OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I have the same experience; the Pluto is too non-grippy, you can't open agressively with it, instead you have to use it more like a LP. Great for control and defense, less well suited for attack.

About spacing, do you think the 802-1 will be banned as well then? What on earth will be left? They are going to ban the entire Meteor SP/MP/LP range too, I hear. And protesting will get you nowhere, as the president has declared the subject closed. How about that for democracy...

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Without opponent, no match.

Zeropong, the U.S. Friendship distributor said the only two rubbers that will be banned are 799-1 and 755 Faster. So 802-1 should be fine. Hadn't heard about the Meteor, a shame really.

After rereading your message I should get a sheet of 802 and 802-1 to see what they are like now that I'm cultivating a more traditional short pip game. I've got a sheet of 799 in 1.8 already and I will try that too after my next tournament, though i'm thinking it will play too flat.

The Joola Snabb I'm using now seems closer to 802 than 802-40 and I am not losing effectiveness with it, but gaining control.

-- Andrew

I have just spoken to Galaxy / Milkyway.

They will submit new samples of Uranus and Pluto, since the ones the ITTF tested were old ones.

Hopefully this will pass the friction test...

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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 am not sure that they will. On the new ITTF list (it is here: http://www.ittf.com/ittf_equipment/pdf/List28B.pdf ) the Pluto and Uranus are still marked as likely to be banned.

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Without opponent, no match.

That's not a finalised list, just a list of those rubbers proposed to be banned since the ITTF has seen a sample that passes the test.

Galaxy assured me they would submit a new sample, and were confident it would pass.

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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

Can someone tell me how Joola Tango Ultra compares to Raystorm?

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

JTU has a much softer sponge and a flatter trajectory. I find it better for hitting, but not as good for opening and I can more spin on serves and flips with Raystorm. The new Joola Snabb has harder songe and is more similar to Raystorm with maybe a slighlty flatter angle. It's what I'm using now.

Joola Tango Ultra is on the list of pips to not be on the next list, maybe they're discontinuing it? The very soft tensor sponge meant a sheet of JTU only last 2 months while Snabb seems fine after two.

--- Andrew

Hi Alex !

Any news about Pluto being banned or not ?

Flemming

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

I have just tried Pluto 1,6 mm on a Donic Waldner senso V2 blade. I found it somewhat harder to control than the 1,3 mm version. The lack of grip made it very hard to attack so I found myself in defending mode most og the time. Like agooding2 mentioned earlier pushing is difficult. The bold tend to pop up most of the time. Chopping could be done with a litttle practice, but blocking topspin was not as easy as I thought. The rubber reacted more like a fast LP rubber than a SP rubber. If I was not very careful the ball would go long over the table quite a few times. As the evening went on I learnt to ajust the angle when I was bloking, but I found Pluto less forgiving than most SP rubbers when bloking. It is definitely a rubber that requires some practice time before you can take advantage of the rubbers true potentiel.

Flemming

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

I have tried out a Red Pluto 1.8 mm on a Galaxy 961 penholder frame (single-sided). It was very, very different from the black 1.3 mm I had tried out before. Amazingly, the 1.8 red was much slower and offered much more control as well. It has very little grip (as is to be expected from a medium long pip) and so doesn't serve very well, but for the rest it is pretty much OK to use for single-sided penholder play. You can hit through any kind of incoming spin, just holding the bat more or less vertical and having your arm follow through naturally (so slightly upward), hitting very fast, which is not to be taken to mean very hard! Smashing is easy. Pushing, the ball can be kept low if you do not open your bat much; stab with venom. Chopping produces good backspin. Rolling fast, making solid contact with the ball, produces enough topspin to make the ball land on the table, so opening is possible too. It is not an easy rubber to use, but my goodness, it really is deceptive! Blocking passively will produce a very very dead ball and hitting fast with little friction will reverse the spin. In my opinion, this rubber would be well suited for controlling types of play, but also very well for very aggressive attacking styles. Not, however, on the top level, since top-level players aren't bothered a bit by spin-reversal or wobbly balls. Typically a rubber for intermediate levels; say, the talented amateur.
Not to be recommended for pips-out shakehanders, since they can produce so little topspin! Or maybe just for a defensive backhand.

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Without opponent, no match.

Thanks Kees, the Galaxy Pluto was a fortuitous recommendation. I just got a custom 110 gram carbon OFF+ blade for penhold and am trying different rubber. Red Friendship 802 with 1.8 Dawei 39 degree sponge feels a little bit fast (though it's fine on my slower Max Wood) while black 802-1 on 1.6 37 degree Yellow Dr. Z sponge felt pretty good and had great control on blocks.

I pulled out a red Galaxy Pluto on 1.8 42 degree Dawei sponge and that might be just the thing to tame this beast. I'm trying TSP Spectol in 1.5 on the reverse and when briefly hitting against the robot's topspin you can see the difference in arc between the two rubbers.

Proof will be tomorrow in how well the two rubbers open up against topspin. I'm ready to slap the 802-1 on, but I think the Pluto has much promise.

Do we find out in April whether it (and Uranus) approval is reinstated?

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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

I have not yet heard from galaxy, but i will contact them again to see if they have some news, or at least a firm date.

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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

Thanks, the Galaxy SP offerings are quite unique and it would be a shame to lose them. I'll keep my sheets for training regardless, but would prefer them approved.

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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

That sponge under the Pluto is very dense and slow. I've actually been experimenting with it under other topsheets to try to tame some of the faster short pips into something that can chop decently. I'm surprised that the 1.8 is still slower than the 1.3 though, I might have to pick up a sheet

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I have been playing with the Pluto 1.6mm Red on a Masushita Pro blade and really like it. The Pluto seems to play better with a flexible blade, which may be due to the fact that it is a Medium size pip.
chopping away from the table gives a lot of feel, control AND backspin! but what makes this rubber stand apart from the others I have tried you can actually loop the ball away from the table as you would with a normal inverted rubber.
The possibilities of hitting when at the table are still present and well controlled, even though it isn't the fastest SP I have tried (certainly faster than all LPs I have tried including the DTecs.)
This rubber is not very sensitive to incoming serves. Flicks and rolls work well, as well as chopping over the table. You can keep the ball low and even though the chops on their own don't create a lot of backspin, there is enough there to keep your opponent honest. If they are not careful they will dump a few in the net.

Overall I am really pleased with this combination, since it gives me the best possibilities of attacking (at the table and away from the table) AND defends really nicely away from the table. (Actually I am surprised by how much backspin the Pluto can generate against heavy loops.)

I played with the DTecs OX on the other side. I am used to playing the DTecs on a stiff hard blade, so this was really different. I lost some control and "reversing effect" when pushing over the table, but I gained in "blocking" consistency (keeping the ball on the table.) when returning loop drives, and more backspin when chopping away from the table.
I also noticed the ball was wobbling a lot more, probably due to the flexible nature of the blade.

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FH: Joola Express Ultra Max, BH: Giant Dragon Talon OX , Blade: Nexy Hannibal
FH: Tibhar Sinus Alpha Max, BH: Tibhar Sinus Alpha Max , Blade: Nexy Hannibal