OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Ok...the dreaded day has come. I hadn't played since my last update about a week ago. Yesterday I played again and within half an hour my forehand rubber developed a cluster of 4-5 bubbles right smack in the middle of my blade. Bubbles are growing in size (almost as we speak...LOL) with every hit. This is, unfortunately, very disappointing as the way the bubbles form is exactly the same way it did on the old outlaw from 6 years ago. The black rubber is still fine on my backhand, but then...i'm mostly a forehand player. Thought I'd update. So...the search goes on.

While I'm at it...anyone tried 729 Battle I and can compare it to the Outlaw? Would that be a good alternative? If not, what is? Karate Hard was pretty good, but I remember that it, too, developed bubbles after a while.

That's disappointing. You'll have to take it up with Zerospong... will be interesting to hear what they have to say.

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Yeah...already sent the email with the photo as proof. We'll see what happens.

Alright..got reply. He's sending me a new rubber, Friendship Battle I to replace the bubbled outlaw. I requested that rubber before discovering yesterday that Mark V on a fast blade is actually a great solution for what I need.

In any case, Tom says that this problem does not occur with the majority of the people out there (and by that I assume he means lower rated player without heavy strokes) and that changing the pip structure to remedy the problem (breaking pips) changes the characteristics of the rubber. In other words...the bubbling problem is not going away. I did notice, though, how great the topsheet is compared to the old outlaw...after 3 weeks of pretty heavy play it barely showed any signs of aging and was super grippy still.

You have any new outlaw left, you know my stroke won't cause the bubble no matter how hard I try!

Unfortunately no new one. But my black one on the backhand still has no bubble. If you want I can give that one to you...as long as you don't mind the fact that I cut it upside down so that there is no brand name, ITTF approval stamp or anything really on it.

I don't play tournaments, it is ok. Black is perfect color for me anyway.
Thanks!

Alright...you'll have to wait a little Tat. I had the rubber with me yesterday but (miraculously...LOL) you weren't at the club. Today I got my replacement rubber for the bubbled Outlaw from Zeropong (729 Battle) and I'm going to put it on the same blade as the black outlaw to test it and compare both. After that you can have the outlaw.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to stick with the Mark Vs and the fast European Korbel, but you never know.

That would be a very useful comparison!

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OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

Sorry, when it rains, I never want to drive in the freeway during rush hour. Will definitely going to the club picnic this Saturday at noon.

Ok, done testing the Friendship Battle in various matches today. About the same speed as a Gambler Outlaw...feels softer overall, has a much more pronounced glue effect (and quite loud), very spinny. Overall a great rubber to play with. BUT...and this is a HUGE "but"....the rubber bubbled within less than 2 hours of play. Huge bubble. When I was cutting the rubber to attach it to my bade I noticed that it was very easy to separate the rubber from the sponge (by just pulling a little) with the cut out rubber pieces. I figured that the rubber would bubble easily because of that, but still gave it a chance. Unfortunately I was right. This really sucks...such a good rubber but such a gad glue job and quality control...shame on you Friendship! So disappointed....going to contact Tom at Zeropong and tell him about it.

And Tat...the gambler outlaw is waiting for you in my bag. Although...at its edges the rubber is separating from the sponge, too.

Sounds like Outlaw and Battle may use the same technology, which is not surprising as it all comes form the same place.

_________________
OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

Not sure...the glue effect of the Battle is definitely much more pronounced and the sound is loud...with outlaw you barely hear a sound most of the time. Maybe it's the different hardness levels. Although...Battle is not really a soft rubber either. And the way they form bubbles is even different....With Outlaw the pips seem to break in the middle...whereas with Battle the glue job is so bad that the pips just detach from the sponge.

Oh yeah..they both do come with a quite pronounced reverse dome...however the dome on the Battle is even more pronounced.

Here is the picture by the way. The visible bubble is rather large..but there are even larger areas where the topsheet is detaching from the sponge (smack in the middle of racket) but it's not a visible bubble yet (unless you press sideways with your finger).

Thanks for the update topspinschuss! Very useful information, even though some of the news is bad.

_________________
OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide