Tenergy 05 durability

Note that you are the only player commenting with an honestly declared level and who has posted video of his strokes.

For the record, I know someone who used 5 year old sheets of Tenergy 05 (not really by choice, and he probably didn't use those sheets all those 5 years).  I used sheets for 1 year before being mocked to stop.  Not saying that the sheets always performed like new, but I could probably still play pretty close to usual level with them.

We've actually had threads on this topic before, both for Tenergy and for other, similar products.  What always struck me is that people aren't very precise when describing "durability.

Saying a rubber lasted six months doesn't tell me much because maybe you only played once in that six months.  It would be better to estimate the number of hours of use.  This is actually what is done with a lot of engines (tractors, airplanes, etc.) for the same reason.  Age isn't much of an indicator; usage is.

The other imprecision in thinking is how do you actually measure when a rubber is no longer usable?  One guy may feel that a sheet feels dead to him at 100 hours of use while another player might feel comfortable with the same rubber going up to 200 hours.  The durability of the rubber doesn't change, just the expectations of the players involved.

I've kept pretty careful notes in the past for my sheets of Tenergy 05.  I would say the sponge wears out faster than the topsheet (but Tenergy top sheet will cut very easily if you hit the table edge!).  So if you're used to going by looking for worn topsheet (which is what I used to to with other rubbers), you can actually find yourself playing with rubbers that have dead sponges.

Also, a topsheet can get stiff (making the rubber less spiny and harder to control) if he gets exposed to too much heat or too much air (such as sitting around for a month in the open air).  So a rubber kept in a case or bag might feel better after a month or two compared to one that is often out of the case.

My personal guideline that I use for my own sheets of Tenergy goes like this:

0 - 15 hours: I don't really like a brand new sheet.  It feels hard to control.  I'm happier when it's broken in.

15 - 75 hours: This is when I feel T05 is at its best, with strong spin and speed.

75 - 125 hours: During this stage the sponge has lost some of its power but has increased in control.  I can't play as aggressively with rubber during this stage but I can handle almost anything thrown at me (kind of like downgrading from 2.1mm thickness to 1.9mm).

125 - 175 hours: Top sheet is less spiny and the sponge is much weaker.  I'm happy to use this kind of rubber at the club but would hate to use it in an important tournament match.

175 - 225 hours: T05 is only a pale shadow of its normal self and I have to work twice as hard.  I would only play with Tenergy this old because I don't want to spring the cost of new sheets of Tenergy.

225+ hours: Not a good choice for an attacking looper.

That's how I feel about it; I don't claim that this numbers apply to anyone else.

Also, I'm skeptical that they've changed the formula of the rubber.  There are so many easier ways to save money if that's you're goal.  And there are so many factors that go into judging rubbers that we'll never know the truth unless Butterfly publicly admits it.

I will say that a common reason for any rubber to shrink when it's re-glued is because it was pressed to hard the first time it was glued.  If you press hard in your first gluing, then you stretch the rubber.  Take it off and it shrinks back again, appearing to be now too small for the paddle.

Just my thoughts.

I can only speak from my own experience, which is not a scientific study.  I haven't experienced the shrinkage problem since I stopped pressing the rubbers so hard when gluing.

Tenergy i believe decays at a very very slow constant rate, which is why its hard to notice overnight changes, i had a rasant grip die and i could tell that it did in a 3 days span, but no such surprises with tenergy. Also i m moving my forehand rubber to backhand, since a tenergy past its glory is still a decent backhand rubber, and i can put the new tenergy on my forehand.

You are correct.  There are different things I can do to extend the life of Tenergy, such as flipping the paddle, applying oil to the top sheet, or boosting the sponge (only on old sheets).  In all cases, you risk that your rubber's playing characteristics will change.  Actually, that's true just for playing with old rubber.  Old T05 plays differently than new T05, so if I play with my sheets for, say, 175 hours, then when I put on new sheets they'll behave a lot different (more spin and speed).  The best approach is just to change rubbers every 100 hours (for me, every seven weeks).  However, Tenergy is expensive. 

What Baal said, he is right. I change my tenergies every 6 motnhs, and as I mentioned the last1-1,5 months you can see clearly the need to change the rubber. So when I glue my new sheets, it always takes me 1 week to fully get used to them.