Friendship/729 Battle II Provincial

I had a session with this rubber on a Sword Blue Feather blade. This rubber has become my new FH rubber. The speed is faster than the normal Battle 2 47 degree (old package). The blue sponge that I have is 39 degree DHS scale. Overall, it has a lot more speed than a normal H3 Neo sponge. In terms of tackiness, it is tack enough to pick up a ball for a second when new. But once it is broken in, the tack will wear out a bit and this is where it starts playing better. Yes, you may not have the tack, but it spins very well. In my first session at club night, I get a lots of "cheap" points from serves and mini spiny opening loops. My opponent is completely surprised by how spiny the balls are. Since I have played with the normal Battle 2 47 degree old scale, I will do a quick comparison: Spin: B2 regular = B2 Provincial blue sponge Speed: B2 Provincial blue sponge > B2 regular Serve: B2 Provincial blue sponge > B2 regular ( because you can serve long serve easier, for short spiny serve, it's about the same) Over table short game: B2 PBS = B2 regular Over table flip: B2 PBS > B2 regular (flipping over the table is slightly easier with the PBS version) Mid distance rally: B2 PBS > B2 regular (This is where the real advantage comes in with PBS, the mid distance and long distance shots are a lot easier with the PBS version.) Overall, I like the PBS version better than regular because it gives a bit more "ohm" if this is a word (LOL). Also, the sponge is more elastic for the same hardness. So this is similar to the blue sponge from DHS vs regular orange sponge. I will have to play it longer to see the durability test. May update this review after a while.

Great rubber! Better than my commercial Hurricanes 3 Neos. Comparing both at 39 degrees, Battle is harder, equal speed and gives more spin than H3N. Actually I started to think H3N is too soft for my BH. I use a Nittaku Hurricane Turbo Blue in BH in another setup and it is perfect. Maybe H3N in 40 degrees fits better. But this review is about F-Ship Battle II Provincial blue-sponged. I like it a lot, has become my main FH rubber. Don´t know how the normal sponge behaves so I can not compare but this BS version is excellent. Rubber is hard, even at 39 degrees and 2.1mm, gives good speed and tremendous amount of spin. What I liked most in this rubber is the topsheet does not become blurred as quick as H3N, it keeps the shining topsheet for a long time just cleaning with cotton ball and water. That keeps the tacky feature for longer time. For opening topspins Battle gives a low trajectory with huge spin and low bounce. I won a lot of points I didn´t win before just because of the low bounce. As other chinese type rubber it does not accept flat hits. the stroke must have spin to be a quality stroke. Price is acceptable, much lower than Provincial Hurricane´s. I matched this rubber better with ALC blades, right now using it in a Timo Boll ALC. Didn´t go well in ZLC blades, it became hard as a brick with low feeling. I will but another and recommend it for anyone looking for a high quality tacky rubber with a reasonable price. If you are used with commercial H3 Neo try this one and might have a nice surprise.

I am surprised. Forehand Rubber. I come from DHS Hurricane 8, but lack of speed that i needed harder sponge then i changed into Battle 2 Normal version for some months. It was fast and u can read my review there, but i want to feel the upgraded version of this rubber, since i see many chinese top players use blue sponge. Battle 2 has tremendous speed if u have full stroke and the spin is amazing, my spin ball usually fall not in the end of the table, but due to this higher arc than normal version, my spin fall into the end of the table. Better quality spin. This version has the dwell time as much as normal version. But the blue sponge has more elastic sponge that can bounce the ball even it is not bouncy. Here, the conclusion is it is very fast when u hit hard, but still slow when u hit slow. but it is easier to generate spin than normal version. Tackiness has big role. The control is still high but a lil lower than normal versiom due to its more flexible sponge. And 10 for this rubbers. Comaparation between this and normal Battle 2. Speed, B2 BS > B2 OS. Spin, B2 BS > B2 OS. Control, B2 BS < B2 OS. Serve, B2 BS > B2 OS.

I played with 39° H3 Neo long ago and bought 39° Yinhe Big Dipper to replace H3.. BD's throw is high, it's bouncy and not too tacky, maybe because it's a hybrid rubber so it has an ESN rubber characteristic, it's a good rubber but it just didn't suit me well, I'm struggle with BD, then I bought 39° Battle II Pro to replace BD, the weight is little bit heavy I guess.. I'm surprised with 729 Battle II Pro, it makes me happy even in first stroke.. Glued to DHS PG5 in FH and paired with Palio AK47 Red in BH, 39° is harder than H3 Neo with a same number, I think it's around 53° in ESN rubber & 40° in DHS hardness scale.. It has a medium low throw, very tacky, more spin and more speed than a H3 Neo, serve is spinny, feel and control is very good, dwell time is controllable, you can lift a heavy backspin easily and ball will fly with a low trajectory, and touch game is superb.. Speed is slow when you hit slow and fast when you hit hard.. but remember, this chinese traditional rubber is not for a flat hitter.. This mean it's hard to smash a ball.. But when you attack with top spin & loop, this rubber will be a nightmare for your opponents.. The ball fly with a low trajectory, fast, spinny and jump even lower when it touch a table.. It's sensitive to an incoming spin due to it's tackiness and you should do a proper stroke technique with no hesitation whenever you want to hit the ball.. This rubber is hard to tame, but once you get used to it, you'll love this $24 rubber even more than H3/H3 Neo Commercial.. If you're a player with a chinese style, just try this out..

Great Rubber, you won't believe until you try it !!