OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Wow, that's a new one.
I've had several kools (and I mean several), all flared, pass through my hands. The handles are considerably thicker than Stiga Master FL and bty fl. They actually gave me callouses on the underside of the first knuckle on all 4 fingers...

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Chasse Patate

That is a good point tiwaz. I have only classified myself as a euro looper because of Law's thread - I definitely do the salute motion. When looping, I like the ball to sink into the sponge which is where rubbers like Andro Revolution C.O.R. Super Sponge feel great. I'm not after too soft mind you like "Joola Mambo" and "Tibhar Torpedo Soft" mush. It's true I brush the ball a fair bit to generate spin...if I don't the coaches get stuck into me for hitting the ball too flat with not enough spin. They want arc and spin. I think "Brush" is one of their favourite buzz words.

Stiga Almana is classified as one of their fastest rubbers but for me (and another I know) it doesn't generate enough spin. It has too low a throw and not enough forward speed so the result is a ball straight into the net. When it does go over the net though I notice it's harder than usual for the opponent to block.

Yes that really brings out the point that you cannot define a rubber's speed with a single number...it depends so much on the stroke.

We would still like to hear your comments on those rubbers though (well I would anyway).

Cheers!

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I don't take the motion into account when classifying the stroke, only whether you brush the ball or let it sink in. Otherwise some people can mis-classify their own stroke and weird things can happen, such as your speed classification.

Obviously it's not just a black & white classification either, there's lots of grey area, especially when you take speed glue into consideration. In fact, I don't consider there to be much difference in motion between some euro and chinese (especially forhand). There's probably more difference between Kreanga, Waldner and Boll than between Kong and Waldner. I consider Kong and Waldner to have the same motion. Kong follows through a bit more, making it look more curved and Waldner hits with a slightly more open face (because of his euro rubbers) but otherwise it's more or less the same. Classifying them as different because of tiny little personal nuances seems to be like looking up the the sky and deciding whether a cloud is a tiger or a elephant. My coach and I also have the same motion, he uses european rubbers and I use chinese. He learned it from his chinese coach. I think the chinese may have a certain style, but any european style seems to be less defined. They don't seem to be as united in style as the chinese.

I think that if you had more forward motion, you would probably realise the potential of Almana, and find a whole new set of gears for your andro. Try brushing the ball like your coach says, but put in more forward motion with your legs and hips. You'd be suprised how much more power you get, speed AND spin. You may have to close the bat a tiny bit more to keep it from moonballing.

Very informative post tiwaz!

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Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

I updated my earlier post as it was a bit too rash calling Stiga Almana and Kokutaku SLOW. They are now MEDIUM. What bugs me most with these two rubbers is the low throw. Combined with a bit less speed, I hit too many balls into the net with these rubbers.

Tiwaz – your certainly right that when you put in more forward motion with your legs and hips there is much more power, speed AND spin. It’s a matter of training myself to be more technically correct which is an ongoing project. Sadly I initially learnt table tennis without coaching so I picked up poor technique and for the past 2 years have been progressively converting that to good technique (after excessive coaching). Given my forehand loop has superior power and spin to many players above my current ranking it would be scary to think how much power there would be when using technically correct weight transfer and hip rotation.

Speedplay – I have to admit I’d qualify as an Equipment Junkie . I don’t mean to be, its just that most of the time when trying stuff it seems better than what I’ve used before!?

Silver – I pulled the Joola Kool! (flared handle), Stiga Optimum Plus (Master handle) and Stiga Optimum Sync (Winner handle) out of the cupboard. They are all about the same size handle and what people would call normal size. To be more specific I’m actually referring to the end where the handle joins the blade; the tapered section that you rest your thumb on. On all three of these blades it’s too narrow for my liking. The Juic Air Texa is better for me in that the tapered section is wider. I also prefer the tapered section to have a steep angle as per the Butterfly Sardius blade. Sigh…if only the Juic Air Texa’s handle had a steeper angle.

Hi Silke:

Speedplay's question is a good one if Almana as opposed to Almana Sound is medium what do you count as fast? Also what is very fast?

Would like to know, my knowledge of speed rubbers stops at Almana.

In testing [even as recently as last weekend] I can comfortably say Andro Revolution C.O.R. is faster than Stiga Almana. Dawei Navigator GT A-2 tested at the same time also looked and felt faster than Stiga Almana.

I admit I’m tending to combine speed and throw. So when I use a less springy rubber that also has low throw like Stiga Almana I struggle to consistently loop balls over the net, which is why the rubber comes across as "slow feeling".

As for “what is very fast rubber”? I don’t know yet. Even hitting with Butterfly Bryce doesn’t feel VERY fast to me. Blades on the other hand can feel VERY fast…Joola Kool is an example.

Ah, makes sense. While that part is about the same on those blades, I felt that the rest of the RAG handle was thicker and wider.
Incidentally, there are a couple of butterfly FL handles with a sort of "knob" at that point, making it feel wider. The Viscaria was one of those blades.



Do you speedglue?

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Chasse Patate

Yes I use speed glue 99% of the time. I'd have to be running late not to use speed glue. After initial priming, I use 2 coats of Butterfly Fair Chack speed glue each time I go to use a rubber.

I can clearly see a difference between initial impressions and lasting impressions of a table tennis product which is why I'm waiting until tonight (the third time I'll have used Kokutaku in a training session) before writing a review on it.

I used Globe National 999 for two weeks before writing a review on it and am in a position to write a similar review on Dawei Navigator GT A-2. If I wrote a review for Navigator in the first week I'd say it was great...now I see fundamental flaws that have me looking for an alternative rubber. If I wrote a review on Kokutaku after the first session I'd have bagged it...now it's probable I'll do a 360 degress on that one.

Yes that a good thing to do when reviewing...always takes a few sessions...on bad days most rubbers feel poor... and you're right some improve a lot with a few gluings too.

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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