Tenergy Hard Sponge

Baal wrote: LOOPMEISTER wrote: I've thought about this same thing before. I like T05 because it has the hardest feeling of the Tenergy line. T25 feels considerably harder because of huge pips on topsheet.  I think a lot of people who find T05 to be a bit out of control would like it.  If somebody took away my T05, I would switch to T25, not T64.

I use t25 and t05.
the difference in hardness is extremely small if any.
difference in speed and spin is also very small, I'd say t05 is a little bit faster.


Edited by puppy412 - 11/24/2013 at 10:35pm

The topsheet makes T25 overall have greater hardness, this is not even debatable, but it is also somewhat slower as Loopmeister says, which becomes more noticeable at mid-distance and beyond.  It seems we all agree that T05 is faster than T25.   It is not a vast difference but I most definitely notice it.  Like Loomeister, I prefer T05. Harder is not always faster.  Hardness can be measured and it is not measured by how fast the rubber is.  It is measured by compressibility using something called a durometer.  On the other hand, MX-P is a little harder than T05 and I think it is faster too, at least just a bit.  If you search threads on that, you would find a pretty strong consensus about that as well.  So maybe High Arc would not like T25. 

I have never tried Spin Art.   

High_Arc wrote: I already brought this topic up some time ago. I really don't understand why Butterfly doesn't produce a hard sponge version of Tenergy. I'm fully convinced that there would be a huge market for these rubbers. I know many players that prefer harder/heavier T05, including myself. I don't like the additional weight, but I think that the harder T05 are significantly more stable as compared to the softer ones. Of course I also know some players that prefer the softer versions, or use FX versions on the FH. I also know players that can beat me and use things that I find completely unplayable, like e.g. Tibhar Nimbus.

@next level.  i last practiced counter looping with fan yi yong and zhong zongqi. having a specialty just means its your personal relative strength. 

seguso wrote: I think a harder t05 would lose its main property: to work well on stiff blades. And if you have a flexible blade, there is already M1. Which is perfection. (Yes I am a fan  ) So I see no need for a harder T05.

@kurokami,

Edited by NextLevel - 11/25/2013 at 11:29am

Baal wrote: High_Arc wrote:   In my opinion, Tenergy's get harder after a week or two of use (playing 4-6 times or so), which is the main reason why I prefer close to new T05 over brand new T05. I like it better after a week also, but I always figured it was because it was softening up!    In reality it probably has something to do with the glue in the pores.

The T05, T80, T64 & T25 all have the same sponge and hardness. Similarly the Tenergy FX all have the same sponge hardness.

If a new and harder sponge was brought out, you can bet they'll release it for the full range of Tenergies as well.

The Tenergy market is probably big enough to make that viable for them, and they might just knock out a few more competitors.

tt4me wrote: Why did people use speed glue to 'soften up' their rubbers?

Speed glues, with high concentrations of organic solvents, expanded both the sponge and the topsheet, but the sponge would expand more.  The rubber would curl up as the glue dried and the solvent permeated the rubber, like a bimetalic thermocouple as the temperature changes.  Then you would attach it to the blade, and something about the different amounts of expansion of the topsheet and sponge made it play better.  Presumably it increased the resting tension that the topsheet was subjected to.  Compared to the same rubbers glued without speed glue, it produced a very loud sound when the ball hit, a bit more speed, quite a bit more more spin, and a much better feel.  I don't think it really made it appreciably softer, at least not all rubbers.  Once all the solvent evaporated out of the rubbers, the effect would disappear, a few hours later usually.  So we had to do it each time we played.  I have no idea as to the physics behind why that would give a better playing characteristic but it most certainly did.  The first generation of Tensor rubbers made by ESN tried to recreate this, I suppose by stretching the topsheet some while gluing it to the sponge.  It had some effect, but never as good as older rubbers with speed glue, and ot also seemed to make the topsheet very brittle.  Even with modern non-Tensor rubbers like Tenergy, there is some greater tendency for rubbers to crumble around the edges than in the old days.  

Spin art is the one.. unless you want a spin art fx or el.. :)

Baal wrote: tt4me wrote: Why did people use speed glue to 'soften up' their rubbers? Speed glues,......

Regarding the original question, a harder sponge on the T05, I belive such a thing have existed, as the earlier versions of T05 felt harder and heavier then the current versions.

Back then, the only complaint I read about T05 was the weight, and many people did complain about that. So, my guess is, Bty did something about it, reduced the weight by making the sponge sligthly softer. For what its worth, I liked the earlier version best, but still likes the current version better then any other rubber I have tried.

Speedplay wrote: Regarding the original question, a harder sponge on the T05, I belive such a thing have existed, as the earlier versions of T05 felt harder and heavier then the current versions. Back then, the only complaint I read about T05 was the weight, and many people did complain about that. So, my guess is, Bty did something about it, reduced the weight by making the sponge sligthly softer. For what its worth, I liked the earlier version best, but still likes the current version better then any other rubber I have tried.

Yes, I think it may have been harder and heavier back at the beginning, at least a little bit.