Explanation
V> 15 Extra in VICTAS
As a high-end manufacturer of TSP, VICTAS is a manufacturer with a strong presence in Japan, next to Butterfly with its stylish apparel and unified rubber and racket design! It will be a trial hit of V> 15 Extra of the flagship rubber of VICTAS.
As of 2020, I have briefly listed the top players who have contracted with VICTAS and are using V> 15 Extra.
・KoKi Niwa (Japan) ・Kenji Matsudaira (Japan) ・Ryotaro Ogata (Japan) ・Jang Woo Jin (Korea) ・Liam Pitchford (UK) ・Benedikt Duda (Germany)
In the April 2020 world ranking, you can see that it is used by the world’s top players, including Koki Niwa, who is ranked second in the Japanese. VICTAS contract players basically use V> 15 Extra or completely different rubber (for example, Korean Jang Woo Jin player has a lot of Chinese table tennis elements, Double Happiness Shanghai on the racket and fore side, We use Hurricane Long V (Inner Arylate Carbon (Inner ALC)) and Hurricane NEO III (blue sponge) made by DHS. In other words, it is no exaggeration to say that the rubber that top players want to use in VICTAS products is almost V> 15 Extra! I think it’s easy to understand that there aren’t many types of Tenergy alone like Butterfly.
Published performance value of V> 15 Extra
V> 15 Extra is said to be “a gear that emphasizes the power to produce a decisive hit, a gear that overwrites the opponent’s ball with intense rotation and speed and returns it. A gear that emphasizes the power to punch out the opponent”. VICTAS’s rubber performance table is easy to see, but on the other hand, there is no performance value called spin, and it is items such as arc line height, drive accuracy, seat strength, repulsion. Let’s take a closer look.
Arc line height: Angle change of incoming reflection with respect to the rotated ball
Speed: Speed change rate before and after collision with the rotated ball
Drive accuracy: Operability when driving the drive by yourself
Control: Accuracy of returning the ball to the specified location for the rotated ball
Seat strength: Difficult to slip against rotated balls
Repulsion: The height at which the ball bounces when dropped from a certain height
(Sprinkle potato starch on the rubber surface to eliminate the effect of adhesive)
You should find such an explanation when you look for VICTAS information. I found it difficult to imagine even after reading the above, but I think it is very easy to imagine the repulsion. It’s a little disappointing that there is no information that leads to rotation even if you look at these performance values, but this seems to be the strategy that VICTAS chose. In addition, TSP has posted spin and speed performance like a butterfly.
Depending on the way of thinking, the items that can be considered to be connected to rotation are the numerical values of the height of the arc line and the strength of the seat. Certainly, V> 15 Extra has a fairly high arc height and seat strength. I think that the item of sheet strength is a little worrisome, but I think that the slip resistance is evaluated, but the spin tension is V> 15 rather than the adhesive rubber VJC> 07 Sticky Extra and VS> 402 Double Extra. Extra is more expensive, isn’t it? If it is not slippery, I feel that the adhesive rubber is overwhelmingly less slippery, but I feel that it reflects the strength of the sheet tension and the thickness of the sheet.
When I read the explanation of other VICTAS rubber, I was worried about the V> 01 series, but I felt that the rotation performance may be low in terms of performance value (I do not understand because I have not tried it). Even considering various situations, I imagine that you can get a complete picture of VICTAS rubber by trying out V> 15 Extra, the rubber used most by contract players.
V> 15 Extra rubberized and weight
As usual, I pasted V> 15 Extra on Zhang Jike ZLC made by Butterfly.
V＞15Extra
High Energy Tension
・Sponge thickness: 2.0 mm, MAX
・Arc height: 6.7
・Speed: 8.4
・Drive accuracy: 7.1
・Seat strength: 9.2
・Repulsion: 8.8
・Sponge stiffness：47.5±3°
・6,000 yen + tax
・71 g (before cut) → 50 g (after cut)I was surprised that it was heavier than I imagined. You may have applied a little too much solvent. But it is also one of the features that it is heavy.
Three features of V> 15 Extra
The counter performance is amazing!
The first thing I felt when using this rubber was the high counter performance due to the strength and hardness of the seat! Since the seat is very hard and strong, I felt that it was a rubber that was not easily affected by the rotation of the opponent’s ball and was very easy to counter. It may be no exaggeration to say that it is the rubber that supports the counter drive of Koki Niwa, who is called the rising counter! The counter was easy to do, whether you were aiming for a drive or a bit of a meet. I think it is ants to change to this rubber for counter performance!
The drive when you let it bite in is amazing!
The hardness of the sponge is 47.5 ± 3 °, but it is a rubber that is as hard and heavy as 50 °. Therefore, the amount of rotation of the drive when it bites into the entire rubber firmly, and above all, the drive that accelerates like a spring had a stronger impact than it looks! When I tried to rotate this rubber with the sheet, it did not rotate so much, I felt that it would be difficult to rotate unless I firmly bite into the entire rubber once and then rotate it by the friction of the sheet from there. However, as I got used to it, it was such a characteristic rubber that I became addicted to a ball with a strong rotation that I could not hit unless V> 15 Extra.
I don’t think it is suitable for loop drive because it is difficult to rotate unless it bites into it. Even if you drop the hitting point, you need to catch it as if it hits the ball and let it bite into the rubber before applying rotation. Therefore, I think it takes a lot of practice and getting used to hitting a low, short, shallow loop drive that catches the ball with just the seat. Rather, I think that it is better to think of it as hitting a place with a high hitting point, and then add rotation from there and bring it to speed drive or power drive. It’s a very quirky rubber, but I think it’s also an interesting rubber.
Chiquita is easy to do!
As with all German rubber, Chiquita was pretty easy to do. It bounces quite a bit, and this V> 15 Extra has a part that is quite insensitive to the rotation of the opponent, so I felt like I could enter even if I went to flick it. Maybe you can use it for Chiquita! It was a rubber that surprised me because Chiquita was so easy to do. I think this is because the seat is strong and not easily affected by rotation.
Each technics review
Fore hand
Light hit
Although it was heavy, it digged in quite a bit. The hardness of the sponge is 47.5 °, so it is natural, but the bite is quite good. If it’s the fore, I personally like the sponge even if it’s a little harder.
Drive on long balls and rallies
I could only use it twice in practice, so I could hardly hit a good drive. I think I could say that I didn’t know how to hit the drive that was in this rubber. The impression I felt was that the trajectory was shallower than usual and the ball was not stretched. I guess I haven’t been able to bite into it.
Drive with open face
The drive that bites in is quite good. It’s a rubber that you can’t easily understand unless you get used to this feeling. However, I didn’t have enough skill and often played it, so I didn’t feel stable.
Loop (top spin) drive against back spin
This was pretty difficult. It lifts up, but when I try to hit it with just the sheet, it’s quite easy to become a baseball ball. I felt that it was difficult to touch because it was better to hit it firmly even with a loop drive.
Speed drive against back spin
It is easy to do speed drive of the system that makes you bite. There were times when I ended up hitting a little meat. I don’t have enough technical skills.
Curve / shoot drive
It seemed like I could make a curve, but shooting is difficult unless I get used to it.
Block
The block that just hits is softer than I expected, so I felt it was affected by the rotation. But it was pretty easy to smash. The seat is strong and won’t lose, so it’s better to take a little rotation by taking it firmly on the ball for a more stable impression.
Counter drive
I think it is the true value of this rubber. It’s pretty easy to do. I felt that the counter performance was higher than Tenergy. Actually, those who use V> 15 Extra have the impression that the counter is good, but I felt that this rubber also played a role.
Stop
It was a rubber with a good bite, so it was easy to fly. If you hit it with a sheet, it will stop.
Push
It’s hard to cut. If you let it bite in, you will be over because you are the outer ZLC. It may be better to push it slightly without being conscious of rotation.
Fore flick
Since the seat is hard, it was easy to do because it was not easily affected by rotation.
Serve
At first, it didn’t take a turn, so I wondered what to do. Even if you serve, it will not rotate at all unless you bite it firmly. I think that it is easier to rotate if you let it bite in like a bump.
Back hand
Light hit
There is momentum, so it was quite easy to put in.
Drive on long balls and rallies
I could only hit it closer to meat than to drive. There was no sense of stability.
Loop (top spin) drive against back spin
I have a habit of driving while pushing, so I was able to hit a good drive several times. Rather than a loop drive, it felt like a drive with a large amount of rotation that dropped the hitting point, but I felt that I was able to hit a drive with sharp growth and a feeling of intimidation.
Speed drive against back spin
Speed drive was difficult. It has become a meat hit. It would be nice if we could speed up while rubbing it up like a loop drive, but this is also lacking in technical skills.
Block
It was a pretty good feeling. It was especially easy to take a German rubber drive or speed drive. I’m glad that it repels firmly, or that there is a part that is not easily affected by rotation.
Counter drive
It was easy to do even in the back. Rather, the faster ball bites into the rubber, so I felt that it was easier to spin by taking advantage of the bite into the sponge. I think it’s a good idea to hit it with a bit of meat and counter it with the image of spinning from there. I felt like I could enter even if I became a meat, and it was a very good feeling.
Stop
Since the sponge is soft, I had the impression that it would float when the sponge bites into it.
Push
Like the stop, I felt that the ball was floating.
Chiquita
It was very easy to do. It was easy to flick, but it wasn’t easily affected by the rotation, so it was easy to drop it where I wanted. However, it wasn’t very powerful.
Comparison with other rubbers (personal impressions)
Spin amount
Dignics 05 > Tenergy 05 > V>15 Extra > Tenergy 80
Speed
Dignics 05 > V>15 Extra > Tenergy 05
Drive power
Hurricane NEO III（DHS） > V>15 Extra ≧ Tenergy 05 Hard