OOAK Table Tennis Forum

This isn't really going to be my usual more detailed review for a number of reasons.
1. I have already reviewed Coppa Speed and liked it to the point where it's become my FH choice.
2. I'm preparing for International competition so I cant really be fooling around too many new rubbers for a while.
3. I'm getting lazy.

Question: Has any rubber really ever been released and subsequently re-released with a softer sponge, ever been a success?
Well sriver was followed by sriver-fx,Mark V by Mark V GPS, Bryce by BFX and in response to popular demand Tenergy is going to be available in the FX version as well (Oh dear me, I shouldn't have mentioned Tenergy, now my post is going to be hijacked by the religious faction that jumps into every post on the internet that includes the word 'Tenergy')
Someone suggested to me what the letters 'FX' stand for,but I cant tell you as this is a family forum.
It leads us to wonder why do the companies released FX'ed versions of thier rubbers.
Here's my answer.
As players get better (offensive players that is,) we tend to value power in our rubber sheets more than control to the point where most pros use and prefer harder sponges.
Most beginners to intermediate players want to try the same rubber as the pros use and they tend to find these rubbers a bit too hard for their liking, so invariable they will ask their dealers to try to get the rubber but with a softer sponge.
Its all about marketing.
When I first reviewed Coppa Speed, I loved the power but I thought the dwell was too limited and I thought this rubber would be even better with a softer sponge.
And so do a lot of other people.
So today I tried a brand new sheet of Coppa Speed with medium sponge affixed to my usual blade with Andro water based glue.
The weight of the cut sheet was definitely lighter (as expected).
I found counterhitting to be a real problem as the rebound on this rubber is very low. I hit a lot of balls into the net.
Tried a few loop drives but it took a lot of effort out of me to produce my usual power. I had to be stroking very very uppishly as the throw was so low, I found my self consciously trying to avoid dumping the ball into the net with every stroke.
Counterloops did not have a lot of thrust but my partner had difficulty countering with me as he said although I was not generating any speed, I was producing tremendous topspin which he found difficult to control.
Attacking pushes and chops was not so easy as with regular Coppa Speed, I would say 70% efficiency.
I cant say my serves were affected too much. Its the same topsheet so thats understandable.
I know this isn't the politically correct thing to say but for me, I think this rubber would be better with some tuning.(Dima, please call me).
So there it is, the shortened review of CS Med. Personally I'm a little disappointed as I had high hopes for this rubber but in all fairness, I think it will be good for people who found CS too hot to handle but still want to generate massive spin on loops and serves but with a slower (80%) sponge.
When I get back into EJ mode again, I will be doing the much awaited Acuda vs Vega Pro review (Acuda here Vega on the way) as well as the T05FX review (Oh Jesus, I said 'Tenergy' again), I know I'm gonna be slaughtered....

Petermoo

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Gergeley Carbon
Acuda S1 Max (black)
JO Silver 2.0mm (red)
petermoo.blogspot.com

Thanks for the review petermoo!

I have not heard of the Coppa speed on medium sponge, is this a pre-release sample, or does it come under a different name perhaps?

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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

Coppa Speed on medium Sponge just became available in Europe a few weeks ago and I already got an early production sheet.
It should be available worldwide soon.


Petermoo

_________________
Gergeley Carbon
Acuda S1 Max (black)
JO Silver 2.0mm (red)
petermoo.blogspot.com

Is it one of the Donic Coppa X1, X2 or X3 perhaps?

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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

No its not.
Those other rubbers are all German made Tensors. Coppa Speed is a Japanese made rubber as is the medium sponge version.
Petermoo

_________________
Gergeley Carbon
Acuda S1 Max (black)
JO Silver 2.0mm (red)
petermoo.blogspot.com

Thanks for the review Peter, not as detailed as you usually do, but still enough to give us some idea about the difference between the two rubbers.

Did you find any noticeable difference in service return with the softer sponge. And I would have expected the throw to be higher with softer sponge but you say it is lower, it could be because the top sheet is not as soft or thin as some other rubbers.

I think Coppa Speed on a softer sponge would not really be a very good idea, because control is not really a problem with the harder sponge and it actually makes it great in the short game and fairly good as far as insensitivity to incoming spin is concerned.

The power loss you mention is a major point here.

Maybe the softer sponge would make for a better back-hand rubber you think?

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1-ply Hinoki Club
Violin/Acoustic Clan
Recreational/Club Player
Local Press Club (Journalists) Champion

The speed of a Rhino and the power of a Gazelle!!!!
http://xtrariter.blogspot.com

I think the softer sponge is wasted on the Coppa Speed because the topsheet is so tight and thick they really dont work together on my blade (hard carbon).
Normally with a pliable topsheet , a softer sponge should produce a higher throw but in my hands I did not observe this, in fact I was actually straining to overcome the tendency to underhit.
Maybe after some working in and softening of the topsheet this will happen but for now I call it how i see it.
I think this rubber would be superior in the shorter game and due to the reduced rebound it certainly is.
Probably CS med is better for BH as you suggest.

Petermoo

_________________
Gergeley Carbon
Acuda S1 Max (black)
JO Silver 2.0mm (red)
petermoo.blogspot.com