Hozze's Rubber Ratings
Back to hozze's ProfileHere are Hozze's ratings and reviews. These ratings are useful because Hozze has his/her own standard and will rate and review the ping pong equipment accordingly, giving you accurate and useful ratings and reviews to aid you in your next online purchase.
DHS (3) 
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DHS NEO Hurricane 3 Provincial (Orange Sponge)
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Review of DHS NEO Hurricane 3 Provincial (Orange Sponge)I've tried this, the commercial version and the Neo Skyline 3 over the last month as FH-rubbers on a Stiga Hybrid Wood penhold blade.Faster, softer and lighter than the other two rubbers. Spin and tackiness about equal. Perhaps a little harder to control, but that's just due to the added speed. You do need to pay attention to your technique and footwork to get the most out of it. Contrary to some others I've found it easier to control closer to the table, but that's probably down to differences in technique. Overall very good indeed, I like the slightly softer and more lively feel, will be sticking with it for the foreseeable future. Jul 19, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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DHS NEO Skyline 3 TG3
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Review of DHS NEO Skyline 3 TG3A/B'd this against Neo Hurricane 3 commercial and Provincial as a FH rubber on a Stiga Hybrid Wood Chinese penhold blade over the course of a month.Slowest, heaviest (about the same as the commercial H3 though) and hardest of the three, but also very tacky and spinny. Excellent control, great for brush loops and blocking, lacking some power on drives and powerloops, but the control and spin compensates somewhat. Seems to work well at most distances, although a well developed swing is needed to keep the speed up away from the table. If you favor control over speed and don't mind a hard and heavy rubber this could be for you. I felt it was a little too heavy on the Stiga, which is also heavy on it's own (mine's 93g). Jul 19, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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DHS NEO Skyline 2 TG2
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Review of DHS NEO Skyline 2 TG2Using it as FH on a Stiga Hybrid Wood penhold blade. Had a Neo Hurricane 3 Provincial before, played the Neo Skyline 3 prior to that.Slightly slower, harder, and about as much spin as the Hurricane 3P, but faster, softer and more spin than the Skyline 3. Plays more similar to the H3P than the Skyline 3, for some reason. Does everything really well and offers (for me) the ideal compromise between speed and control. Loved the H3P on my good days but I was too hit and miss with it overall. This allows me to play the same game but with slightly larger margins. Highly recommended, cheap as well. Jul 19, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Donic (1)
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Donic Bluefire M3
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Review of Donic Bluefire M3I'm currently using this on BH, 2.0 mm thickness.AndySmith sums it up well in his review. The grip is fantastic, the throw angle is very high but the ball just snaps back down. Linear, easy to control. I have no issues with the blocking, feels good. There is indeed more dwell-time than I've experienced with other tensors, but the rubber is still not mushy at all, there's still a crisp feeling. Not super fast, but you could use max thickness to get the speed up a little if you're a speed freak. Or maybe try the M2 or M1. The only minor downside I can find is that it's a little heavier than most other soft(ish) tensors. I've tried quite a few rubbers over the last year or so, but have always gone back to Rakza 7 Soft as my BH rubber. Not anymore though, the Bluefire is on my blade to stay. Oct 27, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Haifu (2)
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Haifu Whale II National (Red Sponge)
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Review of Haifu Whale II National (Red Sponge)I'm using the medium sponge version of this rubber (H37) in black on FH. It's also available in soft (H35) and hard (H39). This is my first Haifu rubber, I've been using DHS Neo rubbers before, mainly the Skyline 2 Neo.It's a fast rubber, definitely faster than the DHS rubbers. But it still has lots of very linear gears, meaning it's also easy to control in the short game and when blocking. Fairly lightweight, more so than the DHS rubbers. The sponge is slightly bouncier than the Neo sponge, even though it's comparable in hardness. Thus it plays a little better away from the table when looping than the DHS rubbers. The only real negative is that it just doesn't quite have the spin and "bite" on serves and close to the table loops that I got from the DHS rubbers. It's not a huge difference, but it's there. It's probably an effect of it not being as tacky as the DHS-topsheets. Overall it's a very good rubber indeed. It might not suit everyone though as it does feel a little like a compromise in styles between a Euro/Jap and a Chinese rubber. It seems to work well for my game though. The stand-out features are to me the linearity in gears and the feeling of control you get despite the speed of the rubber. Edit: I'm now using the hard (H39) version. Obviously similar to the medium version, but even faster on full swings while less bouncy in the short game. I really liked the medium version, but the hard version feels and works even better for me. Nov 10, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Haifu Shark III (Red Sponge)
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Review of Haifu Shark III (Red Sponge)I'm using the medium sponge (H37) version on BH. I believe there's also a soft and hard version available. The sponge is more pink(ish) than red by the way.I've heard it described as a Chinese/Euro hybrid, and it does act more like a chinese rubber than the other tensors I've tried in that you get out what you put in: Great top speed and spin when you go after a shot, not so much if you swat at it. Laziness does not pay off, you'll need to pay attention to your technique. I like that, it gives me more feedback than usual on when I'm screwing up. Some tack to the topsheet, but not that much. Mostly noticable when I put on the rubber protection sheet. What I think I like most with the new Haifu sponge(s) is the speed/weight ratio. Both the Shark III and the Whale II I have on my forehand can match most tensors for speed/spin, but they seem to be a fair bit lighter. As I have a heavy blade this is very appealing to me. On the downside it's very expensive for a Chinese rubber, but as I feel it can hold its own against any Jap/Euro rubber it's not a huge concern. I've only been using it about 5 practices though, so we'll see about the durability. Seems like another winner for Haifu! Aug 10, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
KTL (LKT - Li Kuang Tsu) (1)
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KTL (LKT) Pro XP
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Review of KTL (LKT) Pro XPI'm using it on FH, 2.2 mm black. Tried this on a bit of a whim, my wrist has been acting up and I wanted to try a very light rubber to reduce the strain a bit.It's slower than the Haifu Whale II (red sponge) I'm used to playing, lacking that top gear. But the increased control, especially close to the table, makes up for it. I play a very fast blade as well which compensates. Spin is excellent, grippy topsheet with some tack as well. Soft sponge but I still don't get the feeling that it bottoms out much. If you loop more than drive you won't have a problem with it. Medium throw and very light as advertised. In short I'm very positively surprised, if you're looking for feel, control and spin this might be just what you need. Very cheap as well. Sep 15, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Palio (1)
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Palio Thors
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Review of Palio ThorsI've tried a bunch of rubbers over the last month to find something that works on the FH on my new blade. Really like this rubber. Good speed, excellent spin, and unlike some other reviewers I had no issues with control. I can see how the feel can be off-putting to some at first, the sponge is indeed very hard and the top sheet quite soft. I quickly adapted to it though and after a couple of sessions I grew to like it. It worked best in the loop-based attacking game, but I had no real issues with it in the short game either.In the end it couldn't quite beat out the Haifu BWII RS National, but I did prefer it over the DHS Neo Skyline 2 and 3 and the KTL Golden Star that I also tried. Opinions really seem to vary on this rubber, I am in the category of people that it really works for, and if you like tacky rubbers I do think it's worth trying it to see if it does for you as well. Nov 02, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Xiom (2)
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Xiom Omega IV Elite
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Review of Xiom Omega IV EliteI have A/B'd this with the Yasaka Rakza 7 Soft as BH-rubbers on a Stiga Hybrid Wood penhold blade. 2.0 mm thickness on both rubbers.The Rakza 7 Soft feels slightly faster, while the Xiom has a slight edge in spin. Both are very spinny though, you will not feel like you're lacking in that department whichever you go with. Control is excellent for both rubbers. However, the Xiom is VERY soft, probably the softest rubber I've tried. It's actually a little too soft for my taste, it can feel a little mushy sometimes, like it's bottoming out. The Rakza is more medium-soft, has a more crisper feel to it. Both are light, about the same weight which was slightly surprising, I figured the Xiom would feel lighter due to the softer sponge. Playing RPB they both excel at the same thing; giving a hard curve with that great snapping catapult effect off the table. Fantastic for sidespin flicks as well as playing further off the table. I ended up sticking with the Rakza, I just feel more comfortable with the slightly firmer feel. Both are great rubbers though and fit the same profile; soft rubbers aimed at working more with spin and control than outright speed. That's not to say they're slow though, they're still tensor rubbers after all. Jul 19, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||
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Xiom Sigma 1 Euro
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Review of Xiom Sigma 1 EuroEven though I've been perfectly happy with my earlier BH-rubber (Rakza 7 Soft) I couldn't resist trying the Sigma Europe based on the rave reviews.And absolutely, it's a very good rubber, even though I feel its ratings are slightly inflated. Very good speed, excellent spin and good control. Nice linear gears as well, even though it takes some care in the short game. The sponge feels fairly hard, but a soft topsheet still gives a medium feel. In the end I won't be keeping it though. It's just too heavy for my setup and while very good, I feel it still doesn't offer me a real upgrade over the Rakza, which is noticably lighter. So, if I had any brains I'd go back to the Rakza. But instead I've decided to try the Haifu Shark III first, as I've heard good things about it and really like Haifu's upgraded sponge. And the equipment whoring goes on... :/ Aug 07, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||
Yasaka (1)
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Yasaka Rakza 7 Soft
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Review of Yasaka Rakza 7 SoftI have A/B'd this with the Xiom Omega IV Elite as BH-rubbers on a Stiga Hybrid Wood penhold blade. 2.0 mm thickness on both rubbers.The Rakza 7 Soft feels slightly faster, while the Xiom has a slight edge in spin. Both are very spinny though, you will not feel like you're lacking in that department whichever you go with. Control is excellent for both rubbers. However, the Xiom is VERY soft, probably the softest rubber I've tried. It's actually a little too soft for my taste, it can feel a little mushy sometimes, like it's bottoming out. The Rakza is more medium-soft, has a more crisper feel to it. Both are light, about the same weight which was slightly surprising, I figured the Xiom would feel lighter due to the softer sponge. Playing RPB they both excel at the same thing; giving a hard curve with that great snapping catapult effect off the table. Fantastic for sidespin flicks as well as playing further off the table. I ended up sticking with the Rakza, I just feel more comfortable with the slightly firmer feel. Both are great rubbers though and fit the same profile; soft rubbers aimed at working more with spin and control than outright speed. That's not to say they're slow though, they're still tensor rubbers after all. Edit: After playing with it for ~4 months I can safely say that durability is excellent, I play 4-5 days a week and it still looks and feels more or less as new. Brilliant rubber. Another Edit: Or slight warning, actually. Be very careful when removing the old glue if you're e.g. regluing to another blade. The sponge is very porous and a little brittle, so you run the risk of tearing off parts of the sponge along with the glue if you don't take care. Aug 15, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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