OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I've been playing with a black sheet of Big Dipper 38 deg on my FH for a couple of weeks. Like the overall feeling but I kinda felt that the rubber became softer after a week or so.
Have anyone tried different versions of Big Dipper? (afaik, 38 to 40 deg versions are available.) Have you noticed any difference between them? I wonder if I should get a harder sponge version that won't become as soft as mine.
Thanks!

I'm interested in this too. Alex's store doesn't seem to have an option to select sponge hardness, so I thought it may be random / unmarked or something. I was also looking at 29 Battle II as it's supposed to be just as good, just a little harder and more chinese.

I've read on other forums that 40 deg Big Dipper doesn't play too well, too much ball slippage. I'd be willing to believe that, because Big Dipper uses the soft topsheet plus tackiness to spin the ball, instead of 'grab' from the pimple structure that a lot of European or Japanese rubbers use.

I've played with Big Dipper 38 on a few different blades. It's great on my Avalox Ruiba, which is mediumish speed and fairly stiff / linear (no real spring). As you said, the sponge gets really soft after it breaks in. Still has heaps of speed, but the throw is a bit more dynamic than I would like. Drives are a lot lower than brushes. It gets more dynamic as the sheet gets older.

It's also pretty good on my KTL black coffee. Because the blade is fast and springy, the sponge of the big dipper actually feels harder. The ball doesn't penetrate as much, as the blade has a slight deform. At least that's what it feels like, what's actually happening may be different. As a result the throw angle is less dynamic and slightly higher in general. If you don't like the harder versions of Big Dipper, consider trying it on a different blade, it may make a difference.

I've also tried in on my Galaxy W-1. Doesn't work. It's really slow and dead. I think Big Dipper requires harder blades.

I'm using Big Dipper on a Dr N Magical Touch blade. I like the feeling (especially before the rubber broke in), and my SP on the BH side also feels good, which is not always the case, as I learned recently - FH rubber impacts the BH feeling a lot.

As you said, Big Dipper became more soft and dynamic, and I've only been playing with it for a couple of weeks. Will it keep getting softer and softer?

Cole is saying he's got all three versions of Big Dipper: 38, 39, and 40. I'd like to try Battle II, too, but it seems to be hard to get it here in the US.

It probably won't get much softer, assuming you've put 10 or more hours into it, and you've engaged the sponge a lot in that time. If you're getting it from Cole, you can specify the sponge hardness, which is great.

After it has broken in, it does last quite a long time. You don't notice the drop off in performance, it happens slowly over a long period of time.

Played them both. Right now i'm playing 729 bloom power. I think it is better than big dipper or 729 battle 2. Bloom power is softer and faster than Battle 2 and grippier than Big Dipper IMHO.

Played them all in red.

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brokkie

Oh, thanks for mentioning, I learned about the Bloom series just now. Although there are 5 rubbers in it, only two seem to be certified with ITTF.

Why did you choose Bloom Power over Spin? Do I understand correctly that it isn't a hybrid rubber, i.e. doesn't have a "tensor" sponge? Did you boost it?

I played with Big Dipper for a while, and didn't notice anything about it getting softer. I don't remember the hardness - Yinhe has, in the past, gone from stating degrees to simply marking the rubbers Hard, Medium, etc. and maybe they've moved back again. It's not expensive, between $15 and $20 a sheet if you search on AliExpress, so why not try different hardnesses? You'd probably feel a difference between 38 and 40 but 39 would be pretty close to either one of the other two and you'd have to really concentrate to feel any difference I think. Then again I had Rasant on another identical blade and I couldn't tell much difference between Rasant and Big Dipper, either, playing them back to back...

Iskandar

Well, I'd definitely be able to tell the price difference