Killerspin Fortissimo Review

Killerspin Fortissimo Rubber

Weight: 64-65 grams uncut 2.0mm, 67 grams uncut 2.1mm or max

Type: ESN rubber

Hardness: approx 45 degrees (medium hardness)

Speed: Offensive

Fortissimo is a musical term which means "to play very loud". I have used this rubber before but only for short time and it wasn't new. Got 4 sheets, 2x 2.0mm and 2.1mm rubbers both in red and black sheets. The sheets are very grippy when you rub your fingers against the topsheet. The sponge is a non porous ESN sponge although KS claims this is a Japanese sponge. The quality of this Killerspin rubber is comparable to Euro ESN rubbers. 

I glued both red and black Fortissimo rubbers onto an ITC Challenge Force blade which is equivalent to a Butterfly Petr Korbel blade which is an all wood 5 ply off- blade (limba-limba-ayous composition). I used  wbg glue for both sheets.

Speed

Both the 2.0 and 2.1 max versions are very fast. On drills the 2.0 have enough speed for offense and the max version is as fast as a Rakza 7. Whenever you hit through the sponge, it produces a loud cracking noice hence its name "fortissimo". I could compare its speed to a Tibhar Aurus or an Adidas P7.

Spin

The very grippy topsheet gives a vicious spin on loops although you have to dig through the sponge more or hit through it more to fully utilize the spin potential of the Fortissimo. The level of its spin is equivalent more or less to a Rakza 7 but lesser than the Adidas P7. It is spinnier if you compare it to Tibhar's Delta rubbers or Xiom's Vega Europe version. Loops give a medium arc. The thin topsheet with long inverted pips make spinning easy because it lets the ball sink into the topsheet and sponge and grip the ball better.

Overall Performance

The rubber is a superb all around attacking rubber for both forehand and backhand. For the forehand, it is a very easy attacking rubber especially when hitting and loop driving. The level of control is high and it is very easy to tame a very fast rubber. The rubber is linear in which what you give on your shots is what you get. For people who smash a lot, they would love this rubber. For backhand, it is a good blocking rubber because it is not sensitive to incoming spin and at the same time it is very easy to handle and control against spinny and fast loops. For all around players I would recommend using this on a 7 ply all wood blade but for offensive and intermediate players maybe it is better to use this on blades such as Timo Boll ALC or an ITC Strike Carbon. It is suited better for medium to medium stiff blades. Overall, a bang for the buck rubber at 44usd each.