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  • 2021.10.20

Review Dignics 80

Explanation

A rubber secures Mizutani Jun’s V10! (Champion ship in Japan)

Jun Mizutani defeated Liang Jingkun (China) in the December 2018 World Tour Grand Final quarterfinals. At that time, the rubber used by some core table tennis fans became a hot topic. Until then, Mizutani used double-sided Tenergy 80, but Mizutani’s rubber in the game video is not Tenergy but another rubber. And the announcement that the new Butterfly product will be announced was posted on the homepage, and the rumors of rubber for the All Japan Championship have been exhausted. I imagine that taking the plunge into a new rubber for the All Japan Championship is a decision that requires more courage than you can imagine. In fact, the butterfly contract players were divided into two, a new rubber, a player who changed to the rubber of the Dignics series and a player who used the Tenergy series as it is. The decision to challenge the Dyson Cyclone series seems to have been a rite of passage necessary for Mizutani’s unprecedented All Japan Championship V10. This year, Mizutani was overwhelmingly strong and advanced to the final with a 4-1 victory that allowed a straight 4-0 or 1 set, and achieved the 13th consecutive year of advancement to the All Japan Championship final from the third year of high school. Tomokazu Harimoto, who was the No. 1 candidate for the championship in the previous year, lost only two sets in the final with Yuya Oshima, who won with power, but there was no match that was tangled up to the full set, and champion Jun Mizutani. It was an all-Japan championship where the V10 and strength of the players marked a new history.

Supplement 1
It seems that the rubber on the fore side that Mizutani used at the World Tour Grand Final was not Dignics 80, but Dignics 05. After that, he adjusted for the All Japan Championship and seems to have won the double-sided Dignics 80.

Supplement 2
From the above, you may think that the players who did not use the Dignics series and could not use it were just at a disadvantage. However, I would like to add that there were many butterfly contract players who tried using the Dignics series but eventually returned to the Tenergy series. I would like to emphasize that while there are merits if you can master it, there are also disadvantages when you cannot master it.

The previous reputation is Dignics 80, which exceeds Dignics 05!

After that, Dignics 05 was released in April 2019, and half a year later, the long-awaited champion Mizutani released Dignics 80, which is currently used on both sides. Before and after the release, many trial hit reviews and videos were posted at table tennis shops. The evaluation in the review was extremely high, and it was said that it would be the Dignics 80 that will increase the number of sales in the general public compared to the previously released Dignics 05.

Comparison of published performance values

As you can see from the performance, Dignics 80 is a rubber with extremely high performance that has higher spin and speed than Tenergy 05. And you can see that it is inferior in spin but superior in speed compared to Dignics 05.

Spring Sponge X and Dignics series seats

I think Spring Sponge X is an evolved version of Spring Sponge used in the Tenergy series. It seems that the spring sponge is a closed cell sponge that cannot be manufactured by other rubber manufacturers. It seems that Spring Sponge X is made by making the closed cells of the spring sponge finer while maintaining independence. As a result, Spring Sponge X is 14% easier to deform than Spring Sponge, and the repulsive force is improved by 3%.
Speaking of the Tenergy series spring sponge, the orange sponge is characteristic, but the Dignics series spring sponge X is characterized by the crimson red color, and you can tell at a glance that it is the Dignics series.
It is also introduced that the surface strength and ball holding have been improved. Regarding ball holding, it is introduced that the counter and Chiquita caught on the seat are more stable. In addition, although it is strong, Mizutani also mentioned that it took longer to replace the rubber. Certainly, it takes longer for the sheet to turn white than the Tenergy series, and if the storage conditions are good, the sheet will not deteriorate for nearly a year. Considering the rubber as a whole, the tension of Spring Sponge X seems to loosen, so I feel that the state changes from moment to moment.
The seats of the Dignics series have a stronger transparency, but it seems that they use strong seats that are close to the cloudy seats made in Germany, so I feel that Chiquita and counters are extremely easy to do.

Other

I think Mizutani had commented on Dignics on the Butterfly homepage or on Twitter, but I couldn’t find it. I think the content was that “you can counter the Chinese player’s drive without losing.” I think that the drive of Chinese players is characterized by the amount of rotation and speed using Hurricane adhesive rubber and the power of the habit ball. I think that it is a rubber called Dignics that can counter drive without losing to the drive peculiar to this adhesive rubber.

Dignics 80 weight and stick

I pasted it on Zhang Jike ZLC as usual.

Dignics 80
　High Tension Rubber
・Sponge thickness：thick（1.9 mm）、extra thick（2.1 mm）
・Spin：11.75
・Speed：13.75
・Sponge stiffness：40
・Open price（9,800 yen + tax）
・7x g (before cut) →　48 g (after cut)

Three features of Dignix 80

Easy to hit counter drive and Chiquita!

I wrote it in the review of Dignics 05. The counter drive is very easy to hit because the seat is stronger. You can easily determine the counter drive by deciding the angle and swinging through. Chiquita is also easy to do. The seat will lift the ball on its own. This ease of use and the strength of the seat are like rubber made in Germany. This manageability is great. I think there are merits to using Dignics 80 just for these points.

Easier to handle than Dignics 05! Rubber with improved performance with a shot feeling close to Tenergy 05

What is noteworthy about Dignics 80 is that it is easier to handle than Dignics 05. The hardness is the same, but the 05 sheet is characterized by a narrow grain spacing. Due to this grain shape, Dignics 05 has the impression that it is hard to bite and the ball separates quickly. Dignics 05 has a strong habit and it takes time to get used to it. I think there is a possibility that the FX series with soft hardness will be sold in the Dignics series as well as the Tenergy series in the future, but at present the Dignics 05 is difficult to handle and the number of sales may not increase. On the other hand, Dignics 80 is extremely easy to handle. I think this is because the grain spacing of the sheet in Dignics 80 is a little wider than that in Dignics 05, so it is easier to bite into it. The ball holding is also outstandingly good, and I feel that Chiquita, who needs to bite himself, is quite easy to do.
The first impression I had was “a rubber that evolved Tenergy 05”. I think Tenergy 05 is easy to handle and rotate, but I feel that Dignix 80 is a rubber that has improved speed performance and rotation performance while maintaining that ease of handling. For those who use Tenergy 05, I would recommend Dignics 80.
I haven’t been able to compare the numbers, but the image is as follows.
Speed: If Tenergy 05 is 10, Dignics 80 is 12
Spin: If Tenergy 05 is 10, Dignics 80 is 11 to 10.5

Lightweight and high performance rubber

The rubber weight of the Dignics 80 when I tried it was 48 g, which was the same as the Dignics 05. Despite being a rubber weighing less than 50 g, it has rotational performance, speed performance, and ease of hitting the counter, and has the characteristics of a butterfly rubber. I think there are rubbers with similar performance in high-end rubbers from other manufacturers, but I think it’s normal to easily exceed 50 g. Light weight and high performance are just synonymous with butterfly.
I will supplement it in a little more detail. Tenergy 05, which is overwhelmingly used in the world, is characterized by its high rotational performance. Due to its high rotational performance, the amount of rotation of the ball may be comparable to that of adhesive rubber. And since Tenergy 05 is a spin type tension rubber, it has higher speed performance than adhesive rubber if there is no post-processing. It is this rubber called Dignics 80 that has higher rotation performance and higher speed performance than the Tenergy 05.

Each technical review

Forehand

Light hit
It was hard to feel the difference from Dignics 05.

Drive on long balls and rallies
I felt a difference from around here. The biggest difference was the depth of the ball, and I felt that Dignics 05 was deeper and Dignics 80 was shallower. Shallow may be a disadvantage, but when you want to hit a ball that cuts the side, it may be easier for the shallower to enter, so I think it is a way of thinking.
I felt that the ball had a better hold than the Tenergy 80. Personally, I felt that it was a change that went in the direction I liked more than Tenergy 80. I think that some people prefer faster ball release.

Loop (top spin) drive against back spin
I was surprised that it took more rotation than I expected. I didn’t mean to go that far, but I can get the same amount of rotation as Tenergy 05 and Tenergy 05 Hard. I felt that the amount of rotation of Max when I took the plunge was inferior to Tenergy 05 Hard and Dignics 05, but since the amount of rotation of the casual drive was more than I imagined, the quality of the connection and Chiquita is high. I felt it intuitively.

Counter drive
It was as easy to do as Dignics 05. I felt that Dignics 05 was easier to counter with a large amount of rotation, but it was not that it was easier to get an arc. Rather, I felt that the Dignics 80 was less susceptible to rotation.

Stop
Like Dignics 05, I felt it was easy to cut with a sheet. If you get used to it, obviously the rubber of the Dignics series will be easy to do on the table. If you don’t get used to it, it will fly away, so please be careful.

Serve
It’s not as good as Dignics 05, but I felt that it was easier to rotate when it was bitten.

Backhand

Comparison with other rubbers (individual impressions)

Spin amount
　Dignics 05 > Dignics 80 ≧ Tenergy 05 Hard ≧ Tenergy 05 > Tenergy 80

Speed
　Bryce Highspeed > Dignics 80 > Dignics 05

Ease of drawing an arc when biting into it (easiness of sinking the ball)
　Dignics 09C > Dignics 05 > Dgincis 80 > Tenegy 05 Hard

https://amzn.to/33eou0M
  • 2021.10.18

Review Rasanter R53

Explanation

I would like to review the rubber of andro, which is a German table tennis bland and always has a stylish and unique presence. I think andro has clearly become more prominent in Japan in recent years. The reasons for this include Simon Gauzy (France), who has won the 2017 Table Tennis World Cup against Jun Mizutani and the 2019 World Championship against Xu Xin (China), uses andro’s blade and rubbers. And also. there is a fact that the andro’s blade and rubbers used by Akifumi Hamakawa, who entered the 2019 All Japan Championship as a ranker.

From Rasant to Rasanter

andro was selling the characteristic green sponge rubber Rasant series (Rasant, Rasant Grip, Rasant Power Grip, Rasant Power Sponge, Rasant Beat, and Rasant Turbo) as a symbol until 2016. The 6 rubbers of Rasant series have all been discontinued, and a new lineup called Rasanter has been launched in 2017. The Rasanter series is a new flagship rubber that uses the same green sponge as the Rasant series. The Razanter series includes the R series, which has high spin performance and makes it easy to make arcs, and the V series, which has high speed performance in addition to spin performance. I am. In addition, ahead of other German manufacturers, it will be a rubber lineup equipped with Ultra Max, a technology that makes the sponge thickness 2.3 mm. This technology seems to have been applied to top players before that, and it is a rubber that makes the seat thinner than the current one and makes the sponge thicker by that amount. There is an international rule that the thickness of rubber, including the adhesive layer, should be 4.0 mm or less, so it is necessary to make the sheet thinner in order to make the sponge thicker. It is said that rubber with a thin seat and thick sponge is easier to get rotation, speed and flight distance, and it is easier to get the performance to receive top players. However, thinning the sheet tends to cause manufacturing variations, and it seems that it was not widely available before that. Perhaps the latest technology has increased productivity, and as a result, it has become possible to produce rubber with thin sheets and thick sponges at a low price, and it is believed that it has been sold to the general market. This technology does not seem to be in the rubber of Butterfly, who sells the Tenergy series, which is the world standard for table tennis equipment in Japan and around the world, and even though Butterfly is still extra thick, the sponge thickness is 2.1 mm. It remains. In recent years, other German manufacturers are increasing the number of rubber sheets with thin sheets and thick sponges.
Up to now, 9 types of Rasanter have been sold, 7 types for the R series and 2 types for the V series.

Rasanter series

The Rasanter series have a naming similar to the series in which the sponge hardness can be finely selected with the rotating R and the speed V, but when I actually tried it, it was different from my imagination. Apparently, the hardness of the sponge was changed, and the shape of the sheet was also changed, so the shot feeling, performance, and easy-to-use technology were different. Furthermore, although the V series is certainly fast, it is not a rubber specialized for speed because it takes a lot of spin tension and rotation.
katsuo000 has tried out R53, R48, R50, R47 and V47, and we would like to summarize the comparison in the future. I would like to comment here that the grain shape of the sheets of R53, R48, and R50 is a little thin and the grain shape feels a little quick to separate from the ball. Compared to Dignics 05 and Tenergy 05, I think the grain shape of the sheet makes it harder to feel the ball holding. On the other hand, the sheet is soft and the sponge has a good bite, so I think that it is a rubber that feels like a ball when it bites into the whole rubber.
Initially launched in 2017, there were six types: R50, R47, R42, R37, V47, and V42. Furthermore, in October 2019, the R53 equipped with Energy Cell technology was newly released, and in May 2020, the R48 also equipped with Energy Cell technology was newly released. Currently, andro’s flagship rubber is R53, R48 and R45.

Published performance value comparison

andro’s published performance value comparison. Is Andro characterized by adding an item called control in addition to speed and spin? After all, R53 and R48 with energy cells have high performance and will be a hot rubber!

If you look at the R53 review, you’ll get speed! However, in terms of published performance values, V47 is supposed to be faster. I’ve already tried R53, R48, R50, R47, and V47, so I’ll understand, so I’ll comment. I think V47 is faster than R53 in simple speed. I think V47 is faster than you can feel because it has a very straight trajectory. In particular, the V47’s midfield drive gives the impression of considerable speed. On the other hand, the R53 draws an arch line very strongly, which gives the impression that the ball is slower than it feels. However, I feel that the R53 feels faster with pressure and pressure balls! Especially, the drive of R53 has a feeling of accelerating by rotation while drawing an arch line! I think that the time it takes for the ball to reach the opponent’s platform is numerically faster with the V47, but I think that is largely due to the straight trajectory. Table tennis is not just a competition for simple speed. The R53 has outstandingly high ball power, amount of rotation, and acceleration due to rotation while drawing an arch line, so it can be said that it is a green (red?) Monster rubber!

R53 rubber pasting and weight

As usual, I pasted it on Butterfly’s Zhang Jike ZLC. The adhesive used is Butterfly’s Free Chack II.

It’s heavy!

I haven’t posted the photo before it was pasted, but it weighed 52 g. This is heavyweight! But not as much as the Omega VII Tour and the Omega VII Hyper.

Rasanter R53
UM Tension (Tensor Bios UM)
Energy Cell
40+ Plastic Ball
・Sponge Thickness：1.7 mm、2.0 mm、ULTRAMAX（UM）
・Speed：118
・Spin：125
・Control：87
・Sponge stiffness：53°
・6,500 yen + tax
・72 g (before cut)　→　52 g (after cut)

Three features of Rasanter R53

Drastic speed and spin drive different from adhesive rubber!

I think one of the features of R53 is drastic speed and spin drive (the habit ball). The habit ball may be about katsuo000, but I have the impression that gyro spin and side spin are easier to enter than a beautiful vertical spin drive. I got the impression that it tends to be a drive with acceleration due to rotation, like a spiral rotation, instead of a habit ball like adhesive rubber. Also, since it is a spin type tension, it is not as easy as adhesive rubber to drop the RBI, but even if I drop the RBI, I felt that the swing was swung forward. The arc line with horizontal rotation gives the impression that it draws a fairly large arc and heads toward the table. I drew an arch line to accelerate with Guin, so I was very impressed with the feeling of exhilaration and running. Similar drives can be rotated with Tenergy 05 Hard (Tenergy 05 Hard, Butterfly, sponge hardness 43 °) or Spin Art (Spin Art, Butterfly, currently out of print, sponge hardness 48 ° (Butterfly hardness)). It is an image that comes out when you hit a power drive with a lot of. The amount of rotation of R53 is slightly lower, but I felt that it was easy to hit the power drive continuously and easily!

High amount of spin and ease of spin!

The second feature I felt was the high rotational performance. I think that it has a high rotation performance that is comparable to or better than Tenergy 05. Of course, the R53 can get a high amount of rotation when it is rubbed up as much as possible, but it was impressive that the drive rotation was quite high even if it became a sung drive. It seems that abundant amount of rotation can be obtained if rotation can be applied with an impact above a certain level. To be honest, it is difficult to do a loop drive with the maximum amount of rotation. It’s probably because the grain shape is a little thin, so it’s hard to feel the ball holding, and the loop drive that is easy to do with adhesive rubber etc. is hard to do. Adhesive rubber and Dignics 09C and Dignics 05 are easier to do for loop drive with maximum rotation. Although the rubber itself is not a rubber that specializes in rotational performance, I think that it has high rotational performance and performance that makes it easier to rotate than imagined.

Ease of hitting speed drive

The third is speed drive. Depending on the person, it may be called a power drive. It was a rubber that was very easy to hit with speed drive. There was a feeling that if you shake it forward, the speed drive will enter stably. Also, even if it hits the ball quite thickly, the sheet and sponge easily bite into it, so I felt that it drew an arc trajectory more than I imagined and it became a speed drive without permission. The trajectory is just an arch trajectory, and I personally found it a little difficult to hit a straight meet. Since the sheet is quite soft and easy to bite, it needs an impact above a certain level, but since it also draws an arch line, it was easy to hit the speed drive anyway. However, rather than a speed drive that has speed and a clear amount of rotation like adhesive rubber and Tenergy 05, it was a speed drive that was satisfied with the stability of the speed drive and a speed drive that could punch through.

Impression

As for the impression of katsuo000, it was a very satisfying rubber. I think it was a very good rubber with 90 points out of 100 points. It can be said that this is an evaluation excluding the price and will be higher if the price is included. The reason why I can’t give a perfect score personally is that the seat is too soft, so the counter drive is a little difficult, and I felt that it was a little sensitive to the rotation of the opponent’s strong rotation drive and it was difficult to block. I was not dissatisfied with the ball holding for the amount used in the foreground, and I felt that loop driving was a little difficult. If Dignics 05 wasn’t sold and only Tenergy 05 and Tenergy 05 hardware were sold, I think I would have switched.

Each technical review

Forehand

Light hit
I feel that the sheet is quite soft. The sheet is soft and you can feel the bite strongly. I feel that there are different tastes around here.

Drive on long balls and rallies
When you hit the drive, you’ll want to say “Rampage Horse!” Or “Rampage Shogun!”. That much ball swells! Unleash! It’s a great drive!

Drive with open face
Since it bites well, it is easy to hit a drive with an open surface. There is no such thing as a sticky rubber-like habit ball, but it felt good even with a drive that spins while opening the adhesive rubber-like surface and hitting it. The sponge is really easy to bite into, and the blue sponge of the leopard is an overstatement, but I felt that there was a similar part.

Loop (top spin) drive against back spin
You can hit it in the foreground without any problems. However, I felt that it would be difficult to hit the ball too much, and it was a little difficult to hit the loop drive, which is shallow, slow, and has a lot of rotation. I think this is due to the grain shape being a little thinner, but it was a little difficult to control the depth of the ball because the ball was released a little faster. Even if you drop the hitting point a little, I think it is better to move forward and make a high quality rotation and a fast drive.

Speed drive against back spin
It was easy to hit the speed drive, which is the true value. Even though it is a rubber with high rotation performance, it is easy to hit speed drive, which is a very contradictory performance and I think it is very wonderful. The shot feeling, ease of shooting, and trajectory of the drive are completely different, but I think it is a feature like Dignics 05.

Curve / shoot drive
I like the curve drive. I want to get involved and drive! I think that the swell of the ball will be more tasteful if you add horizontal rotation, so let’s curve it more and more!

Block
If you just hit it, it will be slightly affected by the rotation. Therefore, I think it is better to positively put in rotation like an active block from yourself.

Counter Drive
It was a little hard to hit. I got the impression that it is easier to do a counter drive like Simon Gauzy who goes down a little and holds the ball firmly and overwrites it, and it is a little difficult to counter drive in front of the apex where the RBI is early.

Stop
It was pretty easy to stop. With the impact of bench technology like push, the sponge hardly bites and it is very easy to stop. Also, it was reasonably easy to cut if it was captured on a sheet. If you let it bite into the sponge, it will be easier to get a long distance and it will be difficult to stop.

Push
It’s easy to push, but if you let it bite into the sponge, the flight distance will be longer than you imagined and it’s easy to over-miss. I think that it is more stable and easier to rotate if you cut it firmly with a sheet.

Backhand

Light hit
I felt the speed of leaving the ball from a light hit.

Drive on long balls and rallies
With the backhand, there were a lot of delays and I felt that I was lacking in technical skills. After all it is heavy and hard and the impact is not enough sweat.

Loop (top spin) drive against back spin
It was quite difficult. It’s a lack of technology.

Speed drive against back spin
It was quite difficult in the back. This is also a lack of technical capabilities.

Curve / shoot drive
When hitting the curtain, the rotation was quite comfortable. I tried it in practice, but there were a lot of over-misses because the flight distance came out quite a bit.

Block
As I am getting used to Dignics 05, it was difficult to compare because the ball holding was short and it was easily affected by rotation. Since I often use spin tension with high rotation performance, I feel that it is easier to block with rubber that feels like holding a ball. I feel that I can return the ball after holding the ball firmly. I think it’s easier to do than Dignics 05 if you just hit it and block it with the image of making a wall against the ball.

Counter drive
When using it in the back, the counter block was easier to do than the counter drive. It’s close to what you touched on the block. Since it bites well and the grains are thin, I think that meat and blocks are easy to do in rubber with high rotation performance. It’s a technique that I don’t use a lot and I rarely use in games.

Stop
Tenergy 05 hard showed It was as easy as stop. I felt that it was not a rubber that cuts and stabilizes, but since the sponge of the sheet is hard, I felt that it was reasonably strong and easier to cut with the sheet than R48.

Push
If you let it bite in, it will fly away, so be careful only there. I felt the high rotation performance by cutting firmly.

Chiquita
It was difficult because the flight distance was too long.

Comparison with other rubbers (individual impressions)

Spin amount
　R53 > Tenergy 05 > Omega VII Tour

Speed
　Dignics 05 > R53 > Tenergy 05

Ease of drawing an arc when biting into it (easiness of sinking the ball)
　Dignics 09C > R53 > Dignics 05

https://amzn.to/30hagKK
  • 2021.10.17

Review Dignics 05

Explanation

Dignics 05 is a rubber that Butterfly started selling in April 2019. Until now, it was sold as a rubber that surpasses the Butterfly’s world standard rubber, Tenergy. Tenergy is the world standard rubber because Tenergy used by more than half of the top players. Dignics can be said to be the next generation world standard. Its performance is more than Tenergy, and top players who contract with Butterfly use Dignics, and immediately, they obtained successful results. This fact showed a high advertising effect. Dignics showed focus of attention. It’s a top-of-top rubber.

The encounter with this rubber was actually not very good. At that time, I used adhesive rubber for the fore, and at first I bought it because I wanted to use it for the backhand. I actually tried using it in the backhand, but I couldn’t use it continuously due to lack of backhand technology. After that, I had the opportunity to participate in the national tournament of the group, and I saw several butterfly contract players practicing with Dignics 05. I used to use adhesive rubber for the fore, but I remember being surprised at the speed of the ball, which I couldn’t get even with Tenergy 05, let alone the adhesive rubber. I want to fight on the stage of the whole country! I decided to change to Dignics 05 because I wanted to review the equipment.

Published performance value

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As you can see from the comparison of tool performance values, Dignics 05 has higher rotational performance and speed performance than Tenergy 05. Tenergy 05 also has high rotation performance, and the quality of the loop drive and the rotation amount of the serve are comparable to the adhesive rubber. Dignics 05 is a rubber that has been announced as a rubber that has rotational performance and speed performance that exceeds that of Tenergy 05. I used to use adhesive rubber, but I am currently using Dignics 05, and I am not dissatisfied with the amount of rotation.

Spring Sponge X and Dignics series seats

I think Spring Sponge X is an evolved version of Spring Sponge used in the Tenergy series. It seems that the spring sponge is a closed cell sponge that cannot be manufactured by other rubber manufacturers. It seems that Spring Sponge X is made by making the closed cells of the spring sponge finer while maintaining independence. As a result, Spring Sponge X is 14% easier to deform than Spring Sponge, and the repulsive force is improved by 3%. Speaking of the Tenergy series spring sponge, the orange sponge is characteristic, but the Dignics series spring sponge X is characterized by the crimson red color, and you can tell at a glance that it is the Dignics series.

It is also introduced that the surface strength and ball holding have been improved. Regarding ball holding, it is introduced that the counter and Chiquita caught on the seat are more stable. In addition, although it is strong, Mizutani Jun also mentioned that it took longer to replace the rubber. Certainly, it takes longer for the sheet to turn white than the Tenergy series, and if the storage conditions are good, the sheet will not deteriorate for nearly a year. Considering the rubber as a whole, the tension of Spring Sponge X seems to loosen, so I feel that the state changes from moment to moment. The Dignics series seats have a stronger transparency, but it seems that they use strong seats that are close to the cloudy seats made in Germany, so I feel that Chiquita and counters are outstandingly easy to do.

Dignics 05 weight and paste

I put it on the main racket Zhang Jike ZLC.

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The adhesive used is Free Chack II. I pasted Dignics 05 with Free Chuck 2 many times, but it was about 48 g. Free Chuck 2 tends to be heavy if it is applied too much, so you should be careful. Dignics 05 is a hard rubber, but we do not recommend it because if you apply it too thick, the spin performance will drop.

Dignics 05
　High Tension Rubber
・Sponge thickness：thick（1.9 mm）、extra thick（2.1 mm）
・Spin：12.0
・Speed：13.5
・Sponge Stiffness：40
・Open price（9,800 yen + tax）
・70 g (before cut)　→　48 g (after cut)

Three features of Dignics 05

Highest performance of both spin and speed

After all, it has extremely high rotational performance. Loop drive is at a level where even all-Japan championship contestants can invite over-misses at first sight. The trajectory is high unlike adhesive rubber, but the amount of rotation clearly demonstrates high performance comparable to adhesive rubber. In addition, the speed of the ball is clearly faster than Tenergy 05. It can be said that it is one of the strongest rubbers that has both rotational performance and speed performance. It is a high-end rubber that can obtain rotation and speed as if using an organic solvent, even though it is not coated with an organic solvent.

Easy to do counter drive!

Furthermore, what is amazing is the ease of counter drive. To be honest, it doesn’t matter what the angle is, and if you hit the speed drive by catching the ball directly above the opponent’s drive as if crushing the ball, it has amazing counter drive performance that you can almost enter. I felt it was no exaggeration to say that it was quite strong against the opponent’s drive. The ease of use of this counter drive is also a reason for using this rubber as a professional rubber. Probably the reason why Dignics 05 has high counter drive performance is because the seat is strong. I think it is stronger against the opponent’s drive because the seat is stronger and harder than Tenergy 05.
Even if you can’t counter drive, I think the delicacy of the block angle has become dull. I think this is also because the seat has become stronger. I feel that rubber with high rotation performance is generally delicate for balls with a large amount of rotation such as the opponent’s drive and serve. Personally, I feel that Tenergy 05 is more difficult to adjust to the opponent’s drive at an angle. On the other hand, Dignics 05 has the impression that it can be inserted even if you do not know the angle if you just insert it against the opponent’s drive. In some games, I actually felt that I was able to win because of this rubber. I think that rubber that can demonstrate its strength against the opponent’s aggressive drive ball is one of the performances required for modern table tennis!
As I mentioned earlier, I think it should be noted that it has the characteristics of being light while having this high spin performance and speed performance. You may be worried that the ball will be lighter because it is lighter, but I think that you can control it with the side balancer, so I think that lightness is a merit. No other rubber weighs less than 50 g with this much rotational and speed performance. I don’t think the Dignics 05 ball is light, as the people I often practice with say that the ball is heavy. There may be occasions when it is better to hit a drive with a low trajectory, as it is the only one that tends to have a high trajectory.

Each technical review

Forehand

Light hit
There is no feeling that it takes a lot of rotation from a light hit. I felt that the grain shape of the sheet was probably similar to or similar to Tenergy 05. There is an image that the speed of Tenergy 05 is considerably slower than that of Tenergy 80, but the seat grips the ball firmly, so it feels like it takes a lot of rotation. In Dignics 05, if you catch it on the seat a little, the ball will stretch to the extent that it will be very difficult for the opponent to pick it up. When you hit it with a slight meat, it feels like the ball is flying in a straight line, but as you use it, you feel that it draws an arc. I felt that it was similar to adhesive rubber in drawing an arc even with meat.

Drive in the rally
It takes a lot of rotation. In particular, when you use the opponent’s ball to bite into the sponge and hit it, it may show an aggressive trajectory that makes it dive to the opponent’s platform. It doesn’t have the quirkyness of sinking like a sticky rubber habit ball, but the trajectory that jumps onto the table with a strong rotation, hops and jumps up is exactly the trajectory peculiar to Dignix 05, which goes over Tenergy 05. This trajectory peculiar to Dignics 05 is a point I like very much. Also, the speed is of course faster than Tenergy 05. I feel that it is equal to or better than Tenergy 80. As an image, it has a mysterious sense of speed that the speed is higher than the Tenergy 80 even though it draws an arch line, and although it is as fast as the Tenergy 80, the ball stands with a mysterious rhythm that has a long anti-aircraft time due to the drawing of the arc line. Sprint.
I felt that the characteristics of this rubber would not be utilized if I just played it like a spin-type tension rubber when hitting it down. When the hitting point drops, you can get a terrible trajectory and rotation amount by firmly biting into the rubber. It is good to be able to drive with emphasis on rotation just like adhesive rubber. I also like the fact that you can hit it even if the speed drive is slower than you can hit with adhesive rubber. I feel that it is very good to be able to aim at one shot even if it goes down with the momentum as if you are applying an organic solvent.
For both curve drive and shoot drive, if you drop the hitting point and apply a firm rotation, you will get a smooth bend. Good! If anything, it is easy to over-miss or slow down the trajectory in a curve drive, so it is easier to hit a wonderful drive if you hit it with a shot drive or open side.

Drive with open face
In order to hit the speed drive with adhesive rubber, there is a way to hit the drive with the surface open. I think that my arm is bad, but some spin tension rubbers are hard to rotate when driving with the surface open. Even if you hit with the side open with Dignics 05, it will rotate firmly, so speed drive is also very easy to hit. However, I felt that it would be difficult to put it on the opponent’s court because it is not an adhesive rubber to the stone if the hitting point is dropped too much. I think that spin type tension rubber has sufficient performance.

Loop (top spin) drive against back spin
I mainly use the loop drive that rotates with the seat, but it is quite good. Since I am still lacking in skill, I will hit a loop drive by raising the arch line a lot to make sure that I can put it on the opponent’s court, but even if it becomes a fairly high ball, it is spinning more than it looks. As a result, it becomes a weapon that can be scored only with this loop drive. Even when you just jump in and let it bite in, it feels like it will rotate more than you imagined, and you can invite mistakes. If you can hit a loop drive with a low arc line, I think that it will be a fairly good quality loop drive.
I’ve written only good things, so I’ll describe the points that I felt needed to get used to. It is a wonderful Dignics 05 against the upper rotation without any enemy, but because of its high rotation performance, it is easily affected by the rotation of the lower rotation system remaining on the ball. Also, the ball is released quite quickly. I imagine that many people find it difficult to handle because of these two points. When driving downwards, including loop drive, I became more stable by hitting the ball not only with my arms but also with my body and hips. I think that the grip is very poor, so I think many people find it difficult around here.

Speed drive against back spin
The speed drive is also pretty good. You can go both a speed drive that emphasizes speed that you bring with impact, which seems to be a spin type tension, and a heavy speed drive that opens the surface and takes a lot of rotation. Since the speed is faster than Tenergy 05, it is good to be able to stabilize with the amount of rotation even though you can aim for no-touch ace. When the ball quality is complete, the counter will be targeted, so I would like to improve my technical capabilities so that I will not focus on speed drive.

Block
Blocks are clearly better than Tenergy 05. Tenergy 05 was easily affected by the rotation of the opponent and was light, so I felt like it was being played. However, the block of Dignics 05 is quite stable, probably because the sponge is hard and the sheet is strong. It’s easy to insert blocks even if you make a rough angle. I felt that it was very easy to guess and put it in. There are even games that I won thanks to this rubber block. I have a pretty strong impression on the ball that spins up!

Counter drive
this! Dignics 05 has a pretty good counter drive. Once you know the course, all you have to do is grab the opponent’s ball and give it rotation and speed, and you can hit a strong counter drive. It was a rubber that was quite easy to counter drive. The ease of hitting this counter drive is also a favorite of Dignics 05.

Stop
At first I played it and it was quite difficult. However, by hooking it with the seat, it became possible to apply considerable rotation even on the table, and it became stable. The sponge is also hard, so it fits nicely. Perhaps Dignics 05 is easier to stop than other Dignics.

Push
It also suffers from a stop, but it is easy to rotate. Compared to Spin Art, it is inferior to Spin Art, but I think that Dignics 05 is also a rubber that can be used as a weapon. Personally, I think it’s easier to use as a weapon than the push of Dignics 09C.

Flick
I felt that the flick to adjust the angle was not very stable. I think it’s better to take the plunge and aim for a bang because it gives you more momentum. I think that it will be stable if the racket hits the ball and then swings further upward so that it will rotate naturally. If you want to swing parallel to the table, I think the knuckle flick type is better.

Serve
Since I changed to Dignics 05, the amount of rotation has increased, of course, but more than that, the Young Generation (YG) serve has come to be cut off. It cuts sharply. It is very useful to be able to put out a downward rotation serve in the reverse horizontal rotation system because it is possible to put out variations in the serve. Also, it is useful because it is easy to cut it with a bumping serve or make it into a knuckle. I feel that it is easy to serve the lower rotation system with a fast ball foot in addition to the forward horizontal lower rotation system serve of the scooping system to secure the amount of rotation. However, it took me a long time to get used to it.

Backhand

Light hit
As I felt in the forehand, I can get a ball that stretches like an active block just by hooking it on the seat a little. It’s good that it’s easy to speed up! Moreover, the ball, which looks like a straight trajectory close to the meat from the opponent’s point of view, is very stable. It was very reliable because the meat type or speed type drive was automatically stabilized.

Drive in the rally
When I used it a year ago, it wasn’t stable at all, but it seems that the impact of the backhand has improved considerably in a year, which is quite good. Also, I prefer to hit the backhand drive after letting it bite into it, but I think that it is Dignics 05 that it can rotate enough and give power even with that way of hitting. As an aside, both Tenergy 05 and Dignics 05 can hit a powerful ball even if they hit the rubber made in Germany. I feel again that it is a high-performance rubber. Personally, it was more stable and comfortable to hit with the rotation priority, such as hitting with only the sheet, because the amount of rotation increased. I felt that the high performance that does not choose such a way of hitting is like a butterfly rubber.
Also, with Tenergy 05 and Tenergy 05 Hard, if the surface is turned down too much, such as when hitting lightly, it may fall off, but with Dignics 05, the seat is caught more strongly, probably because it is stronger. I felt that it was quite stable even when the surface was turned down considerably.

Loop (top spin) drive against back spin
I felt that the amount of rotation was a little inferior when compared to the forehand drive, but I was still able to put it in stably. A year ago, I couldn’t feel the stability because I hit it only by hand. Now that I’m trying to put my waist and body in, I was able to put it in fairly stably. Moreover, it was a good impression that I could hit a fairly aggressive drive.

Speed drive against back spin
This was also pretty good! Personally, I was able to easily hit the speed drive by hitting with the core in mind so as not to lose to the ball. I was able to stably hit a speed drive at a level that could force the opponent to block if used in a match. It was really difficult to pull out the speed drive with one shot, but it felt quite good to hit a stable and powerful drive rather than going around and forehand driving.

Block
I felt it in the foreground, but of course the back is also good. It was possible to block without difficulty even in the loop of Dignics 09C. I think it’s because the seat has become stronger.

Counter drive
As you can imagine, it’s pretty good. If you hit it so that it catches the top of the ball, the counter drive is completed without permission. If you aim for more power and hit hard, you can hit a ball like a rising counter. It’s terrible.

Stop
You can stop it without any problems. It felt good.

Push
I felt it in push practice, but it is easier to cut with push than I imagined. I’m not good at it and I mainly use Zhang Jike ZLC of the outer ZLC, so I felt that it was difficult to get rid of it even with Tenergy 05, but I felt that it was easier to get rid of it with this Dignics 05. It bounces, so I think the trick is to hit it with just the sheet.

Chiquita
Since the rubber is light, it is easy to respond to sudden changes in the ball, and I felt that it was easy to Chiquita. However, I haven’t been able to keep up with my arm yet, and it’s not as stable as a backhand drive. In the future, I would like to practice to stabilize Chiquita as an extension of the backhand drive.

Comparison with other rubbers (individual impressions)

Spin amount
　Dignics 09C ≧ Dignics 05 > Diginics 80 ＞ Tenergy 05

Speed
　Dignics 80 ≧ Dignics 05 > Dignics 09C

Ease of drawing an arc when biting into it (easiness of sinking the ball)
　Dignics 09C > Dignics 05 > Tenergy 05

Life span
　Dignics 05 > Tenergy 05

  • 2021.10.13

Review Zhang Jike ZLC

Explanation

Zhang Jike ZLC is one of the four rackets of Gold Medalist Zhang Jike, a Chinese player model sold by Butterfly in April 2013. In fact, Zhang Jike uses VISCARIA, a racket that uses Arylate Carbon. It will be a little long to start writing the explanation about Viscaria, so please let me write it in another article in the future. What I will touch on here is mainly about the Zhang Jike player model.
The four rackets of the Zhang Jike model use different special materials, Super Zylon Carbon (Super Zylon Carbon, SZLC), Zylon Carbon (Zylon Carbon, ZLC), Arylate Carbon (Arylate Carbon, ALC). , Tamca 5000 (T5000). Butterfly racket is easy to understand because the racket name is basically written on the grip, but this Zhang Jike model is difficult to understand because special material is not described on grip. The difference is the color of the pattern that crosses at the center of the grip.

The color of the crossed pattern on the grip
SZLC: Gold
ZLC: Gray
ALC: Blue
T5000: Purple

FullSizeRender
FullSizeRender
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FullSizeRender

It is said that Zhang Jike ALC is almost the same as Viscaria and only the grip design is changed. It seems that the remaining three types have changed special materials with a concept similar to Zhang Jike ALC.

The image is quoted from Butterfly’s homepage.

https://www.butterfly.co.jp/

I haven’t been able to try out each racket, but I think the following three features are common to the Zhang Jike model racket.

Features of Zhang Jike model racket

1. Outer special carbon racket using Koto material for the upper plate

Probably, I think that all four types of Zhang Jike model rackets use hard wood called Koto wood for the upper plate. And it will be a racket with special material carbon arranged at the position just inside the upper plate and the outer position. All special materials The special materials used for the Zhang Jike model are carbon, light, hard and bouncy special materials. Therefore, due to the combination of the hard material of the upper plate and carbon of the special material, it is a series that can be called an outer special material racket with a fairly hard shot feeling.
This upper plate material + outer special material carbon has a feeling of hitting with different tastes, and in the past katsuo000 was not good at it, but rather it was a feeling of hitting that I felt weak. katsuo000 is a carbon racket made of top plate material + outer special material, and the racket that feels hard is Timo Boll Spirit. Timo Boll Spirit, the royal road racket of thin outer carbon racket, is a racket of upper plate Koto material + outer ALC, but the upper plate is still hard, it is hard to feel the ball holding, although there are individual differences, the ball separation I felt that the wood was fast and easy to feel. However, I’m getting used to it to some extent now, and I feel that Timo Boll Spirit is a softer racket than Zhang Jike ZLC.
And from Zhang Jike ZLC, I imagine that this racket series will be as follows. It is not easily affected by the rotation of the opponent, the amount of rotation is high, and the power of the aggressive ball (speed and amount of rotation) is high. It has changed to a harder plastic ball, and the amount of rotation of the ball drops further from 40 mm, and even with a loop drive that emphasizes the amount of rotation, such as applying rotation only with the seat, the amount of rotation drops with the soft racket on the upper plate. , Now easily blocks and eats counters. Nowadays, if it is not a racket made of upper plate material with a thin blade, the amount of rotation is too small and I feel that it is likely to be targeted when hitting a loop drive. The thin blade upper plate material + outer special material carbon racket certainly feels difficult to touch on the table, but it is less affected by the rotation of the opponent, and the rotation of the opponent is overwritten by the rotation of the opponent. I think that the power to cancel is strong and it is easy to obtain a stable amount of rotation.

2. Good compatibility with adhesive rubber

Adhesive rubber, especially Hurricane rubber, is easier to handle if you want ease of handling, such as a soft racket that makes it easy to hold the ball, for example, a wood racket. However, when pursuing the amount of rotation, speed, power, etc., the upper plate is hard, and in order to compensate for the lack of speed of the adhesive rubber, it will be combined with a racket with a special material with high momentum and speed performance. Depending on the racket, there are special material rackets that are incompatible with adhesive rubber, but it seems that the racket bearing the name of Zhang Jike is generally a racket series that can be combined with adhesive rubber. In fact, I’ve played against Zhang Jike ZLC and Kyohyo, but I felt that I was able to score with just a loop drive about 1.5 times as much as usual. Certainly there are some difficulties, but if you can master it, the compatibility was excellent. I think that the reason is probably that all the racket series of Zhang Jike model are thin and easy to bend.

If you turn the above over, I think that the racket of the Zhang Jike player model is not a racket that everyone receives, but a racket that assumes players who are intermediate and advanced players and have a certain sense of hitting. It can be said that the racket series is easy to achieve both the high rotation performance of the adhesive rubber and the high speed performance of the racket when it becomes possible to apply stable rotation using a certain amount of impact and the flexibility of the racket.

3. The center of gravity is on the grip

The racket itself has a center of gravity on the grip side, partly because Zhang Jike is a back-main battle type player. On the contrary, the racket of the fore main battle type players such as Ma Long and Yuya Oshima becomes the racket of the tip center of gravity. Compared to a racket that tends to exert power due to centrifugal force as the center of gravity of the tip by slightly increasing the blade size, the racket of the Zhang Jike player model has a center of gravity on the grip side. I think one of the features of the Zhang Jike player model racket is that it is very easy to hit the backhand and it is easy to turn back. Certainly, the backhand is easier to swing than the fore. Backhand is becoming more important in modern table tennis. If you put weight on the backhand or feel that you are not good at backhand, I think that using the Zhang Jike model racket is one option.

I would also like to mention that katsuo000 has not been verified as of April 2020. Butterfly rackets are sometimes ridiculed as having the same plywood composition but different grips, but in fact katsuo000, for example, says that the only difference between Timo Boll ALC and Zhang Jike ALC is the grip. I’m imagining. In the racket series bearing the name of Bol player such as Timo Boll ALC, I have heard that the center of gravity of the tip is probably hollowed out inside the grip and that it has a square grip shape. Bol is also a fore-main battle type player when comparing the fore and back, and the racket with the tip center of gravity tends to be preferred by the fore-main battle type player, so it is a convincing grip design. I think it’s probably just this difference in grip shape, but in reality you can’t tell without comparison. If I can afford it in the future, I would like to get Timo Boll ZLC and Zhang Jike ALC and compare them.

The Zhang Jike model racket is a popular series of rackets and is still used by top players as of 2020! For example, the following is known.

Zhang Jike ALC: Shunsuke Togami, Kenta Matsudaira, Wong Chun Ting player
Zhang Jike SZLC: Lin Yun-Ju, Chuang Chih Yuan player

Two features of Zhang Jike ZLC

Next, let me mention the characteristics of Zhang Jike ZLC. As of April 2020, Zhang Jike ZLC is used as the main racket, and we own all three types of grips: straight (ST), flare (FL), and anatomical (AN) for the purpose of rubber comparison. All the grips are round, so I feel it’s very easy to grip.

4. Super spin due to hard upper wood and thin blade

As I mentioned earlier, the upper plate is made of Koto material, so the upper plate is stiff, and not only the Zhang Jike player model, but also the special material of the butterfly, the racket that uses the thinnest blade among the rackets is Zhang Jike ZLC. Become. 5.5 mm! Roughly speaking, the thinner the plate, the easier it is to rotate and the higher the Max value of the amount of rotation. As a demerit, it is difficult to get a long distance and a powerful ball. I feel that the amount of rotation has increased since I made this Zhang Jike ZLC, and the loop drive is especially good. The number of people who say that the rotation is not edgy has increased.

I’m not using it now, but it goes well with the leopard, and when I hit the loop drive, the opponent made a mistake once. I like Zhang Jike ZLC because it shows very high rotation performance like this. Among the outer carbon rackets, I think that the racket in the standing position from 5 plywood is Zhang Jike ZLC.

5. High speed peculiar to outer ZL carbon

As mentioned in the section on thinness, it is not without the fact that the thinness of the board makes it difficult for the ball to have a short flight distance or become a powerful ball. However, I feel that Zhang Jike ZLC has both high speed performance and rotational performance by compensating for its lack of flight distance and power with ZLC, which is a special material. ZLC has the characteristic that the ball easily enters the deep part of the opponent’s court, so it is a rough expression, but it is a racket that has both rotation performance like 5 plywood and speed and power like a special material. I think it will be. Also, compared to the ALC type outer racket, it certainly has an impression that the ball holding is slightly inferior, but since the upper plate is hard and thin, the maximum value of the amount of rotation is higher in Zhang Jingka ZLC, and also in the ball. The speed is fast, the trajectory is very aggressive, and it draws an arc line that is easy to feel straight.

https://amzn.to/2I457zt

Recommended rubber combination (personal impression only)

Fore rubber

I felt that there are both Dignics and Hurricane. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that almost all rubbers are suitable. I think there are an infinite number of combinations. Personally, I feel uncomfortable when I combine this racket with soft rubber, so basically I prefer to combine it with hard rubber.

Dignics 05

Currently it is mainly used. The maximum rotation performance of Dignics 05 and the high rotation performance of Zhang Jike ZLC make it possible to produce a very high quality rotating ball. Even with a loop drive, you can get a high amount of rotation that is comparable to that of adhesive rubber, so you can use it as a weapon. In addition, both Dignics 05 and Zhang Jike ZLC have high speed performance, so you can hit a powerful drive even from the apse. I think that it is a unique combination of Zhang Jike ZLC and Dignics 05 that gives you the power of applying an organic solvent. Dignics 05 is hard to feel the bite, but if you bite it well, you can hit a speed drive with a strong amount of rotation, so I really like it. In addition, it has a much longer lifespan, and if you manage it properly, you can use it for three months to half a year with table tennis once a week. I’m glad that it has a long life compared to Tenergy.

https://amzn.to/2IdPsNY

Hurricane NEO III Blue Sponge

In the past, I used Hurricane NEO3 Blue Sponge for the provincial team on the foreground. I didn’t find it particularly difficult to use, and the loop drive with a large amount of rotation became an obvious weapon. It goes great with the leopard. I felt that my arm was not enough and the amount of rotation of the speed drive dropped a little. It’s the best combination, so I’m not good at it. The tabletop is a combination that you can handle without graduation, and the drive is invincible. The only thing is that the apse tends to run out of power, so that may have been the bottleneck.

https://amzn.to/2If8TFZ

Tenergy 05 Hard

This was also a good match. Since it is hard and hard, the shot feeling is very clear, so I think that you can understand your taste, but it was a good feeling in the foreground. In the same way, I felt that it goes well with the hard high-end rubber, the Rasanter series such as andro’s Rasanter R53, and Joola’s Rhyzer Pro 50.

https://amzn.to/32osfPT
https://amzn.to/38ornyy

Dignics 09C

I mentioned Dignics 09C. This rubber is listed because I feel that the outer carbon rubber is more compatible. In fact, with the inner carbon racket, I felt that the speed performance would drop a little too much. I don’t think it needs to be ZLC, so I recommend matching it with an ALC outer carbon racket!

Back rubber

The back is still a combination of hard and hard, so I think that mistakes will be reduced if you choose it firmly. I found German rubber to be very easy to do, so I would like to introduce it.

Omega VII Tour

It’s XIOM rubber. I wasn’t good enough, so the other person told me that the amount of rotation was a little inferior, but it was easy to handle. The tour was a little stiff and heavy, so I think it would be even better to use the Omega VII Euro or Pro. I was particularly impressed with the Chiquita and backhand drive systems, which fit well. The Omega VII Tour gave the impression of heavier tenacity, and even if it was hooked on the seat, it would rotate firmly, so the loop drive could be used normally and practically. The Omega VII Hyper was also easy to use, but it was a little over-engineered and the ball became shallower. That’s why Chiquita was very easy to do.

https://amzn.to/2IhyBtv

V>15 Extra

VICTAS high-end rubber V> 15 Extra. After all, it was the easiest to put in Chiquita. It was a little chiquita, or it was easy to flick backhand, but it was a rubber that was not easily affected by rotation and was easy to flick. I thought push was easy to float, but I was able to hit enough from the middle team, and I felt that the counter was easy because the seat was strong. It’s easy to do in parts other than the amount of rotation. Also, when using Hurricane or Dignics for the fore, the difference in the amount of rotation is apparent, so I felt that it was possible to invite mistakes due to the difference in the amount of rotation. On the other hand, V> 15 Extra was very good because there was a part where you could hit a habit ball that would make the trajectory go wild when you let it bite. If you want a synergistic effect with the fore rubber, which has a high maximum amount of rotation, I felt that the combination of V> 15 Extra will bring out the taste.

https://amzn.to/38kt8g5

Rasanter V47

The Rasanter series was also very impressive. Especially good was the V47! It was easy to handle! The V47 has a strong image of speed rubber, but it is a rubber with spin tension at all, it can also be used for loop drive with a lot of rotation, and because it is a soft sheet, it was relatively easy to insert blocks. Even in a rally, just by driving with an emphasis on the amount of rotation, there was a feeling that an aggressive and speedy drive would enter stably, and it was good that the hardness matched my arm. Even with V47, I could hit a ball with a sufficient amount of rotation and felt a sense of stability and speed. I think that the feature of Rasanter is that it takes a firm rotation because the sheet is thin even among the rubber made in Germany. I think Rasanter is a rubber that can rotate and get the feeling of German rubber.

https://amzn.to/3p7SB2f

Dignics 05

When I used it for the first time, I found it difficult to use, but when I used it recently, it was rather excellent. The features are that push can be cut by the seat and it is easy to stop, it is easy to hit the counter drive, the backhand drive in the rally is very straight but stable, and the downward rotation drive is also powerful and stable. However, it is difficult to use the butterfly rubber as the back because I cannot hit it in a proper position and there are many mistakes. It is a rubber that requires a lot of practice.

Each technical review

Forehand

Light hit
Compared to Mizutani Jun ZLC, it is clearly harder and does not have a long flight distance. Compared to a wood racket, the shot feeling is still hard, but it takes some getting used to here.

Drive on long balls and rallies
It’s easy to get power! It’s hard, but if you can rotate your arms and wrists firmly, you can hit a ball with speed and rotation! You can hit a very powerful drive with adhesive rubber, but it is spin tension rubber that makes it easier to drive faster than rotation. On the contrary, adhesive rubber is easier to put out for a drive that has speed and rotates faster than speed!

Drive with open face
Since the racket is easy to bend, it was easy to hit a very powerful drive! Whether it was adhesive rubber, tenergy or dignics, it took a lot of rotation and I was able to draw a solid arc and sink it even with speed drive.

Loop top spin drive for back spin
This is also easy to do! Since the blade is thin, it is very easy to rotate. Adhesive rubber made it easier to control loop drives with lower arcs. Dignics 05 tends to be a little expensive ball, but if you get used to it, you can drive low.

Speed ​​drive for back spin
You need to step firmly so that your body does not flow, but once you decide, it is easy to do a very good speed drive.

Curve / shoot drive
Since the trajectory is straight, there is little impression that it bends.

Block
It’s surprisingly easy to do. I felt it was easier to do than Timo Boll Spirit. I think it’s because the grip is clogged. On the contrary, Timo Boll Spirit seems to have a semi-hollow grip, so I felt that it was easy to be pushed by the opponent’s drive.

Counter drive
The speed counter drive is easy to do anyway. Since the shot feeling is hard, it is easy to hit it if you hit it like crushing it, so I think that it is more stable if you firmly grasp the top of the ball or diagonally sideways.

Stop
It feels like a hard shot, but once you get used to it, it stops quite firmly. If you use Dignics 05 or Hurricane NEO3, you can cut it firmly, so I think it’s easy to seal the third ball bang.

Push
You can cut it as well. Is good.

Fore flick
I don’t use it much, but I think it’s more stable to hit it like playing it than to put it on because the ball separates quickly. It’s important to take the plunge.

Backhand

Light hit

Drive on long balls and rallies

Loop top spin drive for back spin

Speed ​​drive for back spin

Curve / shoot drive

Block

Counter drive

Stop

Push

Chiquita

Comparison with other rackets (only personal impressions)

Spin Amount
　Zhang Jike ZLC　>　Inner Force Layer ZLC　 >　Mizutani Jun ZLC

Easy to spin
　Inner Force Layer ZLC　>　Zhang Jike ZLC　 ≧　Mizutani Jun ZLC

Speed
　Zhang Jike ZLC　≧　Mizutani Jun ZLC　>　Inner Force Layer ZLC

Flying Distance
　Mizutani Jun ZLC　>　Zhang Jike ZLC　>　Inner Force Layer ZLC

  • 2021.04.29

Review Q5

Explanation

MIZUNO, a Japanese comprehensive sports bland, collaborated with Sumitomo Riko for developing new table tennis rubbers to compete with world standard rubber Tenergy. Sumitomo Riko is a Japanese high quality rubbers and resins company and the new rubbers are made in Japan. The highest performance in Q series, which are developed with Sumitomo Riko, is Q5. After release of Q3 and Q4, technology pursued to improved much more performance for Q5. As a result, sponge of Q5 is Accel Arc Sponge, which is different from Q3 nor Q4. Appling Accel Arc Sponge, Q5 is compatible a good biting into sponge and repulsion to enhance energy efficiency. When release, Q3 and Q4 showed a lot of topics. Q5 exceeded topics than Q3 nor Q4. When Q5 release, several top players, who contract with MIZUNO, announced to use Q5 as professional gears. Below are top players who announced to use Q5.
– Yuya Oshima (All Japan Championship Singles Second Place, Doubles Winner)
– Rikuto Maede (All Japan Cadet (under 15 years old) Winner)
– Ryusuke Karube (All Japan Amateurs’ Championship Winner)
– Yurika Taira (All Japan Amateurs’ Championship Winner (Women))

Magazine “Table Tennis Kingdom” also featured Q5.

A new rubber “Q5” has evolved sponge from Q3/Q4. Therefore, Q5 is not the same class to Q3/Q4 and Q5 possess the highest performance and top of rubber in MIZUNO!

Bubbles of Q5 sponge is large and good bite against ball. In general, soften rubber often shows good bite against ball but less bounce. However, for sponge of Q5, basic performance of material is developed. Thus, Q5 shows compatibility both good bite against ball and much improved performance of speed and spin.
1. Energy efficiency Up
2. Spin amount and flying distance Up
3. Biting against ball Up
4. Weight saving (lighter about 2 g than Q3/Q4)
5. Good Control

From Table Tennis Kingdom 2018

Below are information from MIZUNO homepage. First is shape of pimple.

Pimple thickness of Q5 is 1.7 mm, which is the same to that of Tenrgy 05. Distance between pimples is 0.65 mm, which is more wider than that of Q3/Q4.

Pefermance

We found published performance for GF series, but we don’t find the published performance for Q series. However, we found the figures.

Q series shows higher performance of both speed and spin than GF series.

Q5 is positioned “80” in Tenergy / Dignics series. However, Q5 is designed as high speed performance by shape of pimple in top sheet, and high spin performance by developed sponge (Accel Arc Sponge). (Tenergy / Dignics series are designed a performance by only shape of pimple in top sheet. (no change in sponge structure)).

Paste and Weight of Q5

Zhang Jike ZLC is selected.

In Q series, Q5 is the most heavy rubber. Information from Table Tennis Kingdom, Q5 is lighter than Q3/Q4. This weight may depend on individual difference.
In addition to weight, Q5 is odor similar to Q3/Q4.

Q5 (MIZUNO)
    Accel Arc Sponge
    Tension type (XL52/3)
    made in Japan
・Sponge Thickness： middle（1.7 mm）、Thick（1.9 mm）、Extra thick（2.1mm）
・Sponge stiffness：47
・\6,800 + tax
・72 g（before cut）　→　51 g（after cut paste to Zhang Jike ZLC）

Thee Points of Q5

Highest Spin Performance in Q series!

During using Q5, katsuo000 felt hitting more mad and harder than Q3/Q4. However, the top spin drive by Q5 showed much high spin! The spin amount by Q5 may be similar to Tenergy 05 Hard and Rasanter R53. This excellent performance of Q5 is unique and no exist in Q3/Q4. Q5 is very hard, but in the reviews of Q5, there’re Q5 may be softer than Q3/Q4, thus katsuo000 thought that Q5 may show large change as individual difference. On the other hand, the spin amount by Q5 is very excellent in both lots of reviews and katsuo000 feeling. Especially, katsuo000 felt excellent in curve forehand drive with touching side of ball.

Of course, similar to other Q series, push, stop and counter drive is easy!

Similar to Q3/Q4, by Q5 push and stop is very easy to low and short. Moreover, the counter drive of Q5 against drive ball is very easy. This performance is important for lots of TT players.

No difficult to use comparison to Q3/Q4

Using Q4, feeling of hitting the ball, katsuo000 may imagine high arc and high arch line. But, in real the arch line by Q4 is very straight. This type of feeling uncomfortable often occurs when using Q3/Q4. However, using Q5, katsuo000 didn’t feel uncomfortable.

Review of Every Technique

Fore Hand series

Light Hitting
katsuo000 felt very hard. And A5 smells odor.

Drive during Rally

Top Spin Slow Drive against back spin ball
Q5 showed highest level of top spin slow drive. Excellent!

Speed Drive against back spin ball
　少し硬いので食い込ませるのが大変でしたが打てると感じました。

Block
Easy to control.

Counter-Drive
Very easy to counter-drive by Q5.

Stop
Easy to control to low and short.

Push
Easy to control to low

Flick

Serves
Much high spin amount.

Back Hand series

Light hitting
Too hard to control.

Drive during Rally

Top Spin Slow Drive against back spin ball

Speed drive against back spin ball

Block
Good to control.

Counter-drive

Stop
Easy to control to low and short.

Push
Easy to control.

Chiquita
Spin Chiquita is good. No drop.

Comparing to other rubbers (Personal Impressions）

Spin
　Dignics 05 ＞ Q5 ≧ Tenergy 05 Hard ＞ Q4 ≧Tenergy 05 ＞ Q3 ≧ Tenergy 80

Speed
　Dignics 05 ＞ Tenergy 80 ≧ Q3 ≧ Q5 ≧ Q4 ＞ Tenergy 05

  • 2021.01.03

Review Hurricane NEO III Blue Sponge for Ministry Term

Explanation

In this page, Hurricane NEO III Blue Sponge for Ministry Term is reviewed. katsuo000 was used Hurricane NEO III Blue Sponge for Ministry Term in forehand side rubber for several periods. It should be noted that, this review was using Hurricane NEO III Blue Sponge for Ministry Term pasted with general water-based glues (without organic-based speed glue, such as Booster, which is prohibited in Japan).
A big Chinese sports maker, Double Happiness Shanghai (DHS) sells Hurricane NEO III and lots of top Chinese players use rubbers produced by DHS. When talking about Chinese table tennis, we don’t avoid about Hurricane, which is representative a tacky rubber. DHS sells two kinds of tacky rubbers, which are Hurricane and Sky Line. Sky Line is used by penholder drive type players such as Xu Xin. On the other hand, shake hand drive type players use Hurricane. There are several kinds of rubbers named Hurricane, thus, a little very confusing. Therefore, let me explain kinds of Hurricane.

Hurricane made by Nittaku

Chinese Top Players use Hurricane by DHS, however, tacky rubbers named Hurricane are also sold by Nittaku in Japan. Name are the same, but, the performance of them are very different at all, I guess.

Below are line up of Hurricane by Nittaku on 2020.

・Nittaku Hurricane II
・Nittaku Hurricane III
・Hurricane Pro II
・Hurricane Pro III
・Hurricane NEO III
・Hurricane Pro III Turbo Orange
・Hurricane Pro II Turbo Blue

7 kinds of Hurricane are sold by Nittaku. We select color (red / black) of sheet and thickness of sponge in Hurricane by Nittaku. Hurricane by Nittaku are composed from tacky sheet made in China and sponge made in Japan. The sponge made in Japan are softer, thus, Hurricane by Nittaku are tending to be better to control. If katsuo000 need to select Hurricane by Nittaku, Hurricane Pro series, which possess hard sponge and very tacky, are expected to recommend. Hurricane Pro series such as Hurricane Pro II and Hurricane Pro III are close to Chinese tacky rubbers with low bounce and heavy weight for raging drives. Moreover, katsuo000 suggested that Hurricane by Nittaku are heavier than that by DHS.

↓Hurricane Pro III Turbo Blue and Hurricane Pro III Turbo Orange show the same speed and spin numbers.

Let’s get back to Hurricane NEO III by DHS.

Hurricane made by DHS

Below are line up of Hurricane by DHS.

・Hurricane II
・Hurricane III
・Hurricane III-50
・Hurricane 8
・Hurricane NEO II
・Hurricane NEO III

6 kinds of Hurricane are sold by DHS. So, rubber named ‘Hurricane NEO III blue sponge‘ are one of ‘Hurricane NEO III‘s. In addition, classes of rubbers are also existing in DHS. Classes are ‘for General use‘, ‘for Ministry Term‘, and ‘for National Term’. These are not ‘Blue sponge‘ type in ‘for general use’. There are ‘Blue sponge‘ type only in ‘for Ministry Term‘ and ‘for National Term‘. Moreover, there are ‘White sponge‘ type only in ‘for National Term‘. Of course, we also select both thickness and stiffness of sponge in Hurricane. After here, mainly Hurricane NEO III is described.

Shape (for General, Ministry Term, National Term)

katsuo000 strongly feels important about packaged shape of Hurricane NEO III. Performance of Hurricane NEO III for Ministry / National Term are very different from Hurricane NEO III for General, and Hurricane NEO III for Ministry / National Term show better spin and bounce with feeling to grab a ball. Package shape of Hurricane NEO III for General is octagon, package shape of Hurricane NEO III for Ministry Term is hexagon, and Hurricane NEO III for National Term is rectangle. Area of rubbers is octagon < hexagon < rectangle. Below are pictures of Hurricane NEO III for referring

For General = Octagon

Hurricane NEO III for General

For Ministry Term = Hexagon

Hurricane NEO III Blue Sponge for Ministry Term

For National Term = Rectangle

Hurricane NEO III for National Term

Like pictures, package shape of rubbers are different, thus, players easily distinguish which rank (for General, Ministry Term, National Term) of Hurricane NEO III.

Sponge (Orange, White, Blue)

Orange Sponge

At first, standard sponge for Hurricane NEO III is orange sponge. From for General to National Term, there are orange sponge in all rank of rubbers. Players, who try to use Hurricane NEO III for the first time, probably use Hurricane NEO III with orange sponge. This orange sponge is a little hard, similar to iron and not so feel to grab a ball. katsuo000 suggested especially, top spin drive is often raging, thus Hurricane NEO III by DHS is completely different comparing to Hurricane by Nittaku.

White Sponge

katsuo000 doesn’t know about Hurricane NEO III with white sponge. This Hurricane NEO III with white sponge is very rare and for use in back side rubber with very soft sponge. Ma long may use this type of rubber his back side rubber.

Blue Sponge

Blue sponge Hurricane NEO III is existing for Ministry Term and National Term. Sheet color of rubber is only black. This is said to be that red sheet put on blue sponge, red sheet is transparent becoming not red rubber, thus there’re no red sheet on blue sponge in DHS. Almost all top Chinese players use blue sponge rubber on their fore side. So top players use this special Hurricane with blue sponge. Hurricane NEO III with blue sponge is easier to grab a ball letting feel better control with arc by swing, comparing to orange sponge even the same sponge stiffness. Therefore, Hurricane NEO III with blue sponge are often used in fore side rubber.

Stiffness and Thickness of Sponge

Sponge Stiffness

Currently players select sponge stiffness of rubbers. For example, in Tenergy 05 by Butterfly there are 3 stiffness of sponge, Tenergy 05, Tenergy 05 FX, and Tenergy 05 Hard. Both speed and spin performances are the same, but the stiffness are different. Spin amount, controllability, speed are also different. In Tenergy 05, we select 3 stiffness. On the other hand, in Hurricane NEO III by DHS, we select more stiffness.
In Hurricane NEO III for General, we select 39, 40, and 41 stiffness. But, searching widely and deeply, we find Hurricane NEO III with from 35 to 42 stiffness. Changing 1 stiffness, 7 kinds of stiffness is existing!

Sponge Thickness

In Hurricane NEO III, we select 2.20 mm, 2.15 mm, and 2.10 mm.

Price and others

Talking about price of Hurricane NEO III, Hurricane NEO III for General is about 3,000 yen is web site. Hurricane NEO III for General shows often raging drive comparing to Hurricane by Nittaku, but sponge is very hard, thus not easy to control and flying distance is short. On the other hand, price of Hurricane NEO III for Ministry / National Term is very high. Hurricane NEO III for Ministry Term is about 5,000 – 6,000 yen, Hurricane NEO III for National Term is about 8,000 yen. Hurricane NEO III for Ministry / National Term is very easy to grab a ball and easier to control. In addition, Hurricane NEO III for Ministry / National Term with blue sponge shows more expensive but much easier to control. katsuo000 think top Chinese players maybe carry out pre- (and/or post-) processing into Hurricane NEO III for National Term.

*Specification of Top Players

katsuo000 found Hurricane NEO III for National Term specified for Ma Long and Fan Zhendong.
・Hurricane NEO III for National Term with Blue Sponge, Black, 42, 2.10 mm
・Hurricane NEO III for National Term, Red, 37, 2.10 mm
・Hurricane NEO III for National Term with Blue Sponge, Black, 41.5, 2.10 mm
All Hurricane NEO III specified for top players possess 2.10 mm thickness, which means pre- and/or post- processing is carried out. Price was about 15,000 yen!

Fake of Hurricane NEO III for Ministry / National Term

There are fake of Hurricane NEO III for Ministry / National Term. One of method to judge fake or not is using anti-counterfeit seal. katsuo000 suggest that it’s better to buy packaged rubber because Hurricane NEO III for Ministry / National Term is pre-processing before forwarding. Below is checking page of serial number by DHS.

http://www.dhs-sports.com/search.shtml

Jump to serial number for DHS site

After buying, we can check Hurricane NEO III for Ministry / National Term by serial number. After click, we find 2 type of expressions. Off course, this check doesn’t guarantee completely, but, it will be a relief.

Judge to Fake

Judge to Genuine

katsuo000 recommend to beginner not to buy just with interest.

Summary of Hurricane NEO III by DHS

There’re 6 kinds of Hurricane by DHS.

・Hurricane II
・Hurricane III
・Hurricane III-50
・Hurricane 8
・Hurricane NEO II
・Hurricane NEO III

In each of Hurricane by DHS, there’re lots of kinds below.
3 Ranks (for National /Ministry Term, General)
3 Sponges (Orange, White, Blue)
7 Stiffness (35 – 42)
3 Thickness (2.10, 2.15, 2.20 mm)
There’re 6 × 1（or 2 or 3）× 2（or 3）× 7 × 3 = 378 selections.

Maybe, DHS change specifications for each players. DHS offers lots of selections. This may be Players First mind. Finally, katsuo000 makes a comment.

・Hurricane II: Strongly tacky. not so bounce
・Hurricane III: Slightly tacky. Standard.
・Hurricane III-50: Slightly tacky.
・Hurricane 8: Slightly tacky. Slightly tensioned. Bounce.
・Hurricane NEO II: Strongly tacky. pre-processing.
・Hurricane NEO III: Slightly tacky. pre-processing.

Top Japanese Players using Hurricane by DHS

Currently, not all top Chinese players but also top Japanese players use Hurricane Blue Sponge! Yuya Oshima (just a small period, now he use Tenergy 05 Hard), who won second prize of men’s doubles in World Table Tennis 2017, used Hurricane Blue Sponge. Kasumi Ishikawa and Hina Hayata, who won all Japan table tennis champion ship, are now use Hurricane Blue Sponge by DHS on their fore hand side. Moreover, it tends to increase Japanese women players who use Hurricane by DHS (I’m not sure Blue Sponge or not). For instance, chopper players such as Honoka Hashimoto and Hitomi Sato are use Hurricane By DHS. Saki Shibata and Satsuki Odo, who are drive type players belonged to Shitennoji High School, are also use Hurricane by DHS. Top players tend to use Hurricane by DHS (not by Nittaku).

Comparison of Hurricane by Nittaku and by DHS

katsuo000 felt Hurricane by Nittaku are higher bounce than Hurricane by DHS, because of softer sponge than Hurricane by DHS sponge made in China. Moreover, Hurricane by DHS is not so bounce anyway in good or bad way. Thus, using Hurricane by DHS, even in receive, we hit top spin drive with all our power. Of course, using outer carbon such as Timo Boll Spirit (5 play woods with 2 outer arylate carbon and blade thickness is 5.8 mm), power drives with Hurricane by DHS often hit the net during even up rotation rallies. It’s necessary for using Hurricane by DHS to rub up the ball. However, even in up rotation rallies, drive with Hurricane by DHS often possess highest spin amount such as slow-top-spin-loop drive against back rotation. Then change into Hurricane Blue Sponge by DHS, katsuo000 loved to use Hurricane Blue Sponge by DHS for a year because of softer feeling to hit a ball. katsuo000 felt to use Hurricane Blue Sponge by DHS not only with similarity to spin tension type rubbers, but also with enough spin amount in serve and raging drives. In addition to the performance and utility of Hurricane Blue Sponge by DHS, storage the Hurricane by DHS with TSP tacky sheet enables to prolong the life span of rubbers. Characteristic performance of Hurricane Blue Sponge by DHS is compatibility of both highest spin amounts by Chinese tacky-sheeted rubbers with enough speed by hitting with power.

katsuo000 use Hurricane by DHS with blades below:
・Zhang Jike ZLC (5 play woods + 2 outer zylon carbon with blade thickness: 5.5 mm)
・Timo Boll Spirit (5 play woods + 2 outer arylate carbon with blade thickness: 5.8 mm)
・Mizutani Jun ZLC (5 play woods + 2 outer zylon carbon with blade thickness: 5.7 mm)
・Mizutani Jun SuperZLC (5 play woods + 2 outer super zylon carbon with blade thickness: 5.8 mm)
・Fortius FT ver. D (7 play woods + 2 outer polyester fiber with blade thickness: 6.4 mm)
・Fortius FT (7 play woods with blade thickness: 6.4 mm)
・Virtuoso+ (5 play woods with blade thickness: 5.8 mm)
・Ultimate Carbon (4 play woods + 3 inner carbon with blade thickness: 5.7 mm)
・Sardius (3 play woods + 2 Tamca 5000 Carbon with blade thickness: 7.2 mm)

The weight of Hurricane NEO III Blue Sponge for Ministry Term (sponge was 2.15 mm with 40 stiffness) after cut (without post processing) was about 47 g. This weight was lighter than other Chinese-tacky rubbers. Some players prefer to use heavy tacky rubbers because their higher bounce. Anyway, this lighter weight (below 50 g) of Hurricane NEO III Blue Sponge for Ministry Term was one of characteristics.

3 Points of Hurricane NEO III Blue Sponge for Ministry Term

Best Gear for Raging Drive with Sinking Down!

Characteristic of Hurricane is topspin drive with Raging and Sinking Down! This by only Hurricane. Players, who use Hurricane, love the raging topspin drives. Using and using Hurricane with harder and harder sponge, you control the raging topspin drives. Raging drive by Hurricane is accelerating speed with sinking down after bouncing the table, which is very different from other hard rubbers. For example, Raging drive by Tenergy and Dignics is hopping up after bouncing the table (the opposite). Anyway, raging drive by Hurricane is amazing because some of top players say they don’t want to touch the raging drive by Hurricane.

Easy to Service Ace because of Spin Amount and Speed

Second characteristic of Hurricane NEO III Blue Sponge for Ministry Term is service compatibility of high spin amount and high speed. Thus, using Hurricane, you earn small points by services. Hurricane NEO III is tacky rubber thus easy to control half long serve with high speed due to pre-processing. katsuo000 often used side and back spin serve with high speed, which seems to be knuckle ball (no rotation) but very heavy back spin.

Best Balanced Tacky Rubber with Good Touch against short ball and High Bounce from middle distance!

Third characteristic of Hurricane NEO III Blue Sponge for Ministry Term is best balance. When receiving and/or touching ball on the table, it’s easy to control stop and push. Moreover, during up rotation rallies, it’s enough bounce for speed drive. Tacky rubbers tend to be more difficult to control speed drive than spin tension type rubbers. Using tacky rubbers, katsuo000 often open blade face to utilize bending of rubber and blade, then, hit a ball with all power sequentially making spin and arc by follow through, finally, katsuo000 enable speed drive. After understanding this way for speed drive, katsuo000 control speed drive with ignoring the spin amount and height of ball. It’s advantage to use tacky rubbers for ignoring not only spin amount but also height of ball. These points enable killing speed drives. katsuo000 felt easy speed drives because of Hurricane NEO III Blue Sponge for Ministry Term. Of course, it’s necessary for using Hurricane to hit with more power and stronger touch, however, katsuo000 felt possible intense speed rallies against spin tension rubbers. katsuo000 felt impossible rallies by using Hurricane NEO III for General. Hurricane NEO III Blue Sponge for Ministry Term possess wider territory, which is one of characteristics.

Review of Every Technique

Fore Hand Series

Light hitting
Firstly, it’s not so bounce. The sounds little bit cute. Blue sponge is feeling better touch, however, in comparison, lower bounce than spin type tension rubbers.

Drive during Rally
Drives with light hitting are normal drive. Drives with powerful hitting become raging drive ball. katsuo000 felt it’s better to seek raging ball not speed.

Top Spin Slow Drive against back spin ball
katsuo000 often depend on this type drive for earning points. katsuo000 felt high quality of top spin drive with Zhang Jike ZLC and Hurricane NEO III Blue Sponge for Ministry Term.

Speed Drive against back spin ball
If you control face-opened drive, you probably hit good speed drive. Swing of drive are different from each other. Drive ball also affected by swings. This rubber is attractive because swings including follow through effect drive ball. It’s manual (not automatically).

Block
It’s not easy to block.

Counter-Drive
It’s easier to control counter-drive by using Hurricane NEO III Blue Sponge. katsuo000 felt stable after inviting a ball to hit a counter-drives.

Stop
It’s easy to stop outstandingly, even after vertex.

Push
It’s also easy to push similar to stop.

Serve
It’s compatible both high spin amount and speed.

Back Hand Series

katsuo000 never use Hurricane NEO III Blue Sponge for Min on back side.

Light hitting

Drive during Rally

Top Spin Slow Drive against back spin ball

Speed Drive against back spin ball

Block

Counter-Drive

Stop

Push

Chiquita

Comparing to other rubbers (Personal Impressions）

Spin Amount
Dignics 09C ≧ Dignics 05 > Hurricane NEO III Blue Sponge for Min > Tenergy 05

Speed
Dignics 05 > Dignics 09C > Tenergy 05 > Hurricane NEO III Blue Sponge for Min

Control of Raging Drive
Hurricane NEO III Blue Sponge for Min > Dignics 09C > Dignics 05 > Tenergy 05

https://amzn.to/3kk5jZH
  • 2020.12.13

Review Rasanter R48

Explanation

katsuo000 feels high spin performance in andro rubbers made in Germany, especially Rasanter series. The latest Rasanter rubber is Rasanter R48, which was started to sell in Japan on May 2020. Rasanter R48 is Crimson Rasanter, and is applied sponge with Energy Cell Technology, which is made a difference from other Green Rasanters. The same category with Ranter R48 is Rasanter R53. katsuo000 is now acclaiming Rasanter R53 with amazing spin performance and raging power drive as exceeding rubber than a World Standard Tenergy 05! Therefore, katsuo000 was expecting to buy Rasanter R48. Rasanter R47, which is one of Green Rasanters, has already been sold before 2020. Somebody feels “Why now Rasanter R48“? Actually, a friend of mine, who has used Rasanter R47 before, was not interested in Rasanter R48. And there’s information (from Table Tennis Kingdom, Japanese magazin) that someone feels Rasant series (now end of sale) were better than Rasanter series. However, Rasanter R48 is recommended more than Rasanter R53 as “R48 will be symbolized Rasanter series!” Anyway, emphasizing, Rasanter R48 is not just the minor changed rubber from Rasanter R47 at least.
Akifumi Hamakawa (Best 16 in All Japan Championship in 2019), who is contract player with andro Japan for promotion and public relation activities, is now using Rasanter R48 for both fore and back sides. By the way, Simon Gauzy, who is fantasista from France and a top world player, is now using Rasanter R53 for both fore and back sides. It’s very effective promotion which the fact top players uses the latest rubbers.
Promotion words with Rasanter R48 by andro is “Evolution of Rotational and Acceleration Powers. Super Monster Gear equipper with Energy Cell.” katsuo000 assumed ‘Monster Gear’ means maybe Tenergy 05, thus, imaging that andro wants Rasanter R48 to be said as ‘Super’ with meaning to overcome the Tenergy 05.

Public Properties of Rasanter R48

In fact, Rasanter V47 is the fastest speed property in all Rasanter series. One of Currently trends is high spin performance, which is required because of spin down by stiffer plastic ball (ABS resin). Therefore, Crimson Rasanters possess high spin performance. katsuo000 felt Rasanter R53 with high spin performance and raging drive with strong arc, (not so linearity). Comparing to Rasanter R53, Rasanter V47 is faster because drive by V47 is linearity and time to grip ball by V47 is shorter than time of R53. Rasanter R48 is a rubber to be easy to control from Rasanter R53, but R48 possesses higher spin property than R53.

Paste and Weight of Rasanter R48

Rasanter R48
    UM Tension (Tensor Bios UM)
    Energy Cell
    for 40+ Plastic Ball
・Sponge Thickness：1.7 mm、2.0 mm、ULTRAMAX（UM）
・Speed：119
・Spin：124
・Control：80
・Sponge stiffness：48°
・6,500 yes + tax
・70 g (before cut) → 48 g (after cut paste to Zhang Jike ZLC)

Three Points of Rasanter R48

katsuo000 felt R48 was easy to control! One of pro coaches, who was participant to All Japan Championship, now uses R48 on his back side. He also said it’s very easy to control. Before using R48, he used Rasanter R42. katsuo000 also felt about about 45 as sponge stiffness.

Higher Spin Performance than Tenergy 05!

R48 Feeling touch and grip a ball was similar to Tenergy 80. katsuo000 felt time of R48 to grip ball is shorter than time of Tenergy 05. This depended on the sheet shape. Sheet of R48 is maybe narrower pimple and wider distance between pimples than sheet of Tenergy 05. However, spin performance of R48 was amazingly high! R48 is very easy to control, controllability of R48 is similar to Rasanter R42. But, the spin performance of R48 is similar to Tenergy 05! katsuo000 felt the Tenergy 05 era can be end!

Easy to Control as Back Side Rubber!

R48 is easy to control, thus, capable to use in back side rubber! Back hand drive is very good to control even hitting unreasonable posture. Back hand drives are very stable because of high spin performance. Using R48 in fore side, katsuo000 felt high spin performance in drives and services. katsuo000 didn’t feel dissatisfied with fore hand. R48 is easy to control and high spin performance, which is cheat in a sense! R48 possesses contradictory performance!

Rasanter R48 is faster than R53

If you feel to be dissatisfied with speed of R53, katsuo000 recommended R48. katsuo000 felt good speed drive with high sound.

Review of Every Technique

Fore Hand Series

Light hitting
katsuo000 felt soft. Honestly speaking, too soft.

Drive during Rally
katsuo000 felt good to hit a drive. Sponge of R48 is softer than R53, thus easy to control drive. Ballistic of drive by R48 is similar to R53. But the power drive by R48 is not so raging such as R53.

Top Spin Slow Drive against back spin ball
katsuo000 felt time to grip of R48 is short, thus, little a bit difficult.

Speed Drive against back spin ball
Very good! It may be cheat! katsuo000 felt very easy to hit enough for speed drive!

Curve- / Reverse Curve- Driveドライブ
Curve- drive is also good and katsuo000 felt stable. Drive by R48 is no raging and similar to drive by Tenergy 05.

Block
Receivable to spin. Thus, over mistakes against top spin drive may increase. However, very easy to control against smash and knuckled ball (no spin ball).

Counter Drive
Counter drive with Rewriting spin is good.

Stop
Better to stop than Rasanter V47. But, making spin amount higher is difficult.

Push
Good to control low. But spin amount is not so high.

Service
Very good spin amount! No dissatisfied.

Back Hand Series

Light hitting
Very good to control.

Drive during Rally
Both drives with hitting only sheet and through sheet and sponge is good!

Top Spin Slow Drive against back spin ball

Speed Drive against back spin ball
Very good! katsuo000 felt very easy to hit enough for speed drive!

Curve- / Reverse Curve- Driveドライブ

Block

Counter Drive
Receivable to spin.
Stop

Push

Chiquita
Chiquita with R48 is stable to control. But, sponge thickness is UM, katsuo000 felt mistakes increase.

Comparing to other rubbers (Personal Impressions）

Spin Performance
　Dignics 05 ＞ Tenergy 05 Hard ＞ R53 ＞ R48 ≧ Tenergy 05

Speed
　DIgnics 05 ＞ R48 ＞ R53 ＞ Tenergy 05 ＞ Tenergy 05 Hard

Enabling to make Arc
　R53 ≧ R48 ＞ Tenergy 05 ＞ Dignics 05

https://amzn.to/34jy438
  • 2020.12.08

Review Dignics 09C

Explanation

Dignics 09C is one of the latest Top Gear sold by Butterfly / Tamasu on April 2020. Main rubbers of Butterfly are totally 12 rubbers of Tenergy series and Dignics series as ”World Standards”. Top Professional Players in the world are currently use these Tenergy and Dignics series’s. These 12 rubbers are categorized in spin type tension rubbers, compatibly equipping spin and speed without tacky sheet. On 2020, Butterfly adopted tacky sheet into Dignics 09C as tacky type tension rubber!
Butterfly sells tacky rubbers such as Tackiness series and Spin Art in the past. Not categorized in the tention, thus, Tackiness is omitted here. Spin Art is used by Ai Fukuhara (Japan) on her fore side rubber. I also used Spin Art on my back side rubber for high spin push and chiquita. Sponge of Spin Art is applied spring sponge, the same sponge with Tenergy series, thus Spin Art is nice rubber, however, on December 2019, Butterfly announced Spin Art will be out of sale (maybe, for production of Dignics 09C). Dignics 09C is categorized “Tacky-type High-Tension Rubber” (Spin Art was also categorized the same) with the State-of-the art Properties.
Promotion of Dignics 09C was held with Timo Boll, currently top player even 39 years old from Germany! Timo Boll is Legend with competing Top Chinese players, thus he is sometimes called Emperor in Japan! In the first place, development of Dignics 09C was involved deeply with Timo Boll for very long span as 7 years. Timo Boll said “I would like to play with rubbers such like Dignics 09C for several years”! His comment makes every player get interested in Dignics 09C. From end of March on 2020, sale of Dignics 09C was started, then lots of reviews were outgoing through the world.
Moreover, Dimitrij Ovtcharov, a top player from Germany, also started to use Dignics 09C on his fore side rubber after surprising contract with Butterfly in January on 2020. Immediately after change into Dignics 09C, He won Fan Zhendong, Chinese top young player in the world tour! Then, Butterfly also delivered on You Tube to promote that ‘His victory was thanks to Dignics 09C!’ This promotion was maybe succeeded in.
Key phrase of Dignics 09C is “Rubber that overcomes contradictions is strong”. What is contradictions? Probably, Dignics 09C shows obtaining speed and bounce such as spin type tension rubber, however, obtaining high operability and make stop on near net and table such as tacky type rubber!

Public Properties of Dignics 09C

Butterfly publicly shows spin and speed properties of every rubbers. In this properties, Dignics 09C possesses the same level of speed to Tenergy 05, and the highest level of spin property transcending more than Dignics 05. Dignics 09C shows the highest spin property overcoming than Dignics 05, thus naturally expecting to use, I guess!
Butterfly also makes to promote Dignics 09C shows good affinity with outer special fiber and/or carbon type blades. katsuo000 mainly uses Zhang Jike ZLC, a outer zylon carbon blade, therefore, expecting Dignics 09C. For the first time, katsuo000 reserved to purchase Dignics 09C!

Paste and Weight of Dignics 09C

Weight of Dignics 09C (extra thick) was about 50 g. This weight was similar to Tenergy 05 Hard. One of characteristics of Butterfly’s rubbers is that overall rubbers shows high performance and light. Thus, Dignics 09C is heavy type rubber in the Butterfly. 

Dignics 09C（ディグニクス09C）
　Tacky High Tension Rubber
・Sponge thickness: Thick (1.9 mm), Extra thick (2.1 mm)
・Spin: 13.0
・Speed: 13.0
・Sponge stifness: 44
・Price: open price (9,800 yen + tax)
・78 g (before cut) → 50 g (after cut paste to Zhang Jike ZLC)

Three Points of Dignics 09C

Tacky Tension Type Infinitely close to Spin Tension Type

katsuo000 felt Dignics 09C was finely soft and Tacky Tension Type Rubber which infinitely close to Spin Tension Type rubber. katsuo000 also felt Dignics 09C designed as almost Spin Tension rubber with minimal tacky property. Genuine Players using with Chinese Tacky rubbers such as Hurricane (Double Happiness Shanghai, DHS) maybe feel pros and cons.

Personal impression, katsuo000 felt Tenergy 05 Hard was more Tacky type rubber than Dignics 09C. Therefore, I recommend to use Dignics 09C as not Tacky Tension Type rubber but High Spec Spin Tension Type rubber. Of course, Dignics 09C possesses ease to stop near net and bench, and to screw speed drive in the table with strong arc line even hitting under the table and/or after vertex.

Ballistic of Drive by Dignics 09C is the most Soaring Up and Down in Dignics series!

Certainly, possessing 13 point, the highest spin property in the Butterfly rubbers, drive by Dignics 09C is amazing awesome! During drive-drive rally, a top spin drive with Dignics 09C catching deeply to hit can be letting ballistic soaring up and down amazingly! I also infrequently feel ballistic of a top spin drive soaring up and down with Tenergy 05. But, the soaring ballistic of a top spin drive with Dignics 05 is more remarkable, and the ballistic with Dignics 09C is more amazing and splendid! This soaring ballistic of a top spin drive is one of big characteristics with Dignics and Tenergy series! On the other hand, Hurricane, the most famous Chinese rubber, shows ballistic of a top spin drive sinking down. Dignics 09C showed a similar type with Tenergy and Dignics series, the top of spin tension type rubbers. Therefore, katsuo000 felt Dignics 09C is just spin tension type rubber!

Easier to control than Dignics 05!

Pimples of Dignics 09C‘s sheet are separated far, thus, during hitting a ball, Dignics 09C seems soft rubber. Therefore, Dignics 09C is easier to control than Dignics 05! katsuo000 felt Dignics 80 is easy to control, similarly, Dignics 09C is also evaluated good by lots of players. katsuo000 recommend to use Dignics 09C a player who wants to convert a spin tension type rubber into a tacky tension type rubber. Dignics 09C shows enough both high bounce/speed and highest level spin with keeping easy to control near net and table. katsuo000 think Dignics 09C is more appropriate rally type players avoiding miss than aggressive players with punching out. If feeling the weight of Dinigcs 09C is not heavy, katsuo000 also recommend to use Dignics 09C your back side rubber.

Review of Every Technique

Fore Hand Series

Light hitting
Comparing to Hurricane NEO III Blue Sponge for Ministry term (Double Happiness Shanghai, DHS), Dignics 09C showed higher bounce and longer flying distance. Hurricane NEO III Blue Sponge is clearly softer than Hurricane NEO III for general use (DHS), but the Hurricane NEO III Blue Sponge shows low bounce shorter distance. Similarly, Spin Art is also showed low bounce and short flying distance. katsuo000 was surprised the high bounce of Dignics 09C! katsuo000 felt that Dignics 09C is infinitely close to Spin Tension Type rubbers. katsuo000 expected Dignics 09C to obtain the same level drive speed to Dignics 05.

Drive during Rally
Drive by Dignics 09C with hitting lightly showed short flying distance and shallow of tables. katsuo000 felt drive of Dignics 09C was the shallowest than drive of Dignics 80, which was shallower than drive of Dignics 05. Speed drive of Dignics 09C was not so fast and not so spin. katsuo000 felt enabling to control spin amount of drive by Dignics 09C. Of course, top spin drive of Dignics 09C with hitting deeply into sponge to draw an arc was amazing soaring up and down. This amazing soaring drive by Dignics 09C was more remarkable than the drive by Dignics 05! Drive of Dignics 09C with hitting deeply showed clearer arc and more stable to bound into table than drive by Dignics 05. Top spin drive by Dignics 09C was amazing spin to make block over mistake. Moreover, low spin drive by Dignics 09C is much effective because of the change of spin amount. katsuo000 felt this change of spin amount was difficult by using Hurricane, because Hurricane is not bounce highly. Honestly talking, speed of the drive by Dignics 09C was not so fast, slower than drive by Tenergy 05. Therefore, katsuo000 felt a better affinity between outer carbon blades with Dignics 09C.

Top Spin Slow Drive against back spin ball
katsuo000 felt easy and stable to hit a top spin drive by Dignics 09C. However, katsuo000 felt Diginics 09C is softer than Dignics 05. Thus, hitting image by Dignics 09C let to feel not so high amount of spin. Probably, the top spin slow drive by Dignics 09C should possess amazing spin amount in fact. Ballistic of top spin slow drive by Dignics 09C tends to high similarly to Dignics 05 and not so sinking.

Speed Drive against back spin ball
katsuo000 also felt easy and stable to hit a speed drive by Dignics 09C. Especially, katsuo000 felt better to hit rising drive by Diginics 09C. Of course, katsuo000 felt good and ease to control a speed drive with hitting after vertex and dropping down under table because Dignics 09C let to draw an arc strongly. This was maybe advantage of Dignics 09C. Moreover, katsuo000 felt hitting points being in front of body. katsuo000 felt swinging to hit not bottom to top, but from back to front!

Block
not so bad

Counter-Drive
katsuo000 felt good controlling. katsuo000 felt Dignics 05 let to enable speed counter-drive, on the other hand, Dignics 09C let to enable counter-drive with overwriting spin.

Stop
katsuo000 felt good controlling to stop! However, katsuo000 felt this good feeling was not by tacky sheet but the stiffness of rubber. Hard rubbers such as Tenergy 05 Hard, Omega VII Tour (XIOM), Omega VII Hyper (XIOM), and Rasanter R53 (andro) also showed controllability of stop. katsuo000 felt similar to the hard rubbers. katsuo000 felt difficulty to stop against short up rotation ball. In fact, up rotation short serve is more effective against Dignics 09C user.

Push
katsuo000 felt good controlling to push with side courses! Trying more spin amount is not so easy because Dignics 09C let to feel soft.

Flick
katsuo000 felt good controlling to flick with up rotation! Even with soft touch, drive spin could be obtained automatically.

Serves
Strong spin amount! Especially latsuo000 felt more spin with reverse side back spin by hook type than that of Dignics 05.

Back Hand Series

Light hitting
katsuo000 felt stronger arc with Dignics 09C than other rubbers such as Spin Art and Dignics 05. Moreover, katsuo000 felt Dignics 09C is infinitely close to spin tension type rubber.

Drive during Rally
Comparing to Tenrgy 05 Hard, a drive by Dignics 09C is deeper landing on the table.

Top Spin Slow Drive against back spin ball
katsuo000 felt lots of over mistake. Thus katsuo000 recommended to hit top of ball with swinging horizontally.

Speed Drive against back spin ball
katsuo000 also felt easy and stable to hit a speed drive by Dignics 09C. Especially, katsuo000 felt illusion that back hand technique is suddenly growing up by Dignics 09C!

Block
Very good. katsuo000 didn’t felt such as drop down when using tacky rubber. Moreover, katsuo000 felt good gripping. I loved it.

Counter-Drive
By back hand, counter-drive with dropping down vertex is difficult. Thus, katsuo000 felt no good and the similar level to Dignics 05. Counter-drive with Dignics 05 was more liner than that of Dignics 09C.

Stop
not so good. katsuo000 felt difficult with soft rubbers.

Push
Good. However, katsuo000 felt no characteristic with Dignics 09C.

Chiquita
katsuo000 felt over mistakes. katsuo000 felt Dignics 09C soft, thus feeling not so good.

Comparing to other rubbers (Personal Impressions）

Spin Performance
Dignics 09C ≧ Dignics 05 > Dignics 80 > Tenergy 05

Speed
Dignics 05 > Dignics 09C > Spin Art (end of sale)

Enabling to make Arc
Dignics 09C > Dignics 05 > Tenergy 05

Control of Forehand Counter-Drive
Dignics 09C > Dignics 05

Control of Backhand Counter-Drive
Dignics 05 = Diginics 09C

Heaviness of Drive
Hurricane NEO III Blue Sponge for Ministry Term > Dignics 09C ≧ Dignics 05

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