OOAK Table Tennis Forum

http://spinlord-tt.de/products/gigant/

Speed: 2
Control: 10
Spin: 5
Colors: red + black
Sponges: 1,2 mm
Type of rubber: Anti-Spin
Made in: China
Sponge hardness (our rating): ca. 30-35 degrees
Sponge color: red
Attention: This is only a Preview ! This rubber will abe launched in June 2018.

Our new table-tennis rubber „Gigant“ is a totally new kind of „Anti“ rubber. Gigant is very slow and very power absorbing, but it is not frictionless and also not similar to classical Antis with friction. That also means it is completely different from our first Anti „Sandwind“. Gigant has been specially developed for the new plastic balls as many players feel that frictionless and classical Antis are not dangerous enough with these balls. The top-sheet of Gigant is very hard. The surface of the rubber is not sanded like classical Antis and not treated like frictionless Antis, it is glossy (slightly shiny) like normal inverted rubbers. Actually it even has a little bit of grip, although not very much due to the special rubber compound. The sponge of Gigant is a soft dampening sponge of the newest generation. It reduces the speed of the rubber to a level that can be compared to that of frictionless Antis. But unlike these rubbers Gigant can be used both for blocking at the table and for classical defense away from the table. Gigant is completely insensitive to incoming spin, but own strokes with this rubber can be played with or without spin. With Gigant all kinds of undercut and block balls can be played easily, the ball trajectory will always be very flat and short. Undercut balls even have enough spin to make it very hard for the opponent to attack with a topspin. With Gigant it is very effective to block topspins of the opponent directly at the table. Not only can the player make his game dangerous through a precise ball placement. Specially when blocking topspins of the opponent, the trajectory of the ball is very hard for the opponent to predict, making it almost impossible for him to continue to attack. And unlike frictionless Antis, there are no special techniques needed to play all these strokes. Players who have played tacky inverted rubbers before can easily control Gigant after only a few hours of practice. How is all this possible? The secret of Gigant is that the inverted pimples of Gigant are very long and make the top-sheet a little bit elastic despite its hardness. Of course there are also strokes that Gigant is not suitable for. Specially topspins are very difficult to play with this rubber, and it is also hard to smash the ball. This makes Gigant ideal for players who attack with their FH and defend with their BH. These players will find it very convenient that Gigant is still very slow even on fast blades. Gigant can be played by players of all levels, not only by low-level players like common Antis with friction. Also the weight of the rubber is very low.



To me, this sound exactly like Lion Mantlet (http://www.japsko.se/en/anti/793-lion-mantlet.html)
I looked and felt the Mantlet, seem very slow (like Mega Block) and with some grip.

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My blog: Def-attack's attempts to find balance between defence/attack | Serving techniques and strategy section

It looks interesting, but if it's pretty much the same as the Mantlet I might get that first. I'll have to learn to twiddle in rallys though.

What is "Mantlet"?

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Tibhar Stratus Power Defense
Tibhar Evolution ELP
Tibhar Grass DTecS Ox

Gigant will be available in June

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My blog: Def-attack's attempts to find balance between defence/attack | Serving techniques and strategy section

Appearantly this rubber is available now. Has anyone tried it yet?

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OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

Per the shipping information I received today, I should be getting a sheet of this in black come Monday. Which means I might get to play with it as soon as Thursday, at which point I'll try to report back what little insight I may be capable of.

Having never really reviewed a rubber before, I'll try to find a template somewhere~

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Blog: Thinking Octopus Thoughts
USATT: 771

A positive review, for anyone who's interested:

&feature=youtu.be

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I. Re-Impact Smart; FH: TSP Spinpips RED 2.1mm; BH: Dr. Neubauer Gangster OX
II. Sauer & Troger Firestarter; FH: Spinlord Waran 1.8mm; BH: Giant Dragon Snowflake OX
III. Sauer & Troger Firestarter; FH: Yasaka Rakza 7 Soft 1.8mm; BH: Joola Badman Reloaded OX
IV. Victas Koji Matsushita; FH: Yasaka Rakza 7 Soft 1.8mm; BH: TSP P-1R 1.0-1.3mm
USATT Rating: 2037

Somehow the shipping date was off and I actually received my rubbers on Friday, which allowed me to get the blade built and ready for tonight.

My only comparison in terms of antispin is the Ellen Den, so that's all I can speak for.

The Ellen is on a Donic Alligator Combi, probably on the slow side if I'm recalling correctly.
I've got the Gigant on a SpinLord Ultra Spin.

In terms of general absorption of impact, it's about twice as dead as the Ellen both in play and in my extremely scientific test (by which I mean a ball tossed to about my ceiling and bounced off a paddle held around navel high). The commentary suggesting that this rubber really takes some oomph is not a lie.

General:
The throw on this ended up being much much lower than the Ellen, be that because of the lack of rebound or whatever else, this had a defined impact on every single stroke that I took.

Spin:
I wouldn't say this generates anywhere near Ellen level spin on it's own when looking at some of the various services that were available with the Ellen, however, I think that it does a much better job of aided reversal - albeit a tricker job as the throw makes it a shot that after my one session just wasn't consistent at all.

Service:
Some of the short placements I could manage with this rubber were very exciting to me, but they didn't have as much spin backing them up so success came from variation and surprise more than the quality of the ball delivered. One particularly effective serve for me in doubles was a low flat serves that I could keep at a very short angle with stronger pace than I'm used to.

Pushing:
I sometimes struggles to find the right level of power to keep pushes short, and the spin wasn't there on the longer pushes. I think in time this section could be updated as I think technique will go a long way. It was very easy to keep pushes on the table, but I didn't do a good job keeping my pushes from getting attacked harshly.

Hitting:
A tale of two here. Against underspin I found hitting to be a great joy. I'm not sure if it's the throw or additional reversal, but the ball was low and deep, and penetrating (compared to a similar Ellen stroke). Mostly extremely easy to place, and placement was the real weapon. Hitting against other flat balls and topspin though wasn't natural for me at all, it's going to require stroke adjustment from the Ellen based on how quickly it starts to drop off the paddle.

Chopping:
When I had the footwork, when I hit the ball how I wanted, I felt the chops were very very good. However, I found the rubber less forgiving. Gaging how much oomph was challenging at times, and it definitely disallows some of the lazy side swipe type stroke I've been known to take in front of my body. (In the long run I expect this to be a good thing).

In all I'm extremely happy with the purchase, and I think this is going to be closer to what I'm looking for once I tame it a bit more. If I'm able to hit with it the way I envision it's absolutely going to be a keeper. It felt like it added a whole new dimension to the way I could attack with shorter balls.

I'll have video of my match play with it up in my blog soonish, but it's not going to be a direct comparison, and my level is low and inconsistent~

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Blog: Thinking Octopus Thoughts
USATT: 771

I've been trying out this rubber the past two days, and it's promising so far. I generally play OX long pips, with a mix of blocking and chopping (depends on the opponent), because my sense is that with the new ball, you need to be more aggressive since pure spin reversal isn't as high as it used to be. I tried the Super Stop and I tried the frictionless Dr. N Tarantula, and now I'm trying the Gigant. I haven't played with antis before, so I can't make any other comparisons, and even my experience with these antis is very limited.

The upshot is this:
- The Super Stop was pretty reliable, with a great dampening sponge and great for attacking, but because of the lack of spin reversal, it ultimately was too predictable and too easy to attack against for any opponents above, say, 1700. I also found it to be a bit sensitive to bat angle.

- The Tarantula had very good spin reversal, but as a frictionless anti, it would require me to master a whole new set of strokes. As many people who've tried these antis have noted, they're VERY sensitive to bat angle, which results in lots of mistakes. Attacking was also tricky for the same reason.

- The Gigant so far has the most promise. The reason is that, on blocks, it has an INCREDIBLE braking/dampening effect, but at the same time, it's less predictable than the Super Stop. The spin reversal seems higher (not as high as the Tarantula or other frictionless anti, I would expect, but decent), the returns are weirder, and I saw many opponents swinging and flat-out missing because the ball dropped short or veered off to the side. Opponents repeatedly misjudged both the trajectory and what spin was on the ball. Most importantly (for me), the same basic passive block I could do with OX long pips worked well here. Bat angle was the same, and I didn't feel like I had to get my bat angle exactly right in order to avoid disaster. In addition, unlike OX long pips, I could also take the ball later if I wanted and just place it back on the table, and the spin on the returned ball was still sometimes hard to gauge (though taking it early puts more pressure on the opponent and generates a bit more spin reversal, I think).

As far as attacking, I could attack repeatedly and consistently against both underspin and topspin. I simply imitated the technique of the guy in the Polish video posted in this thread, and I found it to be easy enough. The attacks themselves, especially the ones against underspin, were not nearly as dangerous as long pips attacks, in that they were easier to block back due to containing something closer to more traditional topspin (reversing my opponent's underspin), and I lost some points on such attacks, but when I started focusing more on placement, the attacks managed to put my opponent on the defensive immediately, and then I could either finish the point off with my forehand or, if my opponent backed off far enough, block his block very, very short.

Returning serves was easy enough after a few adjustments. I could keep the ball short, avoid silly mistakes, etc. Anti is more sensitive to sidespin than long pips, I guess (all three of these antis I tried had that issue), so I have to be more careful about that, but it's not a difficult adjustment.

Against defensive players, I found this anti to be easy to play. I beat a very consistent 2000+ level long pips classical defender/chopper 3-0 pretty handily despite this being only my second day playing with this rubber. I could just stand at the table and keep attacking or "pushing" very short, and he also kept mistaking the spin on the ball. (I should say that I tend to be pretty good against defenders in general, though.)

The main issue I'll need to address with this anti is what to do with flat-hitters. These kinds of players give me the most trouble in general, but with OX long pips, I back off the table and start chopping, because flat-hitters generally don't like underspin. I'm going to have to see if this approach works with the Gigant. I tried chopping a bit, but the problem is that flat-hitters aren't giving you much spin to work with, so you're not really returning any real spin either. Chopping against topspin players was easier, but I think it's less effective than blocking, which is what this rubber is really made for. I'll probably explore chopping with it a bit more. If I can't figure out a solution against flat-hitters but the Gigant works against everyone else, I may need to use two different bats, one with long pips for chopping, one with this for blocking. Not sure yet.

There's a lot I still have to learn to tap into the full potential of this rubber, but I'm going to keep at it for a bit to see whether my opponents can adjust or whether I can keep them guessing. Anyway, thought I'd post my observations thus far in case they're of any interest to anyone else....

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I. Re-Impact Smart; FH: TSP Spinpips RED 2.1mm; BH: Dr. Neubauer Gangster OX
II. Sauer & Troger Firestarter; FH: Spinlord Waran 1.8mm; BH: Giant Dragon Snowflake OX
III. Sauer & Troger Firestarter; FH: Yasaka Rakza 7 Soft 1.8mm; BH: Joola Badman Reloaded OX
IV. Victas Koji Matsushita; FH: Yasaka Rakza 7 Soft 1.8mm; BH: TSP P-1R 1.0-1.3mm
USATT Rating: 2037

Great review, thanks! Sounds very interesting. I hope Haggisv gets it in stock.

Just a general question: how easy was it to switch from LPs to anti? Would the Gigant be a good starting rubber? I'm tired of the lack of reversal that came with a plastic ball so I'm in search for something new.

Thanks

Yep, we'll have it in the shop very soon.

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OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

I think it does not really speak against the capabilities of the rubber (or the player either ) as flat hitters have the best technique and are generally best equipped against defensive tactics (with either LP or anti) or indeed against any tactics that heavily rely on spin. Succesful counter-tactics against them usually consist in keeping the ball very low and out of comfortable reach, which makes hitting quite a bit harder. You also may have some succes by using his own tactics against him - hitting with a really low friction rubber makes the trajectory of the ball very flat and flat-hitters tend to be used to curved trajectories. However, the best tactic I've seen is the least attractive: force the opponent to play a low-paced pushing game, which is totally not his own, and wait for a push you can attack with reversal. Takes a lot of patience and will likely make you feel a bit awkward; when I still played and had to do this kind of stuff, it certainly got all the fun out of the play for me... so eventually I changed to LP with grip and sponge, or sometimes classic anti, which enabled solid defence away from the table against hitters and loopers alike, and setting up opportunities for forehand counter attack.

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Without opponent, no match.

A friend of mine has just started using this rubbers... his comments so far are also that it's SO SLOW!!!

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OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

Yes, it's VERY slow, but that's not a problem. As the video review posted above in this thread explains, you just have to hit hard. The rubber is very easy to play, and it's great at keeping the ball very short. The problem I found is that due to the complete absence of any spin reversal, with opponents above a certain level (say above 1800 U.S.), it's just not very effective to keep them from looping hard over and over again. And while you can attack very easily with this rubber, the problem is that those attacks aren't particularly dangerous, and a good opponent will be able to blast it right back at you. So my ultimate conclusion is that this rubber might be excellent at lower levels (and great against defenders even at higher levels), but, otherwise, it's not sufficiently effective against strong loopers, and it's completely useless against flat hitters. (Felt similarly about the S&T Super Stop rubber, which is a bit faster and even better for attacking but which has the same basic issues.)

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I. Re-Impact Smart; FH: TSP Spinpips RED 2.1mm; BH: Dr. Neubauer Gangster OX
II. Sauer & Troger Firestarter; FH: Spinlord Waran 1.8mm; BH: Giant Dragon Snowflake OX
III. Sauer & Troger Firestarter; FH: Yasaka Rakza 7 Soft 1.8mm; BH: Joola Badman Reloaded OX
IV. Victas Koji Matsushita; FH: Yasaka Rakza 7 Soft 1.8mm; BH: TSP P-1R 1.0-1.3mm
USATT Rating: 2037