Review: Nittaku Hammond Pro Beta

For those who have glued the HPB to a blade... I'm thinking that the white sponge might make it difficult to judge how the glue is going onto the sponge. Difficult to tell if the glue is being applied evenly. Anyone with experience, please comment.

ChopSmash wrote: For those who have glued the HPB to a blade... I'm thinking that the white sponge might make it difficult to judge how the glue is going onto the sponge. Difficult to tell if the glue is being applied evenly. Anyone with experience, please comment.

I used Butterfly Free Chack and applied two layers of glue to both the blade and the sponge while using a blow dryer and made sure to spread the glue evenly. There is a little water that will puddle up with it if you are not careful - so spread out the glue so it is even.

The best advice I can give is never apply a second layer of glue until the first dries. It will clump up and the sheet will not lay completely flat if you get clumps. (and never wet glue with water based glue)

MildSeven wrote: I used one very very thin layer of free chack on mine and spread it out horizontally, then vertically, and repeated until the layer was very uniform. Also, as a small follow up I recently tried Bryce Speed out on the same racket as my Pro Beta is on and just to update, Hammond Pro Beta is about the same as Bryce Speed overall. Maybe a touch faster and a touch spinnier, with a touch more dwell time, but overall very similar in performance, although the Bryce Speed is a fair amount firmer. I preferred Pro Beta over Bryce Speed overall. I hope this gives others a little better picture of what to expect from this rubber.

Thx Mild7  I have not had a chance to hit with Bryce Speed yet so no compare there. I did notice that BS has a 38 degree sponge though (from the BTY site) which could explain the firm feel. Does Bryce Speed have a built-in glue effect?

ChopSmash wrote: ChopSmash wrote: For those who have glued the HPB to a blade... I'm thinking that the white sponge might make it difficult to judge how the glue is going onto the sponge. Difficult to tell if the glue is being applied evenly. Anyone with experience, please comment. It turned out not to be any problem, at all. The sponge is not white, as some pictures lead me to believe. The sponge is a medium violet color. Plenty dark enough to see the glue on the sponge.

Have you been hitting with it? If so how do you like it?

Any comparison with Beta VS Hammond Pro Alpha?

so what's the final verdict?

pro beta? or palio macro era 42.5? :)

I've been using HPB for two full months now. Maybe closer to three. I cannot compare it to the Palio, since I've never used the Palio. The HPB is plenty fast enough and spinny enough for me. It has one quality, that is a bit unique, that I like very much. I can hit, what I would call a "flat" shot. A top-spin shot where the paddle is angled top-forward like any other top-spin shot, but the stroke is very horizontal, or "flat". Not much upward motion to the stroke. The HPB makes this shot very easy. I can't do this shot with any of the Chinese sheets I've tried. I can't do this with any of the tensors I've tried. I can't do this shot with any of the Tenergy sheets I've tried. These other sheets sort of force me to loop everything with a forward and upward stroke. I can do this same stroke with the HPB and produce a very good loop shot. But, with the HPB, I can also do this "flat" stroke and produce some top-spin with really good control.

hi guys,I would like to ask if this rubber is good for out of position blocking.Thanks in advance.

A club member switched from Hammond X to Hammond Pro Beta and on the recieving end there is not much difference.

Skyline wrote: Thaidog wrote: ichini wrote: hi guys,I would like to ask if this rubber is good for out of position blocking.Thanks in advance. Beta's topsheet is very grippy so it does have a reaction to incoming spin... that said, I'm not sure if its the pip layout or what but Beta blocks and counters very well and is even quite capable of producing flat shots if you want. Other short game features like pushes fully benefit from the grip of the topsheet however.   sounds quite nice. how does the hardness of the pro beta compare with hammond pro alpha?

I tested them side by side and I can not really feel any difference in the hardness (medium soft - probably 36 degree on bty scale)

Stavros wrote: Can someone compare Hammond Pro B to Stiga Boost TX? I'd like to know which is better for b/h out of positioning blocking.

I thought I'd revive this thread rather than make a new one. My current sheet of Nittaku Zalt is starting to wear out and I was thinking of getting HPB as a replacement. I was looking online and I saw that Hammond Pro Beta is blade specific/choosy? 

Danzors wrote: The necro is welcome here, I've also been very interested in the HPB and would love to hear the thoughts on this rubber in the poly ball era.

Unfortunately not good. All my teamates used to play HPB on b/h during celluloid era! With the plastic ball the performance of HPB drops very quickly. The rubber cannot grab the ball effectively, after some weeks.

I also search for HPB alternative.
i will try Calibra Sound .


Edited by Stavros - 11/10/2015 at 2:25am

Alwin wrote: Does the sheet just go slick or...? What do you think would play similar in terms of spin and throw with the new ball?

I'm also searching for alternative.
I'll try Calibra Sound.