when the player hits through or not and when they don't the ball is fairly slow but when they do the ball is actually fast and it's hard to judge from only the arm swing since it more relies on how open or closed racket angle the player hits the ball with.

After boosting the speed is faster all the time so this effect kind of disappears and the spin speed ratio is tilting towards a neutral zone. Maybe that's why the golden B2 is lacking the quirkyness. But I could say D09c or ESN hybrids too.

I can't agree more, it's the same when you are doing a slow topspin serve. Ball will tend to jump and accelerate a lot when doing its second bounce and the opponent will hit the ball with the edge of his racket. It happens because the initial speed of the serve is quite slow and you can reproduce it with a lot of different rubbers, including ESN one and not only the chinese rubbers. But on speedy shots (fast topspin) the "toxic" bounce kinda disappear because of the added speed.

 

[Hurricane AON]

I had almost decided never to use Chinese rubber again, but I've changed my mind and decided to give Chinese rubber another chance after getting a Xuperman Powerplay-X rubber.

 

[WingTT]

Try XIOM C55, not slow at all. Another option that is linear and controllable but faster than most hard Chinese rubbers and does not require boosting is the Loki Arthur China.