I tried the
red version of Xuperman Powerplay-X (38 deg, on BH) on my Stiga Rosewood V and I found it to be disappointing compared to the
black FH rubber. I'd rate it 7/10. The
red BH rubber is completely different from the
black FH rubber, make no mistake -- different sponge and different topsheet. They should name it something else so that people don't get confused. I wish they would just make the FH rubber in red so I can play with it on both sides.
The
black FH rubber feels like a very good alternative to H3 or TG2 -- tacky and powerful with a dense blue sponge -- whereas the
red BH rubber isn't tacky, has a cake sponge, and doesn't bite the spin. It's fast close to the table, but lacks power when you move back. It feels like Rakza 7 with a harder sponge, and it's suited for a gamestyle with fast attacking, punching, and blocking. People who prefer EuroJap rubbers will probably like this one more than I did, but I prefer hard tacky Chinese rubber on the backhand so it's not my cup of tea. I did not boost this rubber.
The good parts:
- attacking and counterattacking is very fast, especially close to the table
- doesn't require a big stroke to make a fast shot, meaning that you can make a quick backhand and then immediately prepare for another FH attack. could suit a FH-dominant player.
- blocking is fast
- the arc is very low, making the trajectory more disruptive
The bad parts:
- lacks power and spin when far away from the table. I like to counterattack with the backhand from behind the table, and when I use H3 or TG2 the resulting ball is very spinny and catches my opponent off-guard. However, my counterattacks with the
red Powerplay-X have been very easy for my opponents to return, making me think that the ball does not have much spin. Maybe I need to adjust my technique to get more spin...?
- the arc is very low. combined with low/mid spin, this makes it very hard to put the ball back on the table if you arrive at the ball late.
- it's hard to do slow spins with this rubber. Trying to touch the ball lightly results in the ball going off the table. So far I can only spin the ball well if I hit hard.
Maybe I will try it again with booster.
@Tony's Table Tennis did you find that boosting the backhand rubber helped?