OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hello, all!

I am currently using a Donic Defplay Senso & thinking about changing rubbers soon. I'm using 729 FX Super Soft in 1.8 on the forehand & 729 755 LP in 0.6 on the backhand. Right now I play classic defense with mostly chopping on my forehand, but I want to start incorporating more loops/attacks into my game. I feel like I have pretty good control over my chops with this current rubber, but with this setup my attack is pretty slow. I thought it was just my technique (though of course I need to improve it), but I borrowed a friend's racket which had CJ8000's (Don't know the sponge hardness sadly) in max on an All/All+ blade (Don't remember what blade it was, unfortunately) and wow my loop speed was much faster and spinnier. Not only was my loop faster though, I felt like I had much better control over the loop is well; when I try to loop on my current racket, as I add more & more power at a certain point I lose all "feeling" of the loop. I doubt its actually bottoming out though, as 1.8 is still decently thick, the forehand rubber is still decently hard despite being called "super soft," and I'm not all that strong! Still, I figured once I change the rubbers it'd be good to experiment a bit!

ahh long story short, the rubbers I'm considering are:

-Hurricane 3 1.8
-Hurricane 3-50 soft (only available in max afaik)
-Hurricane 3-50 mid (only available in max afaik)
-Tackiness Drive 1.9
-Juic 999 defense 1.8
-Other suggestions welcome!

I've read up on some other defplay threads, and it seems that most people recommend harder rubbers since the blade is so soft & flexy, even for chopping (That's why I haven't considered some other popular chopping rubbers like Spinlord Marder or Tackiness Chop). I am mostly concerned with getting something that's too fast; I have no complaints with my current rubber in regards to chopping, but I'm hoping to optimize my ability to attack without sacrificing TOO much control on my chop. I suppose that's rather holistic; what is too fast/slow depends on the person. Has anyone had experience with keeping the sponge thickness the same with a harder sponge, or keeping a softer sponge with a larger thickness. Which had more effect on the control of your chop? Which gave a more powerful loop? Was there a middle ground? And most importantly, has anyone tried these rubbers with the Defplay Senso & what were your opinions?

This could be hard for to believe, but the Tenery 05 (less than max) makes for a pretty good chopping rubber, along with giving you some pretty decent attack options .... The fellow club-mate has one, and chops with it (but on his BH) , with a good amount of consistency .. I've tried it, on several occasions, and am surprised by it's (mine too) ability to chop ... I think, he uses it 1.7mm or 1.9mm, on an Allround blade.. Plus, it offers enough speed & spin to hit, or topspin for winners..

I've seen different Tenergys mentioned throughout different threads for the Defplay, and I believe chinese chopper Liu Fei also used Tenergy when she was using a Defplay... but its a little outside the price range of a lowly college student! Honestly, even something like Tackiness Drive is pushing the envelope. I've generally been looking at chinese-style rubbers because that's what I'm used to and don't want TOO big of a change. However, maybe another, less expensive tensor? In other Defplay senso threads I've seen people mention Donic Bluefire or some Xiom rubbers... too many options!

long term though I would definitely like to try Tenergy. I think one or two members at the club I frequent use it; perhaps I might be able to try theres!

EDIT: I also see you have a defplay setup. Do you chop on the forehand with it?

Would highly recommend the Nittaku Fastarc G-1. It's a hard, fast and direct rubber that pairs well with a soft balsa blade like the Defplay Senso, and if you get it in a medium (rather than max) thickness, the throw will be controlled enough that you'll be able to chop with it pretty well, while still being able to loop.

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I. Re-Impact Tachi Plus 2019; FH: Nittaku FastArc G-1 1.4mm; BH: Saviga 77 Monster OX
II. Re-Impact Turbo; FH: Spinlord Sandwind 1.5mm; BH: DMS Kamikaze OX
III. Re-Impact Smart; FH: TSP Spinpips RED 2.1mm; BH: Dr. Neubauer Gangster OX
IV. Sauer & Troger Firestarter; FH: Spinlord Waran 1.8mm; BH: Giant Dragon Snowflake OX

Hurricane H3 on a slow blade will require a lot of effort to achieve speed which will probably amplify the flex in the defplay blade.

Better from my experience of similar TSP blades to go a bit softer perhaps, rasanter R42 2mm,. Xiom Vega Asia Df 1.8mm or at top end tenergy 5fx 1.9mm. I found Asia Df 1.8mm to be quite good at fh chopping due to its grippy top sheet and gave lots of pace on a flexy all speed blade.

Okay, so H3 is probably out of the question. From those rubbers I'm guessing that something in ~medium hardness is what you recommend.



I'll keep the Fastarc in mind, but I should point out that I don't have the balsa version! That's the Defplay Classic Senso. I'm not sure what the core of the Defplay Senso is. In another thread someone mentioned either basswood or ayous, but I'm not sure what the effect of these different woods would have.

I think Donic Defplay Senso don't have balsa.

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Shiono was using bluefire jp01going back a few years there's an interview on the forum where he states this,haven't used it myself I used t05 on Defplay which worked ok

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Tsp Black Balsa 3.0 Tenergy 05 1.9 388d ox black

I've actually been looking through what pros used on their defplay sensos! In addition to Shiono and the aforementioned Liu Fei, Wu Yang used either skyline 2 or 3 on her Defplay, but with a ~35 degree sponge (using DHS scale). Apparently translated to roughly 42 degrees for euro/jap rubbers, which again fits with the Vega Asia DF and Rasanter suggestions ChasFox recommended. I think Bluefire JP 01 is in a similar hardness as well, but I'm not 100% certain. Not sure what hardness tenergy 05 is though, but I imagine its close to that.

Its looking like medium hardness sponge really is the way to go. At this point I'm sure any of the suggestions will suffice for what I'm looking for, but the TT club I frequent closed down due to the coronavirus. I may hold off on purchasing since I can't use it anyways, plus one of them might go on sale in the mean time

I used Xiom Vega Japan on the FH of my Defplay for years. It was great for attacking and chopping. I have used a Victas Koji Matsushita for 4 or 5 years now, and Vega Japan works great on it as well. I used to play 2.0mm but switched to max a couple of years ago. Chopping was the same, but offensive capabilities went up a notch.

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Blade: Victas Koji Matsushita FL
FH: Xiom Vega Japan Max
BH: TSP P1-R 1.0mm
USATT Rating: 2013

Vega Japan seems to be in line with the others' recommendations (medium-hardness sponged tensor in ~1.8/2.0/max).

I ended up going with the Bluefire JP01 as I found it on sale. It's sponge was actually medium-hard (48 degrees by Donic's scale) which was a little harder than what I wanted. I recently switched to Gambler Burst as I needed to replace my dad's rubbers & it was cheaper than buying another tensor sheet. Burst's hardness is pretty similar to JP01, though its decently tacky.

Down the line I'll try out medium-hardness rubbers like Vega Japan or Rasanter R42, but right now I've been recording myself play & working on technique. Once I'm satisfied with technique I'll come back & try out rubbers again.

Another rubber you should consider is V>15 Extra in 2.0 (not max). It's basically a "default" choice for TSP/Victas sponsored players (including many extremely talented up and coming kids choppers in Japan). It's not too bouncy, pretty linear, medium-hard, and in capable hands can produce Hurricane-levels of spin on loops. It requires a pretty decent technique though as weak out of balance shots will result in weak, not very spinny balls.

Watch The Chopper's channel, he has it on his FH and chops with it quite well.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqxHlZqm1itzhbarPUkJBaw/videos

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