Sanwei target national new version

[latej]

I've ordered the STN (new version), H40 and Sanwei GearHyper H37, from @harty. Summer Sanwei madness.

Edit: Quick delivery today - the next day. I've measured the hardness, the STN H40 is cca 51 on my Type O durometer, which is more like H39 actually. But the old Rxton 9 H40,5 has almost the same hardness (51). And I'm used to it, so that's OK. The STN needed some booster to set straight, it reacted quickly. The B2 BS H40 is like 52, that one is a bit more matching to the officially expected. The GearHyper H37 on the other hand is cca 49, more like H38 actually. Glad I didn't order harder. Unfortunately there is a small bubble on the left side, and one very small next to it. I'll shift the rubber to the side as much as possible.

 

[Zwill]

I've ordered the STN (new version), H40 and Sanwei GearHyper H37, from @harty. Summer Sanwei madness.

Edit: Quick delivery today - the next day. I've measured the hardness, the STN H40 is cca 51 on my Type O durometer, which is more like H39 actually. But the old Rxton 9 H40,5 has almost the same hardness (51). And I'm used to it, so that's OK. The STN needed some booster to set straight, it reacted quickly. The B2 BS H40 is like 52, that one is a bit more matching to the officially expected. The GearHyper H37 on the other hand is cca 49, more like H38 actually. Glad I didn't order harder. Unfortunately there is a small bubble on the left side, and one very small next to it. I'll shift the rubber to the side as much as possible.

Since my B3 died and I don't particulary fancy the Xuperman rubber I put the STN back. Compared the B3 40deg (broken in), STN it is a bit softer and it is more transparent too. The sponge eats the ball so easily, it deforms easily, I would almost say it bottoms out easily but for some reason it feels great when it bottomes out. It becomes fast and very direct. It becomes totally unsensitive to spin too which makes it probably the best one hit kill rubber.
I think the trick with it is to always play with impact. Rubbing the ball is kinda futile.

 

[latej]

Since my B3 died and I don't particulary fancy the Xuperman rubber I put the STN back. Compared the B3 40deg (broken in), STN it is a bit softer and it is more transparent too. The sponge eats the ball so easily, it deforms easily, I would almost say it bottoms out easily but for some reason it feels great when it bottomes out. It becomes fast and very direct. It becomes totally unsensitive to spin too which makes it probably the best one hit kill rubber.
I think the trick with it is to always play with impact. Rubbing the ball is kinda futile.

Today will be my 3rd practise with the STN and GearHyper. I was quite curious what will be the difference between the R9 and the STN. You know I like R9 a lot, but the STN, I can play with it. It does have a bit lower throw indeed, but not so much it would be disturbing. The sponges have similar hardnesses and perhaps R9 would at the top-end be more powerful, hard to say. The top-sheet of STN is indeed a bit harder than R9, that is very apparent. The R9 top-sheet is softer, more elastic, grabs it on slower impacts more easily. That is also why I absolutely agree when you say it wants to be played with power/impact. Still, the difference in top-sheet hardness is not that dramatic, I must say so far I like it. As I said earlier, B3 felt too hard top-sheet for me, and I didn't have time to play with it longer and break it in, to perhaps change my opinion (it was for a friend). So anyway, for this price, the STN is quite good for me, I'll play with it the next 3 months and before the season I'll make a choice between this and R9.

The other rubber, well, that's a diff. story ;-) The GearHyper is signif. slower on lower and normal impacts than the rubbers I'm used to, the ESN 47-48, like Vega X etc. I always from time to time get this crazy idea to put a rubber like H3 H37, and now GearHyper H37 (it's actually more like H38), to see if my BH improved and I can handle the pressure. The 1st practise was kind of crazy, the usual 1 hour combinations were OK, but in the matches I put so many balls to the net, and I was kind of frustrated. And thought, you're pussy, your BH is so weak, this is not a rubber for you, get real. So when I got back home I ordered the Omega 7 Pro immediately ;-) But the 2nd practise was better, one of the reasons I'm trying it is also to transition more the BH spinning, where now I often do just BH drive. And the idea is/was that such rubber will force me to play it (I mean more top-spin), because otherwise I will have zero chance to withstand pressure on the BH where I get most balls. So now I didn't throw this hope completely. Will see where this leads soon ;-)

Edit: I love the blade so much, that that's all I want to say about it.

 

[Zwill]

Today will be my 3rd practise with the STN and GearHyper. I was quite curious what will be the difference between the R9 and the STN. You know I like R9 a lot, but the STN, I can play with it. It does have a bit lower throw indeed, but not so much it would be disturbing. The sponges have similar hardnesses and perhaps R9 would at the top-end be more powerful, hard to say. The top-sheet of STN is indeed a bit harder than R9, that is very apparent. The R9 top-sheet is softer, more elastic, grabs it on slower impacts more easily. That is also why I absolutely agree when you say it wants to be played with power/impact. Still, the difference in top-sheet hardness is not that dramatic, I must say so far I like it. As I said earlier, B3 felt too hard top-sheet for me, and I didn't have time to play with it longer and break it in, to perhaps change my opinion (it was for a friend). So anyway, for this price, the STN is quite good for me, I'll play with it the next 3 months and before the season I'll make a choice between this and R9.

The other rubber, well, that's a diff. story ;-) The GearHyper is signif. slower on lower and normal impacts than the rubbers I'm used to, the ESN 47-48, like Vega X etc. I always from time to time get this crazy idea to put a rubber like H3 H37, and now GearHyper H37 (it's actually more like H38), to see if my BH improved and I can handle the pressure. The 1st practise was kind of crazy, the usual 1 hour combinations were OK, but in the matches I put so many balls to the net, and I was kind of frustrated. And thought, you're pussy, your BH is so weak, this is not a rubber for you, get real. So when I got back home I ordered the Omega 7 Pro immediately ;-) But the 2nd practise was better, one of the reasons I'm trying it is also to transition more the BH spinning, where now I often do just BH drive. And the idea is/was that such rubber will force me to play it (I mean more top-spin), because otherwise I will have zero chance to withstand pressure on the BH where I get most balls. So now I didn't throw this hope completely. Will see where this leads soon ;-)

Edit: I love the blade so much, that that's all I want to say about it.

You have a great point that STN topsheet is softer than B3 or many Chinese topsheet. But I think STN topsheet is rather elastic but also quite sticky so it holds the ball back on low impact and kicks the ball on hard impact/big stretch.

I might be wrong but for me the sponge of STN is the MVP like how Bty wanks on their spring sponge and X versions how they deform more etc. The STN sponge deform like nothing else. Like I feel I can super easily hit down on the wood but the sponge doesn't feel soft like T05fx or Rakza 7 Soft, it doesn't drop the ball it's just firm and really eats the ball. So STN is pretty good at flat hitting and impact hitting and to me it's rather poor in rubbing the ball. But I don't like to rub the all so I can live with this.
Also STN is light, last time I measured it it was 48g on Cybershale cut, that is crazy light. Lightness and performance together are rare.

Also I think the spin insensitivity comes from the sponge that it eats the ball amazing, hits down on the wood amazing and the contact time is pretty long, heck I think it's the longest I felt ever. And because the sponge eats the ball and it's firm it hugs the ball deep and doesn't let it move down or up depending on spin. The topsheet is soft so it allows this elesticity to take part and since the ball hits down on the wood the wood pings it off too so it's rather fast and direct.
I have to say I quite like making the arc with the blade and not the rubber so for me this works.

For me STN is quite the comfort rubber.

I wonder what you will say about the omega 7 pro. My teammate used that on both sides and after the usual month or two it died off. I'm also wondering what to use on BH, keep V15, Rakza X, or DHS gold Arc 8. I'm kind of in the Rakza X trail since I guess it's rather similar to V15 with maybe more spin and less speed which is fine by me. Gold Arc 8 seems like a good choice since everyone loves it too and, ~4 years more modern than Rakza X... Really torn on this.

For gear hyper and I would say Telson 100, dhs gold Arc 9 you need to hit more forward. Again impact hit not rub. You need to play with them like with short pips. If you close your angle like with ESN they feel kind of disgusting.

 

[Zwill]

Welp after a lot of consideration and trial and error I love H3N BS, it is amazing. It didn't bubble on me but I think I hit the crap out of it so the topsheet is still sticky but only for stationary balls and not dynamic balls. For dynamic balls it's kind of become slippery and I do not like that.
It survived my China tour in Shantou-Guangzhou in August and if you ever experience sauna weather then go to these places. After 6-7 weeks after boosting the boost is pretty much gone, the elasticity of H3N BS is mostly gone, I hit the top edge of the net more than I care to admit and the topsheet is more of a liability than a feature since it slips. Is it because the topsheet oxidized? Maybe, but no real signs, is it because the rubber sat in a drawer for a year? Maybe but there are no signs.
I just like to think I hit the shit out of it so now it is what it is. For some this still would be great, for me it's an f-ing liability now. I take this is the lifespan I can get out of it 6-7 weeks, not not great not terrible -as Dyatlov would say.

B3 is pretty good too. I like that rubber a lot. It has many features I like even more than H3N BS. The topsheet is better for sure, the weight is comparable but the problem with B3 has been for me is that I can bubble it up pretty fast. And it takes a significant amount of time to break it in which is a bit of a letdown. Sure I can buy more sheets and boost them up but break them in in 10-20 hours that is a chore. Sure if it lasts for 2-3 months maybe it's a discussion worth to have but if it bubbles up in 30 hours then damn it to hell.

So this all leaves me right back at Sanwei Target National, the 62-021 ITTF code with blue pored sponge version. And you know what if I knew any better I would say this is like a H8-80 with a ~40 degree-ish sponge. Sure I know it is not but am I far off assuming so? I think not.
STN has great weight ~50g, decent bounce without booster, decent tackiness, the price of it is solid and it is really a confort rubber too. Confort as it does it give the most spin in the world? -No. Is it the fastest in the world? -No. Is it the lightest in the world? -No. But if you take a good median of all attributes it really is a top rubber.
The one thing many people are confused about is that H3N and D64 or whatever rubbers are abominations. They sacrifice something be it spin or speed on the altar of being a double edge sword.

STN for me feels balanced and the sponge it has is very transparent. That attribute is very understated.
One of my biggest problems is that 40deg H3NBS or B3 I can overpower easily. My forehand is probably too powerful and if I really hit hard I feel the sponge can't keep up with me. Sure if I get the racket angles and everything 100% they produce amazing quality but that is like 5% of the time I hit hard, and I don't even need to really hit so hard to overpower these rubbers. If I dial back to 30-40-50% actually my output shot feels like it has more quality.
But my issue is that if I'm in a situation when I feel I need to smack the shit out of the ball H3N and B3 sometimes fail me and that just sucks.
STN on the other hand I feel like it welcomes these hard shots more and hits down on the wood more which I like.
With STN I think my biggest issues were that first I tried it on Cybershape. Cybershape is not a slow blade but it is holding the ball more than I can handle. Especially with not terribly bouncy rubbers it might feel a bit lacking and STN is not terribly bouncy, it is just a whiff bouncy. So my mindset is that STN with Stiga Wang Manyu blade which is pretty fracking bouncy with pretty good contact time would suit my game. And since STN is kind of light I can choose a bit heavier BH rubber than Glayzer, maybe G09c or H8-80 37deg.

H8-80 37 actually felt soft compared to normal Glayzer and maybe it had more spin potential, both topspin and underspin and it's also less bouncy which I didn't mind with outer-carbon blade. Compared to Glayzer, H8-80 has a pretty high release angle but I can dial that in a few training sessions.

I think comfort rubbers are underestimated a lot. Imagine this analogy, you fix a date on tinder or whatever and you go to an unknown restaurant with and unkonw girl, what will you order? Sichuan hotpot or something more relaxed? I would for sure order some comfort food since I don't wanna cry or double burn in front of a new date.
And guess what, if you play a match on the opponent's turf, you are pretty much in the same situation, "new partner" in a "new place". Avoiding crying and diarrhea are not the last points you should consider if you wanna "score". And these were Zwill's absolute game winning or chick winning top tipps.

@mocker88 give me my STNs 哈哈

 

[darkky65]

just got mine and had a hit with it on a robot last night. i think i found my FH rubber end game. Mid-Soft feels like 38° (was bought for BH use but i like it more on FH)

directly comparing with a lightly boosted H3 Neo 40° (2 light layers of seamoon yellow, it barely curled, just popped up in the middle) on the same blade (XVT Ebenholz 7 ~80g

Tackiness: STN3 > H3 Neo
Bounce: STN3 > H3 Neo
Ball Grab: H3 Neo > STN3
Low Power Shots: STN3 = H3 Neo
Mid Power Shots: H3 Neo > STN3
High Power Shots: H3 Neo > STN3
Spin: H3 Neo > STN3
Control: STN3 = H3 Neo
Sound: STN3>>>H3 Neo (the click is addicting)
It's a lightweight Tacky hybrid that you don't need to boost, cheaper than H3 Neo.

H3 is still better overall and on quality shots, the harder version might come closer.

the sponge adhesion is really good too so you might be able to boost it further, tried pulling it apart and i couldn't do it without ripping the sponge apart, the H3 came off with minimal effort.

 

[JJ Ng]

Welp after a lot of consideration and trial and error I love H3N BS, it is amazing. It didn't bubble on me but I think I hit the crap out of it so the topsheet is still sticky but only for stationary balls and not dynamic balls. For dynamic balls it's kind of become slippery and I do not like that.
It survived my China tour in Shantou-Guangzhou in August and if you ever experience sauna weather then go to these places. After 6-7 weeks after boosting the boost is pretty much gone, the elasticity of H3N BS is mostly gone, I hit the top edge of the net more than I care to admit and the topsheet is more of a liability than a feature since it slips. Is it because the topsheet oxidized? Maybe, but no real signs, is it because the rubber sat in a drawer for a year? Maybe but there are no signs.
I just like to think I hit the shit out of it so now it is what it is. For some this still would be great, for me it's an f-ing liability now. I take this is the lifespan I can get out of it 6-7 weeks, not not great not terrible -as Dyatlov would say.

B3 is pretty good too. I like that rubber a lot. It has many features I like even more than H3N BS. The topsheet is better for sure, the weight is comparable but the problem with B3 has been for me is that I can bubble it up pretty fast. And it takes a significant amount of time to break it in which is a bit of a letdown. Sure I can buy more sheets and boost them up but break them in in 10-20 hours that is a chore. Sure if it lasts for 2-3 months maybe it's a discussion worth to have but if it bubbles up in 30 hours then damn it to hell.

So this all leaves me right back at Sanwei Target National, the 62-021 ITTF code with blue pored sponge version. And you know what if I knew any better I would say this is like a H8-80 with a ~40 degree-ish sponge. Sure I know it is not but am I far off assuming so? I think not.
STN has great weight ~50g, decent bounce without booster, decent tackiness, the price of it is solid and it is really a confort rubber too. Confort as it does it give the most spin in the world? -No. Is it the fastest in the world? -No. Is it the lightest in the world? -No. But if you take a good median of all attributes it really is a top rubber.
The one thing many people are confused about is that H3N and D64 or whatever rubbers are abominations. They sacrifice something be it spin or speed on the altar of being a double edge sword.

STN for me feels balanced and the sponge it has is very transparent. That attribute is very understated.
One of my biggest problems is that 40deg H3NBS or B3 I can overpower easily. My forehand is probably too powerful and if I really hit hard I feel the sponge can't keep up with me. Sure if I get the racket angles and everything 100% they produce amazing quality but that is like 5% of the time I hit hard, and I don't even need to really hit so hard to overpower these rubbers. If I dial back to 30-40-50% actually my output shot feels like it has more quality.
But my issue is that if I'm in a situation when I feel I need to smack the shit out of the ball H3N and B3 sometimes fail me and that just sucks.
STN on the other hand I feel like it welcomes these hard shots more and hits down on the wood more which I like.
With STN I think my biggest issues were that first I tried it on Cybershape. Cybershape is not a slow blade but it is holding the ball more than I can handle. Especially with not terribly bouncy rubbers it might feel a bit lacking and STN is not terribly bouncy, it is just a whiff bouncy. So my mindset is that STN with Stiga Wang Manyu blade which is pretty fracking bouncy with pretty good contact time would suit my game. And since STN is kind of light I can choose a bit heavier BH rubber than Glayzer, maybe G09c or H8-80 37deg.

H8-80 37 actually felt soft compared to normal Glayzer and maybe it had more spin potential, both topspin and underspin and it's also less bouncy which I didn't mind with outer-carbon blade. Compared to Glayzer, H8-80 has a pretty high release angle but I can dial that in a few training sessions.

I think comfort rubbers are underestimated a lot. Imagine this analogy, you fix a date on tinder or whatever and you go to an unknown restaurant with and unkonw girl, what will you order? Sichuan hotpot or something more relaxed? I would for sure order some comfort food since I don't wanna cry or double burn in front of a new date.
And guess what, if you play a match on the opponent's turf, you are pretty much in the same situation, "new partner" in a "new place". Avoiding crying and diarrhea are not the last points you should consider if you wanna "score". And these were Zwill's absolute game winning or chick winning top tipps.

@mocker88 give me my STNs 哈哈

Glad you like STN. Lol, I am not the only one. I am currently using H3 blue sponge right now since I am trying to "get to know my equipment." Once I burn through this batch of H3 blue sponge, I will go back to STN for a while.

 

[Zwill]

just got mine and had a hit with it on a robot last night. i think i found my FH rubber end game. Mid-Soft feels like 38° (was bought for BH use but i like it more on FH)

directly comparing with a lightly boosted H3 Neo 40° (2 light layers of seamoon yellow, it barely curled, just popped up in the middle) on the same blade (XVT Ebenholz 7 ~80g

Tackiness: STN3 > H3 Neo
Bounce: STN3 > H3 Neo
Ball Grab: H3 Neo > STN3
Low Power Shots: STN3 = H3 Neo
Mid Power Shots: H3 Neo > STN3
High Power Shots: H3 Neo > STN3
Spin: H3 Neo > STN3
Control: STN3 = H3 Neo
Sound: STN3>>>H3 Neo (the click is addicting)
It's a lightweight Tacky hybrid that you don't need to boost, cheaper than H3 Neo.

H3 is still better overall and on quality shots, the harder version might come closer.

the sponge adhesion is really good too so you might be able to boost it further, tried pulling it apart and i couldn't do it without ripping the sponge apart, the H3 came off with minimal effort.

View attachment 32206

This one has a different package. It might be the Chinese market version. Actually I saw this on AliExpress and it has medium soft and medium hard hardness. I guess you got the medium soft. I wonder this one has the same pored blue sponge as the international version only that it's available in two hardness.

STN actually feels like a serviceable backhand rubber so with a tad softer sponge maybe even more so, like what you tried to achieve.

Glad you like STN. Lol, I am not the only one. I am currently using H3 blue sponge right now since I am trying to "get to know my equipment." Once I burn through this batch of H3 blue sponge, I will go back to STN for a while.

On my Chinese trip I saw some players using Sanwei. I saw more Sanwei than 729 and other smaller brands.

One thing I clearly remember is STN has the nicest touch of all of the Chinese rubbers I tried. Like during topspin rallies I can manipulate the ball as I wish. I can hit more forward or pull more up or hit a bit of a side or change direction etc with STN it was quite welcoming. With other rubbers I can do too but maybe more stressful and they sometimes drop the ball into the net.

 

[JJ Ng]

This one has a different package. It might be the Chinese market version. Actually I saw this on AliExpress and it has medium soft and medium hard hardness. I guess you got the medium soft. I wonder this one has the same pored blue sponge as the international version only that it's available in two hardness.

STN actually feels like a serviceable backhand rubber so with a tad softer sponge maybe even more so, like what you tried to achieve.


On my Chinese trip I saw some players using Sanwei. I saw more Sanwei than 729 and other smaller brands.

One thing I clearly remember is STN has the nicest touch of all of the Chinese rubbers I tried. Like during topspin rallies I can manipulate the ball as I wish. I can hit more forward or pull more up or hit a bit of a side or change direction etc with STN it was quite welcoming. With other rubbers I can do too but maybe more stressful and they sometimes drop the ball into the net.

STN blue sponge plays really eerily similar to the DHS provincial BS 39 degrees to me. It is good to hear that STN is more popular than Battle II or Battle III vs other chinese rubbers (save Hurricane blue sponge). I am not quite sure about the hardness of STN but I suspect it is a bit harder than H3 BS 39 degrees.

By the way, STN blue sponge does come in red topsheet. I have a coupe sheets of that but not sure what to do with them since I am not ready for any Chinese rubber on my backhand. So you can get STN blue sponge with red top sheet if you like to try it out on the backhand side. Maybe you want to boost with a thinner layer of booster and progress from there until you get the right degree of hardness on the backhand that you like.

FYI. The most recent batches of STN (from China via Aliexpress or the international version sold by Megaspin in North America) feel about the same. So since it is cheaper via Aliexpress, I have stopped purchasing STN from Megaspin.

Also I have boosted countless rubbers over the year. The only sheet that bubbled up during the boosting process is a STN. I personally don't think that is a big deal because STN is very very well priced (via Aliexpress) so one single sheet having a bubble does not concern me. So my recent batch of STN, I did not boost them. They play quite well actually. When I am ready to take them off my blade, I plan to boost it and see how it feels.

And STN's top sheet is definitely grippier than H3's top sheet nowadays. It is hard to find a good Chinese rubber that also has tacky top sheet and plays as well as Hurricane blue sponge.

For example, Yinhe mercury II is very very tacky but it is too slow. So hence I have settled down with switching back and forth between H3 BS and STN blue sponge. It is actually not a hard choice for me to make. I know what my forehand likes, and H3 BS and STN blue sponge definitely feel very good there. And that's why I have stopped EJ'ing any hybrid rubber on my forehand. I have tried friends' D09c and K3. Are D09c and K3 very good rubber? Sure. Do I like them on my forehand? No.

 

[darkky65]

STN actually feels like a serviceable backhand rubber so with a tad softer sponge maybe even more so, like what you tried to achieve.

I actually also have the STN Soft 37° red, but my seller fudged up and gave me a red H3 instead of black, gave me a refund without the need to return so i just ordered the black STN mid soft since i also wanted to try it.

it feels fine on the BH, i could put power on quite easily, despite the shorter strokes. can handle FH as well but it's probably better to get the Mid-Hard variant for that.

 

[Zwill]

So I glued STN on my heaviest and "fastest" Viscaria clone, on the Gaoyuan blade and the blade is about 91-2g so not super heavy but for sure on the heavier side. My other blades are around the 86-90g mark and they all have about 1420-1450hz frequency but this Gaoyuan blade is 1510hz so it's about as fast as my ZQ90 SALC which is 86g. The speed is welcome since I didn't boost the STN at all. For me it was totally flat zero inverse dome.

The assembled weight with Glayzer on BH is 186.6g which amazingly good, since blade is about 92g, Glayzer 46g, glue about 3g, so the STN is about 46g cut. For this hardness that is amazing for sure similar to H3N BS lightness.

Gonna try tonight but on a bounce test it feels right. Glayzer maybe 20% bouncier just on a neutral bounce but when I hit the ball harder for taller bounce the ball almost goes evenly high from both rubber so for sure STN has some built-in bounce. Maybe this time I got a bit harder sponge than my first sheet, not saying it's designed to be harder but it came out harder from the production.
But the stickyness seems to be less a bit. I'm not overly concerned about the stickyness but it is now on par with H3 provincial, it picks up the ball but just like H3N for about 30-40cm. My previous STN could hold the ball "forever".

If someone said DHS makes the STN I wouldn't be too shocked after this.

 

[AutomaticBackhand]

Since there is like a million different versions of Sanwei Target rubbers I want to ask:

Which one is best for FH use and is closest to H3 / Battle 3 40° boosted?

 

[Zwill]

So Sanwei Target National the international version (blue) is quite different to B3 or H3N orange sponge. It's closer related to H3N BS but the STN sponge is more transparent, and eats the ball more. It hits down on the wood easily.
STN drags the ball more than H3 and a loooot more than B3. But because of this it kind of feels spinnier on slow open loops.

STN also has less arc on flatter hits than H3N BS, but not a big deal. STN is more insensitive to incoming spin, you can just kind of hold your racket pretty flat and use your arm to make the arc. If you're countering open up loops or great incoming topspin I find that just holding my racket flat is good enough. Don't need to close the racket angle to compensate for the spin.

On aliexpress you can also see Sanwei Target National 3 wich has blue sponge. That is the same rubber I think as the international version just cheaper.

International package:

Aliexpress version:

There is an orange sponge version on aliexpress with the same package. Maybe that is closer to B3 but I wager that needs to be boosted.
The other Sanwei Target National versions seem either old topsheet or have the same topsheet but with fully dense sponge that need to be boosted.

I think the one to get is the one on the pics.

 

[haggisv]

How is the quality control on these rubbers? Is there much variation between sheets?
I think I'd probably like this rubber and it suits my forehand, but if there's a lot of variation between sheets, I would not bother.

 

[JJ Ng]

I have always said that Sanwei Target National blue sponge is the closest thing to H3 neo blue sponge provincial that I have tried.

STN blue sponge seems to be slightly tackier than H3 neo BS provincial. However each batch can be different.

STN blue sponge from Aliexpress plays eerily similar to the international version of STN that I got from Megaspin.

STN I got from Megaspin is $30. The STN blue sponge from Aliexpress is about $18-$20 depending on import tax and what seller you buy from Aliexpress. So guess where I will be ordering my future sheets from?

STN from Aliexpress also has the orange sponge version (yes I know, it is confusing) and it costs about $10 a sheet including all the fees. I bought a few because I did not know it is orange sponge. The price difference should have given that info away. Regardless I have played a couple sheets of STN orange sponge. It is alright. For $10 a sheet it is a very good rubber! Would I personally use it? No. I am used to the blue sponge and there is no going back.

 

[doppelmoral]

I never tried any Sanwei rubbers, but since many of you are writing positive reviews, I am tempted try. Also, the price is really good.

Just to make sure I am getting the correct version, is it this one? There are so many different packagings for this rubber I am confused which one to get

 

[Zwill]

View attachment 32373I never tried any Sanwei rubbers, but since many of you are writing positive reviews, I am tempted try. Also, the price is really good.

Just to make sure I am getting the correct version, is it this one? There are so many different packagings for this rubber I am confused which one to get

Yes, this is the right one.

 

[JJ Ng]

View attachment 32373I never tried any Sanwei rubbers, but since many of you are writing positive reviews, I am tempted try. Also, the price is really good.

Just to make sure I am getting the correct version, is it this one? There are so many different packagings for this rubber I am confused which one to get

I am not sure. Aliexpress and Sanwei are just a mess in terms of the packaging. I would just look at the price. If the price is around $18-$20 then it is probably the blue sponge. If the price is around $10 and change it is probably the orange sponge.

I have received a couple STN blue sponge rubbers from the following stores (see links below):

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2251832787965103.html

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806029307980.html

On the other hand, links to the orange sponge I got are as followed:

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805964835269.html

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806168175115.html

You can see the price differences. HWSPORT CHOICE Store carries both versions. Hope the links work for you from your country.

 

[Zwill]

How is the quality control on these rubbers? Is there much variation between sheets?
I think I'd probably like this rubber and it suits my forehand, but if there's a lot of variation between sheets, I would not bother.

Seems to be pretty good.
Slight deviations but you can find that with ESN rubbers too so.

 

[doppelmoral]

Thank you for your help

Can anyone of you briefly compare the STN with Battle 3, both in regard to being alternatives to H3 Neo?

Also, has anyone tried the Nittaku Hurricane 3 Neo 8701 Version? I rarely see anyone using it though it has good reviews online and is cheaper than h3n provincial