OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hi,

I'm trying the Palio AK47 blue, and i like it very much. I want to try various sponge hardness, to see what i like. I have the red one coming in a few days, and i think i will order the yellow.

I would like to know what is the ESN equivalent sponge hardness for these rubbers (asking for a friend who want to try expensive rubbers ).

AK47 blue 38-40 = ? ESN
AK47 yellow 42-44 = ? ESN
AK47 red 45-47 = ? ESN

Thanks.

Hi,

Most sponges are graded for hardness, using the Shore Hardness Scale, and a measuring instrument called a Durometer.. Shore hardness is the measure of a material’s resistance to penetration and/or indentation. It tells you how hard a material is and how much applied force it can withstand.

Different types/categories of materials have different hardness & strength properties.. Therefore, to provide a more precise grading of the hardness of various materials, there are different shore hardness scales, namely Shore A, B, C, D, 0, 00. Use your Google-Fu to learn more about the Shore Hardness Scale.

Now, as far as TT Sponge-hardness is concerned, almost all manufacturers use either the Shore A scale or the Shore C scale (There are a few that don't follow any scale) ... Don't know why they use different scales, and not just a common one.. Word is that, Butterfly, Nittaku, DHS, use Shore A, whilst ESN uses Shore C.. Which is probably why most Euro Tensors report sponge-hardness based on the Shore C scale.

Check the following conversion chart to convert Shore C (On the Left) to Shore A (on the right)

Thank you,

I tried two ESN rubber, one with a sponge hardness of 52.5 degree FH and the other one 47.5 degree on BH. These things are on another level compared to the palio .

The speed and spin is incredible, and with good control. So much fun to play.

I will see how long they last, but for now i'm very happy.

It depends on what ESN rubber you comparing with which Palio (AK-47) rubber...

Cornilleau Target Pro XD VS AK47 red... A french company selling a Made in Germany rubber, we know they are from ESN.

Of course it's not really fair to compare both, the price range is really not the same. I have 2x peformance increase for 3x the price.

AK47 Red is not very hard. I think it's 45-47 is similar to German tensor rubbers scale.