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Review by High_Arc (Publised with
permission):
Weight: As you can see, the T05 FX is a bit lighter than the normal version.
Impressions before the first session: Just bouncing the
ball on the racket and doing some backspin and let the ball jump off
again.
Hardness: The FX is softer than the normal one,
but certainly not as soft as some of the tensors produces by Joola and
Donic. Quite a pleasant hardness for me I think.
Speed: Not as fast as the normal T05 I guess, but
still pretty fast.
Catapult: The catapult effect is felt stronger,
i.e. the impression of the catapult effect is more intense, which does
not necessarily mean that it actually has more catapult.
Spin: It's not an anti-top, that's for sure.
Probably easier to generate spin on slow balls.
The nicest thing I noticed is that the T05 FX has much more of a click
sound than the normal T05.
So, going out for a first practice test. I'm really excited!
First review (two hours of playing):
Well, I'm deeply impressed after the first session! The rubber plays
extremely well, with loads of spin on loops, a nice click sound and a
very strong catapult effect. It is a real pleasure to play with this
rubber!!!
Coming from the regular T05, the main differences are the following:
- Softer
- Bouncier
- More dwell
- Slower when you hit really hard
- More spin on slow balls (first opening loops and
so on)
- Much easier to block with it
- Easier to handle in general
Considering the above points, why would not everybody
switch to the FX?
- It is slower
- It does not give you the same feeling of accuracy
as the regular T05 does.
- Half-distance play needs more effort
I like the rubber on both forehand and backhand, and will
most definitely keep it on the backhand. However, when I played the
first match with it today, in the beginning all my pushes popped up high
and "short" returns went long. I could adjust after about an hour or
considering the length of my returns, but pushes popped up now and then
during the whole session. Far off the table forehand counter loops ended
in the net frequently due to the decreases speed. Backhand counter loops
were great, because mine often went long with the regular T05.
For me certainly a great choice for the backhand. There I
get the advantages of the T64 but not its disadvantages.
Part 2: Impressions after second session:
First of all, the T05 FX will be my new backhand
rubber, no doubt. I have not found anything about it on the backhand
side which I don't like.
I played for about one hour against a machine, and for
about another hour some matches against two different players. I play
with both of them quite frequently, one is has quite a bit a lower level
(no ranking because only the top 200 or so get a ranking), the other is
quite a bit better (current number 15 in Switzerland), and I know their
game well. However, the serves of the better player are often loaded
with so much spin that I frequently used to make a direct mistake with
T05 even if I read the spin correctly just because I misread the amount
of spin. My ranking fluctuates in the Swiss top 100, but not below 60.
Playing against the machine (switch between T05 and
T05 FX, see picture)
Actually both rubbers have similar characteristics.
The FX has just a bit more dwell, and is a bit slower. Some may perhaps
find the FX a bit mushy, but I don't, I actually find the T64 more
mushy. It is certainly easier to loop bottom spin balls with the T05 FX
than with the T05, but for now I can't tell whether this is due to a
larger dwell, a smaller sensitivity to incoming spin or a higher throw.
I guess it's not the last point because he rubber seems to have a lower
throw than the regular T05 in all aspects. When I did some off the table
counter looping against the machine (oh I love that so much), I found
that there is a upper speed and spin limit of the rubber, which I have
never experienced with the normal T05. But the limit is very high so
that at my level I don't care.
In the matches, I noticed that I serve better with the
FX. I felt more confident to put spin on short serves, because they did
not go long as often experienced with the regular T05.
Against the player with a lower level, I performed
pretty much the same as I would have with the normal T05. Though some
unnecessary errors on first forehand loops due to the higher dwell, but
nothing I can't get used to. I really liked how you can do touch shots
with the rubber. Managed to do some nice short bottom side spin returns
and found it good fun to use the catapult. Had some problems with
flicking on the forehand side.
On the other hand I did better against the best player
of our club than I ever have. Did less errors in the returns of his
serves, where I dared to be more active. I blocked more balls than I
usually would have. When he attacks, he always plays the balls there
where I don't expect them, and the FX is much more forgiving for these
kind of out-of-position blocks.
I don't know whether this is helpful or not... By the
way, I found the Jun Mizutani blade to be a perfect match to the T05
FX's.
I think the T05 FX rubber will be a huge success,
because it is similar to the T05, but is not that difficult to handle. I
often found the T05 working against me when facing better opponents, and
I don't see that coming with the FX. I expect some pro's to use the T05
FX on the backhand, but I can't imagine that many would use it on the
forehand, because it lacks the extreme power and top gear of the normal
version.
Part 3: After 3 weeks
It has now been tree weeks or so playing with the new T05 FX. I can't
compare it with a whole lot of rubbers because I simply haven't played
with to many different rubbers, but I think the FX is an outstanding
rubber.
Perhaps it lacks a bit precision, speed and spin in comparison with the
T05, but it makes it up with forgiveness and the pleasure it gives when
you loop and feel the rubber explode.
I think that it is the easiest to use rubber of the whole Tenergy
series, and it is the easiest to deal with heavy spin. I really like the
lower throw, in particular on the backhand. First of all it helps me to
keep blocks on the table. Second, when I have to attack several times in
a row from the backhand, it also helps me to keep the balls on the
table. I also like the rubber in particular regarding side-spin 'loops'.
The high dwell and the lower throw work wonders for me.
Well, there is much more to say in principle, but I can summarize it by
saying it is the best backhand rubber for me that I have come across.
The regular T05 is above most peoples head, even i they like it, it does
more harm that good, and this is just how I feel with T05 on my
backhand: to difficult to handle against unknown players of about the
same level, in particular if they play with loads of spin on serves and
first loops.
Btw, the durability of the T05 FX is high, the top sheet certainly lasts
longer than the one of the T64, perhaps just a tad less than the regular
T05. After three weeks, there is no obvious sign of degradation apart
from a few marks at the edges, very similar to the T05.
Review by GraemeW (OOAK forum, Published with
permission)
1. The reviewer: I'm a two winged attacking
player who looks for 3rd/5th ball opportunities, but will rally it out
if necessary. Hard to tell my level but would think I'm somehere in the
1900-2000 range, possibly slightly higher. Very good server so this
factor is of importance to me. Tested on a Palatinus custom-made OFF
blade - limba outers a la Korbel and Maximus. I have played with T05
almost exclusively on my forehand since it was released in May 2008 and
so am familiar with T05's strengths and weaknesses.
2. Physical Properties: Very similar to regular
T05. The sponge feels softer and is also perhaps slightly more porous
though hard to tell. Topsheet looks the same. Package weight 87g, uncut
64g, cut to TBS shape blade 44g.
3. Speed:
- Speed on slow strokes. Counterhitting was very easy and there was a
decent sound when the speed/power increased and you got deeper into the
sponge. Blocking was also very easy and controlled. I was prcacticing
rather than playing matches and so wasn't using many slow openers over
the table but those I did hit felt similar to T05 - perhaps slightly
higher throw.
- Speed on power loops. Speed on power loops was very good, but not
extreme. Plenty of 'put away' power, but maybe missing the extreme 'Tenergy
Ball'™ power that T05 sometimes displays. A liitle bit 'mushy' perhaps
but too early to tell fully though.
- Speed on power drives/smashes. T05-FX is a very easy rubber to hit
power drives with and felt a bit more like a regular tensor here, e.g.
Express 1, but in a Tenergy styl-ee.
4. Spin:
- Spin on a loops. Very spinny as you would expect from the Tenergy
topsheet, however I felt that the softer sponge perhaps contributed to a
bit less spin than regular T05 at higher speeds. Interestingly, I felt
that T05-FX felt a bit lower throw than T05 on more powerful loops, but
that it was higher throw on slower loops (more like T64 or Genius
perhaps) - although it is too ealy to confirm this feeling for sure.
- Spin on serves/pushes. Wasn't playing matches so it is hard to comment
on the short game. Did one or two routines beginning with a short
backspin serves and T05-FX was very good for keeping these serves short
and tight. Didn't utilise my ™hook serve and will be interested to see
how the softer sponge affects control/spin etc. in due course.
5. Control:
Overall I thought that T05-FX was easier to control (less extreme) than
T05 - though as I didn't use it in a match situation I cannot comment on
serve return which is where the money really is.
6. Other Playing properties: As I said before,
I wasn't quite sure about throw angle. Loop/drives felt lower throw and
had a low and sharply dipping trajectory. On the occasions where I
didn't fully commit and didn't get deep into the sponge it felt quite
high throw - as I said earlier more akin to T64 and Genius. Nice sound
and harder shots but not extreme like Energy Xtra or Nimbus Sound etc.
7. Reference: As you would expect T05-FX is a
more controlled version of T05 that perhaps lacks that extra overdrive
gear that T05 is able to produce on occasion.
8. Other comments I never liked T05 as a
backhand rubber (or more accurately it didn't suit my style/technique)
but found I could play OK with T05-FX. Will probably stick to something
like Solcion or the Bryce Speed FX I am currently dabbling with.
Summary
I only hit for 2 hours last night and didn't get to use it in a match
situation, however T05-FX was almost exactly what I expected (and hoped)
it would be. I would need to be sure of it's capabilities in the short
game before committing to it instead of regular T05 but I would not
anticipate this being a problem.
More
reviews to follow shortly...
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