OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Here's an interesting item:

https://www.gamblertt.com/show-all-rubb ... p-351.html



I got confirmation - for $10 (or $12) you get TWO sheets - it comes without the wrapping, just like Chinese "training rubber". And at these prices, they're competitive price-wise with the likes of Batwings, Yinhe 9000, Kokutaku 868, etc. and you can afford to buy a stack of sheets for your club (or for a rebound board.. ). I'll bet QC is better, too. Shipping in the US is $1 a package if you only order rubber (I assume this is true even if your order 20 sheets). These are sheets which are used on their pre-made racket line, and they sell them like this because people have been asking for replacement sheets. If I were in the US I'd order some. What rubbers can you get? Aces, Shadow, Wraith and Zero (the latter two are $12 a pair of sheets). With the standard sponges, I'd assume, and max sponge thickness only (ask - you probably don't want to be stuck with several sheets of 1.5mm..). Aces is super-tacky, Shadow and Wraith are tacky, Zero is non-tacky. Aces looks like the spinny-as-heck serve rubber (maybe like Reactor Corbor, which is also ultra-sticky to begin with), Shadow would be for allround control, Wraith for aggressive over the table, Aces for looping away from the table.

I like the way the stacks of rubber are floating in mid-air..

Iskandar

Don't forget to add to that the fact that some of the rubber need a break-in period before it reaches it's peak performance, and this gets complicated in a hurry. Some players automatically boost before even trying a new sheet out. Some use rubber cement still, while others only use WBG. Some put a stack of books on a newly glued blade or put it in a press, and then some just slap it on and go play.

There is a reason no one can agree on what the fastest, most spinney, best rubber is. And even if they do agree for a minute, something new and shinny will come out soon to upset the whole chart.

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Xiom Hayabusa Z+; Victas V-15 Stiff (Black) Max; Spinlord Keiler (Red) 1.5 mm

I think part of the reason why it's difficult is that the differences between rubbers is miniscule a lot of the time. For instance, all the German sheets are made by one company in one factory, no matter what brand it's sold under. Likewise there's a similar factory in Japan, and in China there's maybe 3 or 4 that OEM for a lot of others. So in the end it doesn't matter anywhere near as much as us hobbyists would like to think it does.. Brett said it best - apparently to pros there's only 3 types of rubber - Tenergy, European and Chinese.

Iskandar

There could be only 3 types of rubber (if we want to ignore antis and various types of pips which are very different), but the rubbers within the same type aren't all the same.
For example, Tenergy pros do not all use 05 on both sides. Some use FX, some use 64 or 80 or whatever other models there are. Some even use Dignics.
Similarly, Tibhar sponsored pros not all use MX-P. Some use FX-P or MX-S. This means they can not only tell the difference between ESN rubbers, but even between the rubbers within the same product line. And I believe it is possible to see that difference for us mere mortals, too.

Well, yeah, we were discussing conventional inverted rubbers only when Brett made the comment. It's worth looking back at those posts - it's in that gigantic thread about how to do strokes properly. Maybe a year back.. There was quite a bit of analysis - apparently there is some reason why more pros aren't using Tensors over Tenergy - there's some sort of slippage problem. And Chinese rubbers have some sort of problem that crops up occasionally when it comes to killing high lobs (supposedly why Chinese players flip the bat around when killing high lobs). Brett almost never discusses equipment, which makes this rather notable.

I'm sure there are differences within the types, in fact some are rather marked. If there weren't we would have a lot to talk about. However when it comes to pros they'll tend to pick from one or two within the group (usually the hardest and spinniest). It's also interesting how many pros use rubbers other than what their sponsors sell - I think Harimoto is sponsored by Victas (at least, he wears shirts with Victas on them) but uses Tenergy. Xu Xin is sponsored by Stiga but uses H3 and Tenergy. Let's put it this way - supposing Tenergy 05 didn't exist. Would that really effect anything? Everyone would probably just use Tenergy 64 instead, games would still look the same, everyone would still be using the same strokes, the same people would be at the top. Yes, there's a difference between Tenergy 05 and 64, but I think anyone who uses 05 could just as well use 64 to the same effect if they weren't allowed to use 05.

Iskandar

I agree, for the pros at least. I can play with 3 sheets, look at their technical specs and even if they are very close numerically, I can in many cases tell you how they differ. I can feel the differences, but do they really make any difference in my playing level. I doubt it, most wouldn't even force me to alter my strokes or my style. Donic Bluefire M2, Baracuda, Andro Hexer Grip, and Victas v>15 Stiff all would support my game equally. So would some of the Tenergy's. Would the pro's be able to pick my racket up and use it? Probably they would bottom the rubber out, and say it lacked power, on the other hand I would be less than happy with their hard DHS H3 Neo, since I don't naturally produce that kind of power to be able to penetrate their harder sponge.

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Xiom Hayabusa Z+; Victas V-15 Stiff (Black) Max; Spinlord Keiler (Red) 1.5 mm

Oops... Got another message from Gambler. Apparently a misunderstanding. $10 (or $12) is for ONE sheet.

Iskandar

Volt-M and Volt-T available on Zeropong website.

Testing max sponge Volt-T forehand and max sponge Volt-M backhand

Initial impression positive.
With my technique the black rubbers have more spin compared to red.
Short game needs to adjust to faster o-toro sponge.
Lighter than Burst/Thor's Hammer.

Plays well on my BBC blade.

I picked up Volt-T (as they said that's their tackiest offering on that new Japenese sponge they talk about). But haven't hit with it yet.

I'll post my impressions on what I think also. Putting it on a Jpen.

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Stiga Clipper Classic
FH - TSP Spectol Red 2.0
BH - Dawei 388D-a 1.5

Looks like the Oh Toro sponge is available with several sheets now.

https://www.zeropong.com/gambler-pips-i ... -c-42_108/

There's more info available now. Turns out Volt-T (the tacky one) has a lot harder sponge (48) than Volt-M (37). One wonders which scale is being used here. Makes sense, Volt-T is aimed at Chinese forehands, Volt-M is supposed to be similar to European/Japanese rubbers. Nine Ultra-tack (the other tacky one) has the soft sponge, though (37). The old sponges seem to be gone.

Iskandar

Anyone try the Ohtoro sponge rubbers yet?

Iskandar

My friend ordered some. A friend was supposed to bring them to our country from US when going on a business trip. But due to the corona situation...

I have used the medium sponge on mech tek. It is better than original mech tek but not a huge jump. I have also briefly tried the hard sponge on volt T and it is pretty good if you like tacky rubbers. In neither case does it change the rubber into latest gen euro-jap rubber. If you are already using these rubbers or on a budget they are worth a serious trial.

How would you rate the medium sponge hardness on the ESN scale? Gambler says 37deg, but I have no idea what that means.

Best thing to do is ask them - does the number correspond with a scale used elsewhere, or is it a Durometer reading?

Iskandar