OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Interesting that Higher III is actually harder than Higher. I noticed on my sheet that it was at least as hard as the 729 Transcend I bought along with it. I actually thought (and still suspect) it was the exact same sponge, which had me a little miffed.

Isn't III supposed to be softer and spinnier than Higher (at least according to marketing)?

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W1 Inspirit Quattro Higher III

I didn't even notice this myself

I think you'll find that in general the Higher III sponges are softer, but there seems to be quite a bit of variation between batches of 'higher I' rubbers, the latest batch is a fair bit softer than earlier batches...

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OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
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Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

Hi HaggisV, what would be the hardest rubber in the shop?

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the re-evolution of war
Bty Gergely Palio Macro Era 42.5 Max DHS H2 Max

The globe 999 Nat and H2 are right up there. Also got a Tulpe rubber rated at 48-50deg, but I have not measured it yet. G888 is hard too, XP does not seem as hard...

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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

@haggisv:

some people state, that there are two different scales to measure the hardness of a sponge, the chinese scale and the japanese / european scale. I don't understand that. Isn't Shore a standard? If so, there should only be one scale, else we wouldn't need a standard. So how come there are two scales?

Yes, Shore is a standard, but these are different standards.

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Chasse Patate

Just wondering: I feel Sriver EL's sponge unglued is about as hard as 39-deg H2. Is that normal?

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.:[:. YEO : H2 - Coppa JO-G .:]:.

Hello friends. I noticed defferent standart too. More euro producer marked rubber with shore degrees. 45-46 degrees is normal top offensive sponge. I have catalog from tibhar. torpedo's sponge marked 45 degree, spidy spin too, rapid - 42.5 degree, rapid x press - 45+ .
Joola brand use the same mark: 45 degree for mambo C and many more rubbers.
In butterflyonline use other standart. For sriver L - 38 degree, bryce hard - 38 too, bryce speed - 38 too, sriver G2 - 36 degree.
I reach a conclusion that chinese use such standart
In "Sponge hardness table" for faster German and faster III - 38 and 39 degree. These rubbers have german sponge (I think top). Bye.

Hi, did you measure the blue sponge or the yellow one (if there's any difference in hardness)?

So, the levels range from 28 to 45. How could this range be split to categorize sponges as low/medium/high hardness?

I think in general for sponges in any form, would have to be harder the sponge the lower the throw

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the re-evolution of war
Bty Gergely Palio Macro Era 42.5 Max DHS H2 Max

I would think
Soft: 35deg or less
Medium: 36-40
Hard: 40+

Is that what you meant?

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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

Yes, exactly, thanks. I am sure where the dividing lines are is somewhat subjective but it is good to know the general idea. Also the sponge hardness alone may be the biggest factor in giving a rubber its soft/medium/hard "feel" but does the top sheet significantly contribute to the overall feel or are they (the top sheets) all, for the most part, flexible (soft)?

You see I am trying to match blade stiffness with rubber hardness according to the magic rule (soft rubber on hard blade, hard rubber on soft blade) and I am a little uncertain if I can use the sponge hardness by itself or rather the overall (sponge + top sheet) feel of the rubber.

Any advice is most welcome.

Thanks.

.

Sponge hardness is a good guide and the biggest contributor on how hard a rubber feels, but the topsheet definitely effects it as well...

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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

heyy everyone, would like to know more about the hardness of sponges. So the harder the sponge the more energy is stored in the sponge and so when the harder sponge is hit, it releases the energy? and if the sponge is softer, then the ball would dig into the pimples under the topsheet in the case of an inverted rubber thus creating making more spin? as far as i know i, thats my understanding of sponges in the case of Inverted rubbers. but what is the story of sponges on long pips?