OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I did receive the 3 sheets of National Team Talon yesterday. I probably won't try them until Thursday in a week or so or after that as I will be playing the LA Open this coming weekend and I usually don't experiment with new rubbers before a tournament.

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2010 Florida State Champion
Dr. Neubauer Firewall Plus with DHS G888 1.8 mm and Giant Dragon Dragon Talon OX National Team

A little update.. I finally took the 3 National Team Talons out of the package. They are cut in the shape of the blade. The left bottom corner left of the logo says NATIONAL TEAM and the rubber mix seems different and a different shade of red. I can't say that it feels softer than regular talon but maybe a bit bouncier. Will try it probably on Thursday for the first time

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2010 Florida State Champion
Dr. Neubauer Firewall Plus with DHS G888 1.8 mm and Giant Dragon Dragon Talon OX National Team

Wow, so they've actually changed the mold to make these... very surprising...

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The round part of the logo area is also slightly changed.. That bow is a little lower than on standard Talon. They did make chanes.

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2010 Florida State Champion
Dr. Neubauer Firewall Plus with DHS G888 1.8 mm and Giant Dragon Dragon Talon OX National Team

Tried the National Team Talon on Friday and I did not notice a huge difference to regular Talon.. It actually seems faster to me even though it is supposed to be slower... Will try it on a slower blade on Thursday.

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2010 Florida State Champion
Dr. Neubauer Firewall Plus with DHS G888 1.8 mm and Giant Dragon Dragon Talon OX National Team

I tried the National Team Talon again yesterday and this time, I glued it up to my regular competition blade and it played different than on the newer version of my blade.. I have to revise what I previously said.. The National Team Talon is better than regular Talon. All 3 sheets have lower trajectory than regular Talon and the control is better too.. National Team Talon is my new rubber! I played matches against 2 players that usually destroy me 3:0 and, even though I still lost, I lost both matches 2:3 and could have won either of them.. So, I think that the National Team Talon is better than regular Talon.

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2010 Florida State Champion
Dr. Neubauer Firewall Plus with DHS G888 1.8 mm and Giant Dragon Dragon Talon OX National Team

Tnx for the valuable info

i have recently switched from Dornenglantz (i was getting pissed with broken pimples) and found a good replacement in Dragon talon, just bought a new sheet...

so now, i guess, i will have to order National variant too

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Just like the regular Talon, it's not the easiest rubber to control but once you combine it with the right blade. I'm pretty sure that I will switch from regular Talon to the National Team version for my next tournaments as also in training.. It's the closest thing to the old DTecS that I've found so far..

Just ordered 5 more sheets...

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2010 Florida State Champion
Dr. Neubauer Firewall Plus with DHS G888 1.8 mm and Giant Dragon Dragon Talon OX National Team

One pesky issue: The stuff isn't on the approved list of rubbers. GD (apparently) changes the compound...but hasn't bothered to get it approved?

Is it "legal" to play with the otherGD "soft" versions?

I haven't heard anything about them not being legal.

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2010 Florida State Champion
Dr. Neubauer Firewall Plus with DHS G888 1.8 mm and Giant Dragon Dragon Talon OX National Team

Check for the ITTF logo at the bottom of the National sheet ..

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Panda Drive / 4H Xiom Sigma Pro 2 2.0 / BH Xiom Omega IV Elite Max / Play right-handed
XVT balsa carbon 10mm / 4H Xiom Sigma Pro 2 2.0 / BH Globe 979 Long Pips OX / Play Left-handed shakehand
Stiga Def Wood / 4H Xiom Sigma Pro 2 2.0 / BH GD CC LP OX .. Play Left-handed
Cpen SOS Wood / 4H 729 802-40 2.0 / BH GD Talon use righthanded shakehand grip
HARDBAT / Shakehand Hock 3 ply / Friendship Dr Evil OX .. Play Right-handed

It's just like the regular talon..

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2010 Florida State Champion
Dr. Neubauer Firewall Plus with DHS G888 1.8 mm and Giant Dragon Dragon Talon OX National Team

It will be interesting to hear what your next 5 sheets will be like, Pushblocker. This will tell us if they're really different, or just a batch variation.
I'm still put-off by the term 'national Team' though...that's just marketing... and all they've probably done is vary the formulations a little.

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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

There is a clear difference in shade of red.. Regular Talon is pretty transparent and almost orange when installed on a light colored blade and National Team Talon is a darker shade of red and not as transparent.. I'm extremely happy with the National Team Talon and I'm pretty sure that this is the rubber that I'll use in tournaments from now on.. I feel that it has more directional control than regular Talon. The only issue is when you don't hit the ball "clean" in the center of the rubber.. It tends to go long on those shots.

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2010 Florida State Champion
Dr. Neubauer Firewall Plus with DHS G888 1.8 mm and Giant Dragon Dragon Talon OX National Team

I find national team redder, lower over the net, faster, a little easier to control and am able to execute a back hand roll over shot on occasion( I cannot make that shot with regular talon ox). I got 3 sheets and all appeared of equal quality. Interesting that on a smaller size blade head than a firewall, the words " National Team" can be cut off the sheet. The ITTF code is the same as regular talon. One practice partner said the national seemed slightly more disruptive. I am changing immediately to national team version. The pips seem softer a little.

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Blade: TSP 8.5 Balsa: FH Andro Blowfish+ 2.0 (Black);BH Giant Dragon National Team Talon OX(Red)
Blade: TSP 8.5 Balsa: FH TSP Spectol Blue 2.0-2.1 (Black); BH Strahlkraft OX (Red)
Blade: TSP 8.5 Balsa: FH Joola Express Ultra Max (Black): BH Dornenglanz II OX (Red)

USATT Rating: 1682