Review: Nittaku Hammond Pro Beta

Hey guys I just added a review for Hammond Pro β @ Haggisv's forum:

http://www.ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=11191

This rubber is awesome!!!

ohhgourami wrote: oh sweet, iv been waiting for a review of this rubber! how is this beast for bh drives?  flat smacking has always been the bread and butter for my bh shots but i want to be able to loop also. also where can i get this?  if its what i imagine, this is the rubber iv been waiting for!

I find it very responsive. Adding topspin to drives is almost effortless thanks to the newly designed topsheet. I use me backhand to open up most topspin rallies and this sheet really makes the ball kick.

You can now buy it at Paddle Palace:
http://www.paddlepalace.com/Hammond-Pro-Beta/productinfo/RNHAB/

url tags are your friend - DIRECT LINK TO REVIEW

I just read the review, that was excellent.  How long have you been using it for now? And how often do you play?

Great review.

I can grasp that its faster and spinnier than T64, but is the throw lower than T64? And what about reaction to spin compared to T64, and soft feeling on bh brush/control loops?

Its well known that T64 is less spinny (lower throw) and has a softer "feel" than T05, but 64 is still too spinny (reactive to spin, high throw) and too hard (for brushing and controlled looping) for my bh.

I liked the Nittaku Renanos Bright series OK, but ultimately they were a little too slow and the topsheets were much too slick. I definitely want to try Pro�.

LOOPMEISTER wrote: Great review. I can grasp that its faster and spinnier than T64, but is the throw lower than T64? And what about reaction to spin compared to T64, and soft feeling on bh brush/control loops? Its well known that T64 is less spinny (lower throw) and has a softer "feel" than T05, but 64 is still too spinny (reactive to spin, high throw) and too hard (for brushing and controlled looping) for my bh. I liked the Nittaku Renanos Bright series OK, but ultimately they were a little too slow and the topsheets were much too slick. I definitely want to try Pro�.

ProB is definately softer then t64. this was one of my reasons that i didnt like T64.. To hard for my game, i like softer feel.  ProB have a little less spin then T64.  overall controll is good, good for blocking as well..

ohhgourami wrote: icontek wrote: url tags are your friend - DIRECT LINK TO REVIEW yes i read the review but nothing was mentioned for flat drives oooo deciding when i want to purchase a sheet!

=___= Must...have...ugh. Just bought a sheet of Narucross so this'll have to wait.

ohhgourami wrote: hehe i was about to cop a sheet of renanos bright soft too.  good thing i hesitated.  still hesitating on this...

Why hesitate? What is it about backhand drives you are looking for specifically in a rubber?

BMonkey wrote: Why hesitate? What is it about backhand drives you are looking for specifically in a rubber?   I am loving my sheet on my BH so far.

qynthnghm wrote: tpgh2k wrote: sounds like it might be in the same category as joola x-plode to me. i felt like t64 was much too wild on my YEO also. i'll have to give this one a shot too...   but dang....$47 for a sheet?!?!!? i'll stick to my cheaper rubbers then =( It's good to be patient! Pro Alpha is now down to around $26. Guess I'll just draw a beta character on my alpha sheet. >__>

Can someone specify the exact differences between t64 or even bryce speed? It seems it is a less spinny lower throw t64?

Fruit loop wrote: Can someone specify the exact differences between t64 or even bryce speed? It seems it is a less spinny lower throw t64?

The difference that I notice is more spin. In the short game and slow loops. The sheet feels less hard than T64 also. I have not tried Bryce Speed so I can not compare that.

@icontek - I played glued Bryce for a long time and *glued* HPA feels very similar to me... It did not prove quite as spinny as glued Bryce to me but slightly more controllable.

MildSeven wrote: I already wrote my opinion on the other forum disagreeing with thaidog. I feel Pro Beta is slower and less spinny than T64. At least for the time being (my sheet is still practically new), Pro Beta really just feels like a mildly speed glued Hammond with better topsheet performance. That in itself should already be a pretty attractive proposition for a lot people who used to use Hammond variants before. It also has that Nittaku rubber feel that I find hard to describe.

And I concede that my use of Tenergy is less than MildSeven. What I know for a fact however is that Pro Beta is a serious step up from the Alpha version. I played side by side with Alpha (tuned with Butterfly Optimizer One) and the Beta version is much more spinny and at least as fast. I absolutely enjoy hitting with it and will be keeping it as my backhand rubber for the foreseeable future.

MildSeven wrote: I already wrote my opinion on the other forum disagreeing with thaidog. I feel Pro Beta is slower and less spinny than T64. At least for the time being (my sheet is still practically new), Pro Beta really just feels like a mildly speed glued Hammond with better topsheet performance. That in itself should already be a pretty attractive proposition for a lot people who used to use Hammond variants before. It also has that Nittaku rubber feel that I find hard to describe.

I have gone through quite a few sheets of T05 and have had extended trials (1 hour or more) of T64 so I have a pretty good feel for it too. In fact someone wanted to try out my racket so we switched and he had T64 on his. Going back and forth directly like that was a good way to compare. T64 was slightly firmer than Pro Beta, but only slightly. I feel that Pro Beta is a notch faster in outright speed and that they are equal in spin. Pro Beta throws lower and I like that on my BH. It might also have to do something with technique differences between people and the results we see. Either way; on Paddle Palace T64 is $56.99 and Pro Beta is $46.95. Pro Beta for the win