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This is my first attempt to review a rubber so bear with me.
I have previously only played unglued Yin He Venus and briefly with Inspirit Quattro. Because of that this attempt may be restricted as I will only compare to Venus. However, I hope it will be somewhat useful to somebody.

UPDATE: I have used this rubber for about 7 weeks now and thought I'd update the review with my longer term findings and feelings. Updates are displayed in red below.

UPDATE 2: This review of 729-08 was based on the first "Strongly bounce" sponge which was intended for use with boosters.
The new version with the new sponge has supposedly a clearer booster-like effect and is called "Strongly forward". It is not a pre-tuned sponge though, but rather a new version of the sponge. It is supported by the wording on the packaging and the new additional tech logos they have added. I have not tried this sponge yet and it may well be that it is an improvement in some areas.

Equipment
Nittaku Septear C-Pen
Venus, black, 2.2mm, marked 39-41 degrees
729-08, black, 2.2mm, no hardness marked



729-08 top sheet and sponge
729-08 has larger pimples, almost twice as wide as the Venus'. They are also placed much closer and are a tad shorter than the Venus'. The sponge is a medium orange compared to the eggcoloured Venus sponge. Doubling up cutoffs with the topsheet ripped off and depressing the sponges you can feel a distinct difference in springyness with the 729-08 sponge being both softer and springier. The topsheet is tacky and holds the ball for 4-6 secs out of the package (3 after cleaning with water). It is deep black, shiny and has no irregularities on topsheet or sponge.
UPDATE: I wash the rubber with water after each training session and after 7 weeks the topsheet still looks very nice. It has lost a fraction of its brilliance, but I can't say it looks remotely old at all. The topsheet holds up well and the only drawback is that it has come off slightly in places at the edges (about 3-4 pimples in depth). It does not affect play however, but this may be a weak point of the rubber and the future will tell.
The topsheet is still nicely soft, supple and sticky and will pick up a ball for about 1-2 seconds after being washed.

Hitting
Flathitting the ball is better than with Venus. Control is about the same, but 729-08 has more speed and power.
UPDATE: Actually, to flathit or smash the ball may be the biggest weak point of the rubber. I feel I do not get power enough to put it away without doubt. Also, trying to put power on the ball from 2-3 meters behind the table is not so effective.

Over the table and flicks
Hitting over the table and flicks are excellent. The power is certainly more than adequate and the control of the rubber makes it easy to put the balls away safely. Another things is that it is remarkably easy to take the ball on the upbounce, before its highest point. Personally I do that quite a lot now and the margin for error is quite sufficient in my book. I feel the control is excellent.

Blocking
Much better than with Venus IMHO. More control, lower throwback angle and feels more powerful. Not the same need to "forwardblock" to give the ball decent return speed. Easy to make the rubber "eat" the incoming speed or to use it which makes it easier to place the ball effectively.
UPDATE: Not much change here except that I can now place the balls down the lines or in the corners much easier and with more power.

Pushing
Not as dead as the Venus sponge so pushing is not as great. However, pushing feels very good, controlled and it is actually quite easy to keep the ball from popping up too high.
UPDATE: Pushing is truly great now that I've gotten used to the rubber characteristics. It is a little easier to push long due to the springiness of the topsheet, but to push short is not hard at all when used to it. To impart underspin in pushes is not bad either.

Looping
Looping felt much more relaxed and controlled than with Venus. Brushstrokes can be very spinny and quick. Stepping away from the table, it is easy to maintain power and still surprisingly easy to maintain control.
UPDATE: Looping away from the table is not extremely fast, but the shots land on the table and the low arc makes the shots hard to return. The ability to impart topspin is good even with my - I think - low standards of brushing technique.

Serving
It is easy to impart different kinds of spin with the rubber. I must say I think I am a weak server so I shouldn't expand on this section except to say that I do win more points on serve than I did before.

Overall
I feel the 729-08 is better than Venus in just about every respect. It gives better feedback, has a greater range and is slow on soft shots, but powerful and quick on hard hits. It is quite spinny and incoming spin is surprisingly controllable.

Maybe a weird way to express it, but this rubber makes me feel good and relaxed. It inspires confidence and after two hours play I am very happy with it and looking forward to learning more about it.

UPDATE: Not a lot has changed in overall feel about the rubber. I am still very happy with it and it still inspires confidence in me, moreso now that I know it a lot better than before. If there is one thing i really would like to change it would be to make the sponge a tad harder for a little more power and speed at distance. But since I do not know the hardness of my sponge, it may very well be that there already is a harder version out there.

Anyway, this rubber suits me very well and I will soon be replacing my BH 729-5 (a tad faster than 08, but with less feel and quite ordinary IMHO) with another 729-08.

If you have tried 729-08 yourself you may not agree with my findings, but please feel free to add your views about this rubber here. It will enhance this review and be of value to us all

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NITTAKU SEPTEAR cpen | FH: 729 802, 1.5, black | RPB: CORNILLEAU PILOT POWER, 2.0, red
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very nice review! I haven't heard of this rubber before, do you know if it's new? Sounds like a typical post-glue-ban soft, springy rubber...

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The rubber is quite new and started popping up on Ebay recently. I bought mine from Eacheng along with another new rubber from 729 - the 729-5. I have put that one on the backhand, but haven't checked it out properly yet. Will do over the next week or so.

Yup, I think it is a typical post-glue-ban evolution rubber. It uses the 729 Sensor sponge (not a Tensor).

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NITTAKU SEPTEAR cpen | FH: 729 802, 1.5, black | RPB: CORNILLEAU PILOT POWER, 2.0, red
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brabhamista
Nice review sounds interesting looks like chinesse are coming out with some faster rubbers lateley.

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Blade:
F/H:
B/H:

Hmmm, sounds similar to the LKT Torrent. I may have to think about giving this a try.

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Blade: Stiga Cybershape Carbon
FH Rubber: Butterfly Tenergy 19 2.1
BH Rubber: Dr Neubauer ABS3 1.5

Don't see either on Zeropong yet. I thought they would have everything.

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I was reading several editions of the TT World magazines and they have been pushing the 729-08. Putting a full page (or two) ads for it.

I got me 1 729-05 before but decided not to try it and sold it to another guy. So I'll be looking forward to read about the 05 review and also comparison with the 08....

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Great review brabhamista!

Any idea on how soft the sponge is? Is there ANY speed glue feel at all?

Yes it does sound similar to the Torrent... perhaps it's variation on this rubber.

I think this rubber is only released in China so far... this is quite common for 729... they test it in the local market first, and if it's successful they release it to the export market...

If zeropong can't get it yet, we probably won't be either...

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Yes i'm also interested to know how soft it is and what is the weight

hmmm.... sounds interesting...

i'm looking for a successor rubber to my WangNan sp which is .. haiz.... out of production & no stock left.

i dunno... the 729-08 seems like not hard enough for my smashes. aniwae, will look at it when
i see it at the shop.

i'm also exploring God Favoured-sp, Transcend-sp & 729-40H . ordered them at presports. should be in
by the next few days. Yeah !

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Thanks


Nope, no idea except that is softer and springier than the Venus one. There was no marking on the package or back of the sponge except thickness. It does however say that it is a Sensor sponge. The 729-08 and 729-5 Sensor sponges do differ a lot in colour though. 08 is orange and 5 is eggcoloured like the Venus sponge. The 08 sponge seem a tad more "airy" and rough than 5.


As I have only played unglued I do not have a great sense of what speedglued should feel like. The only thing I can compare to is what it feels like compared to my GFs Andro COR Emotion and Highpoint tensors. In this case 729-08 is still softer and springier than Venus, but not as soft and not as springy as the tensors. It has less speed than the tensors, but masses more control. There is a catapult effect, but it is limited compared to the tensors, but far more present than in the Venus (which I personally feel lacks one altogether).


I don't think that it is just a variation of the Torrent as 729 - like Rokphish pointed out - has poured a lot into the launch of this rubber. Looking at Chinese sites, 729 has recruited Liu Shiwen (supposedly the next Zhang Yining) as the poster girl for 729-08. It is also a tad more expensive than the 729 middle range (around USD10) and lands in the same range as Faster and Higher (around USD16).
It seems more likely to me that this is the launch of 729s "second generation post-glue-ban rubber", where 729-2 was the first Sensor and 729-08, 729-5 and Tension 4 is the evolution of it. Of course, this is pure speculation on my part.


Sorry, didn't weigh it uncut, but I am sure it is lighter than Venus. The complete blade/rubber combo feels lighter than before. I had Venus 2.2 and Venus 1.5 before.

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NITTAKU SEPTEAR cpen | FH: 729 802, 1.5, black | RPB: CORNILLEAU PILOT POWER, 2.0, red
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there are 2 different versions packaged to sell in China. One is just the rubber sheet itself, the other comes packaged with booster and glue for a couple bucks more.

Brab you put together a verynice review for your first effort I must say. It was really easy to read and get a good idea of what the rubber feels like. I'm afraid you have only one major failing..... you know how to stir up an EJ's interest in a product and make them want to rush out and try it. Grrr! LOL.

Now I have been feeling a need to try Venus lately and look what you've done now. I hope your happy mister!

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Thank you, Reb

Concerning your current emotional state: if it is any consolation I am not nearly as happy as I would be had I stake in the future sales of 729-08

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NITTAKU SEPTEAR cpen | FH: 729 802, 1.5, black | RPB: CORNILLEAU PILOT POWER, 2.0, red
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Wow that's interestting.... didnt' even know 729 had a booster! Sounds like they (as did DHS) planned this release before the ITTF announce dhte booster ban Might still be a very good rubber of course!

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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