I have a sheet of Hexter Grip on one of my backup blades, I've recently moved from Bluefire M2 to Victas V-15 Stiff. Compared to these two rubbers the Hexter has a similar sponge hardness, but the topsheet is softer than M2, and has less grab than the V15 Stiff. A little background, I started looking for something to replace M2 with the new Plastic balls, I wasn't satisfied because of slippage at times, especially high humidity seemed to make matters worse. The Hexter Grip seems to solve some of the issues I was having, the soft topsheet seems to grip the ball well even when the humidity gets high. So it sets right between the M2 and the V-15 Stiff. Speed wise the HG seems to perform well, I haven't had to make many adjustments in my game to move between these 3 rubbers. M2 hits better, probably because of the harder topsheet, all seem to generate plenty of spin on loops and serves, with slight changes in touch needed to control depth.
All of these rubbers have a 45 degree sponge, much of the differences I perceive are in how the topsheet interacts during play. All were tested on my regular blades, which are a matched set of 3 blades all within a couple of grams of being the same weight, so any difference should mostly be in the rubber sheets.
Spin on Serves: V-15 Stiff>Hexter Grip>M2
Ability to serve short: Hexter Grip>V-15 Stiff>M2 (control wins here, and the spin is good enough with all 3)
Slow Spin Loop: V-15 Stiff>Hexter Grip=M2
Fast Loop: V-15 Stiff>>M2>Hexter Grip (I think the soft topsheet limits this)
Flat Hitting: M2>Hexter Grip=V-15 Stiff (M2 is more stable when you flatten out your shots)
Pushing Control: Hexter Grip=M2>V-15 Stiff
Pushing Spin: V-15 Stiff>Hexter Grip>M2
Open against backspin: V-15 Stiff>Hexter Grip>M2 (nothing wrong with any of these here, very subjective)
Top speed: V-15 Stiff>>M2>Hexter Grip
Blocking: M2>Hexter Grip=V-15 Stiff
Throw: Medium High for all, very similar, didn't require any adjustments in my strokes, only the feel on contact is different
Summary: The V-15 Stiff feels like it has some gears the other 2 lack, my opponents have commented on the additional speed. Hexter Grip is a nice controllable rubber that allows you to hit just about any shot. M2 is showing its age now, the new rubbers just work better with the new Plastic balls, especially when the humidity is high. If I hadn't found V-15 Stiff, I would probably be using Hexter Grip as my standard rubber sheet. I've tried many sheets before reaching this conclusion, Fast Arc G1 and C1, Raska 9 and X, some of the new Gambler rubbers, and I've hit with many others, including Rasant/Rasanter, Tenergy.
|
