DHS Neo Hurricane 3 #60 sponge

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   A short review on this amazing backhand rubber for those who might wanna buy it...Bear in mind that I've always used a T64 for my backhand, but I've decided to try this rubber that Ma Long now currently uses, and after 2 weeks, here are my thoughts...

First of all, my rubber is at 37 degree hardness. The sponge is also not the regular hurricane sponge, but a tensor-like sponge. Due to the tacky topsheet, however, the speed of this of this rubber is obviously not as fast as T64. 

Counter-hitting: the rubber is not as bouncy as T64, so I had to actively hit the ball a bit more. Also, since the topsheet is tacky, you must actually be careful of your stroke. Otherwise the ball is not going to go where you want it to go. This is probably a common thing people notice when they switch from non-tacky rubbers to tacky. 

Short-looping? Counterlooping? Not sure of the term for stroke that you play like a loop, but over-the-table: Harder to borrow power/spin when compared to T64, and you need better control, but you can generate more spin than T64, and the spin arcs DOWNWARD when it hits the opponent's table.

Regular looping about 1 to 1.5 meters away from table: Wowwwww. So amazing. So much spin can be generated, and the best part is, the spin curves the ball DOWNWARD even more than over-the-table looping. All the people I regularly train with suddenly have problems blocking the ball lol. But technique change is required. More brushing is needed, and unlike using T64, the spin from brushing can accelerate the ball through the air. I'm addicted to backhand looping at the moment lol. The main thing about looping with this rubber is that you can feel the ball really well, much better than T64 in my opinion.

Blocking: At first, it's a bit harder to block with this rubber due to tacky topsheet, but after 2 weeks, I can block fine with this rubber. One thing that might deserve to be mentioned is that when somebody makes a smash at me, or powerloop, I can block it more easily if I don't miss the ball, simply because the rubber is not as bouncy as a T64. For regular blocking, though, T64 is better due to less sensitivity to opponent's spin. Also, T64 has higher blocking speed and a flatter arc. 

Powerlooping backspin: Surprisingly not too much technique alteration! I know some people do not engage the sponge as much when they play, but "eating" the ball with the sponge has always been how I play and with Hurricane #60, powerlooping backspin is so easy. In fact, I would say that it's even easier for me to powerloop backspin when compared to using T64, due to the tacky topsheet. It's also easier to make two different loops: the power loop and the slower low-arc loop.

Banana flick: Couldn't notice much difference again, but I think T64 is a little better here, as the tacky topsheet is more sensitive to incoming spin. T64 can make more speed with banana flick, but #60 hurricane can make more spin.

Lobbing: definitely not easy. Much harder to do than T64. 

TL;DR: It's a rubber that can create monster spin without sacrificing too much speed. In fact, I think the speed is enough lol. It's a different rubber when compared to T64. With T64, you can often "actively block" or "punch" the ball to score points, but it's hard to do with this rubber. You have to actively loop more, but you won't regret it because the ball feeling you get from looping is so good :)