There's not much information about Gewo out there so I thought I'd give a brief review of my findings after a solid hit with it tonight.
Gewo are a German brand and I've been curious at times how good their equipment is as its priced as high as other German rubbers but just doesn't seem to have the market penetration so you start to wonder if its due to the equipment or the market. Is it the real deal?
My rubber was a Gewo Flexxon Soft, Red 1.9mm which I used on a Donic Appelgren Allplay V1 on the forehand side. It normally retails for AUD $50 however I purchased it 'hardly used' off Ebay for $10. Description was right, looked new. Bargain.
The manufacturer says this about the rubber The success story continues with this unique „soft rubber“. After the great success of Flexxon and Flexxon FX GEWO has added further version to this series. The Flexxon Soft is softer and more resilient than the FX version. It increases your performances potential with even greater ball control. The Flexxon Soft proves that characteristics like softness and aggressive/offensive play are not mutually exclusive. Flexxon Soft just gives that certain special feeling. The perfect soft graduation provides excellent ball feedback. The main focus for the development of this rubber was to provide extremely well-balanced playing characteristics , suitable for any game. The softer and very dynamic sponge in Flexxon Soft generates more rotation and a longer ball contact time.The player gets to feel the result directly: precision an all strokes. Good power in attacking play and more control on defensive strokes.The high trajectory, the potential play variation in all strokes and the excellent sound emission, make Flexxon Soft an interesting and exciting rubber for any player. Flexxon Soft is ideal for fast, dynamic spin play and opens up new possibilities in half-distance play and active blocking. The rubber give utmost control in every situation. Experience this new exciting feeling. This is a rubber for players of all levels who are looking for an ultra soft and super elastic attacking rubber. Experience this brillant, mix and play more successfully right form the first stroke. Features: Speed: 105 Control: 98 Spin: 114 Hardness: soft+ Characteristics: OF- Sponge: 1,7 / 1,9 / 2,1
On the packet it says 'Power Tension Boost' but nothing about ESN so not sure if its technically a tensor, a glue affect rubber or neither.
The first thing I noticed about this rubber was the 'click' that tensors sometimes make, though this rubber didn't make it sometimes, it was nearly ALL the time. It wasn't the rubber bottoming out due to the soft sponge, it was definitely the click thats been mentioned around. Victas V01 clicked clicked a fair bit, Baracuda and Regalis Red click occasionally but the Gewo Flexxon clicked and clicked and clicked. Two other people used it and found the same thing, the sound that it made was constant. It was good though, made you feel like you made a good shot. Probably enough now about the click but it really was that clicky, its worth a paragraph.
The most recent rubbers I've used for any length are Donic Baracuda and TSP Regalis Red so I'll compare a little to those. Like those two rubbers the Flexxon is completely non-tacky and would not pick up a ball or hold a plastic protector sheet.
Of the two, this rubber is probably a bit more like Regalis Red than Baracuda but having said that it sits in the middle between both. Baracuda does seem more spinny on slow loops as I don't seem to get the ball jumping off the block with the Flexxon or Regalis. In regard to speed I really can't recall with any confidence the speed of Baracuda but the Flexxon does appear to be a bit quicker than Regalis Red and fast loops also seemed a bit more spinny.
The throw of the Flexxon is deemed to be higher and I would tend to agree with that. Not so much from my own shots but our number 1 had a hit with it (RC 1,275) and the ball seems to be kicking a little higher off the bat than his own EL-P. This same player has used my other rubbers and wasn't impressed with Haifu Whale at all, didn't mind the Regalis though it did seem to lack something however he really enjoyed looping with this rubber. It appeared effortless and despite being a bit slower than with EL-P 2.1, as you would expect, he was able to hit the table with ease with still good spin and speed.
Blocking was quite easy with this rubber as it doesn't have that large catapult affect of rubbers like Evolution so it seemed to stay on the table pretty well.
Serves didn't seem any more or less than any other rubber however forehand serves are not my strong point so hard to compare.
To put on the Gewo, I had to take off my Regalis Red that I had been using for the last month or so (yes, EJ, I know). I was expecting to have a bit of a hit with this rubber, not really be that impressed with it then remove it and put the Regalis back on. I was pleasantly surprised with this rubber and despite Gewo not being as widely known, it seemed to perform as well as other better known rubbers and I've decided to keep it on for probably the next season at least. This is not saying that its any better than the Regalis Red but I think its just as good and so given that I don't really like changing rubbers, I might as well keep it on.
Would I recommend the Gewo Flexxon Soft? The problem is though that with so many other rubbers around at the same cost, I'm not sure that Gewo is a better option. If slightly cheaper, I'd say have a go but at the same price, it may be safer to get something more common. Having said that, I think it matches up well against its big brothers so you wouldn't be making a mistake by purchasing and wouldn't be disappointed.
Hope this helps someone.
_________________ Donic Waldner Senso V1,FH Baracuda Big Slam 2.0mm ,BH Victas Triple Regular 2.0mm
Last edited by Cobalt on 04 Jul 2017, 08:08, edited 1 time in total.
|