OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Has anyone played with this rubber?
Can you compare with Sanwei T88-1 (I know this good)?

Alex

Why this rubber in particular?

Never heard of it, so I went and looked. Oh boy.

Looks like an XVT-only thing (Eacheng doesn't carry it). And there's three versions - one is in the $10 range (including shipping), and comes in this packaging, seems to be the "old version":



https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Three-S ... 31918.html

The "New Version":



https://www.aliexpress.com/item/ITTF-Ap ... 93625.html

(If you notice, the URL is a little bizarre since it's NOT about Three Sword Leap OR H3 Blue Sponge.. XVT does a lot of careless cutting and pasting, it seems..)

Apparently this new version comes with "Germany Imported Sponge". Not ESN, it it? Both versions seem to be "cake sponge" with large pores, the German version is considerably more cakey. THIS version comes in two versions also: Red Sponge and Black Sponge. The Black Sponge is around $14, the Red Sponge is harder and will set you back an extra $4. There seem to be two XVT "stores", one has cheaper red sponge and the other cheaper black sponge, go figure. Both old and new versions apparently use the exact same topsheet with the same ITTF number (127-004). Apparently, because we don't know for certain - even if they came out of the same mold there's nothing preventing them from changing the rubber formula or hardness or degree of vulcanization.

The blurbs are VERY interesting:

THREE SWORD Red Dragon is the best rubber we have ever made.
For this high-end rubber , we have OEM for many brands Butterf--; Stig-, Doni-.
If you want experince a very good rubber with a lower price, Red Dragon will never never let you down.
ITTF approved, no problem for tournament

"We" here being XVT????? Or Three Sword????? Do they really OEM for "Butterf--", "Stig-" and "Doni-"? REALLY???

And..

There are 2 versions Red Dragon :

Red Spong version and Black Version
Both are 100% Non-Sticky Rubber

Red Sponge Version: Better than Butterf-- Tenerg- !
Hardness: 37 degree
Thickness: 2.1mm
Sponge: High Energy Tension Cake Sponge ( Sponge Made by Germany )
Rubber weight: 53.5g Super Light!
Speed 13.5
Control: 11
Spin: 11

Black Sponge Version: More good at Control! Better than Butterf-- Tenerg- !
Hardness: 36 degree
Thickness: 2.1mm
Sponge: High Energy Tension Cake Sponge
Rubber weight: 54g Super Light!
Speed 13
Control: 12
Spin: 11

So there you have it. T88-1 is, well, a pedestrian, somewhat heavy Chinese tacky rubber with normal sponge. It's not even close to the top of the line among the rubbers Sanwei sells (which would be the Target Pro/National/Euro line). Three Sword Dragon, on the other hand, is a non-tacky, top-of-the-line (for the brand) rubber with "High Energy Tension Cake Sponge". Not only that, it's Super Light (54 grams IS light... not as light at KTL Green Dragon, but lighter than anything else I've come across, with KTL Pro XT being JUST a hair lighter). Assuming this is uncut weight, of course. And it's also "Better than Butterf-- Tenerg- !".

Sounds like a no-brainer, doesn't it?

Why don't you buy each of these sheets (they're cheap enough), play with them for a couple weeks and tell US what you find?

Iskandar

Ordered now a red sheet of the Red Dragon in the new version. I only read about this rubber in TableTennisDaily a short comment and it must
be good.
The T88-1 is one of the best rubbers if boosted with 3 layers Falco but extremely heavy.
Write about the Three Sword Red Dragon in time after arriving and a short test.

I know, that the brand Three Sword is not bad. I play since 2 years with the LP Three Sword Zeus on BH.
Very good pimple and durable.

Looking forward to hearing about it.. I'll also keep an eye on it, with Chinese rubbers, sometimes you get really steep discounts. These rubbers are just slightly above what I'd be willing to pay for something on a whim.

I wonder if it really is "Better than Butterf-- Tenerg- !"....

Iskandar

Had a short shot with the Red Dragon.
Red topsheet, black sponge. Very light.
Used a Sanwei Fextra blade, on BH Three Sword Zeus ox.
Very matte redish topsheet, absolutely untacky.
Speedwise by doing counters very fast, no bottoming out, very precise. Sponge is more like 42°.
Brushing and serve with good spin. Powerlooping with a real speedkick.
The best: 13 dollars included shipping.
A teammate said the rubber looks much like Vega pro with an untackier topsheet.
I´m really impressed.

Alex

Argh.. Another rubber to try... I'd just ordered Reactor Tornado. I wonder if it's really better than "Butterf-- Tenerg- ".

Iskandar

Never tried Tenergy.
But this Stuff is really good

Today I played 2 hours with the Red Dragon. Topspin, Block, Serve and so on.
Really amazing. Tons of spin in serve and topspin. Fast drive and shot. Even good in short play.
Give it a little force and the dragon begins to fire. I´m totally convinced.
A lightweight chinese high end rubber for 13 dollars included shipping.
You should try it. For this price you cannot make anything false.

Alex

Darn... I REALLY will have to buy one now, and I'll have to buy a sheet of Butterf-- Tenerg- to test it against! (The first isn't much money.. the second though... )

Iskandar

The time to buy is now. The price for a sheet of the black sponge has dropped to $13.59, so I bought a sheet of this plus a sheet of the yellow Tuttle Octopus:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/ITTF-Ap ... 93625.html

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/ITTF-Tu ... 81804.html

I guess I'll find out if it really is "Better than Butterf--- Tenerg--- "..

Iskandar

Taib, have you tried the Bvfferfly (or similarly written) series of blades and rubber?

I am a bit of a sucker for such bold statements as "better than the brand leader". It's not messing about.
I bought some Three Sword Leap with Blue Sponge, which is of course "better" than the brand leader. It is certainly the tackiest rubber I have ever used. And it keeps that tack for at least a year so far. It is very hard to play with, in terms of energy expenditure, so more H3 than H3 in a couple pf ways at least.
Of course, I have ordered some Red Dragon, but I splashed out and went for the red sponge on a Red sheet. My theory is that it will have some BTY-like characteristics, just not sure which ones. Anyway, I like the same colour on the sponge and the rubber.

_________________
Other setups:
SDC Custom Blade/Butterfly Dignics 80/Butterfly Glayzer
BTY Viscaria/Tibhar K3/Tibhar K3

Yeah, that's the problem. I'll now need to get a sheet of 05 just to compare with it..

Iskandar

Just received my Red Dragon with red sponge. First impressions are that it is does a good imitation of Tenergy rubber in look and feel. I have put in on the BH of my Dynasty Carbon, with T05 on the FH. I have been quite happy with the 05 on this blade, but less secure about BH, having tried some other Tensor rubbers of varying softness.
I won't be able to try it out until Monday night practice (This being Saturday afternoon here --Italy are playing Nederlands in WWC, second half 60 mins played.). But the bounce is very similar, as is the sound. I really would love this rubber to be a suitable replacement for 05.

_________________
Other setups:
SDC Custom Blade/Butterfly Dignics 80/Butterfly Glayzer
BTY Viscaria/Tibhar K3/Tibhar K3

Considering the difference in cost and the light weight, that would be good indeed. My guess is that, like a lot of rubbers, it will be maybe 90% like Tenergy but not exactly like it. Which will be good enough for 98% of the players out there (particularly for most of us hobbyists) but not for the top pros and especially not for some really picky hobbyists. Some of the latter might not even be able to tell the difference but if the rubber doesn't say "Tenergy" on it then it is of course inferior..

Iskandar