I was not able to get hold of 48 degree version and these rubbers have been in the market for several months already but still thankful I've got to try them. Gewo Nexxus EL Pro 38
Weight: 56 grams
Speed: Off- to Off
Hardness: 38 degrees ESN Scale
Thickness: 2.1mm Sponge
The Gewo Nexxus EL Pro 38 is the softest rubber in the
Nexxus EL Series and also one of the easiest ESN rubbers to use in the market.
The EL Pro 38 in short has a lot of rubbers that I can compare in the market
but it has its good qualities. It is as soft as the Xiom Vega Europe DF version
although the Xiom Vega Europe DF is listed as 37.5 degrees but because of the
range of hardness they are almost in the same level of hardness. The topsheet
of the EL Pro 38 is crisp and very grippy. It cannot be considered as slightly
tacky because I cannot feel any slight stickiness when I was pressing my
fingers against the topsheet. It is as I have expected a very light rubber and
a lot of people will like this for its very low weight and could use this in
very heavy blades like those 95-gram blades that are too heavy to swing when
paired with 50 degree rubbers. The ball obviously sinks into the topsheet and
sponge with little effort but it is not as soft as the Xiom Vega Elite before
which easily bottoms out. At least the El 38 Pro
has a little bit of firmness left on its sponge. It is
also more firm compared to that of the Yasaka Mark V AD.
As what have been said, this is one easy rubber to use
and perhaps the easiest ESN soft rubber in the market right now. I cannot describe what I felt with this
rubber completely as I was not expecting much from this but it sure blew me
away with its playing characteristics. The rubber is very linear. You get what
you give on this rubber. The sponge and topsheet are both responsive especially
on drives and topspins. This is better if you involve the sponge outright with
all of you offensive strokes since it is kinda counter-productive if you do just thin brushing with the
topsheet mostly. The sponge has to be involved a lot in a lot of offensive
strokes. The soft reactive sponge enables you to do drives and topspins at the
easiest level. No wonder this is even good enough for intermediate level at max
thickness because this is not too fast. At 2.1mm it offers just more than
enough speed that an intermediate player can control properly. I would say it
is slower than the Vega Europe regular and faster than the phased out Vega
Elite. It took me some strong drives before I could feel the ball bottom out
but the level of sponge compression needed was more compared to the Vega Europe
DF which in my opinion easily bottoms out.
For the spin, it is very spinny and I would say has a
higher amount of spin compared to the Tibhar FX-P
rubber. There are times that the FX-P for me needed a lot
of sponge compression and some effort to spin well. In the case of EL Pro 38,
the topsheet was much more grippy and has better ball grabbing to produce
better quality spin. I have to admit that I am more of an MX-S type of guy and
there were times that my spins with the FX-P hits the net and I had to actively
adjust my racket angle a few times. I thought I was using a very great rubber.
It has almost everything an intermediate and advanced player needs. I prefer
this as a backhand rubber. Yes you can smash with this rubber and do spin
drives but for me it seems a bit slow and too soft as I prefer the 53 degree
version but as a backhand rubber this blocks like out of this world. It has a
very stable blocking characteristic that even strong topspin shots are easy to
block against with. For punch blocks it seems above average. For looping, it
produces a medium low arc. It is spinny but not as spinny as its harder
variants. I think this was made as some sort of intro rubbers to more advanced
skills and stroke of a developing player and this is better because of control
that it offers.
Gewo Nexxus EL Pro 43
Weight: 62 grams
Speed: Off to Off+
Hardness: 43 degrees ESN Scale
Thickness: 2.1mm Sponge
This is the most balanced and most all-around rubber
among the Nexxus Series. This is still a thin topsheet, thick sponge type just
like the other Nexxus rubbers. In my opinion, this is the most balanced rubber
in the series as it is good for almost everything but a bit faster than the 38
degree version and has a harder sponge. The topsheet is very grippy bit not to
say that it is slightly tacky. I used this with the Gewo Sensus Carbo Speed
blade bcause I thought this would lighten the blade. This is still a light
rubber at 62 grams uncut and the medium-soft sponge. I can compare this to the
Rakza 7 soft’s hardness but I do get a few hardness listings from 42 to 45
degrees and also I’ve had a Rakza 7 Soft that is almost as soft as 40 degrees
so I will try my best to compare it to the R7S and some other medium soft
rubbers in its class.
The speed is obviously marginally faster than the EL Pro
3 because the sponge compression needed is much less compared to that of the EL
Pro 43. Other known rubbers which are in this range of sponge hardness are that
of the Xiom Vega Europe (not the DF version) which is listed as 42.5 degrees. The
other mentioned rubbers are older by about 10 years for the Vega Europe and
about 7 years for the R7S so they are expected to have lesser performance in
terms of spin but maybe not much in speed. The Tibhar Evolution FX-P is also
about 0.5 to 1 degree softer so this is also within range of sponge hardness.
To compare the speed, the EL Pro 43 is slightly faster
than the XVE, R7S and FXP rubbers. I could attribute this to the much newer
generation sponge of the EL Pro 43 and also the more elastic topsheet. The
speed is quite lively compared to the 38 degree version and it is very bouncy that
I would almost say it is an off+ rubber but for me the speed seems to linger
between off and off+ which is not a true off+ rubber.
The spin however is quite marginal compared to the
mentioned rubbers. You see, the topsheet is quite grippy as what has been
mentioned and bite of the newer generation rubbers is miles ahead of the of
newer one such as the EL Pro 43. The grip of the topsheet is quite good because
I did experience before from before with the other medium soft rubbers mentioned
to sometimes hit the net. My personal test for determining the amount of spin
the rubber has always been the same and it is to brush the ball. The 38 degree
and softer rubbers need a lot of sponge compression while the harder ones
needed less. If you have the right brush contact you can spin the 43 degree
version more or the harder versions with just brushing alone using mostly the
topsheet. I know several factors are in the menu for spin and sponge hardness
affects the output of spin but in this case even if I involve the sponge more,
I still find the El 43 more spinny than the 38 degree version. The arc is
medium and would not reach medium high crossing the net.
What has the EL 43 which the EL 38 does not have? Both
have this characteristic of being very easy to use and like what I have said,
the 38 is the easiest to use but if you are more advanced in your skills and
strokes, I would pick the 43 over the 38 degree version. I am not the type of
player that uses medium soft rubbers in my backhand. I use at least 50 degrees
in both sides but I think I can live with the EL 43 version if it is the only
one I have in my stocks. The power, speed, spin and control are quite good for
this rubber. I find it better doing push chops than the 38 degree version
because the ball does not pop that much because of the harder sponge. It can be
considered as having “gears”. To summarize it is the type of rubber that
incorporates all type of strokes with decent amount of power and spin but not
to the extreme like the other harder versions. I would put it as an advanced
level rubber and maybe to some instances also a good intermediate rubber.
Gewo Nexxus EL Pro 50
Weight: 71 grams
Speed: Off+
Hardness: 50 degrees ESN Scale
Thickness: 2.1mm Sponge
The Nexxus EL Pro 50 is characterized by its mark on the
topsheet that says “HARD” and with a White sponge. The Nexxus EL 53 degrees
also has the “HARD” mark on the topsheet but the sponge is an orange one. The
EL Pro 50 is almost in the range of other similar rubbers like the Rhyzer 50,
Rasanter R50 or the DNA Pro H. I believe they have the same generation of
rubber technology with different descriptions each according to the company
that sells them. To cope up with the greater demands of
The game among Pro or high level players, ESN has
released increasingly harder sponged rubbers. If you base it on history, only a
few rubbers that are hard which are found in the market about a few years ago
made by ESN compared to know which every ESN company rubber seem to have
something with 50 degrees or harder in the rubbers offered. I can remember that
a few years ago only Xiom has a 54-55 degree rubber and maybe Tibhar K1 if I am
not mistaken at 50 degrees or more. Now
you can see that it is a trend. Before making a 50 degree rubber with non-tacky
but grippy topsheets would be difficult to produce spin compared to what the
newer generation topsheets can offer. They may have the speed but the grip and spin
generation is quite lesser.
I will take for example MX-P 50 degrees. I believe the
Evolution series are quite advanced in their time. As far as I know, they were
offered by ESN to a company but then passed on to Tibhar. In the year 2012 or
2013, Evolution rubbers really stood out especially the grip of the rubbers but
they are not as effective now compared to before due to the ball change. This
is the reason why even if they placed a 50 degree sponge on to the MX-P and
probably even with newer company boosting, the 50 degree MX-P is less spinny
compared to the EL Pro 50 or other rubbers. The EL Pro 50 admittedly that I
have used it now extensively, I would say it has somewhat a little higher level
of spin compared to the DNA Pro H or MX-P 50. I could compare it to the amount
of spin which the Rhyzer 50 or Rasanter R50 has because they seem to have
similar amount of grip. The El Pro 50 has a much higher arc in loops against
underspin and sometimes before the ball hits the other side of the table you
can sometimes misjudge the amount of spin it has. There are times I thought it
was not that spinny when it was passing over the net but when it lands in the
table and kicks the moment you block it, you will be surprised with the spin
that it has. I would say it has a medium high to high arc like about 3 to 4
inches when you are spinning versus topspin balls. If you have brushing strokes
that you can use it in a Chinese tacky rubber, you can actually use it
effectively with the EL Pro 50 but with a great adjustment on speed and
control.
The speed is a true off+ speed for a rubber. The EL Pro
50 has almost the same range of speed with the Rhyzer 50 or Rasanter R50. If
there are differences among the speed I would say it is quite minute or barely
noticeable. The 47.5 or 48 degree rubbers may seem to be bouncy outright but
the 50 degree rubber like the EL Pro 50 will have a higher ceiling of speed
potential due to the harder sponge. This is where sponge compression and skill
come in. What I like about harder rubbers is that like Chinese rubbers, they
have gears. I believe aside from personal preferences, if you have the skills,
harder sponged rubbers are easier to control with delicate strokes such as drop
shots or short return. For me who is very used to Chinese rubbers, I find the
EL 50 Pro very easy to serve heavy underspin serves. Smashing is one amazing to
do with the EL Pro 50 but with blocking, adjustments may be needed especially
on active blocking due to the hardness of the sponge. Maybe this is the reason
that this is not an intermediate rubber because with stronger shots or blocking
against stronger topspins can make the ball overshoot the table but for skilled
or experienced players, this is not much of a problem. Overall, this is another
offensive rubber that you can choose if you cannot afford Tenergy 05.
Gewo Nexxus EL Pro 53
Weight: 77 grams
Speed: Off+
Hardness: 53 degrees ESN Scale
Thickness: 2.1mm Sponge
This is the hardest ESN Gewo rubber now if I am not
mistaken. Contemporaries in hardness of the sponge are Xiom Omega 7 Asia which
is 52.5 degrees and Rakza Z Extra Hard 53-55 degrees. I tested this using the
Gewo Sensus Carbo Speed and also placed in my Yasaka Ma Lin Soft Carbon blade
in which the other rubber is a Yasaka Rakza Z Hard just for comparison.
Although the Xiom Omega 7 Asia may have a range of sponge hardness for its 52.5
degree sponge, I compared the hardness of both and the Nexxus EL Pro 53 is a
tad harder while the Rakza z Extra Hard that I have now is as hard as the EL
53. If comparing the topsheets of the 3 rubbers, the Rakza Z EH is slightly
tacky while the other 2 rubbers are grippy. The topsheets of the 3 rubbers seem
identical without me measuring the pip structure and spacing. Just like the
Nexxus EL 50, the “HARD” logo is in the topsheet but this has an orange sponge
that is slightly porous.
It is safe to say that the Nexxus EL Pro 53 is very fast
and it is an all out offensive rubber. It is slightly faster than the O7A and
RZ EH. I also observed that the Nexxus EL 53 has a longer trajectory than both
rubbers. Despite the hard sponge, I would say the sponge is still reactive with
just a slight sponge compression during topspins and drives. It still has gears
like the El Pro 50 but has lesser control due to the very hard sponge. This was
designed for an all out attacking shots and much less on passive blocks. It is
more rewarding if you do active blocks or punch blocks against passive blocks.
I had some adjustments with passive blocking due to the arc of the ball. For
smashes and hard counter topspins, it is better if you just hit through the
ball with no holding back as I felt this is maximized by strong shots and not
by just half cooked efforts.
Spinwise, I would say it has more or less equal spin to
the O7A but the RZ EH has more spin due to the slight tacky topsheet. The arc
is medium high for topspins versus underspin balls. I would say it feels like a
non-tacky but very fast Chinese rubber with a hard sponge. From thin brush
loops to hard topspins compressing the sponge, the EL Pro 53 can do this type
of spin generation very well. Being a non-tacky but very grippy rubber, deep
sponge compression with brush contact is still the best type ball contact for
this rubber. Although not as spinny as the RZ EH, the combination of its power
and spin generation can still give the RZ EH a run for its money. Spin
generation is heavy also for brush loops since you can loop
the ball with thin brush contacts easily. Spins are also
heavy with serves and push chops. For short push chops and drop shots you need
some adjustments for control and the EL Pro 50 has a better control on this type
of shots.
Overall, I highly recommend this to advanced and expert
level players. I am enjoying this as a backhand rubber in my Yasaka Ma Lin Soft
Carbon because it combines well with thin and semi-flexy blades due to its
sponge hardness.
------------- Independent online TT Product reviewer of XIOM, STIGA, JOOLA, SANWEI, GEWO, AIR, ITC, APEX, YASAKA and ABROS
ITTF Level 1 Coaching Course Conductor, ITTF Level 1 Coach
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