Explanation
・Blue Grip (tacky tension) 5 kinds
・Blue Storm 7 kinds
・Blue Fire 9 kinds
・Acuda Blue 4 kinds
There are 25 types of blue rubber! Among them, we will review DONIC’s new rubber, Blue Storm PRO, which was released in January 2022. Speaking of DONIC rubber, there are many rubbers that are blue. It also features a large lineup of the Blue Fire series with high spin performance, the Blue Storm series with speed performance and low trajectory, and the Blue Grip series with adhesive tension system for ease of handling and further rotation performance and habit. I think this brings the merit of being able to finely change the hardness and seat according to the skill of the player. The 2022 pamphlet does not include the Blue Fire JP series, but it does appear on the DONIC website in Japan. It may be out of print, but it seems that it is currently available. As a manufacturer, I think that it is a strategy that costs a lot for the company because it handles a lot of inventory, but I think that DONIC’s stance, which has a large lineup of hardness and sponge thickness in each series, is a user-first manufacturer. Let’s check out the hottest rubber, Blue Storm PRO, in DONIC’s latest work.
takkyu-navi: https://takkyu-navi.jp/you/article/3852
The performance of German-made rubber has improved considerably these days, and I expect that it will have the same or higher performance as the evolved Tenergy rubber. The Blue Storm PRO this time probably uses the same technology, and it seems that it has high rotation performance comparable to Tenergy.
It seems that Suzuki of Aikodai Meiden, who is a contract player of DONIC and one of the candidates for the Inter-High championship triple crown this year, also used Blue Storm PRO for a while, but now he is returning to Blue Storm Z1 Turbo. It has been done. It seems that he used blue grip rubber for a while, but he seems to be using the Blue Storm Z1 turbo in search of a habit ball that is drawn out by technology, not a habit of relying on rubber.
The information on DONIC’s homepage and pamphlets is as follows.
Professional select version.
The top sheet has been renewed, and the touch feeling, response, and spin of the ball have been greatly improved. Dynamic rubber with extraordinary ball popping out.
https://www.donic.jp/
In addition, Suzuki’s comment posted on “Table Tennis Goods 2022” is as follows.
In 2022, “Blue Storm PRO” was used for the back in all Japan. Personally, the shot feeling is soft and the bite is good, and I have the impression that it is a rubber that emphasizes rotation rather than speed. Fore uses “Blue Storm Z1 Turbo”, but “PRO” takes rotation even if hit lightly, and it was easier to use the opponent’s ball in blocks etc. I also tried “PRO” in the foreground, but I found it a little difficult to control with my feeling and how to hit. The image of “Z1 Turbo” is that you can make a strong rotation with your own swing, and “PRO” is that you can rotate naturally without being aware of it. I think “PRO” is suitable for players who play in the front team and players who are not good at spinning themselves.
From “Table Tennis Goods 2022”
In this blog, I will review the Blue Storm PRO and compare it with the Blue Storm Z1 Turbo.
Public performance value
Let’s compare the published performance values.
It is the default that it is difficult to refer to the rubber published value of DONIC. You can see that the latest Blue Storm PRO is well-balanced, but there is also an image that the Blue Storm Z1 turbo is better in speed performance, so it is still a little difficult to refer to. Next is the comparison of katsuo000 hardness testers.
When comparing the hardness, I feel that the characteristics of rubber come out. Among DONIC’s rubbers owned by katsuo000, it is lighter than the Blue Fire M1 Turbo and weighs almost the same as the Blue Storm Z1 Turbo. The Z1 turbo was a rubber that bites in very well and feels soft, but the PRO is a little harder, isn’t it? I think it will be about the same hardness as Tenergy 05. As mentioned in the previous reputation, PRO is a rubber with great expectations if it has the same spin performance as Tenergy 05
Blue Storm PRO sticking and weight
Recently, I put it on YASAKA’s Reinforce AC because it’s an inner.
Personally, it was not too hard, not too light, and it was a rubber that could be used by a wide range of players.
Blue Storm PRO ・Sponge Thickness: 2.0 mm, MAX ・Speed： 11+ ・Spin：11 ・Control：5+ ・Sponge stiffness: 50.0° ・7,800 yen + tax ・72 g (before cut) → 50 g (after cut)
Three features of Blue Storm PRO
High spin performance! This is fantastic!
I felt the outstanding rotation performance among the blue rubbers so far. Blue rubber with high rotation performance is Blue Fire M1 Turbo (Blue Fire M1 Turbo) and Blue Grip C1 (Blue Grip C1), but the overwhelming difference is the good biting. While other rubbers rotate with the hardness of the sponge, Blue Storm PRO is a rubber that makes it very easy to feel that it is rotating with a strong twitch while gripping the ball with the good bite of the sponge. did. I think that strong rotation performance is a condition of good rubber, so it is highly recommended.
Although the spin performance is high, the trajectory is low!
The interesting thing about this Blue Storm PRO is that it has a high trajectory but a low trajectory! A ball with a low trajectory that is close to the grain shape of 80 or 64 series will come out! The Blue Storm Z1 Turbo was also aggressive with a similar low trajectory arc, but the Blue Storm PRO has even higher rotational performance, and I felt that it was a rubber with unprecedented characteristics! I think that it is an interesting rubber that it is aggressive but has high rotation performance. Dignix 64 and Dignix 80 also show aggressive and high rotation performance, but I think that it is also a rubber that is a little difficult to rotate because the seat is hard. I felt that this Blue Storm PRO could be described as a rubber like the Tenergy 64 with the rotational performance of the Tenergy 05. Or is it Tenergy 19 that feels similar? Of course, it bears the name of Blue Storm, so I think PRO is more aggressive than Tenergy 19.
It’s not as sticky, but it’s easy to do on the table!
Since the rotation performance is high, it is easy to do on the table! Of course, it is not as easy to stop as adhesive rubber, but I felt that I was able to stop the ball by rotating it. The seat of the Blue Storm Z1 Turbo is hard, but I also felt that it was a little easy to float, so I felt that it was ant to use PRO for ease of use on the table. The price is a little high, but I think it’s a highly recommended rubber!
Each technical review
Forehand
Light hit
It’s a 50 ° rubber, but I didn’t feel its hardness.
Drive on long balls and rallies
It was very nice to be able to hit a drive that can be applied when you want to apply rotation, and when you want to apply speed, you can apply pressure due to speed with a low trajectory. This slowness may be exactly the difference from the Blue Storm Z1 turbo. With Blue Storm PRO, I think it’s very easy to shoot a chance ball by shaking it with the amount of rotation of the drive!
Top spin (loop) drive against back spin
Even though I could hit such an aggressive drive, I was able to hit a fairly satisfying loop drive. This is highly rated!
Speed drive against back spin
The weight of the ball may be reduced, but a good ball was hit. It was good to feel the stretch like a spin tension rubber.
Curve / shoot drive
Since it has high rotation performance, it will bend considerably if you take the plunge. You will be able to hit a characteristic curve and shoot drive compared to the rubber with high speed performance so far.
Block
Compared to the Blue Storm Z1 Turbo, it is the PRO who feels that the entire rubber is soft. Therefore, PRO is a little more susceptible to the influence of the opponent’s rotation. However, because the arc line is low, there were more net mistakes than I expected. PRO is recommended if you want to rotate and stabilize the block!
Counter drive
The arc line is lower than I expected, so it was surprisingly easy to do counter drive! This was surprising!
Stop & Push
I think it can be stopped enough. I felt that it was possible to attack aggressively with a deep push.
Serve
Since the spin performance is high, I was able to give a satisfactory serve!
Backhand
Light hit
It feels soft enough so I felt it could be used in the back.
Drive on long balls and rallies
It’s very good. I felt that I could aim for the course with grip power even if I was late for swinging because I could wait for my pocket with confidence because the bite was good.
Top spin (loop) drive against back spin
It was easy to do and the rotation performance was sufficient!
Speed drive against back spin
It’s easy to bite in, so it’s easy to do! I want to use it if I don’t have Dignics!
Block
I was surprised that there were more net mistakes than I expected. It may be due to the grain shape.
Stop & push
It was easier to do than the Z1 turbo.
Chiquita
The bite is good, so I felt like I could go to Chiquita after waiting for the ball to the very limit. This is due to the good bite.
Comparison with other rubbers (personal impressions)
Max spin amount
Dignics05 ＞ Q5 ≧ DNA Platinum XH ≧ Target Pro XD-52.5 ≧ Rasanter R53 ＞ Blue Storm PRO ＞ Fastarc G-1 max ＞ Rasanter R48 ≧ Evolution MX-D > Tenergy 05
Speed
Dignics 05 ≧ Evolution MX-D ＞ Blue Stom PRO ＞Rasanter R53 ≧ Q5 ≧ Rasanter R48 ＞ Target Pro XD-52.5 ＞ DNA Platinum XH ＞ Fastarc G-1 Max