OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hi guys!! Has anyone tried this rubber?
Last month I bought this new rubber in 1,5 mm, I was going to try it before but unfortunately a dog bit my leg and I was injured.

The rubber looks good the pips are elastic, quite separated from each other and can be bent easily.
The pips top ara unmarked and appears sticky.The sponge is a bit springy and quite elastic.
IMO pips are long for a medium pips , longer than yinhe pluto , Killer and keiler compared with the naked eye.
The rubber is very light.

Because I'm still a little injured, I couldn't taste it well at all , only 15 min,but my first impressions are:
-IMO it is as fast as killer 2mm , and slower than keiler 1.8 mm
-The throw is quite low similar to Neubauer Killer , but because FlashBack has more grip it is easier to play with.
-Despite the low throw and long pips its very easy to attack and generate a bit of spin.
-I thought that the blocking would not be good due to the grip, but it is not like that, the ball penetrates the pips and generates a good disruption effect.
-It has a lot of control.

I will leave more sensations when I can try it more.


Thanks guys

Thanks for the initial report. hope the leg get better soon.

Sounds an interesting fast MP alternative to Killer, Keiler etc. faster than say Hellcat but less long pip like than Power Pipes and aggressor. might be similar to the new Barna half long.

I find it really important with an MP to get not just a good disruptive effect when blocking and counter hitting topspin with a stiff wrist action but also still to be able to create a bit of topspin when needed. Do you think the spin disruption balance is similar to Keiler? What is it like against back spin?

Yesterday I did my second test of the rubber.
You got it right, I think it's a very good alternative to the keiler and killer.
Hellcat is slower and I think is more oriented to defend.
Aggressor and power pimples are another world. This rubber is easy to use.

With this you can generate a very good spin much more than with the keiler but with a lower angle. It is very easy to perform pseudo top spins, the rubber is very dynamic and has a "click" sound similar to the keiler. You will not cause problems reading the spin your opponent but you will get the ball high to finish the point with a smash.
You can easily lift the back spin balls no problem with that.

When you make direct hits or active blocks it behaves more like the killer and you will get your opponent to send the ball to the net. But not as easily as other more disruptive rubbers.

I think this rubber is very close to keyler and both are sensitive to the opposite effect.

In blocking with the keyler it is easier to block because the FlashBack you have to adjust the angle better but if you succeed you will return much more dangerous balls.
The spin disruption of this rubber balance is similar to Keiler, but only slightly better.

In my opinion it is a very interesting rubber, especially if you are interested in attacking generating your own spin, with a lot of control.
If what you want is to be annoying your opponent at all times, it is not your rubber.

Review of FLASHBACK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh3ZXHwFvwU

_________________
GeblockTT - table tennis on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/c/geblocktt

Thanks for reviews!
How is Flashback for pushing back backspin? Can the ball be kept low? Will there be any backspin? This is very difficult to do with Aggressor but rather easy with Power Pipes (low fast push but no spin in it, very deceptive) and some other medium pips. I use Tulpe/Kokutaku 110 for now, not the best for this but ok.

_________________
Getting better - health and game | Def-attack's attempts to find balance between defence/attack

I had to try it myself

I have it in 1.5 mm on a Stiga Clipper Classic, very nice combo. Flashback is rather allround with a little more sink effect than Keilier while it also may be a little more difficult to attack with. But the lesser makes blocking a little easier I guess, since heavy top spin does not grip as much (also depends on the blade and your touch).

To me it seems that Keiler looses its weirdness at high impact but is rather tricky to play against if used with light touch. Hard hits make the ball fly like from short pips or inverted, but a slightly more loose hit makes the ball sink.

With Flashback it is almost the other way around. If I hit hard the ball sinks a lot. But if I roll or just play loose there is still some weirdness but not much sink. At low impact I think Keiler and Flashback are similar, but at high impact Flasback gives you many winners (unless you hit the net or misses the table of course [SMILING FACE WITH SMILING EYES] ).

Here is me with Flashback against my friend with Keiler 1.2 on FH

https://youtu.be/ow9-pV_0ZSQ

_________________
Getting better - health and game | Def-attack's attempts to find balance between defence/attack

Unfortunately the video you posted shows off your excellent FH attack more than how Flashback plays. Would be great if you could show a practice video of you blocking and counter hitting against top spin and attacking back spin with Flashback.

Sound like a similar rubber to Spinlord Orkan with longer more flexible pips than Keiler.

Good point .
Also, another player with MP is not the best opponent to show what the rubber can do. I'll see what I can do...

Yes, it has longer and thinner pips compares to Keiler, also smooth tops.

_________________
Getting better - health and game | Def-attack's attempts to find balance between defence/attack

I have had some more time with the Flashback. It is a rather demanding rubber I must say. For attacking, you need to be in good position and hit the ball on the way up or at highest point (more difficult on the way down). Also, you must mot hesitate when you hit, or the ball will either go long (if you hit a little too loose but straight on without brushing or closing bat), go to the net (if too slow) or it will be an easy kill for your opponent.

But, if opponet to lots of spin a loose shot with light touch can be very rewarding with a very crooked flight path . But a firm hit without hesitation is what this rubber need most of the time. Then you will put your opponent under lots of preassure. A hard hit with this rubber is difficult to handle.

Also, yesterday I noticed that hard attacks can be blocked almost like with an frictionelss anti. I got a hard loop/smash straight to my BH and I just managed to get my bat up and I held id flat opend, like when I block with anti. And the ball just went fast and straight back, almost completely without a bounce . We both were like . But that may be a little tricky to bouilt a game around as a strategy. Moving the bat upwards and a little forward using the wrist makes blocking a lot easier.

All in all, this is a very good medium pip but it will take time for one to be able to use its full potential. I think that you should have a blade not too hard, so you can generate some arc and spin with it. My Clipper may be a tad too stiff, I may test it on a Stiga Allround Evolution next (or I just test it a little more on my Clipper, I really like it).

_________________
Getting better - health and game | Def-attack's attempts to find balance between defence/attack

The recent Geblock TT video on Flashback is interesting and supports what you are finding out. The big guy testing the rubber is playing very much with his long pips strokes and not really trying to impart any topspin.

The problem with rubbers like flashback which are more super fast long pips than short pips, is that as you are experiencing the margins of error are quite small as the ball flies low over the net with little topspin to bring it down. In fact against topspin, aggressive blocking/counter hitting can easily create a bit of reversal leading to shots sailing long but this same reversal capability can make the rubber very effective for attacking backspin. As you have found out using a bit of an upward brushing motion to create a little bit of topspin improves the margin of error but will at the same time reduce the disruptive effect.

Yes, you are right.
I have not been practicing lately but last night I got to play a few matches against players with "normal" rubbers:

https://youtu.be/CzIooO5S8cc

There are still sooo many things to get better with. The 2nd opponent eon his first two sets easy, before I changed my starting position for a more FH oriented. That helped a lot, to try to use my FH more (and that is one of the main purposes for this MP adventure).

But I feel this setup is a little too difficult, it is a little too disruptive. I have borrowed a Keiler that I will try and I will order an 1.5 mm Pluto (unfortunately the old version, not the new better euro version). I also would like to try a 1.8 mm Flashback but that will have to wait. I could change the blade but I don't want that

_________________
Getting better - health and game | Def-attack's attempts to find balance between defence/attack

I watched your video a couple of times then the GeblockTT review and I think the way you are trying to play with Flashback is not going to work for you. Due to the lack of grip the upward brushing motion is either producing a fairly harmless high bouncy shot or goes in the net. Also I think your blocking needs to be more aggressive in speed and placement as playing passive with any fast MP rarely works except for the dead block when an opponent is back from the table. Take the ball early and use the angles more. Perhaps you have played too long with Anti! The chop block can be quite effective with MP as it keeps the ball lower than a passive block which can pop up as in your video.

If you want to play with Flashback type rubbers then you need to be braver and skim the net with a stiff wrist action which then produces a low bouncing ball which an opponent often will net when trying to loop. Keiler may be a little easier as the extra grip does allow a brush stroke when needed but when returning topspin you need to use the more stiff wrist action to maximise the disruptive effect. See the Max Cherepnin yout tube videos to really see how this is done.

In this one he talks about Gipfelsturm which would probably suite your more passive style belter than keiler and does have a bit of grip as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLArttlZAl0

This video on Aggressor pro he talks about the playing techniques for using a low grip MP.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA8muaql43c

Be warned playing effectively with fast disruptive MP could take many months of practice i.e. in drills or against a robot. The other alternative is to play with something tamer like, Hipster or Attack 3 which offer control and precision of placement rather than nastiness.

Yes, you are right, I have come to that conclusion myself. Since erasing my reflexes takes time I will try a more grippy MP, Pluto is next (just ordered) along with Hellcat (already have that).

Flashback is almost as disruptive as Aggressor, but with a softer and more dynamic sponge and with a little grippier pips, but wider apart.

I have watched all of Cherepnins videos, they are very good.

Hopefully I will be able to practice tomorrow, then I will try Hellcat and perhaps Keiler.

_________________
Getting better - health and game | Def-attack's attempts to find balance between defence/attack

With your current technique and looking at these two videos I think hellcat may work better for you than Flashback. Not so sure about keiler though

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ3QqVXf_0A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIa4Bmf6JOU

This is also a good review clip of Flashback, although it seems.a lot easier to block with Flashback on a slower wood. May have to try that .

https://youtu.be/dl1OlmXq8g0

Here you can se the same fellow in another clip:
https://youtu.be/GVL3S0pDqCE

He blocks with a more sidway movement of the bat, not as much upward movement that I use. Interesting. I need to try that. It may help to keep the ball long and at the same height.

_________________
Getting better - health and game | Def-attack's attempts to find balance between defence/attack