OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hi,

I was wondering what are the differences and characteristics of these rubbers? And what kind of play are they most suited for.

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Main Setup.
Stiga Clipper Wood
FH: Neo Hurricane 3
BH: Neo Skyline 3

Casual setup.
Addoy S2 Blade
FH: LKT Rapid Speed
BH: LKT Rapid Sound

Heres Your awnser
http://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=25756&start=15#p274824

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Victas Koji Matsushita
Thibar Hybrid k1 euro max
TSP Curl p1-r 1.0

I read somewhere that the Hurricane 3 was similar to the Skyline 2 and the Hurricane 2 was similar to Skyline 3.

The neo has the softer sponge but I would still deem the Skyline 2 neo as a hard sheet in comparison to a sheet of Tenergy 05.

Of the rubbers you have listed I only have experience of one and that's the Skyline 2 neo in red and it's the 2.2 thickness. I use it exclusively on the FH. Have not tried it on the BH. Bought in the Chinese Goods store in Hong Kong for 134 HK $ minus 10%. Equates to around €12

Compared with a T05 this is my experience of it...
Speed: Skyline 2 neo > T05
Spin: Skyline 2 neo = T05
Control: Skyline 2 neo > T05
Throw: T05 > Skyline 2 neo
Consistency: T05 > Skyline 2 neo

The Skyline 2 neo has a nice crack when you give it full contact. Being tacky you can brush with it and in some ways the spin is better with it than the T05 since the tackiness seems to give it different spin characteristics.

To play with it compared with a Euro rubber you have to use full strokes and you can't just play passively. I had to focus more on my technique. For competition play at my skill level it is not as consistent as using a T05. It's fun to play with and moves you out of the comfort zone from using a Tenergy. I've been pleasantly surprised by how good it is but then I've only had it 2 months. Some say that you only need to apply glue to the blade since it's pre-glued but I also applied glue to the rubber as well. Cut weight was around 47 grams. If I was buying another sheet I would get it in Black which is supposedly better at holding onto it's tack a little longer. Although the red one is still tacky but I only rub / dab with cold water - don't use a cleaner.

On the last part of the question as to what kind of play it's definitely offensive and it needs a straighter arm to get the most of it.

From what I've been reading the Neo sponge isn't just softer, it's also got some sort of tuning treatment that is visible in the form of a thick glue layer on the back, similar to what Haifu puts on their tuned Whale and Shark rubber.

Iskandar

Yes that's correct.

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When I was buying the Skyline 2 neo I also bought a Hurricane 3.
The Skyline 2 neo came vacuumed packed whilst the standard H3 came with the normal packaging.
As already confirmed the neos are definitely factory tuned.
Comparing the hardness of the H3 with the Skyline 2 neo the H3 feels harder so the sponge feels a little softer on the neo.

The blurp on the cover of the Skyline 2 neo states that it's control and spin whilst the Skyline 3 neo is marketed as been more speed orientated than the Skyline 2 neo. Reviews seem to conflict with this with some saying that the Skyline 2 neo is as fast as the Skyline 3 neo but the Skyline 2 neo has the advantage of more spin.

On tabletennisdb the H2 neo seems to have the lowest throw and the ranking in popularity seems to be in this order....
Hurricane 3 neo, Skyline 2 neo, Skyline 3 neo, Hurricane 2 neo.

If I was buying again I might consider the Hurricane 3-50 with the softer tinarc sponge despite not being factory tuned. The 3-50 might make a better BH choice in comparison to the neos although personally I would prefer something with less tack.

How to recognise a real national Hurricane or Skyline and why these rubbers are so expensive?

http://www.buychina.com/items/genuine-n ... yqtnrpllkl

Where else can I buy national version of hurricane or especially skyline tg2?

It is possible to check the authenticity of a Hurricane / skyline and I came across it somewhere on the OOAK.
Buying first from a reputable site would be the best way to start. I can't vouch for the sites below and don't know if your link sells genuine rubbers or not.
Seems to be a trend now in using a Tenergy sponge and a DHS top sheet. When I went looking for a blue sponged Hurricane / Skyline had trouble finding anyone that had them in stock.

http://saletabletennis.com/product-cate ... bbers/dhs/
http://tabletenniskingdom.com/ttk_produ ... &brand=DHS
http://ttnpp.com/store/85-pro-chinese-style
http://www.eacheng.net/index.php?act=pr ... goryID=252
http://www.fareastsports.com/products/r ... n/?brand=2
http://tabletennisshop.com.au/index.php ... lter_id=11

Don't know if that sponge mentioned on saletabletennis.com is actually Tenergy sponge or not. It IS Japanese, and it is supposed to be one of these new-type sponges but whether or not it's the actual Butterfly product - unless someone actually says so (or Butterfly confirms that this is the case) it's most likely not.

If Butterfly were secretly supplying Tenergy sponge to DHS, would they ever admit it? I think not... In any case, this was a BACKHAND rubber and not a direct competitor to H3 etc. which is used on the forehand.

Iskandar

http://saletabletennis.com/sharing-all- ... nd-rubber/

Why Xu Xin changed ?
If you know about the characteristics of Butterfly & DHS, you will probably get the answer. DHS has advantage of their top-sheet with much powerful spin, while Butterfly sponge is the most brilliant one in the world, therefore, Chinese National team coach Liu Guoliang had recommended to Xu Xin changed this new tailor-made rubber!!! It is 2.1mm thickness with 38 hardness.

It doesn't say Tenergy but it does states Butterfly.

There was a discussion on myTT where they didn't think that it was a good idea to mix a Tenergy sponge & a H3 top sheet...
http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_po ... rgy-sponge

It says the Butterfly sponge is "best" but the rubber he changed to - it doesn't say THAT rubber has Butterfly sponge! So to me it's still ambiguous. It might be, but it might not be. If it is, how did DHS get it? If they bought it off Butterfly, would Butterfly ever admit it? And if it's obtained by delamming Tenergy, how many of these sheets would actually exist in this world??

Iskandar

This is the rubber that we're talking about...
http://saletabletennis.com/product/dhs- ... on-sponge/

Sent an email off to Saletabletennis so I'll have to wait and see what they come back with. It's out of stock so this might be all pointless At €58 you would to be sure as to what you're getting. It is listed at 38 degrees so it can't be a Tenergy.

I would have thought that the H3 Neo would have been a better FH rubber.
But if you're struggling to use either of them and are switching between the 2 then maybe you'd better off using an easier to use rubber.

They seem to have an inside line into DHS's R&D assembly room, where the special sheets made for specific players get made. My guess is they can only get sheets now and then, and then they'll be sheets "belonging" to various players, and each batch will be different. Whether or not they'll be able to get any more of this special rubber is anyone's guess..

I wonder how many sheets get "ordered" by any given player at a time. And how many players have this privilege of getting custom sheets assembled for them.

Iskandar

I've been getting an out of date out of office reply back from saletabletennis today and from a few days ago - so unsure if they're still operating. A guy in the club is still waiting on his order of a FX-P from 2 weeks back. Did find a mention of someone who got the rubber and they referred to the sponge as being a tenergy so that was probably how I got that in my head....
http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_po ... etenniscom