Tibhar Quantum and Quantum S Review

Tibhar once again released new rubbers for the polyball era. I believe the Evolution and Q series are already polyball ready especially the MX-P and 5Q VIP rubbers. The evolution rubbers have been in the forefront of European rubbers since their release. IMHO, in terms of performance, durability and spin, no European rubber still come close to the MX-P. I used a polyball for this test and the glue is the Andro Spinfix glue WBG. The blades I used for testing are the Tibhar Ronin Blades, Yinhe T-1 and ITC XR blades.

Quantum

Weight: 73 grams uncut

Speed: OFF+

Hardness: approx 46-47 degrees

Spin: High

Quantum S

Weight: 71 grams uncut

Speed: OFF

Hardness: approx. 45 degrees

Spin: High

At first inspection, I could see the topsheet of the Quantum rubbers to be different than the Evolution rubbers. The color is slightly lighter than the Evolution rubbers and the color of the red rubber of the Quantum is more or less similar to that of the Q series which is like a dull red. The Evolution red topsheet is like a bright cherry red topsheet. The Quantum topsheets seem to be similar in make-up and color to the 5Q series or compared to other brands, the Rhyzm-P. The overall hardness for both Quantum rubbers have a feel of softness. The sponges from both rubbers are porous like the Q series with large pores.

So how are the new Quantum Rubbers?

I have tested both with a celluloid ball first but they feel not so spinny and had this weird feeling. My shots seem to lack spin using both rubbers. As I switched to a polyball, I felt a change on how the shots feel on impact. Both Quantum rubbers are fast rubbers with the regular Quantum being faster. The regular Quantum’s speed is comparable to that of the Acuda S1 but with a softer and bouncier feel. The Evolution MX-P is still faster than the Quantum. The MX-P is a beast while the Quantum regular is a tamed beast. Needless to say, the Quantum regular is still a fast offensive rubber. The Quantum S feels like an FX-P in terms of hardness. The ball sinks partially into the sponge when driving the ball. It has more or less the speed of the FX-P. When compared to other brands, the speed is that of the Bluefire M2. It felt very controllable despite the speed. The Quantum regular is a better smashing rubber than the Quantum S although the S version has better control.

How’s the spin?

When I was checking the ratings of speed and spin of both Quantum rubbers after I tested both, I would agree on Tibhar’s ratings that the spin is lower than that of the Evolution rubbers. Usually, companies would rate their rubbers or blades to have higher ratings compared to their predecessors. I believe personally that a rubber has two sides in giving spin. One is the potential to create spin and the other one is easiness to produce spin. There are rubbers that have very high potential spin generation, Tenergy 05 is one and the others are the MX-P and MX-S rubbers. The thing is, not all and a lot of people cannot fully utilize the mentioned rubbers’ spin potential because of the lack of skills even though the rubbers are very spinny. The Quantum rubbers however are easier to produce spin and needs lesser levels of skill to produce heavy spin in loops or pushes and counter loops. There are a lot of rubbers that feel as they are not as grippy as the Tenergy 05 or MX-P’s topsheet but can spin good like the Adidas P7. Even with the polyball, you can still produce spinny shots. The Quantum rubbers fall on this class of rubbers that they are very easy to spin with. IMHO, Tibhar already has created very spinny rubbers in the Evolution series or the 5Q series for the polyball era but they wanted rubbers that need little or lower level of skill sets to spin. We all know it is harder to produce spin when using polyball even with T05 or DHS H3 rubbers because it really needs effort to do so. So maybe Tibhar is off to something. Produce a rubber that is easier to spin with and is more controllable so that players using the polyball can enjoy playing polyball. I would place the spin of the Quantum rubbers slightly below that of the regular Genius or the Baracuda in terms of spin potential but much easier to produce spin than both rubbers. Both rubbers have a medium arc with the Quantum S having a slightly lower arc than the regular Quantum.

So?

I preferred the Quantum S as a backhand rubber. It blocks well and spins well in the backhand. The Quantum regular could be for both backhand and forehand. Both have this added kick on the shots like counters or initial loops against underspin. Both rubbers are very accurate on placement shots and are very forgiving. So maybe instead of looking for a spinnier or faster rubber for the polyball, we choose something that is easier to use and easier to spin with.