Suggestions: Chinese style forehand rubbers for ~$30 (penhold), I can get more expensive ones since I'll be using taobao

[Marc!_]

They just need to be around 20 dollars on aliexpress, fast enough for attack with high control/forgiveness. Any advice would be helpful

 

[TensorBackhand]

They just need to be around 20 dollars on aliexpress, fast enough for attack with high control/forgiveness. Any advice would be helpful

Double fish volant is great, big dipper

 

[SFF_lib]

They just need to be around 20 dollars on aliexpress, fast enough for attack with high control/forgiveness. Any advice would be helpful

https://ttnpp.com/store/dhs/313-neo-dhs-skyline-tg-3-6.html
Neo TG3 $18

Dianchi D - Table Tennis and Ping Pong

ttnpp.com

Dianchi is an underrated rubber, better feel than H3. $18

 

[greenbeanmachine]

Hurricane 3 is the default option that goes without saying. I think the other main contenders here would be Skyline 2, Skyline 3, and Jupiter 3. I never tried Dianchi D but I've heard good things about it.

I play penhold and I like Skyline 2 the most. Yinhe Jupiter 3 is also very good.

Yinhe Big Dipper is solid, but best for backhand imo.

Skyline (aka TG) rubbers are generally very slow unless you use a lot of power. Being slow means that they are very controllable in the short game. When you use a lot of power, they become quite fast. Ma Lin and Xu Xin both used Skyline 2; Wang Hao used Skyline 3. Skyline 2 is good for a deception-based game with chop blocks, big swinging loops from far behind the table, and rapid changes of pace (fast to slow, or slow to fast). Skyline 3 suits a more aggressive close-to-table all-out-attack style. Also, it's worth mentioning that Skyline rubbers were made specifically for penholders.

Hurricane 3 is the best for loop-attacking and spin. It's not as powerful as Skyline at the high end, but it's faster than Skyline when you use medium effort. Still very powerful and requires good technique.

Jupiter 3 will give you very powerful attacks while maintaining good control in the short game. With medium effort it's faster than both Hurricane 3 and Skyline 2, and produces a very satisfying "click" sound when you hit hard. Great for flicking and counter-hitting.

 

[Marc!_]

Hurricane 3 is the default option that goes without saying. I think the other main contenders here would be Skyline 2, Skyline 3, and Jupiter 3. I never tried Dianchi D but I've heard good things about it.

I play penhold and I like Skyline 2 the most. Yinhe Jupiter 3 is also very good.

Yinhe Big Dipper is solid, but best for backhand imo.

Skyline (aka TG) rubbers are generally very slow unless you use a lot of power. Being slow means that they are very controllable in the short game. When you use a lot of power, they become quite fast. Ma Lin and Xu Xin both used Skyline 2; Wang Hao used Skyline 3. Skyline 2 is good for a deception-based game with chop blocks, big swinging loops from far behind the table, and rapid changes of pace (fast to slow, or slow to fast). Skyline 3 suits a more aggressive close-to-table all-out-attack style. Also, it's worth mentioning that Skyline rubbers were made specifically for penholders.

Hurricane 3 is the best for loop-attacking and spin. It's not as powerful as Skyline at the high end, but it's faster than Skyline when you use medium effort. Still very powerful and requires good technique.

Jupiter 3 will give you very powerful attacks while maintaining good control in the short game. With medium effort it's faster than both Hurricane 3 and Skyline 2, and produces a very satisfying "click" sound when you hit hard. Great for flicking and counter-hitting.

I'm way more speed based than spin if anything, so I'll probably get a Jupiter 3 Asia.
Also it says you're using a Yinhe Jupiter North Korea? I'm very intrigued

 

[Marc!_]

Double fish volant is great, big dipper

I've always found the volant a bit sketchy due to low reviews, would you say it is faster or slower than J3A?

 

[longle]

Loki LAC, the best cheap alternate H3, but you have to be lucky to get a durable sheet...

 

[banbekas]

Battle 2 gold

 

[TensorBackhand]

I've always found the volant a bit sketchy due to low reviews, would you say it is faster or slower than J3A?

hmm. I've never seen the reviews of it. I've only heard good things about it.

My sheet is simply excellent. Some tackiness, great grip, very good rebound, excellent spin, excellent sponge, great control.

I think the speed is similar to J3A. But J3 has a very dense and hard sponge. Volant has a more soft, engaging, active sponge. This is unboosted. Also Volant tends to have a archier and higher throw angle. J3 tends to shoot a bit straighter.

With both rubbers boosted, Volant is much faster than J3.

 

[greenbeanmachine]

I'm way more speed based than spin if anything, so I'll probably get a Jupiter 3 Asia.
Also it says you're using a Yinhe Jupiter North Korea? I'm very intrigued

Jupiter 3 Asia is a good choice, you may want to boost it. You can also play a very fast game with Skyline 2 Neo (see: Ma Lin) but you need to hit powerfully. Both Jupiter 3 and Skyline 2 excel at flicking and loop-killing.

The DPRK national version is pretty interesting and has some strange properties. Much less sticky than other Chinese rubbers. The black sponge has carbon in it, which produces a very interesting feeling and sound. After this sheet wears out I think I will return to Skyline 2 or Xuperman, but I'm enjoying playing with it for the time being. I'll probably post a review of it soon. Broadly speaking, it's faster than the normal Jupiter 3 but less stable in looping.

 

[BlotOnPaper]

Jupiter 3 Asia is a good choice, you may want to boost it. You can also play a very fast game with Skyline 2 Neo (see: Ma Lin) but you need to hit powerfully. Both Jupiter 3 and Skyline 2 excel at flicking and loop-killing.

The DPRK national version is pretty interesting and has some strange properties. Much less sticky than other Chinese rubbers. The black sponge has carbon in it, which produces a very interesting feeling and sound. After this sheet wears out I think I will return to Skyline 2 or Xuperman, but I'm enjoying playing with it for the time being. I'll probably post a review of it soon. Broadly speaking, it's faster than the normal Jupiter 3 but less stable in looping.

Can you compare throw angle of Xuperman, Hurricane 3, Jupiter DPRK and Skyline 3? I find hurricane throw to be too high for me on N301, but skyline has less speed, especially OS vs BS, and it's hard to find TG series with BS nowadays. So i am exploring options from other chinese companies.

 

[davidsyd828]

I play Penhold. Another option is Friendship 729 Battle II provinsial Blue sponge.
now is aorund $20 us.

 

[suds79]

I purchased LOKI RXTON 3 within the last year. It's the one that comes in only blue or pink. Was impressed by the grip & tack on it. Could pick the ball off the table for 5 or so seconds right out of the package. Solid option for a pretty cheap price.

So I'm wondering if the OP has tried some different style rubbers yet because I'm finding myself going through a bit of a change in preference.

I'm a penholder and have played just about every cheap (under $25 ballpark) Chinese tacky rubber under the sun. This part is subjective but to me they all in that price range have about the same quality or feel of sponge. It's medium or probably leaning towards the hard side. They're all tacky to begin with but that level (like picking the ball off the table) very quickly wears off. Now the grip will still stay really good. But the tacky goes down a pinch. So to me, at that point many of them play about the same.

Then at a buddy's house who is an older single wing penholder himself and he was playing with Rakza 7 Soft. I hit with it. My goodness you talk about putting table tennis on easy mode. Lower effort spin ups are better. Blocking is easier. Just keeping the ball on the table feels easier. I would say power was about the same or ever so slightly lower but for me personally, I never lacked for power. Consistency is king. Particularly at the intermediate level IMO. So to me that rubber is much, much better.

On the lookout for a higher quality, more forgiving sponge rubber, at another buddy's place the other day. Hit with Butterfly Rozena & nittaku fastarc g-1. I would say Rozena is similar to Rakza 7 Soft in terms of being softer sponge & very forgiving. Easy spin ups. Easy playing rubbers. The Fastarc is definitely faster but still a medium maybe soft high quality sponge. All 3 rubbers are vastly superior to anything I've played with in the past in terms of feel.

I'm not saying to the OP don't go Chinese tacky. But I'd certainly suggest to give other higher quality rubbers a hit first to for his own opinion before making any sort of purchase.

 

[Marc!_]

hmm. I've never seen the reviews of it. I've only heard good things about it.

My sheet is simply excellent. Some tackiness, great grip, very good rebound, excellent spin, excellent sponge, great control.

I think the speed is similar to J3A. But J3 has a very dense and hard sponge. Volant has a more soft, engaging, active sponge. This is unboosted. Also Volant tends to have a archier and higher throw angle. J3 tends to shoot a bit straighter.

With both rubbers boosted, Volant is much faster than J3.

What about unboosted for both? or is it just about equal? and what can you say about spin and control (unboosted). I'm not really planning to boost right now since I'm fairly new to custom rackets

 

[TensorBackhand]

What about unboosted for both? or is it just about equal? and what can you say about spin and control (unboosted). I'm not really planning to boost right now since I'm fairly new to custom rackets

Like i said, unboosted for both, volant has better spin and control, better arc too. I had H41, but its actually not hard. On the other hand J3 is very hard, even at H39

 

[joshmak10]

Just get a commercial Hurricane 3 Neo and boost it and you’ll never switch again

 

[Marc!_]

Like i said, unboosted for both, volant has better spin and control, better arc too. I had H41, but its actually not hard. On the other hand J3 is very hard, even at H39

Thanks. I'll try and look into Volant Phoenix.

 

[TensorBackhand]

Thanks. I'll try and look into Volant Phoenix.

I think you'll be impressed.

 

[netdriver]

save up, buy H3 and be happy

39 degrees if ur new to tacky rubbers, 40 if ur powerful enough to hit through the rubber

other decent options include xuperman and battle 2, but if you ask me they pale a little in comparison with H3

i dont recc skylines... skyline 3 is weak, skyline 2 on the other hand is very good but the topsheet oxidizes too quickly and the rubber itself is hard to get. the differences between the skylines and H3 is marginal at best.

 

[mihalichtheone]

Just get a commercial Hurricane 3 Neo and boost it and you’ll never switch again

I am really disappointed in tackiness of commercial (and actually provincial and national also) H3 orange sponge...even boosted it just doesn't spin the ball as well as BS.

Battle II provincial blue sponge is cheaper and does things similarly or even better (it surely is more tacky than current h3). And it's cheaper a bit