sriver, magna, markV, donic jowaldner, X-tend...

i have some questions about these rubbers, and how they play, since i have't had the chance to try them all.

i've played with markV, and i liked it, good balance between speed/spin/control. i just want a rubber that is softer, grippier and with the same speed.
 i've been readind reviews about the new X-tend rubber, with built-in speed glue effect, and i'm liking what i am reading. donic jo waldner seems to be similar, or so i read, but a little ond the hard side, is this correct? sriver is very popular and said to be a classic just like markV, but hou about the sriver EL? i know it is softer, but its speed, how is it comparing to markV? (and is it grippier?) i've also read something about stiga magna, it seems to be faster, but maybe its harder... anyone can say anything about this?

thanks

thanks, maybe i'll give markV a shot then, both on fh and bh. by the way, i took your advice ProfessorChaos and tried the yasaka gatien extra 3d blade, and i'm loving it! i've been training sometimes with it, and i'm thinking about really changing from my stiga opt sync to that one. for looping at mid distance and close to the table, the extra 3d and markV, what do you think? markV xs crossed my mind, have you ever played with it? they say it's grippier...

doraemon wrote: If I am not wrong, Gatien won the world championship with Extra + Mark V on both sides.  It is also said that later on when Yasaka introduced Extra 3D, Gatien switched to it (from the regular Extra).  So I guess you will be OK using Mark V on Extra 3D.  Well, it doesn't mean you're gonna play like him though, no offense .  I think you get a good blade, so don't worry about it.  Regarding Mark V, it is a good rubber.  About Mark V xs, sorry I haven't tried it.   To ProfessorChaos:  I read two reviewers on the other forum, saying that Extra 3D is faster than Advance 3D.  You have used both of them, how do you compare?

Hey I've also used both Advance 3D and Extra 3D(along with other Yasaka blades like Extra, Max Wood and Allround 40, Sweeper).  I would say that Extra 3D has a bit more speed while Advance 3D retains a bit more control and feel.

and about the Extra 3D, it's a great choice, I had an Optimum Sync and switched back to my Advance 3D because I just don't like the way it plays(a bit too fast and hard for me). 

People say the Advance 3D is slow...if you are comparing to other OFF- blades...its probably at the low end of OFF-.  Faster than Extra (original) and almost as fast as Extra 3D.

I'm now testing the Offensive 40...I just love Yasaka blades so much.

I've never played with any of the newer Yasaka rubbers, only MarkV original, but its good...but not fast enough for modern 40mm topspin game when speedglued(in my opinion).

I would recommend some of the newer Mark V's...either GPS or XS(i forget)...my friend plays with it and he says its amazing for 40mm big ball.

mece wrote: professorchaos, what is the most similar blade to Korbel from Yasaka? I've never used any yasakas before, are they comparable in quality to stigas?

I'm not sure what Yasaka blade plays like PKorbel...many of Yasaka's blades are flexy but some are soft too.  I haven't tried PKorbel on my own rubbers...only tested it quick on a friends racket.  Korbel is a good blade nonetheless.

It's a known fact that Stiga and Yasaka's are made at the same factory(Japan and in Sweden)...but personally of the blades I've played...I think Yasaka's are much better in workmanship and feel.  Even though I can execute the same shots with Stiga's....it doesn't have the same vibrations and don't have the same amount of dwell time.

O! Ju Qian wrote: i just want to know how well TSP plays and how durable the rubber is.

tsp what?....

[/QUOTE]I'm not sure what Yasaka blade plays like PKorbel...many of Yasaka's blades are flexy but some are soft too.  I haven't tried PKorbel on my own rubbers...only tested it quick on a friends racket.  Korbel is a good blade nonetheless.[/QUOTE]

doraemon wrote: [/QUOTE]

I'm not sure what Yasaka blade plays like PKorbel...many of Yasaka's blades are flexy but some are soft too.  I haven't tried PKorbel on my own rubbers...only tested it quick on a friends racket.  Korbel is a good blade nonetheless.[/QUOTE] [/QUOTE]

extra 3d is med-soft feel...and pkorbel is a touch harder.

Speed is roughly the same.

dwell time, if i remember, extra 3d has more.

Long long time ago, I play with Yasaka Leopard EX.  It was probably different than current Yasaka Leopard.  Current Yasaka Leopard is rated very fast for all-wood blade.  My Yasaka Leopard EX, if I remember correctly, is fast but has good feel and decent control.  Handle is very comfortable and the blade is a bit thicker.  Compared to Extra 3D, I would say that the feel is harder than Extra 3D.  Not sure about Max Wood because I have never tried it.

Timemaster wrote: ProfessorChaos: Have you tried the old yasaka leopard blade by any chance ? How does it compare to the max wood and the extra 3D ? I tried both the sriver and markV, I might be wrong, but it seems to me sriver is faster... You mentionned markV gps, it's slower than markV. I think it's very close to the sriver EL, but ppl usually compare it to sriver FX. The XS is supposed to be grippier than gps, harder and a bit faster. But still slower than mark V according to ratings... I'd love to have confirmation though ! humint, have u considered the Vstage ?

i've been reading that v-stage is much faster than markV, have you played with it? i'm looking mostly for a softer and spinnier rubber, with the same speed (if it's a bit faster it's not a problem at all, but more important than that it's the softness and the grippiness)
anyone knows how the regular x-tend plays? i've herad it's soft and spinny... anyone?

the hammond is spinnier than the markV?

What's the difference between spinnier and more grippy ?

And yes, V-stage has more spin than mark V (according to ratings)

Butterfly makes the best japanese rubbers hands down!

ProfessorChaos:  From all Yasaka blades you have tried, which one is your favorite and why?  Which one is your least favorite and why?  How do you compare Off 40 vs. Extra 3D.  Is Max Wood similar to Clipper?

doraemon wrote: ProfessorChaos:  From all Yasaka blades you have tried, which one is your favorite and why?  Which one is your least favorite and why?  How do you compare Off 40 vs. Extra 3D.  Is Max Wood similar to Clipper? My old Yasaka Leopard EX is 3 ply wood, I do not know if it's hinoki.   Mcping:  Every brand has its own followers.  It doesn't mean that that particular brand is more superior, but it means that that particluar brand is suitable for our style and likings.  Sriver is, no doubt, good rubber.  I have used it also, but somehow I like Mark V and its brothers more.   Humint:  I have used Extend (regular).  Supposed to be tensor rubber.  It is indeed faster and spinnier than Mark V (regular).  It is softer also, which suits me more.  But it is fragile, it is easily chip on the edges, similar to Donic F1 and F2.

doraemon, my fav. Yasaka blade that I've used so far is Offensive 40(because it is like Extra but faster and not as heavy as Extra 7).  I'm still using Advance 3D and that's a great allround blade no-doubt(used with glued up H3 and JO Waldner...it is quite quick).

I've tried Clipper CR WRB and that is quite a bit faster than max wood(probably because of CR...i think normal clipper wood would feel like max wood)....feels harder than max wood(which is medium if i recall).  Still has great feeling and vibrations that I like with all Yasaka blades. 

xs is also heavier and slightly harder than mark v.