OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hey all,

My rubbers are starting to show significant wear and im in need of some new rubbers. However, the past year/2years ive gained quite a bit of weight (am trying to get rid of it now, but since i gained 40 kilos this will take a while). For my FH i know what rubber i want, i want new T05's since these have been my favorite rubbers ever since i used them a long time ago. However for my backhand i dont really know what would fit my playstyle most. Im currently very scared of looping with my backhand and therefore pose no threat. Because of this i can often win the first 2 games untill they realize i have no backhand and they can just keep me there. With the gained weight i also dont walk around my backhand to play my forehand, so basically once you put me in my backhand, ive lost the game. This is the reason im looking for a forgiving backhand rubber, i want to be able to loop on backspin returns with a bit more confidence and make my backhand not such a dead side of the table for me. For my forehand i usually go a bit farther from the table (2nd or 3rd position) so i need to be able to handle those returns with my backhand aswell.
Currently ive tried t64 on my backhand and now rozena, however i feel like its too difficult to loop with these rubbers, partly because im often a bit too late for the ball. What rubber would be more forgiving and allow me to still loop a ball when im just a bit late. I was maybe thinking of 05 on backhand aswell since im able to loop with my fh even if the ball almost touches the ground. however, maybe a non tensor rubber would give me a lot more of a forgiving loop, but im sceptical if i can still confidantly play from 2nd/3rd position with those.
Your insights and help would be greatly appreciated .

With kind regards,
Martijn H

Hi, how long have you been playing? If its just a technique issue, bite down and work through it would be the best option.

If you want the get rid of all worries, switch to penhold, single sided T05, not choice but to adapt to it with the backhand.

BTW, I'm a long time penholder, and only recently practising shakehand due to recurring finger pain. If there is one thing I wouldn't give up its to cover up the beautiful shakehand backhand attacking with a "forgiving" rubber.

It all comes down to technique so hours invested in training will pay off more than any new rubber but I guess you could try something soft as Rozena isn't working (even though it's quite forgiving but fast). Stiga Mantra S and Yasaka Rakza 7 Soft are quite common BH rubbers.

Ive been playing for about 15 years now. Ive never really had a backhand as ive never played it much or liked the stroke, also my forehand was deadly enough to compensate and me weighing less would allow me to walk around my backhand and pressure with my forehand.

you could try Rakza 7 soft - not as bouncy as T05, not as receptive to spin, the "soft" gives you time to keep the ball on the blade, and it generates very good spin with a decent arc

You appear to be developing on the BH and are not exactly combat ready there yet.

Like the concept PRW champions, going for soft sponged modern dynamic offensive rubbers is a no brainer, maybe even a soft sponged control oriented modern rubber.

Every brand makes 1-3 of these, so it isn't mission impossible.

One example of soft dynamic modern rubber: T05FX

One example of control oriented modern offensive rubber: Aurus soft

_________________
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Gambler All Rosewood
Aurus Soft / Gambler GXL .6 sponge

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Hi,

You could try either ..

• Xiom Vega Pro
• Xiom Vega Tour
• Xiom Vega Europe

Of the above-mentioned rubbers, I've owned Vega Europe, and Pro, and trialed the Tour version ... I find Europe to be most forgiving, and Tour to be the fastest (yet, controlled somehow) ..

If looping is not your forte and want to play close to the table why not switch to something like Spinlord Orkan or Wyvern in 1.5mm. with fast hands you will be able to take the ball early and pressure opponents without having to move to much.

If you don't mind spending very little money, here's my suggestion for a backhand control rubber:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32700053505.html

It's even marketed as such by Yinhe.

Incidentally, it takes a WHILE to develop an attacking backhand of any sort. At least it did for me. Lots and lots of practice needed.

Iskandar

Speaking of pocket friendly, capable, and forgiving rubbers, do check-out Palio AK47 Blue, and/or 729 Focus 3 Snipe ..

I suppose 729 Bloom Spin's no slouch, either... Only around $10 including shipping, if you look around..

Iskandar

anything xiom omega 5 or 4 and vega would be easy to play with,
yasaka rakza 7,

but then again i find rozena quite easy to play with.

I have been in a similar situation. My backhand was really bad and once my opponents noticed this, they kept playing to my backhand and I always lost the game eventually. I wasn't even able to play a simple backhand drive consistently, let alone backhand topspin. The rubbers I tried were Fastarc G1, Rozena and Glayzer 09C. None of these really worked for me. After months of testing, I found this article on Spintesters recommending several backhand rubbers among one called Nittaku Factive, so I gave this one a try and see and behold, I immediately had a lot more control. I've always liked harder rubbers (hense been using the Butterfly rubbers I mentioned earlier) but eventually I realized that these were simply too hard for me. The reason why I now like Nittaku Factive is that it has this very unique medium-hard sponge but a veeery soft topsheet. When I play, I have the feeling that the ball sinks in deeper into the rubber giving me more ball contact time and therefore more stability and confidence in my strokes. Overall I can really recommend the Nittaku Factive on backhand, it's not the fastest but helps to develop backhand technique. Price is also reasonable at around $30-ish where I live. It's not so great on forehand tho, but that's a different story

Incidentally, soft rubbers (like Rakza 7) are NOT slow. It's noticeably faster than most of the $5 Chinese sheets. Harder rubbers are, in general, less bouncy (and easier to control with softer shots) but can develop higher speed and spin when you really put the power into the shot. This is why the Chinese National Team players use something "slow" like Hurricane 3. Easy to control soft shots, but very fast when you actually put your back into the shot.

Iskandar