Why Buy Less Than Max Thickness?

assiduous wrote: Oh come on now, that's not a serious argument. You bring one guy with 1.8 and that makes a point? If we go that route why don't we ask the top 100 ITTF ranked nonchoppers. I'ma bet a penny there is not a single soul trying that. It's really hard to get anywhere with your attacking game with a miserable 1.8. And I tip my hat to that lad from your club for getting up to 2400 against all odds, but for all I care he could have been something if he chose a thicker rubber. There is no disadvantage other than weight, but you have to eat that. Mushy? Don't hit like a woman.

Spoken like a true noob.

Control>Speed

Hitting the table>Missing the table

given the hardness of chinese sponges does it make a difference b/w 2.0 and max? 

JohnnyChop wrote: given the hardness of chinese sponges does it make a difference b/w 2.0 and max?  honestly i don't even know if DHS produces thinner sponge...

Edited by bluebucket - 08/30/2011 at 2:45pm

Jonan wrote: assiduous wrote: Oh come on now, that's not a serious argument. You bring one guy with 1.8 and that makes a point? If we go that route why don't we ask the top 100 ITTF ranked nonchoppers. I'ma bet a penny there is not a single soul trying that. It's really hard to get anywhere with your attacking game with a miserable 1.8. And I tip my hat to that lad from your club for getting up to 2400 against all odds, but for all I care he could have been something if he chose a thicker rubber. There is no disadvantage other than weight, but you have to eat that. Mushy? Don't hit like a woman. Spoken like a true noob. Control>Speed Hitting the table>Missing the table

Wouldn't the true noob be the person implying the struggle to connect with the table when using max?



Edited by idk - 08/30/2011 at 3:09pm

thinner rubbers are not much lighter than original... because density of topsheet is way higher than that of sponge. 

The loss of feel from 2.0 to max is quite a bit. Id rather get a harder faster sponge and remain at 2.0. So for example I might go S1 Turbo 2.0 instead of S1 max. (Or BW2 since ESN tensors which live on my FH seem to have a nasty habit of bubbling).

Maybe on FH the power tradeoff might be worthwhile, and on the FH many of those quick panic return shots are actually at about the bottom-out range for the rubber, so it can get a bit tricky to figure out whether the rubber will bottom-out or not and compensate properly. On BH for blocking and various things Id much rather use 2.0, BH are nearer to you and have naturally better power control.

For chinese rubber the sponge is so hard i doubt it makes a difference. Maybe if you tune it...


Edited by Vassily - 08/30/2011 at 5:20pm

Style and distance played from table is key in selecting sponge thickness. Rakza 7 1.8 is fast, Tenergy 25 1.9 is fast, Acuda S1 1.8 is fast. Thinner sponge doesn't always translate into a weaker game, it depends on several factors. Stroke and technique will kill over max sponge thickness anyday.

I used to use max or 2.2 when I was a beginner because of just that- you think it's better. I started using 1.9 or 2.0 (depending on the brand) and I've never gone back. It hits better, and loops no worse. I don't think I'll ever have a reason to go up in thickness when using inverted rubber on my Backhand.