Effect of thin and soft rubber on a fast blade

Equipment

Rob Janssen
Rob Janssen Asked 9 years ago

Hi Coach,

If you ask players what is the difference between think and thin sponges you usually get this anwer; 'The thinker one has more spin and speed and the thin one has more controll...'

I was wondering what the effect would be of a thin soft rubber on a fast and hard blade. 

Thin rubbers are usually slower... Right? Well I guess.

But with a thin soft sponge on a fast and hard blade the ball makes a harder contact with the blade. So will in this kind of situation a 1.8 mm sponge be faster... Or is a Max a.k.a. 2.2mm sponge be faster?

I think this is a really confusion topic that alot of players dont know so I was curious what u think about this

Kind Regards,

Rob


Alois Rosario
Alois Rosario Answered 9 years ago

Hi Rob,

With the thin rubber on a fast blade the ball comes out really quickly and it is hard to generate any spin.  Personally I don’t like the feeling.  Might be good for flat fast smashing but that is not a game that I recommend. 

I think a thicker rubber is better because you will at least be able to generate some spin.


Thoughts on this question


Rob Janssen

Rob Janssen Posted 9 years ago

Yeah I was just curious. One of my club mates tells me that he wants a more controllable backhand rubber. Bit when I looked at what he was using he can not really get a more controllable rubber. 

He had an Andro Impuls Powersponge 1.8 mm on a DHS Hurricane Long 5. I think this combination is bad or his rubber is too thin. 

I played with the rubber myself and it was the most controllable rubber I ever played.


Sam Platt

Sam Platt Posted 9 years ago

Hi Rob,

I think the problem you are having is the blade rather than the rubber. Ma Long, the current highest ranked player in the world, uses this blade if I am not mistaken so I can imagine that you will need almost perfect technique to control the sheer amount of speed it produces. I have heard a lot of good things about the Primorac Off-. I hope this helps.


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