OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Friends!

I wanted to put Friendship 802-40 short pips back into my game. But my 1.8mm sponge is a bit too slow. So I glued a .6mm sponge to the back of the 1.8mm and WOW it has increased the speed and spin MORE than expected!

I waited 3 days for the glue to dry before I played. So the speed and spin are not actually created by wet glue.

Speed is increased so much that it makes my 802-40 the best rubber for my game that I have tried.

I’m a happy ponger now!

This probably could be done on any rubber, as long as it fits into the MAX allowed thickness. Most inverted rubbers appear to have a topsheet of 1.4mm or 1.5mm. And a player could add their .5mm or .6mm sponge to a 1.7, 1.8, 1.9 or 2.0 sponge. MAX allowable is 4mm for topsheet and sponge.

BAM BAM!!

This can be a solution!!

This is like a friend of mine at the club, he added sponge in his Troublemaker making it 2.5mm sponge and he’s more dangerous than before.

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instagram: rokphishtt

Certainly a fun experiment with interesting results, but I don't believe it is technically allowed for officially sanctioned competitions according to ITTF handbook section 2.4.3.2- "Sandwich rubber is a single layer of cellular rubber covered with a single outer layer of ordinary pimpled rubber, the thickness of the pimpled rubber not being more than 2.0mm." If memory serves me correct, KTL made a couple rubbers that featured dual density-layered sponges that were consequently removed from circulation due to 2.4.3.2, I believe they were called Golden Star and Loop Star.

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SPW/Solo

Yes you are correct!

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Lkt Gold Star using a combination of two sponge layers melted together. ITTF stays quiet indifferent about this crazy "innovation".

It (gold star) was ITTF approved. It was nothing special let me tell you. I tried both of them.

Yes you're right, it was ITTF approved. I think only the topsheet was submitted in those days, so they would not have even seen the sponge.

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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

It's still true, I think - the approval applies to the topsheet, not the sponge. And it pertains to the dimensions and configuration of the pips (they don't check for tackiness, etc.). There are regulations when it comes to layers of sponge, gradient sponges and colors of sponge that you are allowed to use with colors of topsheet, but I think these are handled separately.

If you go back to the 1980s and 90s, Donic sold, initially, a sheet with a hard layer of sponge below a soft layer of sponge - the next year they switched it to a sponge with a hardness gradient. And Butterfly was selling versions of Sriver etc. with "Kawatsuki Sponge" - which, as near as we could tell, included the "skin" which was up against the surface of the block as it came out of the mold.

Iskandar

In China, there are all sorts of sheets sold outside of the ITTF approval system. I'll bet, if you wanted to improve on what's available, just sell it in 4.5 or 5mm thickness - it'll outperform all the other "legal" sheets, and it'd sell like hotcakes once word gets out. Especially with the new 40+ balls, everyone was complaining rubber was no longer "fast enough", so I don't think 4mm is anywhere near the maximum of usability.

Iskandar