Want more speed on 802-40 SP

I have a clipper classic penhold (class OFF) with 802-40 on it. I got the rubber from zeropong which sells 802 & 802-40 in their "Special Soft Pro Version #35" sponge. It's suppose to have more control which I would say it does but honestly I don't feel the speed effect that I feel it should have. Speed I would say is just okay.

Edited by suds79 - 03/27/2014 at 11:42am

schen wrote: I've had good results boosting 802-40 on a clipper.  what sponge thickness are you using?

Edited by suds79 - 03/27/2014 at 11:50am

yes i have the 35d sponge, i got it from megaspin in 1.5mm.

Edited by schen - 03/27/2014 at 11:53am

Plain old 802(from zeropong or the chinese mystery sponges) does have speed problem… harder sponge does give you greater potential for speed but the demand on technique and power to tap into the speed increases exponentially. 

I had a similar speed problem like you when I used the Bomb Hammer 2.2(which is supposed to be similar to 802-40) on the Clipper Wood WRB. I think you should try Butterfly Raystorm or TSP Super Spin Pips both are a lot faster and more dynamic. After using the Raystorm on a Schlager Carbon there was no speed problem anymore, it played just as fast my regular inverted setup. I really liked the TSP Super Spin Pips on my Armstrong Hi Level blade which is a 6 ply basswood blade. To my information He Zhi Wen is using Haifu Dolphin now which is a very fast pip aswell.

Spinlord Degu

Don't waste your money. Get Nittaku Hammond FA - it works very well on Clipper.  One of the best rubbers for the penhold style. It is also extremely durable.

Edited by ChichoFicho - 03/27/2014 at 2:53pm

Got a lot of good info from all this. Really appreciate it.

ChichoFicho wrote: Don't waste your money. Get Nittaku Hammond FA - it works very well on Clipper.  One of the best rubbers for the penhold style. It is also extremely durable.

beeray1 wrote: I went through a similar thing with hammond FA not that long ago. I kept coming back to wanting to buy it, but repeatedly heard from good SP players that Hammond FA was not good.  Not a lot of people like it.

Hammond FA is terrible for me.  Not enough spin on serves and pushes, and control is worse than other similar rubbers that don't produce lots of spin either, such as Juic Offense Ultima, which is loads better than HFA at what it's designed to do...

DDreamer wrote: 802-40 on a clipper should be more than fast enough. If you are struggling with power then work on your timing and technique.

Krantz wrote: If you have just switched from inverted rubber then chances are that you are trying to simply apply similar stroke mechanics with SP rubber, and from what I see it doesn't work this way. With inverted you normally use long swings to increase dwell time which lets you impart more spin - but both He Zhi Wen and Wang Zeng Yi attack with very short and quick, wristy movements - and their dwell is minimal (its like mini-smashes, and actually such shots are plenty fast even with inverted). My guess is that just changing the rubber - without adjusting the stroke mechanics for a hitting game - may not solve the problem for you.

Edited by suds79 - 03/28/2014 at 9:21am

Coming from the mind of a blade maker you might think about making the blade ( harder) by using a thicker version of super glue, i have used this idea several times.

wturber wrote: suds79 wrote: I've watched HE Zhi Wen & Wang Zeng Yi play. Two well known penhold SP players. I believe they both use or have used 802. Honestly I don't know how they generate all the speed they do. Is it the sponge? Consider that the ball weighs only 2.7g.  It really doesn't take that much force to make the ball go fast. So the first place I'd look is in improving your technique.  If you are below a 2000 level or so (or even above actually), I'm betting a good coach can show you where you can find some additional speed through technique. Certainly, a different rubber or blade can be found that will give you more speed.  But there will probably be something else that suffers (control, spin ... something).

bbkon wrote: and now whats using  wang zenyi http://www.flickr.com/photos/ittfworld/13445900815/sizes/h/ another pips player  http://www.flickr.com/photos/ittfworld/13446191345/

Well, I guess I really don't care.  So I'm not really the person to direct this toward.  IMO, high level players use whatever they use to support a game that is so much stronger than most players on MYTT that I think it is hard to use their choices to inform us much on what we should use.

I think the OP's original question is kinda (though maybe not entirely) backwards or wrong minded.  802-40 is a fairly fast and spinny for a short pip rubber.  So if you are looking for more speed than you can get from 802-40, then finding something faster is probably not a solution  - if your goal is to play better.  A different rubber may certainly help you hit harder.  And if that is the goal independent from playing better (and why not if you enjoy slamming the ball), then by all means get a faster rubber.  Just don't kid yourself that it is likely to improve your game.  Buy it and have some fun hitting harder.

And it isn't that I don't think players (even at our lower levels) can benefit from tweaking their equipment choices.  They certainly can.  I just think that so long as the rubber is appropriate for the playing style they've chosen, most players would benefit lots more by pushing the envelope on what they can do with the rubber they are currently using (improve their technique)  before trying something else.  All too often, I think players are looking for the "quick fix" - which is generally non- existent if you've done the basics and are already using a rubber and blade suited to your general style of play.

BTW, I exempt true equipment junkies from most of the above comments.  I understand that they enjoy experimenting with equipment for its own sake.  And if that's your aim, then have at it.  I think it's perfectly fine to have fun being an EJ so long as you understand that's what your really doing.