So, I took off the rubber, added two more layers of Reviver Phoenix, waited for the dome to relax slightly, and glued it on my Stiga Clipper Wood. Here, it plays pretty nice. After playing with that setup for about 10 or 12 sessions, I can see a lot of the benefits of this type of rubber. Pushes are loaded. I can attack a lot of balls near the net that I couldn't attack with Tenergy. Loops near the table are loaded with spin and have decent power. The control is outstanding. Without the tensor effect, its just super easy for me to understand how this rubber is going to behave when I hit against all kinds of spin. 

However, there are some drawbacks which I think might be improved by upgrading to a better version of Hurricane 3 and getting a slightly softer sponge or possibly by changing it to a different blade. I think the commercial Hurricane 3 Neo I got is 2.15 thickness and 40 degrees hardness. Even though its boosted, its pretty terrible at passive blocking. Which sometimes is required when opponents make strong attacks which put me out of position. It's also super terrible at driving and flat hitting. Additionally, at mid distance and beyond, it lacking power. I expected these drawbacks, but not to this extreme. 

So, I'm thinking of some solutions:

A: Changing blades (Currently on Clipper Wood)

I have a few other blades laying around that I could try. Those blades include Clipper CR, Timo Boll Spirit, Xiom Zetro Quad, and two Sittho (Siam Ping Pong) custom blades. One is Hinoki-ALC-Hinoki-ALC-Hinoki the other is Hinoki-T5000-Hionki-T5000-Hinoki. 

B. Boosting it more. I've boosted it twice, but with only two thin layers each time. I don't think this would be the best option. 

C. Trying another variation of Hurricane 3 or Hurricane 3 Neo. The main ones I'm considering are Nittaku Hurricane 3 Neo, Hurricane 3 Provincial 39 degrees orange sponge, Hurricane 3 Provincial 39 degrees blue sponge. 

D. A combination of the above options. 

The most affordable of the rubbers is the NITTAKU Hurricane 3 Neo. TT11 has it on sale for 28 bucks and the store down the street here in Saigon has it for 33. H3 Provincial orange sponge is only 7 to 10 bucks more than that, but the blue sponge is around 55 bucks. Is it worth it? 

Any advice you guys could give me would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hmmm I just contacted the local shops here in Saigon, they don't have that. I'd have to order it. They have Nittaku Hurricane 3 Pro Turbo Orange sponge (I'm not sure about the hardness). Commercial Hurricane 3 orange sponge at 38 or 40 Hardness. And, DHS Hurricane 3 provincial blue sponge 39 degrees hardness, but its way overpriced at about 75 bucks. They other two are reasonable prices. I don't really know much about the Nittaku variant. 

In the meantime, I'm going to try the Commercial Hurricane 3 Neo on the Sittho Hinoki-ALC-Hinoki-ALC-Hinoki blade. 

If you are exploring H3 commercial options and still want it on carbon blade then go for H3 commercial old version - 2.15 H38. It plays well on carbon. Boosting is matter of taste. After 10 sessions it will soften more and will become a spin robot :)

Hi Eric

Don't pay extra more $ on the prov, NT or blue sponge.

PM me your postal address. I will send you some H3.

Play them, and compare them over all the H3 you have played.

If they are similar to that sheet, then they are free, you can throw them to the bin and throw my words to the window.

If they are surprised good.  You can keep them as a gift.

You can find all types of H3 rubbers on prott. I'd stay away from commercial because of inconsistencies. I wouldn't go as far as national versions but provincial orange can be purchased at a very reasonable cost and offers more certainty on the rubber quality. 

In my experience, Chinese rubbers don't really go with hinoki. If you are still developing, Acoustic is one of the best blades to play H3 with. Once you've developed a good technique, you can move to the likes of Viscaria, or inner carbon blades like HL5 that offer a bit more dwell time. I have to say though, Acoustic is an amazing blade to play with hard tacky Chinese rubbers. There's a reason ML used to play with Acoustic. 

On a different note, I have tried all the H3 versions. the blue sponge takes booster quicker but they usually get bubbles if you overboost - also they have slightly different characteristics (a little faster and softer than orange). i prefer orange sponge since they give lower throw and most importantly cheaper and more durable. im still using the orange since we played in Hoa Lu and still going strong - i boosted with 2 layers of P500/Chop-ever Reviver. 

Get training from My Trang if you can - shes a very experienced coach. 

I’ve tried prov h3 neo orange and quality seems better but not worth if you are going to boost. Same goes for other prov versions.

I prefer 39 hardness but now they don’t label the commercial stuff. They just put mid, mid-hard, and hard. I think 39 is mid-hard or something like that. You can try mid version if the one you got was too hard.

I only boosted with FTL, which makes the sponge softer abit. I heard the more expensive stuff doesn’t soften up the sponge as FTL does, so you can try that.

Oh, and right now I’m trying unboosted comm h3 neo on a 5 ply all wood (hadraw vk) and it’s too slow but boosted might be nice. I’m also going to try it on a 7 ply clipper clone (force pro black ed), a lot of people prefer boosted/unboosted h3s on 7ply blades like clipper.

Ive been playing for more than a decade now. I have tried almost every type of Hurricane 3 that's out there. Yes, including the Nittakku H3 Turbo Blue Sponge, which is actually pretty good!

I tried the commercial versions first (orange sponge) and I was so disappointed i had written H3 off my list (yes, they felt like bricks, both original and Neo versions). Then a friend, who had been a pro, sold me a National Version of H3. The difference is like night and day.

Do you have to boost? Answer is NO. As it has been said before, after about 5 weeks of use, the sponge will soften up. Others claim you HAVE to boost it. No you don't. I don't boost mine. I USED to but since a couple of sheets developed bubbles, I decided I did not need to boost. And what do you know, I don't miss it. Right now I'm testing this Nittaku version of Hurricane 3. The sponge is a little harder than the DHS version. Im hoping it will soften up as I use it. Maybe a layer of oil might do the trick, but I can wait a little longer and see. So far it feels very similar to the DHS version. And it is not as expensive.

My main setup is not boosted. And it works quite well like that.

FdT

My wrist is doing much better now. I started playing again about a few weeks ago. I also just started a new job, so I'll have funds for coaching again. I'm trying to work that out now. You were using commercial H3, is that right? I seem to remember when you borrowed the other guys H3 (I think it was national) that the balls I was receiving were much higher quality. 

Also, I got the Hurricane 3 provincial #20 orange sponge yesterday. It wasn't that expensive, on sale for 850k(vnd). Its obvious that topsheet is much higher quality than the commercial H3 Neo topsheet. The commercial H3 Neo had flaws on the surface of the topsheet right out of the package. Terrible quality actually. The new Provincial H3 #20 Orange sponge looks flawless and just higher quality in general. Out of the package, 39 degree Provincial feels a lot softer just by pushing on it, so I just boosted it with one medium layer of Reviver Phoenix. I will attach it today on my Clipper and give it a go. 

"Mystery of difference and variation boost curiosity hence increasing consuming" (wtf is that academic slang..) 

however a pro player only need consistency (means all the same) and simplicity

The real good H3 is when you couldn't tell difference between per sheet

Oh, also I forgot to mention in the initial post. I do also have a Xiom Zetro Quad laying around with the other blades. Clipper Wood, Clipper CR, Timo Boll Spirit, Zetro Quad. Which one is most suitable for H3? I've been using the Clipper so far. I also tried it on that custom Hinoki/ALC blade, but it wasn't suitable. 

When I changed from Chinese hard rubbers to Xiom Omega Asia 5 (which is hardest in the range) I felt like, "what the hell", this is soft as a towel :)) It was so easy to play. Instead of getting myself into position, I now could just over stretch and still could get my point! Is it good or bad? 

My coach showed me the point in relation to my body where I should make a contact with the ball and told me to stop thinking about ball position on its arc, regardless if it is raising ball or falling or ball at it's peak. The task for me was to move to the ball so that it is in that magical spot when racket hits it.

It was hardest for me to follow teaching during training sessions with H3 rubber. I had to put something softer (Xiom). Now, Xiom rubber worn out, I improved and can handle STN (it is softer than H3) but training still ongoing since May, every week, once per week and I am not there yet to use H3 as consistently as I could do with Xiom (and now with STN).

Foot work is so much important in TT ... but it is 2x more important if you have H3!

Your H3 is better than the boosted H3 Neo Commercial or the boosted H3 Provincial #20 Orange Sponge? 

Whats the difference? 

You couldn't compare an orange to an apple as different H3s are not come from the same factory.

Well, how about elaborating on your H3 sourcing and tuning knowledge.

keep it up if you think it is the right path for you - otherwise you can always switch to different rubbers - it is a hobby after all isnt it? let's face it - 99.99% people here are not going to the olympics so take it easy and enjoy the game.  

So, are you still playing with H3? 

I obviously don't expect to master H3 in one month, but I'm hoping to at least see some improvement.  I'm having a hard time even warming up. Partially because I can't find the feeling and get my stroke in a grove. And, partially because the balls have a flatter trajectory and dip lower soo the opponents are having a harder time returning my balls. So, even when I return quality balls during warm up, my warm up partners aren't returning them very well. 

Yes. Once you understand how the rubber works best then it's hard to switch back to other rubbers. It has many gears: slow, fast, spinny, no spin, dead spin. Not to mention cheap as hell, too. I got it from my friend in Shanghai - it was around $5/sheet and they last forever. The best way to use it for me is to play the spin game with placement and also I can put the ball away if the ball is long enough. 

Playing H3 requires a specific training because of its unique characteristics. It's not easy, but once you get the hang of it then table tennis, all of a sudden, becomes so much fun to play!

Also, speaking of table tennis, I wouldn't recommend switching equipment and playing style too often. You just gotta be consistent with what works for you. What ever works for you. What rubber makes the shot. What technique makes it easy for you, harder for your opponent. What serve makes it hard to return. What tactic wins the point. 

 

Yes. Once you understand how the rubber works best then it's hard to switch back to other rubbers. It has many gears: slow, fast, spinny, no spin, dead spin. Not to mention cheap as hell, too. I got it from my friend in Shanghai - it was around $5/sheet and they last forever. The best way to use it for me is to play the spin game with placement and also I can put the ball away if the ball is long enough. 

Playing H3 requires a specific training because of its unique characteristics. It's not easy, but once you get the hang of it then table tennis, all of a sudden, becomes so much fun to play!

Also, speaking of table tennis, I wouldn't recommend switching equipment and playing style too often. You just gotta be consistent with what works for you. What ever works for you. What rubber makes the shot. What technique makes it easy for you, harder for your opponent. What serve makes it hard to return. What tactic wins the point. 

 

[/QUOTE]

Yes I believe so.

And that cheap one is much more better than the "blue sponge national version" which is selling on very high demand on the market!

Yeap, seller and consumer don't like it.

Red might be more sticky than black. This H38 is not the same as H39. 

H39 is more difficult to play but it produces astonishing shots when angle is right. 

Boosted will play differently. In my case 2 layers of falco on H39 sponge made it softer, faster. 

But also made dwell time shorter, so it became different rubber all together. 

Would I boost H3 again? No, no, no. 

Why?

It is not going to get more sticky and actually it does not need to. H3 out of package and during next 100 hours of play is insanely tacky = spinny.

Will you be able to produce more spin with boosted? Please note, that I am not saying "is it possible to produce more spin with boosted comparing to normal?" I am emphasising, "will you be able to produce more spin, given that dwell time is going to be shorter?"

If H3 is not fast enough for me, what would I do instead of boosting? I will get H3 NEO, which is factory boosted. What's the difference comparing to self boosted? 1) Boosting effect is consistent across the whole sheet when done properly at the factory. 2) It does not curl.

Consider this simple list of commercial H3 variations (below $20 USD):

1) H39 degrees 

2) H39 degrees boosted

3) Neo H39 degrees factory boosted

4) H38 degrees

Which one is better to learn TT skills with? Yes, answer is #4 - H38 degrees. It is slowest, softest. So dwell time is longest on brushes.

All variants will happily and annoyingly expose all imperfections in your skills. 

But why to bother if it's so painful? In my case, I wanted to develop powerful strokes, so I knew that I will need to engage muscles and was ready to sweat a lot :)) Lesson learned - there is a limit how much power I can put if I use my arm/chest muscles. Anything above that limit results in unpredictable shot, sometimes Ok, bust most often - a miss. 

Why? Arm muscles are not relaxed any more. Not relaxed muscles = no consistency and no power.

Okay, how does that supposed to work then? With the help of my coach I found out that H3 is not built for use with arm/chest muscles. Extensive use of wrist and elbow is good trick to add speed to the stroke, but it's optional. (I am taking about FH)

The basis for the stroke is abdominal muscle group combined with right side quads (for right handed player). Engaging these muscles into stroke as main source of force will let arm to stay relaxed and will lead to faster racket speed. That what H3 wants from you. Fast stroke preferably with acceleration.

Aha, easy to say. To execute such a shot during game one have to anticipate ball trajectory and know what steps to take to put legs in right place. Bloody difficult and no fun to learn. Not at all.

Someone in this thread warned that if one manages to tame H3 then it will be no going back. I agree, other rubbers, especially European tensors will feel quite funny after that :)

He is correct. Use softer Hurricane.

Before the ABS balls, tensors used to be no harder than 47,5 degree. Now european pros use 50-53 degree rubbers, and heavily boosted.

If you buy 39 deg hurricane (the softest neo), it is already 50-52 degree with harder topsheet than most euro rubbers.

And even if you boost your 40 deg one, it will not become softer than that.

So are you pro?

Well, so don't expect wonders. Get a soft 38 hurricane. Try to fully engange the sponge.

Once you can do that consistently on your shots, you can consider getting 39 degrees.

Chop4ever is sending me some H3 sheets to try out, if I don't like those I may give the 38 degrees H3 a try (as suggest above) at some point. Also, my coach suggested that H3 Neo Provincial Blue Sponge is higher quality, more dynamic, and has a better feel than the commercial im currently using. Honestly, for now I'm pretty alright with the boosted H3 Neo Commercial.

I'm not sure what that difference is, but from what I understand DHS has multiple factories and all of the Hurricane rubbers even of the same type are not created equal.

When you talk about the blue sponge bubbling, is that all of them or is it specifically the Neo blue sponge?  

I'm not sure what that difference is, but from what I understand DHS has multiple factories and all of the Hurricane rubbers even of the same type are not created equal.

When you talk about the blue sponge bubbling, is that all of them or is it specifically the Neo blue sponge?  

Many of the "blue sponge provincials" will bubble if you apply booster directly to the blue sponge as the booster outgassing into the topsheet seems to weaken the bonds between sponge and topsheet. You get the highest, immediate performance, but destroy sheets often this way.

I'm pretty sure that you can prevent this bubbling by applying a thicker glue layer and boost that. It will take longer to boost (a week or two of prep) and it's possible to overboost because the glue layer delays the boost effect. Conversely, the boosting will last longer, because the glue layer will release the booster into the sponge slower than if directly applied to sponge.

Until you get a real feel for the process I describe, you will likely screw up some glue jobs by applying them to the blade before they stretch. You may overboost some sheets and not realize it because they are so slow to stretch.

The booster does NOT outgas since it is not a VOC (volatile organic compound). That's the hole point of the booster. However it diffuses through the sponge.

By the way, I never had this problem with the Prov Neo BS is use but I only use one moderate layer of booster.

is it possible that there are different interactions between falco and some of the glues?

+1

I'm currently still playing the boosted commercial H3 Neo. I also received the rubbers from Chop4ever. 

He sent me 6 rubbers in total. Thanks again for that! Two sheets of H3 Neo, Two sheets of H3, and two secondhand sheets of H2. Of the Neo sheets, one is labeled soft and one is labeled hard, but they both have the labels crossed out and 41 degrees is hand written over the label. The H3 sheets also have the labels crossed out and are hand written as 40.5. 

I'm slightly hesitant to try anything different just yet since I'm finally starting to see a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel using the boosted H3 Neo. I'm actually currently playing somewhat okay. When I tried playing Provincial H3 (non Neo) #20 orange sponge, I felt like there was going to be too much of a learning curve going from the Neo. It didn't necessarily feel better or worse than the Neo, I just had to adjust and I didn't feel like it would be worth it at that time. Going forward, I'm not sure if I should just wait until my current sheet wears out or give one of the new rubbers a go. I guess the H3 Neo would be the logical place to start. Any suggestions Chop4ever or anyone else? 

Oh, I thought they are old H3 and H2, not 2 H2...

anw, try all the "secondhand" rubber first without any booster and see if you have found the light?

The H2 I gave you is the best one. As no-one use H2 hence I could choose for me all the best quality. two 2nd rubbers has been boosted long time ago (about 3 months) but they are still fast enough.

Then unpack the neo H3, play without any booster to see if it is weak as all rubbers you have used before?

The original H3 needs 2 layers of Reviver (pls do not ever apply Falco on my rubber), let it set down for 3 days and glue it to blade when it is still dome. However, if you have time and want to experiment more, then you should play them without booster first. After 10 hours hitting, the H3 will be elastic enough as tuned.

I use to play without booster.

The commercial H3 Neo I'm using now took some time to get used to it, and to get it to where I liked the feeling. I first tried two thin layers of Reviver, but didn't like it on the first blade. Forgot about it for 3 or 4 weeks and continued playing with Tenergy. Decided to try again, then put two more thin layers of Reviver on it, tried it on a Clipper Wood. It was okay on that one. Better, but not amazing. Played that way for about 3 weeks. Then took it off, put on more layer of Reviver and put it on a Hinoki/T5000 custom blade. I like this set up. Its feels and plays pretty good now. So, I'll stick with this blade moving forward to try the new rubbers. Are those new NEO rubbers labeled at 41 going to feel really hard without any tuning? 

I am sure he is smart enough to leave this setup as is and for trying out new stuff - glue it on another blade.

Give it an ALC blade to try.

Hardness is relative. That scale is consistent but couldn't compare to DHS scale.

That makes sense. 

I will feel sorry for Ericd if he swaps boosted neo to plain h3 right now.

tom wrote: ericd937 wrote: So, I briefly tested the secondhand sheet of H2 from Chop4ever. I did give it a small retune with Reviver Phoenix before putting it on. I tried it on Xiom Zetro Quad with H3 Provincial #20 orange sponge on the other side (39 Degrees). My initial impression is that in comparison, H2 was much slower and maybe a little bit spinnier than the rubber on the other side. I did notice the serves with H2 were quite loaded with spin. In play, the H2 felt a lot less lively that any of the H3 variants I've been playing recently. I will test it a bit more. I was also surprised that the H3 Provincial felt really lively, crisp and direct on Zetro Quad, much better than it felt on the other blades I've tried it on. so you inadvertently discovered a good matching blade - that is something.  I am surprised at your findings from what I read about the H2.  Thanks for the info.  I am sure Chop will add to the discussion.

It is the taste difference. For me, H2 and H3 are the same level of use.

ericd937 wrote: I opened up one of the H3 Neo rubbers that you (Chop4ever) sent me. I can't put my finger on it, but it is a little bit different than the H3 Neo commercial I purchased in Vietnam. I tried it unboosted and the one you gave me was a bit faster than the one I purchased from the shop here. I played it that way for a couple of weeks, tried it on a couple different blades. After 2 weeks, I put one medium thickness application of Reviver Phoenix on it and now its really good. It took a look less time to break in and a lot less booster to get it playing good than the commercial sheet I purchased here in Vietnam. Why is it so much different and whats the secret?

There is no secret. Everything is clear as under the Sun but no-one believe on it.

ericd937 wrote: The H3 Neo I received from him was sealed in original packaging. Just a commercial sheet as far as I could tell.

As long as you use that one, you will find out its consistency and durability are so different from the others, even "NT or Prov" versions.

However, the original version (non-neo) is the best, as I only use the original one (and suggest to my students to use)

The secret is, non of actual pro Chinese players use the rubbers you could buy from the market, with the label "pro" and "NT".

The learning players (but their level is higher than everyone here) use "normal" H3

The provincial team players (their ranking is around 100 of the world ranking) use "normal" H3

The NT B team players use "normal" H3 sometimes.

So why the * a so low player on Earth is seeking for NT H3???

The main difference from the H3 using by Chinese players is, it has been chosen carefully by the coach among real H3 sheets.

There is nothing about booster.

But wrong booster will cause worse result.

I'd like to see that process :) Coach takes bunch of new rubbers, unpacks, peels off film, examines them somehow, pics the best one and returns rest of the bunch back without protective films and in opened package. Hm.. there must be some other way how they do it ..

Non of them use H3 neo.

For the original H3, coach could choose freely before the packaging and they are much much cheaper than the market price.

Many of the ex provincial players that coach and play in the US use provincial NEO blue sponge. Jishan Liang ~2600 uses National NEO blue sponge whenever he plays tournaments, although supposedly he gets his rubbers from contacts in the Chinese National Team..

2600 is higher than average in USA but is nothing from the young prov kids in a Chinese province. That's his personal choice as he is rich and his dreaming to be nat A team player.

And the right blade.

Booster is vitally important, yet not everything.

Right booster brings speed and springiness to H3. Bad booster make it mushier and more fragile.

Can you explain the importance of proper gluing? Some people use multi-layer of glue to get more springiness out of setup. Booster also adds to the speed. What is the recommended way to glue boosted H3? Would you use both - boosting and thick glue or only one of these?

However, aside from an unusually bad pairing of blade and rubber, bad glue job, or an out of spec sample of the rubber, the very first recourse to the rubber "not playing well" shouldn't be to find out what "better" glue or booster to use and how better to use them. Instead, examine yourself first.

Try new things and if they don't work out, make the effort to understand why. Equipment availability, quality, cost, and durability aside, it often comes down to:

1. I can't make it work because I just don't have the coordination.

2. I can make it work but it requires too much physical effort/fitness.

3. I can make it work but I don't want to spend the time to modify my strokes at his point.

4. I can't make it work because I don't understand how.

This is the matter of taste. And it must accompany with the blade and style.

For example, someone uses Viscaria, play close to the table, hit hard. He should use thick layer of glue + booster. Vice versa, a thin 5 flies blade doesn't need that thickness.

Agreed

I use H3 for the whole life. I've also found difficult to use other rubbers.

And I can't use crap H3s either.

To each their own.

Gotta say, a properly boosted h3 neo is the bees knees on any off all-wood blade.

Reasons: 

- The same sheet of h3 plays differently the first day as compare to 3 weeks later.

- The same sheet of h3 boosted play different after weeks. 

- Bubbles 

- different weight with different h3. It's call h3 but it's actually a whole line of rubbers. 

At the end of the day i stick with tenergy/euro rubbers. Every six month i change rubber and i put on the weight and it's only +/- 1g exact. I feel like i never change rubber and keep improving my skill than wasting my time boosting, regluing, thinking about whether the boosting effect still lingers cause i miss the shot. 

I've been through this road, trust me. My biggest skill jump is when i ditch that cancer of a rubber. 

Yes, H3 is trash. And all the points you have listed are correct.

Please note: H3 from the system that has prov and NT, blue sponge and some sort of specialty.

Falco is not a booster and it doesn't work with H3.

However I have different observations

-Without boosting, the consistency is remained unchanged for its life span.

-With good booster, peak performance lasts 1 month and not any difference

-Never has bubble before the topsheet worn out clearly seen the pips

-I have to choose to make sure 10 sheets as one

-There is no need to buy expensive one, $30 per sheet and last 2-3 months (>150hours)

Sorry but it seems you have bad exp with the "other" H3s, not the one I know

And Falco is trash.

Reasons: 

- The same sheet of h3 plays differently the first day as compare to 3 weeks later.

- The same sheet of h3 boosted play different after weeks. 

- Bubbles 

- different weight with different h3. It's call h3 but it's actually a whole line of rubbers. 

At the end of the day i stick with tenergy/euro rubbers. Every six month i change rubber and i put on the weight and it's only +/- 1g exact. I feel like i never change rubber and keep improving my skill than wasting my time boosting, regluing, thinking about whether the boosting effect still lingers cause i miss the shot. 

I've been through this road, trust me. My biggest skill jump is when i ditch that cancer of a rubber. ' - hunkeelin

I would say this is a very unfair, harsh and unreasonable comment.

In the first place, one is about US$70 per piece ( Tenergy 05 ) and the other less than US$12 per piece ( DHS hurricane 3 neo commercial ).

There are perhaps tens of thousand around the world who use DHS Hurricane 3 and its variant; maybe even over a hundred thousand.

Apart from the monetary factor involved where not that many are as well dispensed as you; being able to change your higher priced rubbers every six months; there are those who play with their H3 for more than a year, it may be probably true that not all if any are up to your level of skills which require such exacting demands on the rubbers; that many are social or club players who enjoy their games, as much as you do.

Hope you will retract your unnecessarily nasty comments.

It is so strange to read advice to exchange h3 to t05. And it's not about products, these rubbers are from such a different categories requiring such a different technique, so advice like this surprises me a lot (if not to say more) :)

However, if it's a solo endeavor? h3 is a waste of time and it's garbage. You are already an adult, you got jobs, kids, wife/gf/fiance. Now you  are going to fume your house with glue and rubber laying around, constantly gluing, regluing, researching finding the right boosting formula just for you, etc.... It's a time wasting pitch that you will never get it right on your own. 

If you plan to use unboost h3 then ok fine. But never ever try to boost it. Once you bosot it and taste the increase in control, speed and spin you will always try to chase that feel and you will forget to improve your own techique, isntead you will try to boost, keep boosting it until you find that lost touch. It's like cocaine/meth. 

One week everything goes your way, your loop are powerful landing on the table with speed. Next week your shot just went suddenly went down the net when you think you are doing everything right. The question is, were you just having a bad day/week? or the boosting effect is gone? You never know. 

Do not use h3, just get a euro rubber and stick with it and improve your own technique. 

Time and money that I could spend with family and do other stuff will go wasted if I were to be an h3 user at my level and planning to get better.

So basically you are telling everyone NOT to use H3, calling it "trash", because YOU don't know how to use it. How self centered is that??

FdT

He used to use H3 national boosted, which didn't perform consistently and the boosted effect didn't last. It also bubbled. The combination of all these negatives makes it trash, compared to the speed glue effect rubbers he mentioned.

Based on his previous post, I too got the impression that he said H3 is trash across the board out of the box.

What made you go to h3 from h8?

i just bought few sheets of h8 just to see how it will play without booster.

also i never noticed much difference between h3 neo comm sheets in terms of sheet to sheet variation, especially in weight. There is some tackiness variation but thats about it but everyone who used any h3  knew that.

Ive also tried the prov h3 neo version and which however felt better quality it didnt play much different from the comm version. 

Here are some h8 sheets i measured inside the package, since im not opening them yet but as you can see they are within 1g in weight.

Initially, I followed the recommendation of my 2500-level friend from China. I did some side-by-side testing and found that my opening loops were spinnier with H3 compared to H8. In addition, I felt like having a little bit more safety on loops, whereas H8 has an edge if power-looping from mid-distance. Other factors that contributed in making me feel comfortable with H3 is its lower weight, greater sponge selection, and slightly better topsheet consistency (I was put off by a couple of very "plasticky" H8 topsheets in latter batches). The rubber switch was also a step towards tweaking my playing style towards becoming a more traditional FH looper rather than a flat hitter.  

Truth be told, though, I would be able to play within 50 rating points with either rubber. 

acpoulos wrote: Boosted my new H3 Neo orange sponge with a small amount of Australian Tea Tree Oil (yes, you read that right). It soaked right in, and a few hours later the rubber domed up quite nicely. Will try it out Tuesday...

It is one of my secrete ingredient...

probably smells better than any other booster out there!

How many provincial team level players are in china?

I cant glue a boosted H3 since it seems the harder the sponge the harder to attach it to the blade

You need to wait for it to fully dry it takes about a week on average. I rush and only wait 4 days while blow drying it every day for a few hours. Then glue it on with a foam brush from any arts and craft store. Do a quick layer blow dry it then add another. Repeat for 3 layers total. Place a cutting mat and get a roller or object to roll your rubber with then start from bottom slowly rolling it on. You can place it under a book or heavy object in case it doesn't stick 100%. Once it's on you need to have a good practice session with it then if you still don't like it or it has dead spots simply remove and take off the glue layer. Reglue and roll back on

I think a booster will  either make the sponge softer or the same and not harder. Am I wrong?

It makes it softer but most people use 40+ degrees h3 neos and then boost to keep the control yet make it much spinnier than per se a normal not boosted h3 neo. Also if you boost a normal 39 degrees or 37 it's too mushy for fh usually.