Under $5 rubbers

[TensorBackhand]

I put the boosted Tornado V5 back on a blade to test out. After 2 layers of booster, it now indeed has a very healthy catapult. I'm quite confident that this will work very very well as a bh rubber. I originally got this rubber hoping for a dirt-cheap H3 37d alternative. I think this will indeed be a very good option.

I tested the Tornado V5 boosted a bit on bh, and I would say it is 70% a very good alternative to H3 37d on backhand. It has good spin and grip, and it has decent rebound.

However, the area where it really fails to mimic H3 is that it is just way too tacky. The tackiness presents a number of issues. The rubber is extremely spin sensitive and the ball can jump all over the place. At the same time, the ball sometimes sticks to the rubber and if you don't hit the ball clean enough, it can sometimes fall into the net. If somebody smashes into your bh without spin, the ball doesn't rebound off as you expect, but it kinda sticks to the rubber and falls into the net. The blocking with V5 is rather bad. I haven't found the technique for blocking yet, so I need more time.

 

[lodro]

WHEN IT IS TOO STICKY, the old towel trick as demonstrated by Ma Long 😂😂😂

 

[TensorBackhand]

WHEN IT IS TOO STICKY, the old towel trick as demonstrated by Ma Long 😂😂😂
View attachment 30631

What's the trick? Just rub the rubber with a dry towel?

 

[lodro]

What's the trick? Just rub the rubber with a dry towel?

Have you never seen them doing it ???
They are not rubbing it they just lightly dab the towel over the rubber several times

 

[TensorBackhand]

Have you never seen them doing it ???
They are not rubbing it they just lightly dab the towel over the rubber several times

I'll try it. But does it really reduce the tackiness? I doubt it.

I wipe my rubber with wet towel all the time, and it restores the tackiness.

 

[Zwill]

I'll try it. But does it really reduce the tackiness? I doubt it.

I wipe my rubber with wet towel all the time, and it restores the tackiness.

The fluff that remains does reduce the tackiness but I think they do it to combat humidity.

Im kind of curious about this orange sponge STN, it's so dirt cheap and seems to have the same topsheet as the official blue sponge.

 

[JJ Ng]

The fluff that remains does reduce the tackiness but I think they do it to combat humidity.

Im kind of curious about this orange sponge STN, it's so dirt cheap and seems to have the same topsheet as the official blue sponge.

Orange STN is dirt cheap. The top sheet is less tacky than the blue sponge. So if you are prepared for that, then go for it.

 

[lodro]

The fluff that remains does reduce the tackiness but I think they do it to combat humidity.

another very drastic " de-tackier method " is of course a liberal sprinkle with talcum powder

 

[TensorBackhand]

The fluff that remains does reduce the tackiness but I think they do it to combat humidity.

Im kind of curious about this orange sponge STN, it's so dirt cheap and seems to have the same topsheet as the official blue sponge.

Like I said, to me it is the best version of Target I have tried. A legit alternative to H3. I tried it unboosted, but last night I put a layer of booster on it.

 

[mattlamperouge]

I tested the Tornado V5 boosted a bit on bh, and I would say it is 70% a very good alternative to H3 37d on backhand. It has good spin and grip, and it has decent rebound.

However, the area where it really fails to mimic H3 is that it is just way too tacky. The tackiness presents a number of issues. The rubber is extremely spin sensitive and the ball can jump all over the place. At the same time, the ball sometimes sticks to the rubber and if you don't hit the ball clean enough, it can sometimes fall into the net. If somebody smashes into your bh without spin, the ball doesn't rebound off as you expect, but it kinda sticks to the rubber and falls into the net. The blocking with V5 is rather bad. I haven't found the technique for blocking yet, so I need more time.

My experience it's that the extreme tackyness decreases fairly quick but it remains grippy for a really long time, great spin/speed/control ratio... About blocks & punches I'm sure a lot of people think they suck on H3 37 too, I remember that when tackyness reduced blocking felt controlled due to low catapult even boosted, angle was confortable and it was easy to do more active blocks too... I'm sure you can adapt

 

[TensorBackhand]

After more testing and boosting, I find that Target 3 (goes for $8 on aliexpress) is a very impressive rubber. It has a very satisfactory reaction to booster (4/5). I put just 2 layers of booster, but it has a nice catapult now. For a hard, tacky fh rubber, this is more than enough. I think it has a much stronger catapult than H3 BS. It is very grippy and the right amount of tackiness. Nice sense of control and dwell time. I really don't find any weakness of the rubber. For just $8, I think it is on par with $50 tacky rubbers. I really recommend you give this one a try if you like H3. It's better than Loki's Rxton 5 because the grip is better and the hardness is better.

Tornado V5 and Kokutaku are pretty good for $3.50 rubbers, but don't really hold up to $12 backhand rubbers. They are tacky and grippy, but just don't react enough to booster. The catapult is like medium-slow. More catapulty than unboosted H3, but not quite enough catapult for bh at a more competitive level.

 

[Zeen]

so what are the best options for FH and BH?

I have not tried a ton but I what I liked best for BH was mercury 2 medium and for FH the PF4-50 both boosted with 2-3 layers of seamoon.

How do these compare to what you tried so far?

 

[TensorBackhand]

so what are the best options for FH and BH?

I have not tried a ton but I what I liked best for BH was mercury 2 medium and for FH the PF4-50 both boosted with 2-3 layers of seamoon.

How do these compare to what you tried so far?

Never tried those. I only tried Mercury 3, and I felt it was quite a bit inferior to other rubbers in that price range.

 

[TT Lover]

What

After more testing and boosting, I find that Target 3 (goes for $8 on aliexpress) is a very impressive rubber. It has a very satisfactory reaction to booster (4/5). I put just 2 layers of booster, but it has a nice catapult now. For a hard, tacky fh rubber, this is more than enough. I think it has a much stronger catapult than H3 BS. It is very grippy and the right amount of tackiness. Nice sense of control and dwell time. I really don't find any weakness of the rubber. For just $8, I think it is on par with $50 tacky rubbers. I really recommend you give this one a try if you like H3. It's better than Loki's Rxton 5 because the grip is better and the hardness is better.

Tornado V5 and Kokutaku are pretty good for $3.50 rubbers, but don't really hold up to $12 backhand rubbers. They are tacky and grippy, but just don't react enough to booster. The catapult is like medium-slow. More catapulty than unboosted H3, but not quite enough catapult for bh at a more competitive level.

What is the hardness degree of this Target 3.

Thank you sir.
Best regards,

 

[TensorBackhand]

What

What is the hardness degree of this Target 3.

Thank you sir.
Best regards,

Mine is H40. It comes in H39 and H40.

 

[lodro]

Tornado V5 and Kokutaku are pretty good for $3.50 rubbers, but don't really hold up to $12 backhand rubbers

Only limp-wristed individuals need expensive rubbers on their BH. I got a set of the Tornados V5 and fitted one to my BH with one layer of Seamoon and it compares nicely with a commercial H3 , it is stickier than what they sell theH3 now, great for blocking, short game and I can create good speed too. 😁 😁 😁

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

Only limp-wristed individuals need expensive rubbers on their BH. I got a set of the Tornados V5 and fitted one to my BH with one layer of Seamoon and it compares nicely with a commercial H3 , it is stickier than what they sell theH3 now, great for blocking, short game and I can create good speed too.

😡

Zhang Jike says, "Me no limp-wristed individual!!! "

Me uses expensive BH rubber.

 

[lodro]

😡

Zhang Jike says, "Me no limp-wristed individual!!! "
View attachment 30838
Me uses expensive BH rubber.

You big bloody liar, you never pay single bloody dollar for your tenergy rubbers 😂
😂 😂

 

[JJ Ng]

I only played Sanwei Target National orange sponge once, after some boosting. The sponge (40 degree) is not as lively as Hurricane 3 commercial orange sponge but good enough (i.e. Sanwei Target National orange sponge's is bouncier and more likely than other cheaper Chinese rubber I have tried like Rxton 3 pink, Rxton 1, Rxton 5, Big Dipper, Mercury II, etc. etc.). I would say for the price, yes, it is very good.

However, in tournament or club round robin, I would still choose Hurricane provincial blue sponge and Sanwei Target National blue sponge over this rubber.

Yes the rubber says the degree of hardness is 40. However, I don't think Rxton, Sanwei, Friendship and DHS use the same scale; meaning I don't think Sanwei 40 degree hardness is the same as DHS 40 degree hardness, etc. That's my suspicion. I highly doubt Rxton, Sanwei, Friendship and DHS got together and agree on a scale. On the other hand, ESN is a single manufacturer so Xiom, Nittaku, Tibhar, etc. who get their rubbers made by ESN are probably using the ESN scale pretty accurately. Finally, ESN rubbers, even at the same degree of sponge hardness, the top sheet might be softer or harder depending on the model so the feel of the rubber overall may belie what the sponge hardness is. So I don't really care about the scale too much. I just slap the rubber on my FH or BH, and let my hand tells me if I like the rubber or not.

 

[fore.n.back]

I tested the Tornado V5 boosted a bit on bh, and I would say it is 70% a very good alternative to H3 37d on backhand. It has good spin and grip, and it has decent rebound.

However, the area where it really fails to mimic H3 is that it is just way too tacky. The tackiness presents a number of issues. The rubber is extremely spin sensitive and the ball can jump all over the place. At the same time, the ball sometimes sticks to the rubber and if you don't hit the ball clean enough, it can sometimes fall into the net. If somebody smashes into your bh without spin, the ball doesn't rebound off as you expect, but it kinda sticks to the rubber and falls into the net. The blocking with V5 is rather bad. I haven't found the technique for blocking yet, so I need more time.

I'm also using a V5 on my bh and ran into the same problem as yours, but I think the cause might be from the dead feeling of the sponge. Tornado V5 works wonderfully on the fh side (probably the best & cheapest fh rubber imo) but for the bh I'd choose Rxton 1 over it regarding same price range