Rubbers for every level

I will counter with a shorter list:

Casual players

Dawei 2008 XP

Beginner rubbers

Hurricane 3
Sriver
Mark V

Intermediate rubbers

Rakza 7
Bluefire

Advanced rubbers

Evolution
Tenergy


Edited by Argothman - 10/16/2015 at 7:42pm

haggisv wrote: While this list can be useful, you're making some very big assumptions here aNo. For example you're assuming that the latest,fastest and most expensive rubbers are best for the highest level players... this is not true in many cases. It's probably more useful to catagorise them in term of style, and then list options for 3 different budgets.

+1. Argothman though has a pretty keen sense of humor. Hurricane Neo ad a beginner rubber is outright laughable too.

Edited by NextLevel - 10/16/2015 at 8:24pm

haggisv wrote: While this list can be useful, you're making some very big assumptions here aNo. For example you're assuming that the latest,fastest and most expensive rubbers are best for the highest level players... this is not true in many cases. It's probably more useful to catagorise them in term of style, and then list options for 3 different budgets.

Edited by wturber - 10/16/2015 at 8:51pm

aNo wrote: Thanks for the comments. Yes clearly there must be assumptions made in order to make sense of the hundreds of rubber options out there. If you're a pro or an advanced club player, this list isn't for you - you've already been playing for ages and know what works for you. But for those who don't spend their lives reading reviews, I'm trying to summarise what rubbers are roughly for who to prevent beginners and non-EJs getting lost in the woods and ending up with something crazy. Obviously, to work out specifically what works for you requires more specific advice/research. And I have heard the advice that most players should start with non-tacky rubbers until they're decent enough to consider trying Chinese style play. So maybe H3n/Tg3 belong higher up.

NextLevel wrote: aNo wrote: Thanks for the comments. Yes clearly there must be assumptions made in order to make sense of the hundreds of rubber options out there. If you're a pro or an advanced club player, this list isn't for you - you've already been playing for ages and know what works for you. But for those who don't spend their lives reading reviews, I'm trying to summarise what rubbers are roughly for who to prevent beginners and non-EJs getting lost in the woods and ending up with something crazy. Obviously, to work out specifically what works for you requires more specific advice/research. And I have heard the advice that most players should start with non-tacky rubbers until they're decent enough to consider trying Chinese style play. So maybe H3n/Tg3 belong higher up. I admire your goals.

Yes, while his goals are admirable, his list is still mostly wrong. Just because a tensor is from an older generation doesn't mean that it has more control than modern tensors. In fact, some of the older tensors were just flat out uncontrollable with spin:speed ratios heavy on speed and light on spin. At this point those rubbers shouldn't be used by anyone.

(Jay)  There also seems to be a heavy bias toward inverted rubbers.  I was playing at around 1750 USATT level using LKT Pro before I switched to hardbat.....So the relationship between rubber and level is sketchy at best IMO.

Yep.  No Leyland, no Andro Classic, no Dr. Evil, no Valor Premier, none of the Yasaka hard rubbers, nothing to indicate to the typical newbie, let alone club level or even elite TT player, that you can play up to 2300 level ball using any of these rubbers, if you have real great technique, practice 8 hours a day (Johnny Leach did), and you don't have to take out a second mortgage on your house or neglect to feed your kids in order to afford any of these puppies. 

Jay can work wonders with Dr. Evil on a Nittaku Resant.  A newbie to competitive pong can learn to play a decent game, if there is a friendly hardbat man or woman in the neighborhood to coach him/her, in a matter of minutes, if not hours.  He/she need not become a Turberville or even a Mann, to become able to kick azz at social get-togethers in your zip code.  Bring a sponge bat to a barbecue and you'll be run out of town on a spit.

With sponge, in order to become really really good, you gotta learn to keep your cool when the ball bounces every which way off your racket and while somebody with a stopwatch times you every time you go to pick up a ball.  You also gotta subject your body to tortures during training that a body was never meant to be subjected to.

That is why your typical world class sponge player retires, usually around age 19, due to a blown out shoulder, back, knee or ankle, or all of the above at once. 

 

Edited by berndt_mann - 10/16/2015 at 9:59pm

Rubbers for every wallet, maybe...

baracuda is a nice backhand chop/push rubber.

I've sold an awful lot of fxel to casual players over the years.

Danzors wrote: Could you expand on your point and specify which changes you would make to his list? Specifically, which are the rubbers that you find are uncontrollable and should not be used? I feel like the spirit of his post is good and as a developing player, I would appreciate refinement of this list. Thank you,