OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I'll be testing a bunch of different rubbers and maybe blades in the next few weeks so I thought I'd start a miniblog so I could post short opinions on them.

About me:
Cpen looper, fulltime RPB, no traditional bh. Brush loop. Intermediate level. Make of that what you will.

Standard setup (last 12 months):
Nittaku Acoustic, Cutdown flared. About 75g.
Hurricane 3 Neo Provincial black 2.15 39
Tenergy 64 red 2.1

Currently testing as a primary setup:
Butterfly Innerforce ZLC CS 90g. Trying a heavier setup for more high speed stability.
Hurricane 3 Neo Provincial black 2.15 39
Tenergy 64 red 2.1


For all of the following rubbers I'm going to be testing them on a cutdown Mizutani, 83g. Why? It's a reasonably fast blade that isn't too picky for rubbers, plus I used it for a significant period of time previously so I know the blade well. Additionally, keep in mind that I play in a reasonably high to very high humidity environment so when I say a rubber has crap grip and you say it's got great grip, it could mean that it's brilliant in the dry and crap in the wet.


Disclamer: Opinions are like arseholes: everybody has one. These are mine. If you disagree, good for you, feel free to make a comment. I'm not the be all and end all and I'm certainly not the best player in the world.



First up: Air Scirocco SF, r+b max

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Chasse Patate

Brand: Air
Model: Scirocco SF,
ITTF: 106-001
Colours: R+B
Thickness: MAX
Marked hardness: ?
Estimated hardness: 30
Uncut weight: B 51g R 56g > Extremely light

I was a bit confused by this at first, the blurbs all seem to say Illumina is the spinnier rubber but looking at the AIR site itself said the Sirocco was spinnier. Finger poke test felt very soft, almost like a sheet of F3BS. Surface grip felt pretty good, very slight tack which disappeared after a minute, but for some reason it felt a lot like a sheet of Nittaku Micro; something not very spinny at all. Sponge cut ok, didn't crumble like a lot of supersoft DHS rubbers.

In practice I had a lot of trouble with this rubber. The sponge felt way too soft to loop with at any decent speed and the spin coming off it was below average at best. I wonder if this would have suited a more flexible wood blade rather than the Mizutani, but that's a test for another time. Serving was ok, but the lack of spin was very apparent. Reaction to incoming spin was very low. Over the table game felt a little lively, but fairly easy to control. Overall speed was on the low-ish range, with a more lively bottom and a slowish top end. Loops threw high over the net with little speed and when more speed was applied spin decreased significantly. Counterlooping was average, almost difficult to control sometimes when the ball sank to far into the sponge. I had more success with hitting into the ball and rolling over the top on the followthrough with this rubber.

Will revisit this mounted on an Acoustic or an Adolescen. Date not set.

Next rubber: Air Illumina X80 R+B Max.

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Chasse Patate

great idea silver. i bet that you can contribute more info than there is on the OOAK review index.

with the schildkrot/bryce speed setup, do you play shakehands style? or is it penhold?

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SPW/Solo

I'll just throw this out here

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Chasse Patate

Wow, is that what I think it is?

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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

Air Illumina X80 sideview

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Chasse Patate

It's not a Schildkrot 900, but in some ways it's far more powerful...

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Chasse Patate

Innerforce ZLC CS.

Interesting blade. Double limba plies on top of the ZLC rather than the composite ply sandwiched between the two plies. Not really sure if it gives it more of a 'woody' feel, it still feels very much like a composite blade, albeit less pingy.








Another thing. Who is the idiot at butterflyonline writing the blade specifications? They've got the Mizutani listed as one of the fastest blades Butterfly has available AND they're now claiming it's a 3+2 blade rather than a 5+2. What. The. Hell.

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Chasse Patate

I think you will like the Illumina X80 for looping a LOT more than the Scirocco.

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Goof-off chopping bat
Gambler All Rosewood
Aurus Soft / Gambler GXL .6 sponge

Status - Out of Business Janitor/Babysitter

I don't know. I had a quick hit with it earlier today but didn't really form any substantial opinion on it yet. I can definitely get more spin out of it than the Scirocco, but it felt pretty low compared to my IFZLC/H3NP/T64.

I actually didn't mind it on the backhand as it felt quite lively, but again, less spin than the T64.

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Chasse Patate

Brand: Air
Model: Illumina X80
ITTF: 106-002?
Colours: R+B
Thickness: MAX
Marked hardness: 36?
Estimated hardness: 35
Uncut weight:

Mmm, I was actually looking forward to this rubber somewhat as it had a nice feel and felt really grippy on inspection. Rubbers are quite light, though not as light as the Scirocco. Sponge is a bright yellow again that looks a lot like a DHS sponge, but not as crumbly. Sponge hardness is maybe about 35 on the Butterfly scale and the topsheet seems reasonably soft and pliable.

Interestingly enough, in use I had similar issues to the Scirocco. The rubber arced like it had significant spin in loops but on inspection there really wasn't as much spin as expected. Trying to spin the rubber up did not produce spin close to T64, Omega, etc however it was decent. The medium high arc and low spin from this sheet is reminiscent of Nittaku Renanos or Tibhar Makks, although the overall feel is very different.

Serves were reasonably spinny, though not really conductive to some specific styles of serving. Pushing occasionally had control issues as the short game rebound is surprisingly fast. Firm hitting felt really good, the rubber had a nice crisp feel and excellent speed. The crisp feel actually made the rubber feel harder than touch inspection would indicate otherwise. This rubber tended to reward topspin hit returns to loops rather than counterlooping or straight blocking, though either wasn't too bad. It felt excellent at mid distance loop to loop, but the lower spin seemed to make returns easier.

I felt considerably more comfortable with this rubber on my RPB than my forehand, possibly it rewards short sharp movements more than large swing loops. All in all it is a decent attacking rubber for a speed based player more than a spin, but the inherent lack of spin just let it down in my eyes.

Next rubber: Double Fish A One R+B 2.15.

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Chasse Patate

Placeholder: 63g.

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Chasse Patate

I've forgotten what that placeholder was for.

Anyway, Double Fish A-One,

Brand: Double Fish
Model: A-One
ITTF:
Colours: R+B
Thickness: 2.15 (max I think)
Marked Hardness: n/a
Estimated Hardness: 39 or 40
Uncut weight:
Blade: Mizutani


This one took a while to do. Because I kept getting sidetracked. Anyway, on inspection it felt slightly sticky and had a medium feel, which is softer than I felt it played. Stick disappeared after a while but still looked perfect and highly grippy. Rubber was middle weight. The rubber is not tuned.

In practice, it felt like a pretty standard do-everything rubber. It attacked well, spun well, hit well, blocked, etc etc etc. Never really stood out to me in any one term, though in this thickness it was definitely more for attack or control, than, say chopping. Serve and push spin was above average. It rewarded contact into the sponge but did not give up easily for topsheet based shots. Looping had above average speed but only average spin. More powerful loops carried the same spin however. The sponge was hard enough as to loop hard. In the speed stakes I'd say it was around the classic series - mark v, sriver, but maybe a bit slower until you hammer that topsheet in and the stick goes.

I was surprised at how hard the rubber felt, given the feel of it before I had stuck it to the blade. It's definitely an easy rubber to play and even at higher levels it would be suitable. I would easily recommend this as a beginner rubber along with the likes of mark V and sriver EL/FX.


Next up: DHS Memo.

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Chasse Patate

Does it still feel more like a CHinese rubber, ie slow and dead on soft contact, and you won't get the speed till you start hitting harder?

I'll be interested to hear how you like the Memo... DHS has brought out a few new rubbers lately, but I'm not sure if they're really anything special.

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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

It's like a jap/chinese hybrid really. It reminds me a lot of some of the Juic rubbers - slightly sticky but a japanese feel when hitting.

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Chasse Patate