I had my first session with them, played about 4 hours with both rubbers. I did forehand loops, serves and opening loops against one of my standard training partners. I have mixed feelings about both rubbers. Here is the good:
Both clearly represent a next level in the evolution of ESN made rubbers. My problem with a rubber like Bluestorm Z1 or last year's Gewo series is that opening loops are difficult to do in such a way that they put the opponent under real pressure. The topsheet grabs the ball quite well but it needs some more correction from the arm, otherwise the opening loop will be high enough for a better opponent to kill and in general, opening loops from these rubbers lack the kick that a Tenergy 05 can produce. This gap has been narrowed by Dynaryz AGR. Its topsheet is firmer compared to a Z1 and allows for extremely good control and placement. It is as if the topsheet condenses under the ball upon impact and provides the trajectory correction necessary for the opening loop to have enough kick and stay low enough.
However, there is a negative side to this behaviour: a rather big effort is required to activate the rubber and I have found it is very difficult to produce really fast backhand loops. Slower spinny ones are possible but they will not be enough to keep a better player at bay. This leads me to believe that many people will still prefer Tibhar's MXP.
The rubber feels a little harder than a Bluestorm Z1, MXP 50 or a Gewo Nexxus EL Pro 50, maybe even the 53 but it is by no means unplayable. What sets it apart from these rubbers is the way its topsheet works.
Another good thing about the Dynaryz is that is does not seem to be picky about blades. On my Yasaka Sweden Guardian it was just as fast as on a friend's Mizuno Fortius FT. Furthermore, we bought the Dynaryz AGR together back in February but he used it more than I. Both rubbers are the same which means that the age identically. I believe it is enough to use a simple five-ply offensive blade with the Dynaryz AGR, composite is not neccessary.
The Yasaka is a very good take on a hybrid rubber. To my great surprise, it is not significantly harder than the Joola. In general, loops from it arc a lot more compared to the AGR, sometimes T05 like. It is less hard than a Hurricane 3 so I think hardcore Hurricane fans will not really like it. Besides the outstanding arc and in spite of its hybrid nature it can produce almost the same speed on loops as the Joola, which is surprised me. This rubber is more influenced by the blade's speed than the Joola AGR. The short game is easier with Rakza Z EH.
Here comes the bizarre part, though. We have tested the rubbers with three balls: Butterfly A40+, Joola Flash an Nittaku Premium.
When we used the Flash, the Rakza Z EH produced enormous spin, very dangerous service spins and all loops landed the very end of the table. The Joola lost both in speed and spin. When using the A40+ things reversed. The Rakza Z EH became less troubling for my partner and the Joola won out. This might be because the Yasaka's topsheet is slightly sticky while the Dynaryz AGR is completely euro. Add to this that the A40+ is a ball that is too hard and it somehow gets stuck in the covering, be it pips or inverted.
All in all, with A40+:
Speed on fast loops: Rakza Z Extra Hard > Dynaryz AGR Spin: Rakza Z Extra Hard < Dynaryz AGR Service spin: Rakza Z Extra Hard < Dynaryz
Opening topspin: Rakza Z Extra Hard < Dynaryz Base speed: Dynaryz AGR > Rakza Z Extra Hard
With Flash:
The reverse of the above except for the base speed which is greater in the Joola.
When we tried it with Nittaku Premium neither rubber worked well.
Summary: both rubbers are very good and promise a lot of potential but they are most probably for advanced players. The Yasaka has opened a new dimension in hybrid rubbers, they deserve a lot of praise for that. They work accurately until the user starts to really commit and put in a lot if force, when they tend to overshoot balls.
Although I see these two rubbers in a positive light, I must note that my 4 month old Bluestorm Z1 which I tuned up back in February proved itself superior to both these rubbers. We tested it with all the three balls and I must say, the Z1 was 20% faster and noticeably spinnier on fast loops than the others. It simply handled highspeed shots better, it even worked wonders with the Nittaku Premium, where the other two rubbers failed.
So logically my next step will be to tune the rubbers with one layer of Falco long and give them a go next week.
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