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Xuperman Powerplay-x: A Rubber by Xu Xin
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haven't really given it a thought yet.
lots of new stuff coming out of China. which is pointless if no one is selling.
These companies all "hide" contact info, and you all need connections to purchase them. I don't like that kind of business model.
The business people need to first make the product a "product" brand, and then only, reviews will be worth its while.
So far, Xuperman is a table tennis club, that has made a rubber and blade.
But compared to the previous formal athletes, Xuperman is at least a running business at the moment, but product sales is still unclear. They certainly don't have any proper world wide distribution network
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Interesting that this blade has similar design elements to Stiga blades with the text flanking each side of the handle on the blade face.
The penhold handle also looks a little chunky, which is similar to Stiga penhold handle sizes.
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That feels like an easy one to explain right?
The Chinese Super League is tougher.
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I might get myself one of those blades , it looks gorgeous and I am after all the one who buys blades for no other reasons other than i like the look of the handle. 🤣
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INCOMING REVIEW!!
Hi all, I got my hands on some Xuperman Powerplay-X and tried it for a 3-hour playing session tonight. I thought it had some really unique qualities, and wanted to share my thoughts about it.
A bit about me:
I'm around 1500 USATT rating and I typically play 1-sided penhold (with occasional RPB, which I am still learning). Xu Xin is one of my favorite players and I really try to imitate his playing style, so when I heard that he developed a new rubber, I had to try it. Like Xu Xin, I am tall, quick, and strong, and my backhand attack is inconsistent, so I typically try to cover most of the table with my forehand. I also like to hit powerful sidespin loops from far behind (and below) the table -- this is my main strategy for winning points in games.
Usually my racket is Nittaku Miyabi (a 1-ply hinoki blade) with DHS Skyline 2, unboosted, on both sides. I have also played extensively with Hurricane 3 on both sides. Today, I put Xuperman rubber on the forehand of my blade, and left Skyline 2 on the backhand. Unfortunately, the Xuperman rubber only comes in black so I only put it on one side. I did not boost the Xuperman rubber.
Skyline 2 is a rubber that was developed for Ma Lin, and used by Xu Xin in his professional career. It's slower and spinnier than Hurricane 3 and it excels at
- short game control and blocking
- loop-kill (somewhere between a loop and a smash, one of Ma Lin's signature shots)
- spinny arcing loops when you take the ball from far behind/below the table
Physical properties of the rubber:
Xuperman Powerplay-X is slightly tacky -- not nearly as tacky as DHS Hurricane or Skyline rubbers, but it will briefly hold the ball on the paddle upside down. The sponge feels slightly softer than DHS rubbers. The topsheet and sponge are both quite stretchy.
Playing impressions:
The first thing I noticed was the ease of the loop. Even forehand drives will come off with a substantial amount of spin. I can absolutely see why Xu Xin wanted to develop this rubber and why he likes it. The closest thing I can compare this rubber to was a lightly boosted blue-sponge Hurricane 3. It also felt similar to Andro Rasanter C53.
Sidespin: More than anything, I think this rubber helps to add sidespin -- my sidespin was absolutely deadly today. Even though my loops usually include a lot of sidespin, my playing partner missed a lot of my loops today because they drifted too far to the side. Sidespin serves were very spinny and curvy. I'm not sure what kind of material properties create this sidespin capability, but it was really interesting to play with.
Out-of-position hits: The other main thing I liked about this rubber is that it really helps you when you are in a bad position. With Skyline and Hurricane rubbers, you need to hit all of your shots with perfect Chinese technique (power from your legs, light brushing, etc) in order for it to go on the table. With Xuperman, you can still hit pretty-good shots when you are off-balance, stretching for it, or otherwise in a bad position.
Topspin: The topspin was alright, not as good as Skyline 2. I think my loops are usually around 70% topspin and 30% sidespin, but with the Xuperman rubber, the ratio was reversed.
Speed: In terms of speed, the rubber was quite a bit faster than unboosted Skyline 2. It felt like it had a bit of catapult effect, almost like a tensor rubber. Contact time is less than Skyline 2, but still more than most tensor rubbers. The throw angle was a bit higher than Skyline 2 but still pretty low. Able to loop underspin easier than Skyline 2.
Counterspin: This rubber really excelled at counterspin. It's not very sensitive to incoming spin, which is very nice.
Backspin: Backspin is my main complaint about this rubber, it was noticeably lacking in comparison to Skyline 2. I probably need to learn how to use the rubber better, but after 3 hours I did not manage to find a good way to create heavy backspin -- something which is usually a big part of my short game.
Blocking: The blocking is faster than Skyline and Hurricane rubbers, so it is taking me some time to adjust. I thought it was a bit less controlled, but not too bad. It's not so good for fishing far away from the table -- fishing is much easier with Skyline 2. With Xuperman rubber you need to control the angle and actively block fast onto the table.
Loop-kill & smash: One of the main reasons I like Skyline 2 is because you can make very fast topspin smashes with it. In fact, smashes with Skyline 2 require some element of topspin -- if you smash with Skyline and don't use topspin, your shot will be very unpredictable. Hurricane 2 and Hurricane 3 have this property to an extent as well.
Xuperman Powerplay-X notably does not have this property. Xuperman rubber allows for flat, no-spin smashes, but you cannot get a very good loop-kill with it.
Conclusion:
I think I will continue to use blue-sponge Skyline 2 until my next tournament, at least. After that, I think I will give Xuperman a serious try and maybe post a better review once I have learned to use it. I may also try to use it on my backhand in the future.
I really enjoyed the sidespin and security in awkward positions, but I don't think that is worth the downsides. It will be a huge disadvantage for me to lose backspin. Additionally, because Xuperman is faster than Skyline 2, it has less control than Skyline 2. I am strong enough to hit hard with Skyline 2 when I need to, so the increase in speed is not very valuable to me, but if you are not so strong you might find benefit from Xuperman Powerplay-X.
I think this is a very good rubber if your playing style is like Xu Xin's. For other playing styles I am not so sure.
Hi all, I got my hands on some Xuperman Powerplay-X and tried it for a 3-hour playing session tonight. I thought it had some really unique qualities, and wanted to share my thoughts about it.
A bit about me:
I'm around 1500 USATT rating and I typically play 1-sided penhold (with occasional RPB, which I am still learning). Xu Xin is one of my favorite players and I really try to imitate his playing style, so when I heard that he developed a new rubber, I had to try it. Like Xu Xin, I am tall, quick, and strong, and my backhand attack is inconsistent, so I typically try to cover most of the table with my forehand. I also like to hit powerful sidespin loops from far behind (and below) the table -- this is my main strategy for winning points in games.
Usually my racket is Nittaku Miyabi (a 1-ply hinoki blade) with DHS Skyline 2, unboosted, on both sides. I have also played extensively with Hurricane 3 on both sides. Today, I put Xuperman rubber on the forehand of my blade, and left Skyline 2 on the backhand. Unfortunately, the Xuperman rubber only comes in black so I only put it on one side. I did not boost the Xuperman rubber.
Skyline 2 is a rubber that was developed for Ma Lin, and used by Xu Xin in his professional career. It's slower and spinnier than Hurricane 3 and it excels at
- short game control and blocking
- loop-kill (somewhere between a loop and a smash, one of Ma Lin's signature shots)
- spinny arcing loops when you take the ball from far behind/below the table
Physical properties of the rubber:
Xuperman Powerplay-X is slightly tacky -- not nearly as tacky as DHS Hurricane or Skyline rubbers, but it will briefly hold the ball on the paddle upside down. The sponge feels slightly softer than DHS rubbers. The topsheet and sponge are both quite stretchy.
Playing impressions:
The first thing I noticed was the ease of the loop. Even forehand drives will come off with a substantial amount of spin. I can absolutely see why Xu Xin wanted to develop this rubber and why he likes it. The closest thing I can compare this rubber to was a lightly boosted blue-sponge Hurricane 3. It also felt similar to Andro Rasanter C53.
Sidespin: More than anything, I think this rubber helps to add sidespin -- my sidespin was absolutely deadly today. Even though my loops usually include a lot of sidespin, my playing partner missed a lot of my loops today because they drifted too far to the side. Sidespin serves were very spinny and curvy. I'm not sure what kind of material properties create this sidespin capability, but it was really interesting to play with.
Out-of-position hits: The other main thing I liked about this rubber is that it really helps you when you are in a bad position. With Skyline and Hurricane rubbers, you need to hit all of your shots with perfect Chinese technique (power from your legs, light brushing, etc) in order for it to go on the table. With Xuperman, you can still hit pretty-good shots when you are off-balance, stretching for it, or otherwise in a bad position.
Topspin: The topspin was alright, not as good as Skyline 2. I think my loops are usually around 70% topspin and 30% sidespin, but with the Xuperman rubber, the ratio was reversed.
Speed: In terms of speed, the rubber was quite a bit faster than unboosted Skyline 2. It felt like it had a bit of catapult effect, almost like a tensor rubber. Contact time is less than Skyline 2, but still more than most tensor rubbers. The throw angle was a bit higher than Skyline 2 but still pretty low. Able to loop underspin easier than Skyline 2.
Counterspin: This rubber really excelled at counterspin. It's not very sensitive to incoming spin, which is very nice.
Backspin: Backspin is my main complaint about this rubber, it was noticeably lacking in comparison to Skyline 2. I probably need to learn how to use the rubber better, but after 3 hours I did not manage to find a good way to create heavy backspin -- something which is usually a big part of my short game.
Blocking: The blocking is faster than Skyline and Hurricane rubbers, so it is taking me some time to adjust. I thought it was a bit less controlled, but not too bad. It's not so good for fishing far away from the table -- fishing is much easier with Skyline 2. With Xuperman rubber you need to control the angle and actively block fast onto the table.
Loop-kill & smash: One of the main reasons I like Skyline 2 is because you can make very fast topspin smashes with it. In fact, smashes with Skyline 2 require some element of topspin -- if you smash with Skyline and don't use topspin, your shot will be very unpredictable. Hurricane 2 and Hurricane 3 have this property to an extent as well.
Xuperman Powerplay-X notably does not have this property. Xuperman rubber allows for flat, no-spin smashes, but you cannot get a very good loop-kill with it.
Conclusion:
I think I will continue to use blue-sponge Skyline 2 until my next tournament, at least. After that, I think I will give Xuperman a serious try and maybe post a better review once I have learned to use it. I may also try to use it on my backhand in the future.
I really enjoyed the sidespin and security in awkward positions, but I don't think that is worth the downsides. It will be a huge disadvantage for me to lose backspin. Additionally, because Xuperman is faster than Skyline 2, it has less control than Skyline 2. I am strong enough to hit hard with Skyline 2 when I need to, so the increase in speed is not very valuable to me, but if you are not so strong you might find benefit from Xuperman Powerplay-X.
I think this is a very good rubber if your playing style is like Xu Xin's. For other playing styles I am not so sure.
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Thank you for your review.
I've been contemplating the Xuperman rubber. I am also a big Skyline2 fan. So I will stick to Skyline 2 for now 😁😁
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I just learned who Xu Shin is a couple of months ago after watching some vids with him and instantly thinking wow, I see why they call him Xuperman, he's quite amazing to watch.
Im a returning player from over 20 years ago when the internet was just starting to become mainstream so it's been a lot of fun getting back into TT over the last couple of years watching lots of matches on youtube, training videos and learning a lot reading all of the shared information on this forum.
Thank you for another great product review Greenbeanmachine.
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UPDATE TO REVIEW:
I played with Xuperman again today and I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. To create backspin you need to jab the ball with a very sharp motion, even to the point where your wrist bounces backward after. At the same time, you need to be very relaxed in the wrist and arm. It will probably take some time to get used to.
I kind of figured out how to do a loop kill. It takes less effort than with Skyline, and again you need to be very relaxed and drive with your legs. Basically just like hitting a normal loop, but you whip your wrist at the end. It's almost as fast as the loop kill with Skyline.
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Well, a few Xuperman Powerplay - X # 2.1 41 # Black sheets just might reach me in 40-60 days.
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I have the same issue as you in backspin. I have never played with a rubber where I had the ball in the net so often as i have been experiencing for this rubber. It’s almost strange. But I love everything else in this rubber. The low arc, the loops and spin and serves.
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Xuperman is quite different from T05 in my opinion. T05 is so much faster and higher throw angle. Also with T05 you can create backspin with very little effort, just a little bit of a wrist flick...
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Yes of course, but the problem with the short game originated from ta high catapult. This gives a very low marginal. A slow rubber with low catapult is a lot easier in the short game.
The difference decreases as the power of the shot increases. A rubber like DHS H3 is many times easier to play the short game with than T05.
Cheers
L-zr
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Yes that is true. There are tricks and techniques to robbing the ball of its existing momentum using the body, that one must know in order to short push well with T05 or D05. It's not impossible to short push (even against sidetopspin) with D05. The real problem is that even if you can short push with D05 the spin quality just aint the same compared to a Hurricane push which is usually loaded with very dangerous side underspin even if it pops up high. My conclusion is that D05 and short push just aint made for each other lol, just flick or sideswipe the ball....
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