Mizuno Q3/Q4/Q5/QQ/Q1

I recently bought 2 sheets from TT-Japan, and I have read on Japanese sites that maybe Mizuno/Sumitomo has changed the formula a little due to covid availability etc etc...

So maybe 2022 rubbers are a bit different compared to 2023...

I used Q5 before and loved it until it bubbled up after about 2 months. (in less than 150hours)

3 things I didn't fancy about Q5 were smell (like ash), weight (heavy, 53g cut), and price (TT11 60EUR).

Now Q Quality elevates 4 of the 3 problems hopefully. It smells OK, it is below 50g on a slightly larger than Viscaria head, cheap as fruck (4200JPY that's 28-29EUR) and so far I have put in like 40-50 hours of play in them and they don't even have visible marks of use. (granted to me it seems the Revolution No 3 Rejuvenator does wonders on these rubbers of course this has nothing to do with bubbling up but no visible wear)

I will compare attributes to Tenergy 05.

Hardness: Let's get it out of the way. The black Q Quality is a bit harder, and the red is a bit softer. If I measure thier mass the black is ~49g, the red is ~47g. I have seen this with other rubbers too so it's fine. For me it means Q Quality black is FH and red is BH. I think Mizuno does this on purpose, however Tenergies are more consistent. Even the black is softer than a T05 and the red Q Quality is even softer.

Top sheet strength:

T05 and Q Quality topsheets feel very similar. Very stretchy, snappy, "bouncy", but T05 is more. T05 is more bouncy, more snappy, but I think Q Quality has a bit better grip. Both rubbers make a clicky or cracking sound if you hit the ball well, Q Quality makes it more consistantly and even on lighter strokes, so I would say Q Quality is easier to handle.

Sponge:

T05 feels a bit harder. Q Quality is softer but like Tenergy is more bouncy on low power shots and Q Quality is more bouncy if you hit very hard. I would say Q Quality is more like G-1 and is more linear while Tenergy is a bit on the opposite side. Saying the opposite is a bit of a stretch but their focus is different.

Speed: T05 is faster on low impact and slower if you hit hard. Q Quality is the opposite.

Arc: Q Quality can achieve T05 levels of high arc. No question about it. If you like T64 then you might not enjoy this one so much.

Bite: Q Quality has better bite. It's better than G-1 and quite similar to Glayzer.

Spin sensitivity: This is where T05 is a bit problematic. T05 is spin sensitive if you can't overwhelm your opponent spin. If you can overwhelm it then it's a very sharp tool.

Q Quality is easier to use, for sure it's not as a sharp tool as T05 if you get your angles right, but you will get your angles right with Q Quality while with T05 less so often.

2nd and 3rd ball kill: I like the Q Quality for that, if you hit very hard it doesn't drop the ball so you can kind of play with it like with a H3 blue sponge. For sure you need adjustments but it can do it very consistently which you cannot say about many German made ESN rubbers.

Serve receive, flicking: Q Quality owns T05.

I think Tenergy works better on slower, soft blades and Q Quality works better on faster blades. If one has a fast and soft feeling blade Q Quality will be god tier.

For me Q Quality topsheet is shinier than Q5, and seems more wear resistant but if it looks more used doesn't mean it performs more used. So I cannot judge Q5 was more worn, just looked more worn.

From my memory, Q5 was a higher performing rubber but harder to utilize. Q Quality is a gentleman, it serves you the best champagne on a golden platter. It really is a slave rubber and the best kind. I miss Q5 in some regards, since it bubbled up on me I used many rubbers from D09c, Glayzers, Victas V20, V15, Nittaku G1, but I always remember Q5. And Q Quality kinda fills up my void.

I have used Q Quality on a very hard and stiff blade, it's called Joola Zhou Qihao S-Alc 90 and it works very well, however I think the rubbers would be even better on an outer ZLC blade with koto top ply like Lin Yun Ju Super ZLC etc.

If one is looking for the good old speed glue effect then look no further, Q Qualtiy is the best as it gets for now. It's availability is limited, but it's cheap and very high quality as the naming suggests.