OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I can't find much directly comparing 7 and Z, has anyone played with both? I'm mainly wondering how they compare in terms of reacting to opponents spin, I figure Z will be more reactive?
I'm using Mark V right now, but to get the ball to have any decent speed or spin it seems like I'm really having to get after it. I just started playing again so I wanted to start out with something safe. I recently found one of my old paddles and realized I was playing with hurricane 3 and tin arc on a pre built dhs paddle. It seems like I remember being able to loop a lot easier with that, but it was also half a lifetime ago.
I feel like Rakza will be a good step up for me and I would prefer more spin at the cost of a little speed as long as I could still control spinny shots sent my way.
Thank you!

Rakza Z is slower, spinnier, feels more "dead", heavier, much more reactive to spin, takes more effort to produce speed.

If you play with a longer stroke, getting your body in the correct position, the Rakza Z will be more effective.

If you want something safe, Rakza 7 is it. Easier to produce a ball that lands on the table, particularly if you haven't played for a while

(edit - if you were able to play with Hurricane 3, Rakza Z would be a closer match)

Thanks for the reply! My experience with hurricane was 15 years ago, but I remember that paddle being by far my favorite out of the few pre builts I bought. I think it was model 6002? I'd have to check to be sure.
The only thing is, when I had that paddle I was just playing against a small group of competitive friends. Since I've picked it back up, I've found a club with some EXTREMELY good players. I don't remember having trouble with spinny shots back then with the hurricane rubber, but if rakza Z is going to be quite a bit more reactive to spin than 7, I know that would put me at a disadvantage with the guys I'm playing with now. Like you said, 7 seems like a really safe bet. The reviews I've read rave about it being great all around. I like the idea of having all the spin, but I also like getting the ball on the table lol

EDIT: I just noticed you're playing with 7 soft, how do you like that? Going from mark v to 7 soft would still be a great jump in speed and I would get a little more spin and control over the regular 7, correct? I really like the feeling on my forehand when the ball sinks into the rubber long enough to work my hand around the ball, seems like I would get more of that with the soft

I really like Rakza 7 Soft - more control than R7. A similar rubber is Andro Powergrip SFX.

A slightly faster and spinnier rubber would be Joola Maxxx-P. All controlable, and faster and spinnier than Mark V. They all feel like they sink into the sponge, which is the feeling I like as well

Razka 7 is more similar to Mark V, but will be faster and have greater power than Mark V.

I currently play with razka Z, unboosted, and I think razka Z is certainly better at controlling my opponents spin and I (and I may be in a minority) think Razka Z is more powerful overall than razka 7. But I am going by memory, as I have not played with razka 7 for a number of years. Razka Z has a harder sponge and I think that overcomes the tackiness that slows the rubber down some.

But if you like mark V and want an upgrade razka 7 is a definite upgrade.

I’m currently playing with Rakza Z Extra Hard and have been on/off with it for the past 3 years. I always seem to come back to it. I have tested Rakza Z and Rakza 7 within the past year or so.

Rakza Z/Rakza Z EH have the exact same sticky topsheet, only difference is the sponge hardness. Rakza 7 has a grippy type topsheet with a slightly softer though still considered mid-hard 47.5 deg sponge.

Rakza 7 has a faster initial speed and as it is grippy type, the catapult comes through clearer in slow to medium fast shots. People may associate this with control due to the ease of use. It is also less reactive to spin as there is no tackiness/stickiness to grab the ball that’s found in Z variants.

As the topsheet is less spin reactive it stands to reason R7 generates less spin vs RZ.

R7 is great if you have a really brushy type loop, I’ve found practice partners using R7 both sides that can generate extreme amounts of spin with it. 1 uses Carbo 7.6 and the other Jun Mizutani. This says to me it pairs really well with limba blades, though I can confirm R7 works perfectly for me on backhand on koto woods (Viscaria).

Top end speed with a half brush/half hit loop both Rakza Z’s are faster with higher ball quality. I’ve received feedback the ball kicks up more noticeably particularly with ZEH when I execute correctly.

Flat hit smashing I feel R7 is faster and safer due to the lack of stickiness holding it back.

Blocking is really subjective and depends what you are comfortable with. R7 is much better for passive blocking where you focus on your bat angle pressing downwards while with the stickiness and harder sponge active blocking with RZ feels better (where the focus is controlling your opponents spin by overcoming it with your own - bat angle stroke relaxing slightly upwards)

Rakza Z break in period is around 2-4 sessions when the initial high stickiness wears off and becomes very consistent with only a slight tack. I like it best between 1-3 months old as it gets faster. Topsheet starts wearing out by 4th month, playing 3 times weekly.

No break in period with R7 it’s good to go straight away. Durability is excellent, can go for 4-6 months or 1 season.

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ZFT

Thanks for all the replies guys! After reading through them, the statement that really stuck out to me was about 7 being better at passive blocking and Z shining at active blocking. When I first found the club, I was trying to block by closing the face. The ball never seemed to come off the paddle the same way twice when I was playing the really high spin guys. One of the better players told me to just hit through it, so I started trying that and saw pretty good results. I guess I would say I'm more on an active blocker now that I think about it. I guess now I'm between 7 soft and Z

EDIT: after playing tonight, I think I'm just going to change my forehand first in case I'm way out in left field with the new rubber, I'll only waste money on one sheet. I have Mark V M2 on my backhand and it still feels playable to me. I just recently started figuring out how to really generate good power with my backhand too, so I'm not pushing the rubber as hard. I'm open to suggestions, I don't mind trying a couple before I figure out what I like.
I really appreciate the help, if there's any more info I can give please ask!

I also like 918's observation on active blocking. Which is one reason I have a problem that tacky rubbers "react to spin" more than non-tacky rubbers. Certainly with a passive return a tacky rubber will react more, but when you understand spin and know how to counteract or use your opponents spin, then tacky rubbers have more control. All IMO.

Yeah I found that too, if you are absolutely set on hybrid rubbers and have trouble with spin sensitivity, pairing with crisp blades solves it abit by reducing the contact time for the stickiness to grab onto the ball.

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ZFT

I guess sharing my blade would have helped lol. I'm playing with a Tibhar force black edition. I got it because its large all around (big hands) and it was all wood. I really like it! Great feel and the handle fits my hand great

I played a season with rakza z in fh and rakza 7 in bh. I would say rakza 7 is a bit easier to use but more difficult to get real penatrating power. I get more of that with rakza z.

Now i´m playing rakza z and anti, but twiddling. Bh attacks feels less safe, but when i accelerate and do a goos active stroke, quality is better.

If you´re just developing i would use rakza 7. You just can´t go wrong with that ...

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Yeah 7 seems to work for pretty much everyone, I might just start there. PRW makes the 7 soft sound pretty good though, as far as I can tell the only drawback is less speed? I would be ok with that, it'd still be quite a bit speedier than Mark V

EDIT: Looks like I'm going to replace my forehand rubber sooner rather than later. I have our personal table set up in a shop we use to store motorcycles/ATVs. I got a little carried away going after a really good smash my GF got in on me and hit a plastic ATV fender. It banged it up pretty good, luckily it was the side I'm planning on replacing first and it didn't do anything to my blade!

I have a sheet of R7S on the way. I'm going to replace the Mark V on my forehand, leaving the Mark V M2 on the backhand. If I like Rakza I guess ill swap the soft to BH and go with normal on FH? I dunno, we will see. Really excited to see how it feels

EDIT: I hate to keep dragging this thread out, but I had to comment on the R7S. WOW is it good! It has done just about everything I've asked it to do and I'm getting a ton more balls on the table as a result. I flipped my paddle to try it out on the backhand and it feels a little soft for my taste. I'm thinking regular 7 for the BH when the MVM2 quits working for me.Thank you guys for the help and knowledge, I really appreciate it!

I've been using Rakza Z (regular) for about 8 months after a few years on Rakza 7. Mostly forehand for both, but I changed to Rakza Z for BH as well after noticing it gave me a higher topspin arc than the Tibhar Quantum X Pro I'd been using on that side.

For me, Rakza Z is less sensitive to incoming service spin than Rakza 7, and gives me more return options and overall, a better short game. I'm also landing more loops - the control is just better than Rakza 7 because Z is a bit more linear. Blocking seems easier with Z.

Z is heavier, though, and I felt its looping consistency might have been affected on a particularly humid playing night.

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"Once you get past a certain threshold, everyone's problems are the same: fortifying your island and hiding the heat signature from your fusion reactor." –Doctor Impossible

I'm playing currently with Rakza Z. What's it like? It's OK.. I find it hard to describe rubbers, to tell the truth, I can't really tell them apart a lot of the time. Rakza Z is tacky (and unlike Chinese sheets where the tackiness - the glue applied to the surface - wears off, it's permanently tacky), this probably accounts for why people say it's slower. These days I play more of a touch game rather than an attacking game (more pushes and blocks and medium speed flat drives, more aiming for corners rather than trying to loop a lot), but I notice my lifting of backspin and blocking of topspin shots have gotten better. I think this is more due to our new table rather than the rubber, though. Played with Rakza 7 several rubbers ago... Right before the Rakza Z I was using Reactor Tornado V5.

Considering what to buy next. Maybe one of those Donic Bluegrips... I never buy the same expensive rubber twice..

Iskandar