Switch away from Chinese FH rubber, what to choose?

[kolyasya]

I have been playing with Chinese rubbers on my FH for the last 3 years.

Just for an experiment I would like to try a Tensor rubber or a slightly hybrid one (but closer to Tensor).
What would you recommend in this case?

I'm looking for something with a good opening shot and underspin lift. And definitely harder than 47.5", which I already tried and didn't like.

 

[Gaurgle]

D05, D09c or Tenergy05 Hard

 

[kolyasya]

Forgot to mention 2 things:
My main blade is Donic Skachkov Carbon. Also I have Zhang Jike ALC.
I don't want to buy Butterfly rubbers because I find them to be overpriced. Tested D09C

 

[andzejgolot]

You shouldnt receive any other sugestion because it will be worthless. Dignics 09 c is the one even Geraldo WHO told in his Q&A that his game didnt like 09c is using rn

 

[kolyasya]

You shouldnt receive any other sugestion because it will be worthless. Dignics 09 c is the one even Geraldo WHO told in his Q&A that his game didnt like 09c is using rn

The problem with D09c for me was unpredictability. I liked it on BH though. But on FH I wasn't able to predict when the catapult switches on. Sometimes my shots where surpassingly powerful.

 

[Larshos]

I was gonna say G-1, which is pretty linear for being a tensor, but then noted you wrote harder than 47,5.
Sanwei Gear Hyper is said to be a Chinese made tensor rubbers. 38 and 39 degrees hardness should be well above 47,5 ESN scale.

Or do you want something with much trampoline effect?

 

[kolyasya]

I was gonna say G-1, which is pretty linear for being a tensor, but then noted you wrote harder than 47,5.
Sanwei Gear Hyper is said to be a Chinese made tensor rubbers. 38 and 39 degrees hardness should be well above 47,5 ESN scale.

Or do you want something with much trampoline effect?

I really like C1 on by backhand now, and it really looks like something like G1 but with 50+ hardness would fit my needs :-D

 

[Egon]

I have been playing with sticky chinese rubbers on the forehand for 20 years, 10 of which I only played with H3, when it was not yet mainstream. Recently, I also wondered about switching to hybrid rubbers and, like you, did not consider the Butterfly rubber because of the high price. For quite a long time, I played Rakza Z and Nittaku Pk-50, I also tried K3 and D09C from my comrades. In principle, you can play with these rubbers, but they will not fully replace the H3.
Now I am trying to play GlaYzer 09C and I really like it. This is not an analogue at all, it is simply what suited me now at this stage.
Pros for me:
1) high tenacity and elasticity - this rubber bites the ball;
2) stable properties - no booster and changes in the properties of the rubber over time;
3) low weight - I can play with heavy blades, which I have not played before with heavy chinese rubbers and hard rubber ESN as well;
4) high launch angle, which makes it easier to play with underspin.
5) a shot without spin flies faster;
6) a price that is comparable with ESN rubbers;
7) good durability.
Cons for me:
1) increased sensitivity to incoming spin. It will not work to play passively, counting on the rubber being dead, you always need to be active;
2) high launch angle, which makes it easier for the opponent to counterplay;
3) lower final speed and spin with strong shots;
4) a price that is higher then most chinese rubbers;

 

[passifid]

Rakza Z extra hard

 

[kolyasya]

I have been playing with sticky chinese rubbers on the forehand for 20 years, 10 of which I only played with H3, when it was not yet mainstream. Recently, I also wondered about switching to hybrid rubbers and, like you, did not consider the Butterfly rubber because of the high price. For quite a long time, I played Rakza Z and Nittaku Pk-50, I also tried K3 and D09C from my comrades. In principle, you can play with these rubbers, but they will not fully replace the H3.
Now I am trying to play GlaYzer 09C and I really like it. This is not an analogue at all, it is simply what suited me now at this stage.
Pros for me:
1) high tenacity and elasticity - this rubber bites the ball;
2) stable properties - no booster and changes in the properties of the rubber over time;
3) low weight - I can play with heavy blades, which I have not played before with heavy chinese rubbers and hard rubber ESN as well;
4) high launch angle, which makes it easier to play with underspin.
5) a shot without spin flies faster;
6) a price that is comparable with ESN rubbers;
7) good durability.
Cons for me:
1) increased sensitivity to incoming spin. It will not work to play passively, counting on the rubber being dead, you always need to be active;
2) high launch angle, which makes it easier for the opponent to counterplay;
3) lower final speed and spin with strong shots;
4) a price that is higher then most chinese rubbers;

Thanks for such a detailed answer! I'll take a look, forgot about Glazer series actually

 

[kolyasya]

Rakza Z extra hard

Yeah, this one was in my mind as well, but I've never tried it, will take a look

 

[Zwill]

Even though it's a Chinese rubber but the Yasaka Hovering dragon harder version might be what you look for. Alternatively there's Mantra Pro H or XH too.

 

[FZD999]

Dignics 80 is amazing for Forehand. Just the right balance of everything.

 

[banbekas]

Xiom Vega China VM.
Donic C2
NUZN

 

[K.K]

hybrid:
donic bluegrip c2 (close to d09c, closer to hurricane)
donic bluestar a1 (closer to tensor)
andro rasanter c53 (closer to tensor)
tibhar hybrid mk (even closer to tensor)
andro nuzn (closest to tensor)
xiom j&h c55 (closest to hurricane)
xiom omega 8 china (closer to d09c)

tensor:
andro rasanter r53
xiom omega 7 tour
xiom omega 7 asia
gewo inventus 50
nittaku hammond

 

[You're Tacky & I Hate You]

I primarily play with 729 Battle 2 H40 on FH and Donic Bluestar A1 BH

I find if I flip my bat around I can easily adapt to Bluestar on FH, it's certainly faster but to me still feels quite familiar as a tacky rubber user. Hard feeling with a bit of springiness but nowhere near as bouncy as other high speed tensors. Could be worth a try.

 

[Lazer]

I play with H3 now, but if I wasn’t I would be playing with Tibhar MK hybrid. Not much tack and not much catapult but fantastic grip. My favorite among ESN rubbers…

Cheers
L-zr

 

[doppelmoral]

Even though it's a Chinese rubber but the Yasaka Hovering dragon harder version might be what you look for. Alternatively there's Mantra Pro H or XH too.

can you compare hovering dragon with h3 / mantra pro? are you using it on w968?

I have tried mantra pro h on my ajh tmxi pro and to my surprise I liked it even on fh, though I am using it on bh. will give nexy etika 51 and 47 a shot soon

what kind of rubber is hovering dragon? seems cheap on ali

 

[SFF_lib]

With the recent win by Hugo, I would recommend C55 or C57.5 😂

 

[Zwill]

can you compare hovering dragon with h3 / mantra pro? are you using it on w968?

I have tried mantra pro h on my ajh tmxi pro and to my surprise I liked it even on fh, though I am using it on bh. will give nexy etika 51 and 47 a shot soon

what kind of rubber is hovering dragon? seems cheap on ali

Actually I played with it on BH 2 times on w968 and it's really good but different to use to ESN or Glayzer. So I wanted to quickly compare a G-1 on the w968. G-1 is kinda crappy in comparison (G-1 unboosted). The topsheet is much softer, less grip, less spin, also much slower. What I can do with Hovering Dragon with a flick of a wrist I can't even do with G-1 with a pretty full swing, in terms of spin etc. Also the HD handles humidity better.
Mantra Pro I used a long time ago but that in my mind is more close to a slightly boosted G-1. I think Mantra Pro M is easier to use than Hovering dragon even tho I think their speed is comparable, but Mantra pro is a comfortable rubber with super great performance.
The Hovering Dragon is much more edgy but on that note you can do insane over the table touchplay if you are brave. Easy to make lots of spin and speed with a flick of a wrist but if you use similar dynamic for pushes over the table the cut on the ball is pretty vicious and my opponent had great difficulty against it. G-1 doesn't have this feature. Mantra pro is also pretty good with flicks but doesn't have the grip of Hovering Dragon.
On the other hand if you do bad touches or you're scared then your ball will go long or high and they will be punished. So Hovering Dragon plays a bit differently than other rubbers for sure.
And it's 45-46g cut... I mean that is a lot of good features for such small weight and the price is also dirt cheap. The HD topsheet is amazing good.

I made the mistake to go to a different city while not bringing glue or my BH Hovering Dragon and I'm crying every day to use the G-1.