OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Got to play with the black Sternenfall today. It is a great rubber that has a low trajectory when blocking off the bounce. However, the trajectory varies with other strokes and is not as consistent as Talon. The braking effect is not as good as on Talon. Overall, it is one of the better long pips rubbers. I will use it a little more soon.. I still prefer Talon but Eternenfall is a good rubber based on my first impressions.

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2010 Florida State Champion
Dr. Neubauer Firewall Plus with DHS G888 1.8 mm and Giant Dragon Dragon Talon OX National Team

what about the spin reversal ?

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BTY Amultart, BH: Superblock red OX, FH: Tenergy 05 2.1mm

I and assumed

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Blade: Libero TTL (Hand made)
Forehand:SPINLORD Marder 1.2 (Black)
Backhand: Sword Scylla (Ox+ 0. (Red)

It's moderate.. Not a whole lot..

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2010 Florida State Champion
Dr. Neubauer Firewall Plus with DHS G888 1.8 mm and Giant Dragon Dragon Talon OX National Team

Tried the RED version of the rubber yesterday and I have to say that I like it a lot. The trajectory is more consistent than the black version.. It's the best Spinlord rubber yet in my opinion. It's very good to attack against underspin and blocks very good and low.. sometimes even too low.. I blocked frequently into the net but that can be changed by blocking with a little more open blade.. All in all, a very good rubber for close to the table blocking.. It still does not have the dampening effect of Talon or DtecS but it's still a great rubber....

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2010 Florida State Champion
Dr. Neubauer Firewall Plus with DHS G888 1.8 mm and Giant Dragon Dragon Talon OX National Team

My first impressions of Sternenfall (SF) after 3 years with Dornenglanz (DG).
SF noticeably slower.
SF is much less spin sensitive.
SF is better for any straight shots: block, deep push, any hit.
DG is better for roll shots and any "topspin" arc shots.
DG is more dangerous in passive play.
SF has safer blocks and shorter return.
SF has better control for chops. (Not sure which is better in quality of chops).
SF has better control for drop shot, but DG has opportunity to drop shorter due arc.
DG is easier to glue due attached protective film.
SF has package cover with description printed in my native Russian language :)
Overall SF is simpler to use actively, but lucks some DG tricks opportunities.

What I dislike in DG:
Changing its playing properties during its short lifetime.
Changing its playing properties during game session in dirty or dump conditions.

Thanks omit, that's a great comparison!


Is that not the case with SF?

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'Omut' is a deep spot in a river in Russian. :)
The former is promoted by manufacturer. Time will tell.
I am almost sure about the second. Stickiness of DG is very variable thing. I think stickiness is a huge part of its desruption factor.

I did not test many different LPs, but IMHO SF and DG are rather different then similar in their playing style.

I think that SF is good for hardbat players. I can remember similar direct control feelings with Friendship Dr. Evil ox, except Dr. Evil was much more spin sensitive on service recieve.

And these quiet deep spots are where devils and other evil spirits lurk

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USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

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Blade: Libero TTL (Hand made)
Forehand:SPINLORD Marder 1.2 (Black)
Backhand: Sword Scylla (Ox+ 0. (Red)

_________________
Blade: Libero TTL (Hand made)
Forehand:SPINLORD Marder 1.2 (Black)
Backhand: Sword Scylla (Ox+ 0. (Red)

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Blade: Libero TTL (Hand made)
Forehand:SPINLORD Marder 1.2 (Black)
Backhand: Sword Scylla (Ox+ 0. (Red)

I have used this 5 or 6 times in 1.0 (Red) on a Spinlord Ultra Carbon Def (which is about OFF-):

· Good control all-around
· Not much reversal
· Ball contact time is lower than average; more of a shorter contact/stroke rubber
· Grippy but maximum spin level is not as high as some
· Elastic feel, medium-soft (they say hard.. I mean I know this is more sponge than I historically use but.. doesn't feel hard to me overall)
· Easy to passive block (racket angle more inverted like, it kills the spin and does not reverse), sends it back low and flat, but a bit slow, not disruptive, ball quality is weak
· You can punch through or roll over topspin somewhat, don't expect winners against good opponents or anything but placement can set something up
· You can hit through light underspin, good attacks are possible here and these can actually be dangerous (of the flat and fast variety, not funky)
· A bit sensitive to heavy underspin so more of a controlled lifting flick is good to stay offensive
· Or, pushing against push is like with a grippy rubber (so do a proper push, not a bump), stays low-ish, has okay spin, doesn't float up like a reversal pip
· There is enough grip to handle dead balls okay, whether attacking or even "looping" them, push/chopping them, whatever
· Chop blocking a decent loop at the table is hard to control and will not produce heavy spin, not recommended unless desperate for variation once in awhile
· Chopping though is actually pretty passable; decent control, enough spin to not get consistently pulverized, however feels more like the fallback plan and not the main style of this rubber

Overall I quite like it as a control rubber for close to the table play that leans more on the offensive side, which can emergency chop once or twice if forced to. Stylistically it is borderline leaning medium pip, albeit a quite slow one. You need active hands/strokes and some skills because playing passively results in weak balls.

I have liked Spinlord Ultra Carbon DEF (162x155, 83g) at the table long enough that I wanted to commit to trying the smaller regular Ultra Carbon (155x152, ended up 81g) as well. Only one session but will post a quick comment because I will not play for another 2+ weeks. The size difference is very noticable and this plays more powerful, stiffer, solid, more like an OFF blade despite the low weight. This has made Sternenfall 1.0 even more like a medium pip, much faster which reduces some of the main weakness before of slow, weak blocks. Great for blocking, hitting, still high control, spinny enough to push decently, chop block has become better though I didn't prove that out too much as it isn't generally my style, and chopping is harder but still possible in an emergency (but why bother, stay close and you are plenty stable). Pretty impressed with this, though maybe this belongs in the medium pip forum now.