OOAK Table Tennis Forum

After a week of playing I have decided to do a review.

LKT Pro XP topsheet on a 1.2 mm 30 degree Air Supersoft sponge. I purchased from Cole and had him assemble. This is an outstanding slightly tacky rubber in red. It’s for my “Classic Chopping rig” the Defplay with FL3 1.0mm on the BH. What I was looking for is an alternative to pricey Tackiness C or TSP Triple Spin, as well as an alternative to reflectoid which I find good for chopping but with poor spin on serves.

DEFENSE
Chopping - It chops like an absolute dream! The 30 degree Air Supersoft sponge is dampening, and allows for better chopping in 1.2mm than reflectoid in 1.0mm or 1.5mm. As much as I love it now, at first it felt a hair too slow right off the bat, which was both good and bad. Now, my chop strokes have to be a bit more violent in order to get enough length on my chops. But after some practice, the US is DEADLY, and often netted by 1800 level loopers! Makes me feel like Chtchetinine! 
Blocking - I find it blocks great. Thin sponged inverted is more like a dead or light top return and often confuses opponents.
Fishing – works well, and you can still put some spin on the ball.
Guide loop – Here is where I’d like to try 1.5mm sponge, this is the only time I don’t like the bottoming out. You can do it, but I’d either fish it or chop it if you can.

CONTROL
We all know the word “control” really means nothing, but if control means getting the chop on the table with heavy spin even vs. heavy or fast topspin balls then this is a winner. Very little fear of over-chopping and you can really just rip it. Reaction shot chops vs. quick attacks are great and land often. Does the sponge bottom out? Yes, but I find this is great for chopping, as I like knowing it will bottom out, which makes the ball angle more predictable (just like one knows the sponge will bottom out with sponged LPs).

OFFENSE
Loops/Drives - On offense, obviously 1.2mm sponge takes away a bit, but it is surprisingly effective. More brushing and less driving is the way to do it, but you can still drive without the ball dying into the net as long as you are not smacking the hell out of it. In other words, warm up counterblocking sessions aren’t that awkward.

Flicks/Flips - Flicking is where this shines. If you watch the WRM guys flick with Sun Pro in thin sponge (youtube it), this rubber does the same thing. Evidently thin-sponged inverted is great for flicking…I had no idea. But this is real good for me as it puts me in a tactical advantage right off the serve. My technique is probably not that great for flicking, but I can flick almost any ball with this. Crazy. Often times I misread the ball and still got it right.

SERVING
This is wonderful for serving! Very spinny. Even though it’s probably not as spinny as Tenergy 05, I get about the same amount of out-right winners as I do with Tenergy or Xiom Omega Asia which are very spinny on serves. The only thing I had trouble with was timing…the thinner sponge made a big difference on my brush serves and I whiffed the ball quite a bit on tomahawk serves (this is me not the rubber)

COST
The price to performance ratio is off the charts. It’s IMO better than Tack C and only 16 bucks USD vs 39 dollars for Tackiness Chop and 43 dollars for TSP Triple Spin Chop. Performance is better than Reflectoid and it is only 2 bucks more.

I may reorder one size up (1.5mm) to get a little more loop-ability and more attack as well as a bit more dampening (not that it needs it) on chops. I also want a little more cushioning for the Guide loop stroke from distance (ala Ruwen/Gionis).

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Blog: "Holy Chtchet!" ⇝

Projects: Player Equipment Grid ⇝ Comprehensive Thin Inverted Chopping Rubbers Grid ⇝ Please send me corrections or new submissions

similar impressions with LKT Pro XT ( not P) black on 1.0 mm. HRS sponge . Blade is Nittaku Resist, willow outer ply. Surprisingly spinny...Slow and very heavy chop...Great for classical def.

Nice review Japsican! Sounds like you're onto a winner for you.

The LKT topsheet is also quite thin and elastic, which accounts for some of the properties you describe.

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I forgot to mention that the testing was done on a Defplay Senso. Mostly forehand, but I twiddle a lot, so backhand usage also colors my analysis.

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Blog: "Holy Chtchet!" ⇝

Projects: Player Equipment Grid ⇝ Comprehensive Thin Inverted Chopping Rubbers Grid ⇝ Please send me corrections or new submissions

Here is the WRM video I spoke of above. They are using a 1.5mm Galaxy Sun Pro, and demonstrate the ease of flicking. With the LKT pro, it's similar to this for flicking.

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Blog: "Holy Chtchet!" ⇝

Projects: Player Equipment Grid ⇝ Comprehensive Thin Inverted Chopping Rubbers Grid ⇝ Please send me corrections or new submissions

I have the Pro XP for my backhand - red 1.8mm, normal sponge. One word - awesome.

It doesn't feel that tacky and it is somewhere between soft and medium. Quite light but not feather light. Seems quite durable too.

It has a bit of bounce but not a catapult like effect. Definitely worth trying if you want a good backhand rubber for about US$10-14.

I find it really fun doing flicks, pushes, backhand loops, drives and over-the-table blocks. Yeah, basically everything. It reminds me of Donic Coppa but a tad softer.

Jap, nice review! What's the difference between fishing and a guide loop?

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Thanks!
I differentiate between the two in my head, but I could totally be wrong about how I interpret the two strokes. There is certainly some overlap between them.

To me, fishing is done usually with an open bat where the rubber is pointed more toward the ceiling. This is used more with balls that are falling more vertically before making contact with the bat. Example would be when you are chopping at distance and your oppnonent does a soft drop shot and you have to run in and fish the ball near the table. Fishing is done more when out of position. Typically the ball is recieved below the knees.

A Guide loop is done when the ball has more topspin and more speed. The bat is more closed and facing the opponent more...from 45 to 80 degrees. The ball is typically recieved above the knees. These balls are sent back with much more pace and much more topspin. Often, modern defenders will add some side spin on these shots to deal with the topspin from the loops. If you watch the Koji Matsushita tutorial video where he is teaching Shiono and someone else (cant remember the name) he shows this shot. I'll look up the video. Gionis and Filus do this as their regular stroke from distance while playing defense, so any video you see of them when they aren't attacking on the FH, 90% of the time the stroke on the FH is what I consider to be a "Guide Loop."

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Blog: "Holy Chtchet!" ⇝

Projects: Player Equipment Grid ⇝ Comprehensive Thin Inverted Chopping Rubbers Grid ⇝ Please send me corrections or new submissions

Here's an example of Filus doing what I call a "guide loop" in a game with Gustaf Ericson:

It's at 1:27, the below link should start playing at that stroke.
http://rowvid.com/?v=iHNeTY1-4uw&t=86.16&s=1

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Blog: "Holy Chtchet!" ⇝

Projects: Player Equipment Grid ⇝ Comprehensive Thin Inverted Chopping Rubbers Grid ⇝ Please send me corrections or new submissions

Here, Gionis does it at the 6 second mark right in the first rally. He also does it at 2:18:

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Blog: "Holy Chtchet!" ⇝

Projects: Player Equipment Grid ⇝ Comprehensive Thin Inverted Chopping Rubbers Grid ⇝ Please send me corrections or new submissions

For me the "big" difference between looping and fishing is swing. Fishing is done with minimal swing, often a as a wristy shot - typically using opponents top spin to power the shot back.

I often just get the blade on the ball when ball is going down and maybe I have time for some wrist move. I call that fishing. Or when someone just gives soft top spin and I wait it to drop and I guide it back with wristy stroke or with very short arm movement.

Loop with slow moving arm and body rotation could be called "guide loop", as with slow rotation you forced to read the spin well and guide the ball carefully instead of just "blindly" ripping the ball.

Glennholder agrees: viewtopic.php?f=44&t=17020#p184400