OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hmmm I've received my Gorilla now and have had one practice session with it (the next practice is tonight).

After a good two solid hours of playing with it, I can see potential. Some of the bloke returns I managed were unplayable for my opponent as they came back very low, fairly fast and loaded with spin.

However, like many others on here, the rubber is very fast in comparison to my old pimple setup (Inferno OX), but is that such a bad thing? I'm not so sure!

This got me thinking. I'm trying to play with the Gorilla in the same way that I was playing with Inferno - e.g. aiming to float and block balls back with an open blade. The difference however is that because Inferno was a lot slower, you could just block with an open blade a lot more easily. However Gorilla is different and I'm still working it out. Some shots you can block back with a fairly open blade and these really do fizz back onto the table. I can honestly say that these returns are harder for my opponents to play against than balls returned by Inferno.

So, I've decided that I'm going to try and start playing with Gorilla more like a normal rubber, e.g. I'm going to push the ball rather than block everything and try to be more proactive with it. Perhaps watching the new Neabauer DVD would help, so I'll probably order that, but I'm not going to give up just yet on this rubber. It does have great spin reversal, but it's just working out how to play those passive shots. I think if you're too gentle with it, the ball tends to ping up in the air. Maybe a more aggressive approach would work better?

I'll let you know how I get on.

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Blade: Ross Leidy custom blade
Forehand: Butterfly Tenergy 05-FX 1.7mm
Backhand: Dr Neubauer Gangster and Desperado 2 (testing both) OX

Butterfly Amicus Professional robot
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Ever tried, Ever failed? No Matter.
Try again, Fail Again, Fail Better!

Just got mine and my reaction is even more negative.

Way too fast even on very slow blade.

Very poor reversal. Maybe partly because of slow blade? Hit with local coach and great anti-junk player. He said Gorilla blocks were dead and when I switched to Insider he immediately said the reversal was MUCH better.

Seemed like there were times when heavy spin would grab. Heavy underspin in particular seemd to drag into the net.

Attempted chopping was even worse, couldnt find a way to get them on the table. Too depressed to spend more time working out why.

Again the Insider chopped much better. Some were so heavy the coach said he thought players below his level would struggle to get them over the net.

Can I ask what "Insider" is please?

Sounds interesting!

_________________
Blade: Ross Leidy custom blade
Forehand: Butterfly Tenergy 05-FX 1.7mm
Backhand: Dr Neubauer Gangster and Desperado 2 (testing both) OX

Butterfly Amicus Professional robot
-----
Ever tried, Ever failed? No Matter.
Try again, Fail Again, Fail Better!

Hi bcbcbc,
What blade do you use and what is the speed rating?

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Shakehand, left handed.
Blade, Yinhe, W-1
Forhand, H-3 National
Backhand, Sriver FX Max

"Insider" is considered by many to currently be the leading frictionless replacement. It's a slow, semi-low grip long pimple rubber. There are a few threads here about it. It's sold at www.ttmaster.com, although I think the online store here might be soon carrying it, too.

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My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

toxic 3 is a 3-ply blade, i believe down with the very slowest blades available, gorilla was on that

Butterfly defence II is a modern chopper blade. Butterfly rates it around the same speed as their medium fast looping blades. It also seems to be a fairly unusual blade as it has a much harder/stiffer feel than most medium fast blades. Insider is on that.

I'd like to try the gorilla on the defence II but the Insider base sheet is so feeble I figure when it comes off its never going to be the same again.

yeah, what notbob said. Sorry I tend to forget that not everybody reads every single word about all new frictionless alternatives like I do

There is a full thread on insider on the long pips forum. actually more than 1 i guess.

Thanks bcbcbc,
Maybe this explains some of the differences we had with anti and Evil OX.

_________________
Shakehand, left handed.
Blade, Yinhe, W-1
Forhand, H-3 National
Backhand, Sriver FX Max

Agreed that the Gorilla does return some very uncomfortable balls. I'm sure a player can develop a style/technique that effectively takes advantage of the monkey's dangerous characteristics. What puts everyone off is that Dr. N. marketed Gorilla as a product that allows you to keep playing the frictionless style game like normal without missing a beat -- a wild claim bordering on false advertising. This is not a plug-n-play Super Block replacement.

_________________



The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
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My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

Probly not much. The super slow flexy blade I'm sure cut down on the reversal of the new gorilla but years ago when i played with neo-anti and experimented with super anti I was using an Avalox 555 very orthodox medium fast - fast blade.
To be fair, back then I didnt even think about reversal I just used the neo-anti like a very spin resistant short pip, blocking and countering. I gave that up because once people got used to the no spin attack they started teeing off on it.

With dr evil i cant even chop block consistently much less with good reversal, the ball just grabs and gets away from me. I'm sure thats a talent issue but i got to work with what i got!

Amen to that!!

Thanks for the replies guys!

Yeah I agree with you notbob. I think the marketing has been misleading, however I'm going to continue to practice with it for a while. One thing I did find that was a problem with my old frictionless setup was that blocking was all I could do with it.

I'm therefore hoping that if I can be a little be more productive with my shots, the Gorilla might encourage me to play a better game overall. Lets face it, we probably all learnt the game with conventional rubbers so should all be able to hit the ball on the backhand and forehand with a normal rubber. I'm going to practice to not only block the ball, but hit with it also.

We'll see how it goes, but I do agree with you, this is not a replacement for SB or Inferno!

_________________
Blade: Ross Leidy custom blade
Forehand: Butterfly Tenergy 05-FX 1.7mm
Backhand: Dr Neubauer Gangster and Desperado 2 (testing both) OX

Butterfly Amicus Professional robot
-----
Ever tried, Ever failed? No Matter.
Try again, Fail Again, Fail Better!

Sounds like you'd have to control the game, rather than passively allowing the attacker to dictate play?

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Hexer HD 1.9
Hexer Pips 1.9

Member of Anastasia's Fan Club

Seems like the Gorilla would be good for a Solja type game. block topspin back deep and fast with moderate underspin and attack backspin hard.

If you want to mix in counterhitting topsin I found the Gorilla too slippery. I think the neo anti would be best for that(you're welcome, Speedplay)