The Hype XT Pro 50 is a hard ESN rubber. The sponge feels hard like the Joola Maxxx 500. The topsheet feltm medium hardness but the sponge itself is really hard and felt harder than the MX-P or Joola Rhyzm 48 degree version. The sponge is an orange porous sponge that is reactive when you press against it. The characteristic of the Pro 50 is that it feels like a Chinese rubber at times due to it being hard and there is a specific way for it to yield its speed. It is a fast rubber but it is not initially fast wherein compared to softer rubbers that are bouncier at first hit. The Pro 50 shines if you compress the ball against it with a bit of effort. It is a hard sponged rubber so it was designed for hard hitters wherein you would need to hit through more in the sponge whether you are loop driving or smashing.

I appreciate the Pro 50’s spin, one, because it is very spinny and two, it is very easy to spin with. The hard surface makes it ideal to brush the ball producing a medium to high arc with a very spinny topspin. I use hurricane 3 a lot and I appreciate the Pro 50’s spin because it is like a non tacky H3 but faster by a big margin. The Pro 50’s spin when doing spinny pushes also is amazing. It can be as spinny as the MX-P or the EL-S when doing pushes. The control is good especially when doing flicks or drop shots.

Overall, this rubber is much better than an Acuda S1. It is not as fast but it has plenty of speed already plus it has better spin and durability. It feels almost like a Victas Limber or Joola Maxx 500 but only with the feel. The rest are better qualities of an attacking rubber.

Hype Pro 40

Product Specifications
Product: Gewo Hype XT Pro 40
Colour: black
Thickness: 2.1mm
Country Of Origin: Germany
Product Made In Year: 2016
Advertised Hardness: 40 degrees
Weight (g) (Uncut): 67 grams
Weight (g) (Cut to blade): 43 grams
Feel Of Topsheet Hardness During Play (Soft, Medium, Hard): Medium
Feel Of Sponge Hardness During Play (Soft, Medium, Hard): Soft
Throw Angle Of Rubber (Low, Medium, High): Medium
Ball Grip Strength Of Rubber ( Low, Normal, High ) : High
Ball Slippage During Play (Sometimes/None) : Seldom

Speed& Power Ratings
Catapult Power (Low, Normal, High) : High
Power From Far-Table Play (Low, Normal, High) : Normal
Speed On Flat Hitting (1-5) : 4
Looping (1-5) : 4
Overall Speed Rating During Play (1-5) : 4

Spin Ratings
Spin Sensitivity (Low, Normal, High) : Low
Spin Generation On Serves (Low, Normal, High) : High
Overall Spin Rating During Play (1-5) :4

Control Ratings
Blocking (1-5): 5
Chopping(1-5) : 3
Serve Returns (1-5) : 5
Consistency (1-5) : 5
Overall Control Rating During Play (1-5) : 4

Reviewer Comments:

The Hype Pro 40 is rubber labeled as soft basing on its sponge hardness of 40 degrees but when you combine it with the topsheet it feels like a medium rubber with an approximate total hardness of 45 degrees instead of being very soft. This is due to the fact that the topsheet makes it a little bit harder.

The Hype 40 is a very bouncy rubber. It requires less effort to make your attacks fast unlike the Pro 50 which required a bit more of sponge compression. I could compare the Pro 40’s speed to like an Acuda P2. Drives, smashes and spin drives are good. The Pro 50 is much better at spinning but the Pro 40 can also spin very well only lesser than the Pro 50 by a few levels. The Pro 40 has a medium arc and safely clears the net when attacking. The stroke requires also compression to get the desired spin which is opposite to the Pro 50 that requires sponge compression to get the desired speed. The topspins are spinny enough and powerful enough to give your opponent the threat to their blocking. Speaking of blocking, the Pro 40 blocks really well because it is not sensitive to incoming spin and the rubber is very easy to control even at max speed. I really like the Pro 40 as a backhand rubber and receiving spinny serves are not hard again due to being non sensitive to incoming spin.