Virtuoso OFF- and Rakza 7, now seeking a faster rubber

[dnelsen]

Currently I'm using Rakza 7 Max as the forehand rubber on my Virtuoso OFF-. The feel and control is just awesome. Fantastic for looping, which is a big part of my game. But as you can imagine, it's not very fast. I wish I could get more speed sometimes.

So I'm seeking a faster rubber, but I don't want it to be a big departure from the Rakza 7. I don't want the change to mess up my game too much. I'm not a high level player, so I don't want to lose too much control. I totally understand that with a faster rubber I will lose some control and probably some spin, so I'm not expecting miracles.

An obvious choice would be another rubber in the Rakza family, like the 9 or X. But I've noticed that when I research faster rubbers, there are definitely more popular choices out there.... G1, T05, some XIOM rubbers, etc.

I'm definitely gunshy about going with a really fast rubber like T05. My assumption is that it's going to be too fast and mess me up. But on the other hand, perhaps the slow Virtuoso OFF- grants me more leeway for a fast rubber.... it's this last point that I don't have a good sense of. Would T05 be too fast?

If I had to pull the trigger right now, based on the research I've done, it would probably be the G1.

Your thoughts please? Thanks

 

[Abbimmael]

G1 is a very good rubber i have used it before and its great for forehand

 

[Manto76]

Something like the Evolution MX-S might work for you. It definitely has a higher ceiling than the R7 in terms of both speed and spin, but it's not a 'bouncy' rubber and so is still easy to control.

What you might struggle with is the transition from the feel of the R7 to the MX-S. Although they have the same sponge hardness (47.5 degrees), the MX-S feels a lot harder and it certainly requires you to work a bit harder to extract top performance from it.

If you want something that feels closer to R7, but offers a step up in performance, then any of G1, Dynaryz ACC, MK Hybrid, Vega Pro, Super Ventus will do the job.

 

[Silver Server]

R7, G1, and Vega Pro all are apart of the same generation. Each one being faster than the other (VP > G1 > R7) while very similar. Rakza X would be a step up in speed & grip, but R9 is the fastest of all of them I believe. At least until the XX came out.

 

[Brozi]

Currently I'm using Rakza 7 Max as the forehand rubber on my Virtuoso OFF-. The feel and control is just awesome. Fantastic for looping, which is a big part of my game. But as you can imagine, it's not very fast. I wish I could get more speed sometimes.

So I'm seeking a faster rubber, but I don't want it to be a big departure from the Rakza 7. I don't want the change to mess up my game too much. I'm not a high level player, so I don't want to lose too much control. I totally understand that with a faster rubber I will lose some control and probably some spin, so I'm not expecting miracles.

An obvious choice would be another rubber in the Rakza family, like the 9 or X. But I've noticed that when I research faster rubbers, there are definitely more popular choices out there.... G1, T05, some XIOM rubbers, etc.

I'm definitely gunshy about going with a really fast rubber like T05. My assumption is that it's going to be too fast and mess me up. But on the other hand, perhaps the slow Virtuoso OFF- grants me more leeway for a fast rubber.... it's this last point that I don't have a good sense of. Would T05 be too fast?

If I had to pull the trigger right now, based on the research I've done, it would probably be the G1.

Your thoughts please? Thanks

You mean you'd like to have more top speed, or more bounce (ease of speed)? Because those are two different things honestly.

 

[dnelsen]

You mean you'd like to have more top speed, or more bounce (ease of speed)? Because those are two different things honestly.

More top speed.

 

[Brozi]

More top speed.

In that case, I think the fastarc G1 could be the rubber, as its harder than the R7, and more linear. If you'd like to go in the hybrid directio tho, the Rakza Z will be a great choice as well, since the harder sponge will enable you to hit the ball with more power, albeit at the expense of rally play, which is going to be more difficult.

 

[dnelsen]

I just ordered a sheet of G1. Thanks everyone!

 

[Lazer]

Currently I'm using Rakza 7 Max as the forehand rubber on my Virtuoso OFF-. The feel and control is just awesome. Fantastic for looping, which is a big part of my game. But as you can imagine, it's not very fast. I wish I could get more speed sometimes.

So I'm seeking a faster rubber, but I don't want it to be a big departure from the Rakza 7. I don't want the change to mess up my game too much. I'm not a high level player, so I don't want to lose too much control. I totally understand that with a faster rubber I will lose some control and probably some spin, so I'm not expecting miracles.

An obvious choice would be another rubber in the Rakza family, like the 9 or X. But I've noticed that when I research faster rubbers, there are definitely more popular choices out there.... G1, T05, some XIOM rubbers, etc.

I'm definitely gunshy about going with a really fast rubber like T05. My assumption is that it's going to be too fast and mess me up. But on the other hand, perhaps the slow Virtuoso OFF- grants me more leeway for a fast rubber.... it's this last point that I don't have a good sense of. Would T05 be too fast?

If I had to pull the trigger right now, based on the research I've done, it would probably be the G1.

Your thoughts please? Thanks

Rakza 7 is plenty fast. I don’t think G1 is much faster… G1 has less catapult for sure. Maybe a little higher top speed but You have to hit hard.

Cheers
L-zr

 

[Koki]

The V15 Extra is very similar in feel to the Rakza 7 (same hardness, soft topsheet -not like the G1- and same sponge colour) and is slightly faster. A great choice for forehand, with the Rakza 7 for backhand.

 

[dnelsen]

Following up, I've now been playing with Fastarc G1 Max for about 12 hours.

The results are as expected: Slower and faster than R7

Slower and more controlled over the table, due to less catapult. Tons of control with serves and slices. Significantly less bouncy than the R7.

Faster than R7 at the top end, when swinging hard. Forehand drives and loops are just amazing when swinging hard, with wicked topspin that makes the ball dive onto the table better than the R7. Amazing for mid-distance loops.

Downsides? I think the R7 works better for me for fast blocks and flicks over the table. This makes sense, due to the increased catapult.... but I still like the G1 better.

Happy with the change to G1. Exactly what I was looking for. Also I'm playing with Nittaku Factive 2.0 on the backhand. Really happy with the setup all around. I'm hoping the EJ demons will leave me be for a while.

Thanks to everyone for their input.