I've been lucky to be able to spend a few sessions hitting with sheets of P1 Turbo (P1T from now on) - many thanks to forum user ghostzen who was kind enough to send them to me. I used two sheets, red and black, both 2.0mm.
Inspection
Physically the rubbers look to be a continuation of the Acuda Blue line but with a different topsheet. For me this is good news - P1, P2 and P3 use a new kind of ESN topsheet which is very thin and super soft, and personally I never really got to grips with it. I can understand the concept that they are easy to use, and work well with the plastic ball, but this topsheet has an overall feel that I can best describe as floppy, or slack, in comparison with typical ESN topsheets. I got the impression that the topsheet itself was taking some of the pace off the ball which might help your short game control, then you get reasonable medium-gear performance with good spin but medium/low throw, but in the high gears the topsheet doesn't have the snap to produce the catapult you'd usually associate with ESN. So I felt like I was missing topsheet performance in the high gears with P1, P2 and P3 - although the speed was there, the spin felt capped in some way. Of course, technique, YMMV.
Anyway, P1T looks to use the same sponge as P1, but the topsheet is slightly harder and stiffer, less slack, still grippy. Pimple geometry has changed. The quality is usual ESN (very high), no obvious booster smell, no doming out of the packet. I haven't weighed it (it was pre-cut with glue on, but I'll weigh an uncut sheet if I order one), but it feels pretty light for a hard-sponged rubber (from memory, probably very similar to P1).
Short Game / Serving
P1T is noticeably a bit bouncier than P1. This was immediately apparent from the first forehand push - pop-ups everywhere, and I had to adjust slightly. That said, it isn't crazy-bouncy and it didn't take long to adapt.
The topsheet still has a soft feel in comparison with the average, and isn't very sensitive to incoming spin. I found service return to be easier than my usual Omega V Asia and Euro, and the solid feel gives a lot of confidence for flicks.
Spin was surprisingly high during serves but you have to use a fast contact to get the performance out. Mild brushing doesn't cut it here, although I did find that it was super-easy to produce a big contrast between empty and loaded serves by adding wrist action. It's very hard to make this rubber misbehave in the short game which encourages you to add a bit more effort yourself.
Driving/Blocking/Hitting
Warming up with some basic drives gives a sense of rock-solid performance. The basic speed is pretty high, and the top gear is enough for most players I would imagine. The performance is very linear - ridiculously so in fact. I initially thought that I couldn't miss and could knock-up forever.
Blocking is excellent. I'm not usually a fan of hard sponges for blocking, but P1T works really well here. The low spin sensitivity, slight low-gear bounce, and extreme linear behavior all combine to produce a blocking machine - a total wall. This also leads to punches being fab too.
Hitting was great. On harder smashes there is a surprising click sound that I'd only really expect from softer sponges.
During match play, keeping the ball on the table was brilliantly easy and putting away loose balls very effective. You have to put a bit more effort into handling empty short balls than my usual setup - there is still a lack of low-end catapult and I had to work a bit harder to chisel out dead balls.
Looping (and the throw...)
And here is the snag really.
P1T has a medium-low throw, and that's where it likes to be. Slow loops, big loops, loop drives, whatever - the throw will stay medium-low and it takes a lot of effort to generate a high arc in comparison with other rubbers. And it shares a lot of P1's characteristics here too - the spin is OK, but in the higher gears it just never really comes to life. This all adds to what makes P1T so easy to use (for a fast rubber) - attacking backspin is simplified, and looping is highly forgiving of bat angles and over-enthusiasm. But while the result is a safe ball with good speed and reasonable spin, there is no overpowering threat for the opponent.
Overall
You can definitely take Donic at their word when they say that P1T is a modified variation of P1. The topsheet is slightly harder and more taut, which adds speed and precision to the lower gears. Spin is slightly better through the medium gears too. But when swinging hard you hit a similar spin/speed ratio limit that the original P1 had, and the medium-low throw is stable but stubborn.
There's a lot to like with P1T though - it's a fast rubber with reasonable spin, and yet is incredibly easy to use and forgiving of many technique sins. It suits a player who values speed, placement and drive domination of the rally, as opposed to a more spin-based player. I'm sure a lot of juniors would like this rubber, as would anyone who uses rubbers like Stiga Airoc. I'd definitely take P1T over P1, or any of the rubbers in this class released recently (Vega Asia DF springs to mind).
It's not one for my FH, but it suits my BH needs surprisingly well and I'll probably get a sheet of my own as soon as Tibi returns from his holiday.
Thanks again to ghostzen for the kind offer of testing these out!
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