OOAK Table Tennis Forum

From what I know, Mark V hasn't changed over the years (although now there are a bunch of variants). If you have 30 year old rubber on there, you probably would want to swap it out. Maybe one of the veteran's could comment on that better.

But from what I've gotten from this thread, there's no real reason to switch from Mark V unless you find a very specific strategy that another specific rubber is catered towards. Would everyone agree with that?

Pretty much agree. Mark V is the same as it was 50 years ago. In the 80’s some players started speed gluing it (& other classic rubbers) to boost the performance. After the ban of speed glue Yasaka developed Mark V HPS with a ‘glue effect’ sponge. It retains the same top sheet and the sponge has similar hardness to the original so it’s probably the closest you’ll get to the feel of Mark V with more ‘modern’ performance. Nowadays most offensive style players beyond intermediate level will use something of similar performance, but up to that level or for more all-round style players the original Mark V is still a very good (and very durable) do-it-all rubber.

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2. S&T Black & White / Armstrong SH-I 1.8 / TSP Curl P3 Alpha R OX

I agree, Mark V is still a good rubber for an all around game, new rubber is more "dynamic" at least for the tensor and tensor imitators. Basically they are more bouncy, and some generate spin and or speed easier than MV. If you don't get regular practice or coaching, they can be harder to play with. So these non linear rubbers may or may not help your game, depending on a lot of factors, including your level and skill set. Without seeing you play it is hard to guess, we have quite a few players using MV at our club. And one is now going through the same search you are, and we have given him the same advice you have received, to try other peoples paddles before ordering anything.

There are also some "mild" tensors being introduced, that aren't quite as bouncy while retaining the tensor feel of the rubber. Xiom Musa III is one. I've only hit with it briefly and that was on a defensive blade, so can't really compare it to MV, but something like this might be a compromise if you are looking form a tensor like rubber. Good luck in your search.

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Donic Waldner World Champion 89 FL; Donic BlueStar A2 (Red) Max; DMS Firestorm (Black) 1.8

Has Mark V really been around 50 years? That would be 1967 - a couple years early perhaps?? But maybe so...

Iskandar

50 years would be 1968? You're right though, not quite there yet, was 1969. From a recent Yasaka catalogue:

"In 1969 Yasaka revolutionized table tennis rubber technology introducing MARK V. Winning the men’s singles titles in the 1970 European Championships and 1971 World Championships, success for MARK V was proven. Since then MARK V has been continuously developed and Yasaka MARK V is probably the most well-known table tennis product on the market".

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2. S&T Black & White / Armstrong SH-I 1.8 / TSP Curl P3 Alpha R OX

Oops.. yeah, 1968. Thinking a year behind! Wonder when Sriver appeared - the two appeared about the same time and were "rivals". I don't think Musa is a Tensor, last I checked there was no Tensor logo but it does have the BIOS logo.

Iskandar

1967 (I think) for Sriver. Musa 1 is definitely not a Tensor. Maybe none of them are, not sure.

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2. S&T Black & White / Armstrong SH-I 1.8 / TSP Curl P3 Alpha R OX

I have used Musa a lot and it is definitely is a classic medium to medium hard sponge rubber and not a tensor. Great contraol but for forehand attack it needs a quick blade and at least 2mm thickness

Intro which I use on one blade is sort of a speed glued Musa rather than a true tensor so probably similar to Mark V HPS. A very good low cost rubber for those seeking more speed without Tensor catapult and matches well with balsa blades.

Hmm, most players in my club use ALC blades and max. Tensor rubbers/Tenergy. I can counter loop with most of them without beeing at a disadvantage. Some of them are easily over 2000 USATT playing Landesliga in Germany. Besides, if you can't keep your opponent from power-looping, you're in trouble anyway. My idea of table tennis is to prevent this - i.e. by using well placed receives, spin variations, etc. This is much easier done with slow, unbouncy, high control rubbers. Most of my opponents have huge problems opening up my backspin returns or chops, if they are really loaded. Not speaking of throwing in the occasional no-spin ball.

Btw, I've been using Sriver (some times speed-glued up to the speed glue ban) from the early '80s to 2013, VS>402 1,8, T05 1,7 and T05 1,9, Rozena 1,9 and Vega Pro 2,0 the last years, so I know what I'm talking about. Since going back to H3 I am MUCH more successful...

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- style: modern defense -

Ma Long uses H3 so THERE!!

Iskandar

Just dropping in an update.

Spent some time practicing and trying to improve my playing technique. I can definitely say now that yeah, it was definitely all my form. Of course I'm not the fastest, but I was able to speed up my game considerably by trying to work on my form (and I actually was able to win a game for once!). I still have a long way to go, but it seems now that its a little too fast... . I'll figure things out eventually. lol

Thanks for all your advice!



You know, I've been thinking that a lot lately. I feel that Mark V is too fast for this style though... but I might just need to work on control more. Ah, things are so hard to gauge based on my skill level. My rubber is approaching one year old - using it usually for an average of 4 hours a week - is it time to change it? Should I change it to a slower rubber?