Hurricane/Skyline pip structure comparisons

Thanks this is really Interesting 

Those are neo sheets, worth noting that the original H2 had narrow pips same width as h3 with wide spacing and a pure cylinder from memory, same spacing it still has. The new sheets of h2 are less demanding and also have less of h2s unique qualities.

Great post by the way and those are accurate descriptions of how the rubbers play

Edited by bluebucket - 02/14/2014 at 9:38pm

I like DHS rubbers too.  I have H2, H2 Neo, H3, H3 Neo, TG2 Neo and TG3 Neo. The pip structure may change but I find the biggest difference is between the non-Neo and the Neo sponges.

The part about the arcs being different is bogus.  It may be true if you use exactly the same stroke but what really determines the arc of a ball is the impulse that is applied to the ball.   All of these rubbers are capable of applying the same impulse except maybe at the extreme margins.  I find the non-neo rubbers to be slower but still OK for close to the table play.

tt4me wrote: The part about the arcs being different is bogus. It may be true if you use exactly the same stroke but what really determines the arc of a ball is the impulse that is applied to the ball.   All of these rubbers are capable of applying the same impulse except maybe at the extreme margins.

 

tt4me wrote:   The part about the arcs being different is bogus.  It may be true if you use exactly the same stroke...

This is the topsheet of the old H3

Which has tackier surface, H3 Neo or TG3 Neo?

schen wrote: Pip width:  H2 > TG2 > TG3 > H3 Pip spacing:  H2 > TG3 > TG2 > H3 Pip shape: H3 - medium trapezoidal base with a medium height cylindrical plateau where the pip meets the sponge H2 - large trapezoidal with a very short cylindrical plateau where the pip meets the sponge TG3 - short trapezoidal base with a tall cylindrical plateau where the pip meets the sponge TG2 - completely cylindrical My comparisons based on the commercial products boosted with haifu seamoon on a YEO cpen: -My favorite is the TG2 for its ease of blocking and it's relatively low arc on loops at the table.  It also has the best control in the short game in my opinion, and feels the most linear. -TG3 was the fastest of these 4 DHS rubbers with a smooth and gradual arc on loops.  It was my favorite for playing away from the table and counter-looping, but I felt I lacked control on blocks while using it. -H3 had the sharpest arc on loops but I found it somewhat erratic on blocks compared to the TG2.  My coach also told me after blocking for me that my loops weren't as powerful with H3 as with TG2 or TG3. -H2's arc was almost completely flat and I had difficulty controlling the ball away from the table.  But flat hits felt great and were surprisingly more controllable than any of the other rubbers.  I felt I had very little dwell with the rubber.

Good summary Schen

I agree with your Coach's comment that loops with H3 have a sharper arc and are less powerful, than loops with TG2 or TG3.

H2 is also capable of more powerful loops than H3 because they kick lower off the table and are thus not as easy to block. The caveat with H2 is it's not forgiving of timing errors or poor technique. On the other hand; it 's a very effective rubber in the hands of a player with good technique.

With the standard commercial sponge; my favourites are H2 and TG3. Both can be very effective on wooden blades.

In the case of the Neo commercial sponges; I prefer the TG2 Neo and TG3 Neo, which is why I have TG2 Neo on the forehand and TG3 Neo on the backhand of my league bat.

schen wrote: I've always loved chinese rubber for my FH, but was always curious to know why they play so differently when they are all generally tacky rubbers on hard sponges.  I decided to separate the sponge from the topsheet on scraps of the popular hurricane and skyline rubbers made by DHS to see what makes them so different, and I thought I'd share  Based on the pictures, this is what I observed: Pip width:  H2 > TG2 > TG3 > H3 Pip spacing:  H2 > TG3 > TG2 > H3 Pip shape: H3 - medium trapezoidal base with a medium height cylindrical plateau where the pip meets the sponge H2 - large trapezoidal with a very short cylindrical plateau where the pip meets the sponge TG3 - short trapezoidal base with a tall cylindrical plateau where the pip meets the sponge TG2 - completely cylindrical My comparisons based on the commercial products boosted with haifu seamoon on a YEO cpen: -My favorite is the TG2 for its ease of blocking and it's relatively low arc on loops at the table.  It also has the best control in the short game in my opinion, and feels the most linear. -TG3 was the fastest of these 4 DHS rubbers with a smooth and gradual arc on loops.  It was my favorite for playing away from the table and counter-looping, but I felt I lacked control on blocks while using it. -H3 had the sharpest arc on loops but I found it somewhat erratic on blocks compared to the TG2.  My coach also told me after blocking for me that my loops weren't as powerful with H3 as with TG2 or TG3. -H2's arc was almost completely flat and I had difficulty controlling the ball away from the table.  But flat hits felt great and were surprisingly more controllable than any of the other rubbers.  I felt I had very little dwell with the rubber. It seems to me from this comparison that larger pips are much easier to block with than narrow pips, while narrower pips produce a sharper arc on loops.  I also believe the larger the trapezoidal base of the pip is, the less dwell the rubber gives you (from the topsheet, sponge is a different factor). If anyone else has any thoughts or experiences with these four rubbers, I'd love to hear your opinions! TL;DR - Here are pictures of the pip structures of 4 popular DHS rubbers and my opinions of how they play and why. edit:  I realized that I took these photos at a slight angle so the size proportions may look slightly skewed in the graphics, but my notes are based on observing the rubbers in person.

Edited by bozbrisvegas - 12/09/2021 at 4:09pm