Nittaku Hammond FA Speed

I use this rubber on a stiff 3-ply hinoki J-pen. For me, Hammond FA Speed strikes a good balance between speed and spin, without sacrificing any of the essential characteristics of short pips. Attacks and counterattacks have a deadly sinking trajectory and I can easily adjust the pace of my blocks from long and fast to short and dead. Controlled shots over the table, including service returns are very consistent whether active or passive. With practice, you can also learn to do a sort of "rolled" loop with enough spin to surprise your opponent, but the stroke is totally different from spinny pips like Raystorm, 802-40, and Spinpips, which behave more like inverted rubbers. Overall, this rubber has all the gears for a single-sided penholder (even my serves can be quite spinny). My only complaint is that it's pretty difficult to loop long pushes on the backhand, so without RPB, you really need quick feet to step around to your forehand.

Superb!