OOAK Table Tennis Forum

One of them seems to have a very soft sponge.

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Butterfly Viscaria Black tag
2.2 mm Nexy Karis M on FH and BH

You're referring to Baxster F1-A?

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Viscaria. H2 Neo 2.15. Tenergy 05 1.9.

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

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Butterfly Viscaria Black tag
2.2 mm Nexy Karis M on 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

Spintech All Around Penhold blade
Spinlord Keiler II 1.5 black
Nittaku FastArc G1 red

729 all around blade
Tibhar Grass D-Tec S Red
Nittaku FastArc G1 black

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 Black tag
2.2 mm Nexy Karis M on 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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"The greatest teacher, failure is"
USATT Rating: 1725
Blade: Stiga Cybershape Carbon
FH Rubber: Butterfly Tenergy 19 2.1
BH Rubber: Dr Neubauer ABS3 1.5

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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"The greatest teacher, failure is"
USATT Rating: 1725
Blade: Stiga Cybershape Carbon
FH Rubber: Butterfly Tenergy 19 2.1
BH Rubber: Dr Neubauer ABS3 1.5

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

Spintech All Around Penhold blade
Spinlord Keiler II 1.5 black
Nittaku FastArc G1 red

729 all around blade
Tibhar Grass D-Tec S Red
Nittaku FastArc G1 black

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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"The greatest teacher, failure is"
USATT Rating: 1725
Blade: Stiga Cybershape Carbon
FH Rubber: Butterfly Tenergy 19 2.1
BH Rubber: Dr Neubauer ABS3 1.5

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 Black tag
2.2 mm Nexy Karis M on FH and BH