OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Today i got my new black 401 1.8 mm. Even if it seems i'm the last forum user to test it ( ) i'll make my review soon
I'm going to glue it to my spare VKM st with p4 0.5 on bh

I decided to get it to try a true defensive rubber, since i always used offensive rubbers with thin sponge like vega pro, vega asia, vega japan, m2, jp01... and see if i like it's control and how it plays overall. I hope the spin is at the same level as vega pro (but i really fear it could lack some after trying a vs01 from a friend and reading some review...) and the speed is somewhere there (of course it will be less...) but with better control above all on chops... also, since i have been playing with high throw rubbers from the beginning, i'm interested to try some medium/low rubber...

I'm glueing the rubber tomorrow, i'll make you know soon

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My Paddle
Blade: Butterfly Defence II FL
FH: Bluegrip V1 2.0 (red)
BH: Grass D.Tecs 1.5 (black)

Don't feel bad I haven't tried it yet either. But, I have a sheet coming to me soon. Also just ordered the Victas Koji Matsushita Defence. Going to try the Victas 401 with 1.8 and TSP P1r in 1.5 and see how that works.

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Equipment:
Victas Koji Matsushita, Yasaka Rakza 7 2.0, TSP P1r Curl 1.5-1.7

USATT Rating: 1869

MOLON LABE!!!

I use 2.0 on VKM - perfect (but heavy) match. But ot takes some time to get used to. Good luck!

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

Mmmmm... ok... i tried this rubber twice, and it's just so strange, so different from what i'm used. One of the strangest rubbers i've ever seen...
It's a quite hard rubber overall, the topsheet is thin and not too hard, but the sponge is really hard. I had almost the impression that it wants to be an european rubber that plays like a chinese rubber!

Surprisingly it resulted somehow a little faster than my VP (and it's 1.8 vs 2.0) above all when flat hitting, when tospinnign it was probably the same speed with both.
The throw is really low, blocking is a joy, fast looping near the table was nice also, but i'm not really used to low throw and low arc rubbers since i usually play vega pro...
It's relatively spin insensitive but capable of decent spin on loops, but not really too much, in fact it's better when cutting. IMHO the problem is that if you use the topsheet well you can create a really good spin, so there's good spin on services, cuts and slow brush loops, but when you engage the sponge it becomes quite fast but with low spin. Anyway, even in its strong areas i found the spin to be less than with my vega (which is even a little bit old now...).
Only things i really liked were the chop and the fish from behind. The fish was quite easier than with my usual rubbers and enabled good variation; it went the same way for my chop. My impression on it is that the sponge is so firm that you don't engage it at all, so there's not strong rebound and so it's quite good to absorb the power of the loop or to put more power in your chop.
Counterloop same as the topspin, good speed but low spin and low arc...

Overall i guess it could be a nice rubber for a certain type of chopper, since it's quite nice when defending from behind, but i don't think i like how it works on the fh offense or at least i think it doesn't suit my way to play the forehand... and it feels so unlinear with its' throw and way to play, depending on how you use the sponge. And at last, i rely on the huge spin (at my current level) i can create with my fh.

Definitely a strange rubber, some may love it and some may hate it, depending on how they play and how it suist them. I think v01 is a better choice if you want a more linear, faster allround rubber (since it lacks quite a bit of spin too) but with grat control and overall play.

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My Paddle
Blade: Butterfly Defence II FL
FH: Bluegrip V1 2.0 (red)
BH: Grass D.Tecs 1.5 (black)

Thanks RevanII, you've summed it up very nicely, and this ties up somewhat with my own experience, and is pretty much the reason it works perfectly for my strokes and style.
My loops tends to be brush loops as I come from sticky Chinese rubbers, and I find this rubber is very spinny for this stroke. I also find that the throw is high for that stroke. I suspect you engage the sponge much more on your loops, making the throw much lower for you.
What I can't do with Chinese rubbers is counterloop against heavy topspin, as their throw becomes too high, but with the 401 I can do this perfectly as the throw drops a lot when looping harder.
Because I use a balsa blade with a soft feel, the difference in throw may be a lot less sudden than with regular blades.

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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

Yes, i think you are right. In fact, fully brushed loops have a good spin and high arc.
I suppose that if you have a REALLY good topspin, with very strong body motion (so a professional quality topspin) then you might engage the rubber the best and find it good for topspins in general. In fact, the few loops i tried with 110% of my power were really fast and the spin was nice, but with a medium controlled topspins you really don't go anywhere near other moderne euro/jap rubbers...

Quite defensive and designed for really strong loops... or really slow and spinny...

I guess it may be quite nice with some booster actually i never tried it... if i did i probably play with H3 anyway...

Cheers

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My Paddle
Blade: Butterfly Defence II FL
FH: Bluegrip V1 2.0 (red)
BH: Grass D.Tecs 1.5 (black)

It would be interesting if you got to test it in 2.0 mm. That might help something, especially concerning brush looping. Most of my opponents (even players far better than me, even a player in top 150 in Sweden with SP on his FH ) blocks my brush loops (far) out and says they rarely meet someone with that much spin on their loops. I do have a good brush loop but I think it is more that they underestimate the spin generated compared to the arm motion they see me do.

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

I did try it in 2.0mm, but I found it to be too bouncy and lively (which really surprised me actually), but perhaps this is not the case on a non-balsa blade.

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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

The blade must make a big difference. On my VKM the 2,0 mm is everything but lively

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

That's good to know...it must be the interaction with the Re-Impact blade... with 1.8 it's perfect, with 2.0mm too lively.

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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

I got my Victas 401 in the mail a couple days ago. Haven't got it out of the package yet. But I'll tell you what. Just squeezing it thru the package the sponge feels hard as Hell. I hope to get the rest of my stuff from OOAK either today or Monday.

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Equipment:
Victas Koji Matsushita, Yasaka Rakza 7 2.0, TSP P1r Curl 1.5-1.7

USATT Rating: 1869

MOLON LABE!!!

Does anyone know how much a VS>401 differs in weight between 2,0 and 1,8? I would like my bat a little lighter...

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

I bought a new VS 401 in 1,5 mm since it seems 402 will not be available in Another month. 1,5 mm compared to 2,0 mm is noticably lighter (very good for the pain in my elbow when attacking). It is also more direct in some way. The sound is "hard" even at low impact or blocks. Loops are of course a Little slower but still with good spin. Blocking is a lot easier as wel as pushing over the table and playing short. Serves is a Little less spinnier of course but it is easier to return servers. Over all it is, like expected, easier to play with over the table but attacks doesn't come with as much spin or speed.

But the big difference, and the big advantage, is when chopping from distance . This is far more easier with 1,5 mm than 2,0 mm. Chops tend to land about where I want them to land on the table and I can easily vary the spin from Heavy back spin to no spin. It is just soooo fun to chop with this setup . I only tried it one session yet, so I can't really be all sure yet, but for now it feels like I will keep it. I need to work on my attacks but that I need to do anyway . I need better length and placement. And I need more forward motion with my whole body. But it is still ok to attack with it. And my BH attacks are better with 1,5 than 2,0.

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

I loved the 1.5mm for chopping and blocking as well... it's for looping that made me try 1.8mm and 2.0mm, and 1.8mm was the best compromise for me.

_________________
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

I might go with 1,8 as well, bit first I want to try 402 in some version.

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