OOAK Table Tennis Forum

One of them seems to have a very soft sponge.

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Butterfly Viscaria
Evolution MX-P, FH and BH

You're referring to Baxster F1-A?

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Avalox P500. Sriver EL.
Flickr

yes, I think so, but I also think the make two different ones with two different sponge hardnesses.

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Butterfly Viscaria
Evolution MX-P, FH and BH

Baxster used to come in three varieties of sponge, i think they were called d25, d50, and d100. I tried one of them for chopping and it was awful, i could neither generate nor continue spin. I couldn't tell you how well it played when blocking and countering though.

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Equipment: Matsushita PowerDefence, Spin Art 1.9 black, Xiying 979 ox red
Style: American | US Rating: barely 2000

I got a really soft (and thin) sponged baxster and it chops like a dream! (don't know which type, someone gave it to me) Allround play is decent, although for flat hitting mine may just be a tad too soft. Great rubber for manipulating and controlling your opponents spin.

(all the above just IMO)

@kagin: we must have very different techniques then...

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Ask me about:

Tibhar IV-S - Donic Defplay SensoV3 - BTY Tackiness D/C - BTY Feint Soft - Meteor 813

Or it could be that i was just using the wrong baxster. I think i had the slowest version, on 1.9-2.0 sponge. Sure i could return every ball, but they had no spin; i had higher quality chops using anti. Baxster on a 0.5-1.0 sponge sounds a lot more promising, but i don't think that was an option available for purchase at the time.

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Equipment: Matsushita PowerDefence, Spin Art 1.9 black, Xiying 979 ox red
Style: American | US Rating: barely 2000

My understanding is that there was Baxster F1-A (the fast version) in 1.8 and 2.0.

Then there were progressively slower versions, D25 (25% slower), D50 (50% slower) and D100 (100% slower?). Each were on progressively thicker sponges, with the slowest version on the thickest sponge (around 2.0).

Never tried them, just found the descriptions in the catalog interesting.

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-- Andrew

Jack Miller custom Chinese style penhold
Armstrong Attack 3 40 1.2 red
Giant Dragon 8228-FC 1.8 black

Jack Miller custom Chinese style penhold
Giant Dragon 8228-FC 1.5 red
AiR Scirocco SR inverted 1.8 41 sponge black

Butterfly Mazunov
Friendship Legend 105 1.9 black
AiR Classique F3 OX red

The Baxter F1A was the one that was interesting to me. I generally like Donic tensor rubbers, so that one caught my attention.

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Butterfly Viscaria
Evolution MX-P, FH and BH

Yesterday I got a Donic Baxter F1A in 2.0 mm. I´ve been playing with a 1,8 mm Friendship 802-1 in my backhand for half a year, but I was inspied by Kees´ article on sponge thickness and wanted to try a thicker sponge in a tournament last night. The rubber seemed quite fast when I glued in on the bat but strangely enough the rubber offered more control in my defensive game. I was able to chop consistently after a short while, much more consistently compared to my usual 1,8 mm 802-1. The rubber is also capable of producing quite spinny balls, roughly the same amount of spin as the 802-1.
Close to the table the Baxter was a dream to block with. Very high control. It was both possible to take the pace completely off the ball and also make a fast flat block. Pushing close to the table was easy and I the Baxter felt more controlable than the 802-1, in spite of the thicker sponge. It was also possible to loop consistently. Both Baxter F1A and the 802-1 in spinny enough to loop with a fair amount of spin. This makes it easier to attack long serves and make opening shots. Quite e few times I initiated my attack with a backhand loop, followed by a forehand smash or loop. My opponent often miscalculated the amount of spin in my backhand. The Baxter in softer in the pimples than the 802-1, but when serving and pushing, the ball will dig in and produce a good deal of spin. I left the tournament undefeated and was very satisfied with the Baxter F1A. This rubber can be recommended to everybody who likes the 802-1, but seeks a little more control.

Flemming

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Blade: Andro Super Core Cell Carbon off
FH: Joola Snabb 2.0 mm
BH: Juic Couga 2.0 mm

Does anybody know if there's a Donic retailer in the U.S. where I can get this rubber from? I like the 802-1 and might be interested in trying it after the great review!

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"Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try."
USATT Rating: 1984
Blade: LKT Instinct-Plus, FH: Juic 999 Turbo 2.0 mm Red BH: Giant Dragon Dragon Talon OX
Just For Fun: LKT Toxic 3, FH: Air Illumina Black 1.8 mm BH: Xiying 979 OX

Hi dwruck !

Try www.paddlepalace.com.

Flemming

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Blade: Andro Super Core Cell Carbon off
FH: Joola Snabb 2.0 mm
BH: Juic Couga 2.0 mm

Thanks! Wow, those pips aren't cheap. But I am. I might hold off for a bit on getting those, that's a pretty considerable price difference. I'm spoiled by the Chinese stuff, I guess.

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"Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try."
USATT Rating: 1984
Blade: LKT Instinct-Plus, FH: Juic 999 Turbo 2.0 mm Red BH: Giant Dragon Dragon Talon OX
Just For Fun: LKT Toxic 3, FH: Air Illumina Black 1.8 mm BH: Xiying 979 OX

You can also get them from http://www.americantabletennis.com/get_ ... r-f1-a.htm and http://www.megaspin.net/store/default.a ... baxter-f1a the above seem to have it for $44.95, looks like prices just went up. Ouch!

Nice review, I found thicker supersoft sponge (like on Joola Tango Ultra) does help blocking control but I put less spin on the ball compared to a thinner, slightly harder sponge on serves, flips and rolls.

I found it was more all or nothing, great for hard shots and soft blocks, but not as versatile for inbetween shots which is where I need help. Still, I can see how some people would prefer it.

An alternative cheaper option might be 802-1 on a supersoft sponge, probably Japanese, of 30 hardness or a softer pip like 799, Pluto or 388B, though these behave differently compared to 802-1. I haven't had luck with getting supersoft Chinese sponge. My Chinese coach used supersoft Japanese sponge on his 802, but the really soft european tensor sponge is different.

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-- Andrew

Jack Miller custom Chinese style penhold
Armstrong Attack 3 40 1.2 red
Giant Dragon 8228-FC 1.8 black

Jack Miller custom Chinese style penhold
Giant Dragon 8228-FC 1.5 red
AiR Scirocco SR inverted 1.8 41 sponge black

Butterfly Mazunov
Friendship Legend 105 1.9 black
AiR Classique F3 OX red

Thanks for the tips! I'm really enjoying the blocking/hitting game with the 802-1, even though I haven't been experiencing a lot of wins, I feel like I'm playing better. Guess I'll see how it goes at a tournament on Sunday.

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"Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try."
USATT Rating: 1984
Blade: LKT Instinct-Plus, FH: Juic 999 Turbo 2.0 mm Red BH: Giant Dragon Dragon Talon OX
Just For Fun: LKT Toxic 3, FH: Air Illumina Black 1.8 mm BH: Xiying 979 OX

Definitely pricey, even compared to Raystorm, which has gotten cheaper of late. I will maybe wait until the price of F1A drops.

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Butterfly Viscaria
Evolution MX-P, FH and BH