OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I'm looking for a new SP forehand rubber between 1.5 and 2mm that will give me better access to spin and speed. I love my 802, but, to my knowledge, it's a budget rubber both in performance and price. I play great with 802, so I don't see any need to go for something with a vastly different shape of pimple or spacing etc.

I'm an aggressive defensive player and I mix heavy chops and floats with attacks.

These are the rubbers I'm looking at currently:

Joola Express Ultra
Spinlord Waran
Raystorm

TSP spectol red or blue
TSP spin pips red or blue
Firestorm

Anybody played with these who both attacks and chops? Or do you have another recommendation?

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Standard Setup 1
Blade - Joo Sae-Hyuk ST
FH - DHS Hurricane 3 Neo 2.2mm
BH - TSP Curl P1r 1.5mm

Standard Setup 2
Blade - Joo Sae-Hyuk ST
FH - DHS Hurricane 3 Neo 2.2mm
BH - TSP Curl P4 1.5mm

Hardbat Equipment (Former Full-Time Hardbat Player)
Blade - Marty Reisman custom 5 ply Hock
Rubber - Yasaka Cobalt Alpha OX

Joola Ultra Express is going to be very fast. Too fast for chopping, depending on what blade you are using. Also very grippy so could give problems to you for chopping heavy topspin. Also only available in 2.0 and Max.

Waran is fast but not like Ultra Express. Also a tensor but personally I wouldn't change if 802 is working for you.

I'm just looking to get set with equipment that will maximize my current game so I'm only focusing on improving. That's why I'm thinking of changing my 802, as, despite playing well with it, it seems unlikely that I would play my best with it.

This is the dilemma really, balancing offense and defense. The ideal forehand rubber is fast and spinny, as I will be doing most (around 70%) of my attacking on my forehand side, but it has to have enough control to chop as well. The sponge thickness limitation of the Joola rubber (only 2.0+) is definitely a problem, yea. I want something between 1.7-1.9 really.

My blade is on the heavy side and is oversized. Power level is allround.

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Standard Setup 1
Blade - Joo Sae-Hyuk ST
FH - DHS Hurricane 3 Neo 2.2mm
BH - TSP Curl P1r 1.5mm

Standard Setup 2
Blade - Joo Sae-Hyuk ST
FH - DHS Hurricane 3 Neo 2.2mm
BH - TSP Curl P4 1.5mm

Hardbat Equipment (Former Full-Time Hardbat Player)
Blade - Marty Reisman custom 5 ply Hock
Rubber - Yasaka Cobalt Alpha OX

You can get ultra express in 1.5 sponge from joola website directly

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SOULSPIN CUSTOM BLADES
Fh: Spinny rubber
Bh: Not so spinny rubber...

WARNING

Short pips rubber, once it got slick low-friction DUE TO A GREASE OR WEAR, it got illegal to use.

Hehehe, you could try boosting Just kidding (though some people actually do try that), I think that if you were to do that then it would change 802 pretty drastically. Maybe you could try 802-40? It's basically almost the same thing from what I've read, except spinnier, and of course the slight changes in the small details. Maybe you could try that, or increase the thickness of your sponge to 1.7-1.8? Or maybe both.

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Blade: Victas Koji Matsushita Offensive FL
FH: Yasaka Mark V GPS Max
BH: TSP SuperSpinPips Chop 2 1.9

Rating: Recreational Player

If the 802 is working for you, I would not change either. Just because it's cheap does not make the performance any less. Another rubber will give you a different set of characteristics, which may or may not work better for you.

Most of the ones you've listed are a lot faster than your current one. You could consider the original TSP Spectol, which is still hugely popular, high quality (Japan-made) and among the cheaper from the Japanese/German range. It's got a softer sponge compared to 802, and the pips are slightly less grippy, but you'll have a few more sponge thicknesses to consider. It does not have a high-tension or fast sponge like most of the ones you listed, so the control for chopping is still quite good.

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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
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Annother possibility is friendship 802-1 which has more spin then 802.
Because of it´s low price, a test won´t cost you much.

Again, the extra speed might sound tempting, and if you've never tried it before you could just to satisfy curiosity.

However... Speed isn't everything. I recently went from 1.8mm tensor short pips to OX short pips, believe it or not. Speed is still good enough to play at my existing level, and control of the rally is amazing. Instead of going for big hits with lower probability, I'm playing precisely placed topspin drives and waiting for a smash.

What color is the sponge on your 802? How soft is it?

Are you located in the US? If so, you could order a sheet of 802 from Cole Ely (colestt.com). He glues topsheet to a sponge of your choice, from the small selection he carries (from virtually dead to springy/soft to firm and bouncy). I'd ask for the Cannon sponge, but you could also ask for Cole's opinion. He is a fine player, and I hear that he offers good advice.

Of course you can order from Cole if you are elsewhere in the world, too. It's just that international shipping from the US tends to be slow and expensive. That's just my personal experience, 3 orders dating a few years back, and nothing to do with Cole's (that's not where my orders went). Coincidence may have been at play, and/or things may have changed.

I didn't see the replies after my last message on this post.

I decided in the end to go all the way and try inverted. So far, I'm indeed finding that speed definitely isn't everything, but spin and control almost is. Hurricane 3 2.2mm has been the best of the bunch I've tested so far.

I'll be testing short pips on my backhand soon just to confirm I've made the right choice going the LP route. For that, 802 1.5mm might be as good of a test as any for my game.

The sponge under my 802 is orange by the way.

_________________
Standard Setup 1
Blade - Joo Sae-Hyuk ST
FH - DHS Hurricane 3 Neo 2.2mm
BH - TSP Curl P1r 1.5mm

Standard Setup 2
Blade - Joo Sae-Hyuk ST
FH - DHS Hurricane 3 Neo 2.2mm
BH - TSP Curl P4 1.5mm

Hardbat Equipment (Former Full-Time Hardbat Player)
Blade - Marty Reisman custom 5 ply Hock
Rubber - Yasaka Cobalt Alpha OX

the version of 802 with the white/cream coloured sponge is the better one to try. more control, better to hit with

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Blade: Barna Original Triumph Forehand Yasaka Razka Po Backhand Der-Materialspezialist Störkraft 0.8
http://www.instagram.com/dragontattooguy

Yeah, just because it's cheap doesn't mean it's any worse than the expensive rubbers. Then again, well, you'll never know until you try it.. which means buying at least 3-4 different sheets. And then maybe you might think about the blade, as well... I guess you can see where this is leading. Then again, it's only money...




And 802-40 as well. Though that doesn't seem to come in anything but 2.2mm sponge. $11 shipping included!

Iskandar

I use short pips to chop and attack on my forehand (OX LP on backhand), and from your list I've tried the Waran (not good for chopping), and it's not good for chopping. However, you might consider the TSP Spinpips RED, which I think are excellent for both chopping and attacking.

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I. Re-Impact Turbo; FH: Spinlord Sandwind 1.5mm; BH: DMS Kamikaze OX
II. Re-Impact Smart; FH: TSP Spinpips RED 2.1mm; BH: Dr. Neubauer Gangster OX
III. Sauer & Troger Firestarter; FH: Spinlord Waran 1.8mm; BH: Giant Dragon Snowflake OX
IV. Sauer & Troger Firestarter; FH: Yasaka Rakza 7 Soft 1.8mm; BH: Joola Badman Reloaded OX
V. Victas Koji Matsushita; FH: Yasaka Rakza 7 Soft 1.8mm; BH: TSP P-1R 1.0-1.3mm
USATT Rating: 2037

Do you by chance know where I could get the white/cream sponge version in Europe? I didn't know it came with different sponges, outside of thickness of course.

_________________
Standard Setup 1
Blade - Joo Sae-Hyuk ST
FH - DHS Hurricane 3 Neo 2.2mm
BH - TSP Curl P1r 1.5mm

Standard Setup 2
Blade - Joo Sae-Hyuk ST
FH - DHS Hurricane 3 Neo 2.2mm
BH - TSP Curl P4 1.5mm

Hardbat Equipment (Former Full-Time Hardbat Player)
Blade - Marty Reisman custom 5 ply Hock
Rubber - Yasaka Cobalt Alpha OX