Plastic ball, end of Tenergy for CNT?

Eversince the plastic ball was introduced, we have seen some players dropping their performance(Dima) and some who stepped up(Timo) which could be debatable to a certain degree but what we know for sure is that CNT has taken measures to tackle the new ball. ML, XX and LSW abandoned the rubber evergreen Tenergy and switched to Hurricanes (possibly different sponge?). Any insights in why that is? I mean, in case of XX, it could more suitable for his BH, better control, etc. In my experiece, the plastic ball is heavier, harder to spin, wouldn't a spinny and grippy rubber like Tenergy work like a charm? Chinese rubber is tacky and would still spin it up but what about the lack of speed?

I'd like to hear from EJ and experts here why they think a chinese rubber is better than Tenergy for the plastic ball era.

That's the grand scheme of the introduction of DHS' cellulose diacetate seamed ball.  Fire hazard is merely a smokescreen.

NextLevel wrote: XX switched before the plastic ball came out - don't know why people like to forget this.

You are right. I forgot he switched before.

I think it mostly has to do with sponge hardness, although there are two contradicting theories to this that I've heard.

Have ZJK & FZD switched?

I'm wondering if it's more to do with the high bounce of the new ball and high ball trajectory of Tenergies that is not desirable on BH for some of the CNT...

Just a thought...?

My guess would be more simple, since the people you see switching don't have BH as a relative strength (here comes 5 people telling me I'm wrong about Ma Long) and those rubbers reward a more active BH, and aren't as good for passive play. 

Edited by beeray1 - 03/20/2015 at 7:40am

fatt wrote: If before Tenergy was an overkill, it makes more sense to the average player today. Those who played 1.9 can switch to 2.1 et voilà.

NextLevel wrote: I don't count XX because he switched with the cell ball.

I have hit with the ultraboosted Hurricane of a professional Chinese table tennis player now living in the US on a Viscaria blade.  It is nothing like playing with Tenergy 05 on the same kind of blade, even if we are talking about heavily boosted Tenergy.  You need to make a significant change in the way you hit the ball to play with even heavily boosted Chinese rubbers.  This is why there is probably not a single European player (meaning that's where they learned to play, not Chinese players who moved there later) in the world's top 200 who uses a Chinese rubber.  This is not a judgment of value, because the results of Chinese players speak for themselves, but for the most part they have always played with that stuff since they were kids. 

Also, to fellow forum members, bear in mind that when AgentHEX writes in the horrible  passive voice that he like to use -- "it was posted in another thread that..." --  he actually means "I posted that...".  It's not like a burning bush appeared and the voice of Table Tennis God suddenly rang out to make another pronouncement.  He likes to refer to himself as the authoritative basis for what he writes. 

And yes, I am aware of that too.

AgentHEX wrote: > What I noticed when I compared Tenergy and Big Dipper was that I gripped the plastic ball better with Big Dipper. Big Dipper grips any ball or surface in general better than Tenergy. It was posted in another thread but the H3 they use is not that different from Tenergy. It's just bit more tacky and slower than the tuned pro T the CNT no doubt gets.

BRS wrote: NextLevel wrote: I usually focus on ball rotation - in practice, at least until recently, I had a very brushy loop for the most part. What I noticed when I compared Tenergy and Big Dipper was that I gripped the plastic ball better with Big Dipper. If we went back to the celluloid ball, I would be using 05 again. So I am of the view that there is a feeling of enhanced grip and spin that cones from using tacky rubbers with the new ball. It may be speed related but people should realize when it comes to speed that there is only so much table. The security of picking up the ball and expecting it to dip might have weighed on the minds of those who made the switch. I don't count XX because he switched with the cell ball. Can you separate the effect of the rubber/ball change from the changes you have been making to your mechanics?  Have you tried T05 with your new swing?  Not that you should, since you are getting great results with BD, I'm just curious.

The rubber change took place months before the change in mechanics. I want to try 05 again but I can't justify the $65 - I tried it in January vs chop and block and I didn't see the difference for me to justify the $45 difference in price. I sold all my T05. Tried T80 and sold that too. The only situation where I want to test 05 now is off the bounce counterlooping. But I have seen enough about Big D to know that its great for people who want to spin more than hit - smashinglblocking requires practice and is controlled. This was with Chinese seamed by the way.

Edited by NextLevel - 03/20/2015 at 3:46pm

Published papers deal with the edge of human knowledge. The fact that Prov and above H3s aren't the same thing as commercial is far more mundane. Christ, even Baal admits as much just above.

Can anyone elaborate on the differences between heavily (ultra :P ) boosted H3 and T05? How do they compare in speed and spin?

Of course that was jot the only time AgentHEX uses passive voice.

National H3 is tackier. No matter how much you boost it you have to open your racket angle and it punishes passive strokes. It feels entirely different from T05. It felt different on the very first ball. It would take a long time to switch and be comfortable if you are used to Tenergy.   Is it spinnier than T05? Maybe if you know how to play with it. Not if your stroke is built from a lifetime of Euro/Japanese rubbers. It is not identical to regular H3 but as others said, it is in the same family.