man_iii's Rubber Ratings

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Here are man_iii's ratings and reviews. These ratings are useful because man_iii 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 (5)

DHS G888

Speed	9.0
Spin	8.0
Control	7.0
Weight	10.0
Gears	10.0

Tackiness	10.0
Throw Angle	2.0
Sponge Hardness	7.0
Consistency	5.0
Overall	8.5

Review of DHS G888

I am using the red rubber.
VERY HEAVY rubber. Bad for pen-hold players.
Very good for rallies.
Occasional chops work well.
Blocks a bit inconsistently.
Has a low throw-angle.
So when chopping almost horizontal angle required. Very spinny but too fast. Unable to make extremely short or slow services due to nature of this rubber. Reacts moderately to incoming spin hence control required. Overall good rubber for rally and top-spin players.

Final Update:
Too heavy and not favouring my style of play. So bye-bye Elephant rubber you do not know your own strength and weight to match.

Nov 12, 2013

DHS NEO Skyline 2 TG2

Speed	9.0
Spin	9.0
Control	8.0
Weight	6.0
Gears	10.0

Tackiness	10.0
Throw Angle	4.0
Sponge Hardness	7.0
Consistency	5.0
Overall	8.5

Review of DHS NEO Skyline 2 TG2

I am using black rubber.
Very High spin and speed above average.
The orange sponge is definitely not soft :-)
A little heavy ( 2.2mm is heavy)
Very tacky. Doesn't react to incoming spin much.
Throw angle is high enough to naturally loop the ball over the net. Incidentally making it easy for opponents to smash you !
Slow chops or Fast Top-spin loops are excellent with this rubber. Serves are magic :-) Blocking is good.
Very good rubber for looping, but not so good for smashing as you need to close the blade more to make it in.

Updates: Couple of things about this rubber.

1. Cleaning is always VERY difficult with this rubber as it picks up EVERYTHING dirt dust lint ANYTHING and EVERYTHING will stick to the surface. Using Foam cleaner is RECOMMENDED with a soft plastic spatula (no sharp edges ) to scrape the foam off. DONT USE SPONGE FOR CLEANING IT WONT WORK.

2. Rubber has a VERY HARD sponge. Any "gentle" player or "drop" shot player better not pick this or most of the Chinese rubbers.

3. A Full loop is required for effective control on either the FH or BH side. So no "smashing" as the ball will fly off into the distance if you do.

4. You can play a very controlled game, IF AND ONLY WHEN YOU BRUSH THE BALL. Dont expect this rubber to do any work for you beyond giving the necessary speed. Spin and Control are in your hands, meaning you have to swing your hands arms hips body to get it.

Final Update:
This is probably the cheapest and best DHS rubber, better than any of the Hurricane 3 or Skyline TG3 ( Neo/ non-Neo). There seems to be a BIG difference in control between Chinese rubbers and other European / Japanese rubbers. Durability ( preserving the same or almost same effect throughout the rubber's life ) seems to be an issue just as much as Consistency.

The problem is the rubber blocks well, but brushing to play strokes ( trying to increase the dwell time, increase the spin ) its very inconsistent. Same strokes react sometimes high / low , slow / fast, spinny / dead :-( which is not what I want. Smashing is not at all possible since the opponent can still see the ball and react to it enough that he returns it. The rubber after 6 months of light / medium play ( 5 - 10 hours weekly ? ) just started losing its edge.

So I can't play a loop game, or a kill game, and end up just blocking with no advantage.

I have decided due to the lack of quality, consistency, durability and I can't play my techniques at all its goodbye to chinese rubbers, it was good while it lasted.

Nov 12, 2013

DHS Skyline TG2

Speed	7.6
Spin	8.5
Control	8.6
Weight	4.0
Gears	7.0

Tackiness	8.0
Throw Angle	6.0
Sponge Hardness	7.0
Consistency	5.0
Overall	8.0

Review of DHS Skyline TG2

I ended up getting this rubber after my Red G888. Rubber is a LOT lighter, less speed, more consistency than the G888.

Pen-hold players will enjoy this rubber though it is still a little slow.

Chops and close to the net play requires better control from the player, while mid- to long- distance play just requires more power.

This rubber would be good for Beginners and Intermediate players before attempting faster or spinnier rubbers.

I would rate this as an All-Round Rubber, you get to learn aggressive top-spins, smashing, chopping, pushing, blocks, simply looping, service and basic play all are improved and enhanced by this rubber.

But if you are looking for the Killer rubber, this is not it. Your opponent WILL have enough time to read and return, you will be rallying for a long time with this rubber. A better opponent will FINISH YOU if you play with this rubber.

So unless you plan to improve your game and yourself everyday, you will be at a disadvantage. This rubber is an excellent training handicap that will MAKE you play the best game you can to win. It will make your opponent work as well enough to give them confidence playing against you.

The upgrade from this rubber would be the TG2 Neo, but that is a lot harder, faster and spinnier with lesser control and heavier.

Final Update:

Yep, this rubber is good enough for beginners, those trying to get a better game than usual. Its just a practice rubber, the rubber does have better control and but almost lacking in speed.

As I no longer like the Chinese rubbers due to their lack of speed and hindrance to a higher level of play ( I am sure the Chinese National Team rubber is not available to ANYONE AT ALL ... its probably fake if you manage to buy it ) so the Chinese Commercial rubbers are good for the practice and hobbyists but useless in competition and anywhere else.

So its adios to all the Chinese rubbers it was fun while it lasted and thanks for all the fish.

Nov 12, 2013

DHS Hurricane 3-50 Soft

Speed	8.0
Spin	8.5
Control	8.5
Weight	6.0
Gears	4.0

Tackiness	5.0
Throw Angle	8.0
Sponge Hardness	5.0
Consistency	5.0

Review of DHS Hurricane 3-50 Soft

I have the Max Red Soft Rubber. And following things I noticed. Very sensitive to incoming spin. Not lively to active chops and loops. Blocks and Control strokes work ( medium push/ block / mid-table drive). Receives require such soft touch and control that beyond 2 or 3 chop rallies throws the ball long. Looping almost always ends up high or out of table due to either too much sensitivity or lack of enough spin.

H3 Neo was and is the vastly superior rubber to this crappy attempt at copying ESN Rubber/sponge.

If you want the best Chinese Rubber better look elsewhere. You want to serve / kill. Or flip/flick attack. Top-spin /counter-hit/ counter-topspin please dont even bother with this rubber.

Mar 07, 2016

DHS Skyline 3-60 Soft

Speed	8.5
Spin	8.7
Control	8.5
Weight	6.0
Gears	4.0

Tackiness	5.0
Throw Angle	4.0
Sponge Hardness	5.0
Consistency	5.0
Overall	8.5

Review of DHS Skyline 3-60 Soft

I have the Black MAX Soft Rubber. This rubber looks and feels in the hand almost identical to Neo Skyline TG- 3. Even weight seems identical. The play is same as Neo Skyline TG3. Rubber not too sensitive to incoming spin. But not very lively or spinny at all.
Chop rallies are a failure but give adequate control. Active chopping requires very soft touch and medium pushes else it ends up netting the ball. Serving has enough spin but not amazing. Top-spin and counter-topspin work close and mid-table only. Blocking / Push / Drive is ok. I wanted a softer version of Neo Skyline TG2 and got a very very poor quality product that looks like last generation repackaged rubber.

This is it for any Chinese rubber expectations. If players want good Chinese rubbers, better look to LKT ( KTL ) or Dawei or some other rubber company. Else buy the older versions of the DHS rubbers. Even 729 Friendship is a better rubber even without boosting than this.

Mar 07, 2016

Friendship/729 (2)

Friendship/729 Focus 3 Snipe

Speed	8.5
Spin	8.7
Control	9.0
Weight	2.0
Gears	7.0

Tackiness	0.0
Throw Angle	2.0
Sponge Hardness	3.0
Consistency	10.0
Overall	8.7

Review of Friendship/729 Focus 3 Snipe

For a chinese rubber, this is a non-tacky but grippy rubber like Jap / Euro rubbers! Lightweight, consistent and an all-round rubber for every player.
Comparing this rubber only Yasaka Mark V comes close to these qualities!
Since this is an all-round rubber, its very good for learning the game, practicing, competitive play, foot-work, drills, def, off, etc.
Unless you are looking for power+speed, this rubber will hold its own throughout its lifetime and this rubber lasts long time!

This rubber is a keeper. Recommended for all beginners, intermediate, defensive, offensive. Advanced players only if they want a good workout without sacrificing money or their game / style of play.

Until you want faster and more powerful which means much more expensive equipment, you have spent very less for a very good quality product.

Feb 20, 2015

Friendship/729 FX-C

Speed	7.9
Spin	8.5
Control	10.0
Weight	4.0
Gears	7.0

Tackiness	8.0
Throw Angle	4.0
Sponge Hardness	7.0
Consistency	10.0
Overall	8.3

Review of Friendship/729 FX-C

The Friendship 729 SuperFX-C Rubber is very very consistent and comes from the previous Speed-Glue era of Table Tennis. If you wish to maximize the effects of this rubber you will need to use Speed-glue to boost the rubber's sponge for maximum performance. Consistent and Controlled with good spin and less speed ( again you need to boost ). Tacky enough to play a good Chinese style offensive and defensive ( is there such a thing ?? :-D ) game. Very very effective for beginners and intermediate players.

Mar 07, 2016

JOOLA (1)

JOOLA Rhyzm

Speed	9.0
Spin	9.4
Control	8.8
Weight	10.0
Gears	10.0

Tackiness	2.0
Throw Angle	6.0
Sponge Hardness	5.0
Consistency	10.0
Overall	9.2

Review of JOOLA Rhyzm

This rubber is very very heavy. MAX RED Uncut its 74g. Very very spinny rubber. Very sensitive to incoming spin. Great for chops, but pushes tend to drift out. Spin is so high making the rubber difficult to control. But your serves are very good. Top-spin/ counter top-spin seems to be the main point with this rubber. All out attack very little defense or all-round play. Smashes, top-spin and loading side-spin is wat this rubber seems to be for.

Avoid push , continuously chopping, placing, flipping basically no defense or defensive play. Throw is more than medium. Possible FH for strong attacker. For BH get a either very lightweight rubber or go for some all-round type rubber with sponge.( to try balance the front heavy rubber).

Oct 27, 2015

Sanwei (1)

Sanwei Target National

Speed	8.9
Spin	9.2
Control	8.5
Weight	8.0
Gears	7.0

Tackiness	5.0
Throw Angle	4.0
Sponge Hardness	10.0
Consistency	5.0
Overall	8.9

Review of Sanwei Target National

Typical Chinese sticky/tacky rubber with lots of spin and speed. But rubber is very very heavy. More heavier than H3Neo or H3-50. Almost similar weight as G888! For Chinese rubber it is pretty fast. Topsheet is very fragile. Gets marking even from shirt or towel. Medium throw angle maybe a little bit high. So speed and throw-angle makes very difficult to block effectively, block return too easy to punish. High quality spin on serve, push, chop, flick, loop, drive and even smashing is easy.

Jul 07, 2017

Tibhar (1)

Tibhar 5Q Sound

Speed	9.5
Spin	9.8
Control	9.2
Weight	4.0
Gears	10.0

Tackiness	2.0
Throw Angle	6.0
Sponge Hardness	3.0
Consistency	10.0
Overall	9.5

Review of Tibhar 5Q Sound

I am using RED Colour MAX Thickness.
Lighter rubber. Softer. Higher arc, MORE SPIN .... its high tension like Rakza rubber but not a tensor. I've had some difficulties with Tensors ( in terms or adjusting to the lower speed, requirement of bigger swing, etc ). So this rubber is the answer for me just like Rakza7.
One thing, blocking due to the higher throw angle requires some work with technique, reading the spin correctly. The rubber does react to spin, but also it generates more on its own. So Counter-looping is MUCH better with this. Simply pushing returns the opponents spin back especially on chopping rallies, so adjusting to the power is a surprise :-) You dont lose out on speed. Spin is out of this world, a chop rally or a serve with this rubber will have your opponent scrambling. Smashing will make a distinct sound like popping a bottle ( champagne ?? :-) ) Consistent rubber !

Nov 27, 2013

Xiom (2)

Xiom Omega V Tour

Speed	9.2
Spin	9.4
Control	9.2
Weight	4.0
Gears	7.0

Tackiness	2.0
Throw Angle	2.0
Sponge Hardness	5.0
Consistency	10.0
Overall	9.3

Review of Xiom Omega V Tour

Grippy topsheet rubber with very good catapult effect. This is a tensor rubber but you wont see the same speed as one. Similar to Rakza 7 soft but with a lot more speed and spin while giving excellent control.

I was struggling with Chinese rubbers to produce consistent strokes as those rubbers seemed not to be reliable. Still using a Chinese DHS blade but the rubber behaves very very well despite that !

With the heavier shots the Chinese blade + chinese rubber vibrates horribly when hitting off-centre. Any shot off-centre produces deep jarring vibrations. Which I suspect is one of the reasons why before I couldn't consistently control the ball when looping and hitting and ended up constantly adjusting my stroke and angle.

But now with the Xiom Omega V tour rubber, no adjustment at all and no vibration !!! Just play my stroke and complete it. Short , mid, long-distance are now extremely controlled and strokes produce excellent return balls !!! The ball gets to the other side low and fast while clearing the net effortlessly !
If I do want to block, it works as long as I stroke the ball slightly. So this rubber definitely not for blockers.

Pushing works, flipping works :-)

Update:
Switched FH to Rakza7 becos I need higher throw angle. Moved this rubber to my BH now.

Best BH rubber ever for me ! I block effortlessly returning LOW balls. BH RBP top-spin is very very spinny clearing the net low with lots and lots of spin+speed.
Counter top-spin and heavy top-spin block tends to be little uncontrolled, mainly due to the tensor springiness makes blocking a little difficult to judge on the spinnier balls. Chops, pushes are really really good. Serves are excellent.

Those with weak BH should not use this rubber. It has low throw angle, difficulty with passively blocking.
This is an offensive / attack rubber that has more control +spin and less speed.

Works with Plastic ball. :-)

Oct 27, 2015

Xiom Omega IV Euro

Speed	9.2
Spin	9.2
Control	9.0
Weight	2.0
Gears	7.0

Tackiness	2.0
Throw Angle	2.0
Sponge Hardness	3.0
Consistency	10.0
Overall	9.5

Review of Xiom Omega IV Euro

Extremely lightweight rubber ... one of the lightest !

I am using for FH Black max on Balsa blade for 6 months.

Excellent speed , spin and control from close to the table or mid or farther away.

Great for top-spin loop, flat smash and block push players.
Due to the lower throw-angle more effort for flipping required.

Always combining medium-soft , medium-hard blade with soft rubbers is recommended. This rubber is probably not going to work on extremely fast / hard stiff blades.

Take good care to not bang on edge or side of table, rubber is very soft and prone to breaking. You can getaway with grazing which is a testament to this rubber's durability.

Accurate a fault, lower bounce at opponent side. Perfect weapon!

Jun 11, 2014

Yasaka (5)

Yasaka Rakza 7

Speed	9.1
Spin	9.2
Control	8.8
Weight	4.0
Gears	10.0

Tackiness	2.0
Throw Angle	4.0
Sponge Hardness	5.0
Consistency	10.0
Overall	9.0

Review of Yasaka Rakza 7

Fast spinny rubber which is very very lightweight compared to any chinese rubber. Great for loops and aggressive play. For intermediate and pros only. This rubber looks to be a keeper. Spin is king on this rubber. Ball acceleration is tremendous, it imparts insane spin.
Blocking, pushing, chopping all works really well. Flipping seems to require bit of work to get right. Technique makes a huge difference. There is some "forgiveness" in the rubber but not that much. Most balls land in if you were aiming inside the table and not trying to achieve orbit.

Blocking is a strong suite just as much as looping and hitting. Point and shoot, stroke and play.

I've started using Max ( 2.2 mm) RED version now for BH. The speed and spin helps with my weakness in returns on the BH-side.

The best Yasaka for those wanting to play an aggressive game while adding a little variation with push/blocks. Good amount of spin and speed with the right technique will make your opponent think twice as your returns progressively get faster and spinnier :-)

Update: Lots of ppl complaining about longevity. Rubber cleaning is MUST for this rubber. Either Foam or 3/4 drops of water and wipe clean after playing. Use Sticky Rubber protector sheet. I have this rubber in brand-new surface condition almost 1 year old rubber !!!

My number #1 FH rubber. Medium throw angle. Excellent serve, touch, rally, push, chop, top-spin to counter-top spin.

This rubber reacts to incoming spin moderately. So control play is must. Good aggressive counter-spin also must.

Oct 27, 2015

Yasaka Rakza 7 Soft

Speed	8.9
Spin	9.2
Control	9.5
Weight	2.0
Gears	7.0

Tackiness	2.0
Throw Angle	4.0
Consistency	10.0
Overall	9.3

Review of Yasaka Rakza 7 Soft

Rakza 7 soft Max Black Colour.
It is a Tensor rubber. Very lightweight, grippy almost not at all tacky. This rubber is slightly slower than the Rakza 7 but generates even more spin than that ! You notice the effect of the tensor when playing the 2nd or 3rd ball, when your return gets noticeably spinnier and faster off the table. And it is huge! Your opponent better be prepared to go "Fetch" that ball because its going to bounce away from him at the speed of light. You can put your opponent in deep unrecoverable places with the speed and spin.

One thing though, the rubber reacts to spin/serves just like Mark V, meaning you have to exert quite a bit of control and push/chop the spin balls correctly, else you will see the ball bounce off your racket at crazy angles.

You can still block top spins and watch your ball land on the other side. You can push/block and have your opponent run all over the place, but beware of the spinnier returns, and try to play aggressively, which is the real beauty of this rubber !!!

Balls with curve into the table and chops are sharp, even a slow chopping motion can make a return ball very hard to catch !

Ever increasing speed, spin while still in control makes this rubber really good for the constant rally player. Korean choppers, flippers and pushers will do very well with this rubber as their weapon. They might need to open up their blade slightly and stroke play to get this ( this is a soft sponge rubber ) but no need to add power ! Thats the thing, this rubber reacts if you even slightly brush the ball !!!

Blocking and hitting is probably not a strong suite with this rubber, I think it might be due to the tensor, it requires activation through stroke play where brushing the ball makes the tensor active and the rubber alive. If you block try korean chopping ( even a little bit helps) the resulting ball definitely returns spinnier and the speed might be like as if you hit the ball !!!

Nov 12, 2013

Yasaka Rising Dragon

Speed	8.8
Spin	8.8
Control	9.2
Weight	8.0
Gears	7.0

Tackiness	2.0
Throw Angle	2.0
Sponge Hardness	10.0
Consistency	10.0
Overall	8.9

Review of Yasaka Rising Dragon

Black rubber is 5grams HEAVIER than Red rubber ! Yasaka description is correct for this rubber. China spin, Euro speed and Japan touch. But all the properties are EQUAL in measure ! :-/ :-)
So rubber is not too spinny that you can't play. Rubber is not too fast you can't feel the ball. Rubber not too reactive that you can't block.

Player MUST put all the effort to play very well with this rubber. Rubber will not solve anything by magic.

Those looking for H3N or Chinese rubber replacement, please avoid and instead try Yasaka Shining Dragon or go for the cheaper 729 / Palio/ Haifu / Globe / DHS etc traditional rubbers.

Rubber is very consistent and very durable. But Euro player wont like it, Chinese wont want it, and Japan player wont use it. So this rubber not for all players.

Jul 07, 2017

Yasaka Shining Dragon

Speed	8.6
Spin	9.0
Control	9.0
Weight	2.0
Gears	10.0

Tackiness	2.0
Throw Angle	4.0
Sponge Hardness	5.0
Consistency	10.0
Overall	9.0

Review of Yasaka Shining Dragon

Both Black and Red rubbers are identical. SPONGE IS VERY VERY BRITTLE! USE ONLY SCISSORS OR SCALPEL BLADE FOR CUTTING SO DONT USE BOX-CUTTERS!!!

This is traditional Chinese rubber from Yasaka. Very spinny, hard sponge and surprisingly very light compared to Chinese rubbers! Medium-throw makes blocks dead-easy. All loops and attacks can be loaded with spin. Serves, pushes, chops all very spinny. Flicks, punches, opening loop, loop-drives are very easy to execute. Smashing is the only weakness similar to other Chinese rubbers. Surprisingly very good to use for touch play.

Overall, very very good product from Yasaka. Very good quality. Mostly for Chinese player looking to spend more for more reliable rubber purchases instead of the inconsistent rubber batches from the other manufacturers.

Jul 07, 2017

Yasaka Rakza 9

Speed	9.2
Spin	9.0
Control	8.5
Weight	4.0
Gears	7.0

Tackiness	0.0
Throw Angle	2.0
Sponge Hardness	3.0
Consistency	10.0
Overall	9.1

Review of Yasaka Rakza 9

Very fast and low-throw rubber from Yasaka. Good spin but not less than Rakza7. Does everything just like Rakza7. Serves, chop, push, flick,loop, loop-drive,smash, touch-play all work very well with this rubber. Due to the speed almost all returns land on the white-line. So a much more softer play is required to keep the ball shorter. Same for blocking while it is possible more control is needed from the player. For those players not satisfied with the speed of Rakza7 this rubber is the right stuff.

Jul 08, 2017

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