OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hello,

I'm looking for a tensor sponge, because of the new ITTF rule about boosters. This rule only concerns topsheet, not sponge. So I want to put a tensor sponge under my Mark-V, to have the feeling and the speed.

Do you know what is the quickest tensor sponge ? Sponge under Bryce Speed, Andro Roxon, Andro Plasma, Nimbus ... ?
I know they are sold with a topsheet most of the time, so I will have to separate them

Thank you !
Olivier (from France)

If you put a tensor sponge under a japanese topsheet, i don't think the result will behave like a tensor rubber. It would be interesting to find out though.

Even without glue and boosters, i still think japanese rubber is superior to tensors. The only problem is if you require the popping sound.

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Equipment: Matsushita PowerDefence, Spin Art 1.9 black, Xiying 979 ox red
Style: American | US Rating: barely 2000

i would not bother trying to separate topsheet from sponge as the is easy to tear

I think you'll be disappointed if you separate the sponge from the topsheet. The way tensor rubbers are made, the sponge is expanded by some process so that it stretches the topsheet when it's attached. This is what creates the tension. If you separate the sponge and topsheet, then you lose the tension.

If you want Mark V with a faster sponge, try a different Yasaka rubber with built in tension, maybe Pryde or XTend HS. Alternatively, Mark V M2 is quite fast as is Spintech Spinpower, though neither incorporate tension.

Advertising hype aside, I don't think any sponge "incorporates tension" separate from the topsheet. Some very fast separate sponges are available from Chinese companies like Bomb and Dawei, but I'm not sure where you can get those in Europe.

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-- Andrew

Spintech All Around Penhold blade
Spinlord Keiler II 1.5 black
Nittaku FastArc G1 red

729 all around blade
Tibhar Grass D-Tec S Red
Nittaku FastArc G1 black

Pryde and xtend are both german rubbers; depending on how sensitive you are they may be very different from mark v.

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Equipment: Matsushita PowerDefence, Spin Art 1.9 black, Xiying 979 ox red
Style: American | US Rating: barely 2000

I know there is "tensor" topsheet alone like Palio CJ-8000, and I think the new "tensor" rubbers like Bryce Speed or Nimbus are fast because of the tension inside in the sponge.

The official Bryce HT presentation says "High Tension rubbers have tension built in to the sponge and top-sheet"
And on this french website : http://www.wsport.com/infos_tec/index.php you can read that some rubbers have only a "tensorized" sponge, and some others have a "tensorized" sponge AND topsheet.

That's why I asked about the fastest sponge I could find

All of that is just marketing speak. CJ8000 topsheets have no tension separate from the sponge, they are just thinner than other topsheets so are easier to put under tension when they are attached to the sponge.

All of the manufacturers talk about tension in the sponge. All that means is that the sponge is more elastic. The only way to actually get tension is to expand the sponge or stretch the topsheet or both.

Once you separate the two, the tension disappears. So feel free to look for a faster sponge, but it won't have any tension built-in.

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-- Andrew

Spintech All Around Penhold blade
Spinlord Keiler II 1.5 black
Nittaku FastArc G1 red

729 all around blade
Tibhar Grass D-Tec S Red
Nittaku FastArc G1 black

I tested CJ-8000, and I found it quite fast ...
And it seems to make a little sound.


I often read on suppliers websites that the rubber X reach Y% of the max potential speed-glue effect ... what does it mean ?

Yes, with the right sponge CJ8000 can be quite fast and spinny. It's one of my favorite inverted rubbers. That doesn't mean it's a tensor though.

Try a little experiment, take a CJ8000 topsheet separate from the sponge and lay it down flat. If it curls, then it's under tension. Likewise with the sponge. If they are flat, then there is no tension. Only when the two are joined together and the sponge is either expanded or the topsheet stretched (or both) is tension created. Sriver-Kawa is probably twice as fast as CJ8000. No tension there, just a very hard and fast sponge. Fast doesn't mean tension. Sound doesn't = tension either.

I'll let someone else answer the other question. I'd just suggest taking all of these claims with a grain of salt. It's just advertising.

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-- Andrew

Spintech All Around Penhold blade
Spinlord Keiler II 1.5 black
Nittaku FastArc G1 red

729 all around blade
Tibhar Grass D-Tec S Red
Nittaku FastArc G1 black

I thought the curl only appears when there is a sponge under a topsheet, and that the sponge expands (because of booster/speedglue/etc), whereas the topsheet try keep the same dimensions ... and when the gluing product finally goes through the sponge to the topsheet, it expands the topsheet too, so the difference of dimensions become null, and the curled rubber falls down.

Thanks for your answers

get gray Juic Nano sponge from Couga...for black rubber or light from red Nanocannon for red rubber...

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EJ with over 120 blades (30+ def) and 220 rubbers (30+ LP), all active or new

the tensor rubbers are really put together really well... So seperating would be difficult but not impossible. Chances are, that some of the sponge would stay with the pips. Leaving small crater on the sponge.
A mate of mind was able too stick a donic f1 sponge on a "amigo" topsheet, and it did play fairly well but wasnt fast as the f1.
Alternatives is putting the "sponge clones" like the inspirit sponge "plasma", canon sponge"carbo" and saviga "bryce".
Alot heavier and i guess also not as good in quality.

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the re-evolution of war
Bty Gergely Palio Macro Era 42.5 Max DHS H2 Max

Yes, a rubber that is pressurized by glue may, in time, become flat because the topsheet and the sponge are both expanded by the glue solvents. This will depend on the properties of the rubber and the topsheet; some will be flat after long exposure to solvents, some will have a "normal" dome with the sponge larger than the topsheet, some will have a reverse dome with the topsheet larger than the sponge. In all of these cases both the topsheet and the sponge are under a sort of internal tension due to the gas.

But if you're talking about rubber that is not tensioned by glue solvents, the tension spoken of is generally between the topsheet and the sponge; i believe it's usually the sponge being tensioned by the topsheet.

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Equipment: Matsushita PowerDefence, Spin Art 1.9 black, Xiying 979 ox red
Style: American | US Rating: barely 2000

The curled rubber falls down because of process reversion not because volatile compound goes through sponge to the topsheet. IMHO, in first few ours, when the process is in full development and volatiles reeaches the topsheet, the rubber is still curled.

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Blade-Yasaka Ma LIn Extra Offensive
FH- Palio Blitz
BH-Yasaka Rakza 7 Soft

Thank you all for your responses !