Sponge thickness trends

Huflungdung wrote: I've returned to the sport after 30 years away.  When I was really active, it was D13, Sriver, then Super sriver, then Mark V for popular rubbers - and sponge thicknesses seemed less - generally a little thinner on the BH - I ran 1.0 BH and 1.5 FH.  It's clear that 2.0 makes it a lot easier for looping, but at the expense of control - (like returning serves).  I am an all round player but loop and hit pretty well FH. Now I see that thicker sponges seem to rule.  2 to 2.2 BH & FH.   What exactly is the current wisdom here?

The larger ball has made it a bit easier to use thicker sponge, and for top spin thicker sponge makes more spin as well as more speed.
The larger ball also looses speed more quickly, and thicker sponge will help to maintain the speed.

FH or BH ?

melarimsa wrote: Stay with 1.5mm and at most 1.7mm, after 30 years you may find it still perfect for your game ! I play with 1.0mm on backhand..

I go 2.0 on FH and 1.2-2.0 on BH depending on the rubber, i.e., if i use short pips I'd go 2.0 and med pips 1.7 and long pips 1.2. Pips-in I do 2.0 regardless of which side. This is my latest sponge thickness plan, subject to daily revision. :-).

Here is an interesting dilemma about thickness - I have presented this at a different thread but it was a wrong one for the discussion, so here goes:

Let's say you have a stiff fast blade (Carbon; or in my case Galaxy T-4 which has 4 Carbon layers; or even Sanwei 1091A Carbon King that has 9 carbon layers) and you naturally want to make use of that speed when blocking or attacking.

Then of course if you have put some thick rubber on FH or BH you might see your speed muffled by that thickness (the thinner the sponge the easier ball penetrates to the blade and then its speed is directly transferred to the ball, allowing you to defeat the opponent's spin easier).

On the other hand you need that thickness to generate spin - also if the sponge is thicker, then you are allowed more dwell time with your very fast blade which helps you with control (somewhat) and with creation of the spin.

Thus the dilemma...

What's the purpose of having a faster girl if the rubber is so thick you can't feel the girl!

Let's get back to the real TT thickness dilemma - see above

JimT wrote: Here is an interesting dilemma about thickness - I have presented this at a different thread but it was a wrong one for the discussion, so here goes: Let's say you have a stiff fast blade (Carbon; or in my case Galaxy T-4 which has 4 Carbon layers; or even Sanwei 1091A Carbon King that has 9 carbon layers) and you naturally want to make use of that speed when blocking or attacking. Then of course if you have put some thick rubber on FH or BH you might see your speed muffled by that thickness (the thinner the sponge the easier ball penetrates to the blade and then its speed is directly transferred to the ball, allowing you to defeat the opponent's spin easier). On the other hand you need that thickness to generate spin - also if the sponge is thicker, then you are allowed more dwell time with your very fast blade which helps you with control (somewhat) and with creation of the spin.  Thus the dilemma...

I didn't dispute that the "blade effect" wouldn't help hit through spin, only that it doesn't add more speed when the sponge bottoms out.

depends on the blade,if you use a thinner rubber on a carbon blade for example then that will add speed to your shot and you will lose some control if it bottoms out

JimT, the solution to your dilemma, at least for some pros, is to use a hard sponge rubber. So even if the rubber is 2.2mm thick, the speed of the carbon still comes thru for hitting and blocking. Looping is another matter. Even if you use a sticky top sheet it's still hard to get enough dwell time normally. But if you use speed glue the firmness remain during blocking and alot of kicks is there also during loops. Still, a lot of hand speed is required for looping to loop with hard sponges. So, rubbers that will suit your T4 is Nittaku Hammond Pro Alpha on BH, and bryce unglued for FH.
You might want to try a slower 5-ply wood, which is naturally good for looping, and learn to be good on your blocks and hits. Now you can use rubbers with a softer sponge. This requires less hand speed and to be less passive on blocking. With carbon you're working very hard to generate hand speed during loops and resting well during blocks. With 5-ply wood you don't get to rest but you don't work so hard either. Got it?
I hope that helps. Me, on the other hand is looking for a blade that like SC on the bh and Acoustic on fh. So far there are no such combination blades yet. But Kong LingHui played with such a combination.