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Review LKT Torrent BLK 2.2mm by Alex
Part 1: First impresssions - no speed glue, no
priming
I took the plastic film off... I was surprised how tacky it
was (black)...it is definitely tackier than the LKT XT... good start…
Bounching a ball on it...wow... it sits still after 2
bounches...the tack is holding it down... could be quite slow...
This rubber is glued together real well. I really struggled
to seperate the topsheet from the sponge (on a cut-off), some of the pips broke
off rather than seperate from the sponge... i think 729 is certainly among the
best among chinese manufacturers when it comes to this, and this is one of the
best in this respect.
Against the ball machine with medium topspin: not slow at
all...good rebound and great spin...easily faster then the LKT XT. Not quite the
feel of the XT, but it does some some tension/glue feel...similar to a single
light layer of glue perhaps. I glued up the bat yesterday so that can't be it...
Against heavy backspin: Nice for looping...higher throw
than the Globe 999 but still fairly low... have to dig the ball into the sponge
more to get the power.... Loops are very spinny with decent pace. The rubber
does seem to have several gears...
Without glue this is not going to be a speed demon...and
with my current blade (stiga energy) it may not be quite fast enough... but this
rubber has good power and excellent control... it does really feel like a faster
version of the LKT XT... Look very promising so far...
I'll have to test it on the weekend to get a better feel of
the speed of the rubber... so how well I can hit it past people, and how well it
spin and kicks off the table...
Part 2: First hit
After having a bit more of a hit with it, I quite like it.
The extreme tack wears off, as it does with the LKT XT, but it still feels
tackier than the LKT, but not as tacky as Globe 999 Nat.
On slow brush loops you can generate huge spin, it's very
much like the LKT XT in this respect. However when you start hitting it harder,
or hit through the ball more, it's a lot different. It has a lot more power than
the XT, and seems to have several gears. Loop drives feel very direct, and don't
seem to dip as much, making me think it may not have as much spin. The spin is
still very good though, but not like a 999 Nat for example.
The control is fantastic in all parts of the game... my
blocking game seemed noticably better, it's more forgiving, and my touch seemed
better...less sensitve to spin and not too springy..
It does lack the power to really put the ball away, but
this is all totally unglued or treated... hopefully glued up this will change...
Further comments to follow…
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