Review by haggisv:
I've had a few tries with this rubber now, but I really need to put it
on a known blade, one that I'm used to, so that I can do a fair
comparison.
I've playing with it on a Giant Dragon "Kris" blade,
which is an oversized balsa combination bat... There's not a lot of
difference between the 2 sides IMO, but the blade is not bad, and like a
faster version of the FW+...
Getting back to Meteorite, the pips are average
quality, typical of most chinese sheet, an not quite up to the Japanese
pips looks. Still there were no defects, and the quality was good
enough.
Surprisingly for a chinese rubber, it actually had an
adhesive backing (in OX)... which impressed me! It worked quite well,
and I had no trouble putting it onto the blade. I have not tried
removing it yet though... and I did not seal the blade :evil: :oops:
In play, the speed was not real slow, perhaps a little
faster than the 955... Blocking with it close to the table, Dr N style,
it took the pace of very well though. Spin reversal was actually
remarkably good, especially at low impact. At high impact I had trouble
keeping it on the table. It did grip a little more, but I got the
impression it was more the higher speed of the blade, than the rubber.
Aggressive pushing against backspin was very good, in
fact the control of the whole short game was quite a bit better than
with the Phoenix, but the fact that it was OX (vs Phoenix 1.0mm)
obviously had a lot to do with it too.
Chopping away from the table was actually quite
good... especailly on this relatively fast blade. I could not get the
same amount of backspin as I do with the phoenix, but keeping the ball
lower was definitely easier. I did not get the variation that I normally
do though, which I find is typical of OX LPs.
Surprisingly I found it required very little
adjustment from Phoenix on FW+, to the Meteorite in this OFF Giant
Dragon Balsa blade....
I will glue it onto another blade for a better
comparison, probably with a known LP on the other side for a true
comparison...
Review by Marathon Man:
I tried the Meteorite ox yesterday on a Defense Plus Tibhar blade and
really enjoyed it. I am a mid distance chopper and I tried it against
the n°682 in the french ranking.
As Haggisv stated, it requires little adjustment to
This long pips has a very good spin reversal when chopping away from the
table and my opponent had trouble topspinning the 2d or 3rd ball.
Blocking is good, really good too, and the blocked ball gets some kind
of wobbling effect; I also noticed that when blocking the ball is not
bouncing a lot but rather skidding/ slipping on the table which makes it
hard for the opponent to play a stroke.
Short game is super enjoyable as control with this pips is great; you
can "work the angles" and play real short without any problems.
As it is not very sensitive to incoming spin (unlike the Xiying which is
hard to control and a bit too slow) I had no problems returning serves
and could place the ball where I wanted : short, long, right or left....
I could play passively or on the contrary taking the initiative with an
attack; quite effective.
I felt at ease returning serves whereas the Xiying is a real pain in the
a.. when it comes to controlling high spin serves.
The Meteorite is a really really good long pips rubber for the player
who plays on the 3 different "areas" (at the table, 1 meter from the
table, away from the table). It's really versatile and gives a huge
confidence right from the start.
This rubber really shines when you chop as the spin reversal is really
strong.
It really shines when chopping away from the table; that's what I dig on
doing and Meteorite is one of the best for this.
I played the 979 Xiying for one season and switch in June for the Saviga
V which I played with for 1 season previously. So far on my Tibhar blade
Saviga worked quite well but Meteorite is really good too. I still have
to test the Se7en block and then I will have to choose between :
Saviga V - Se7en Block - Meteorite - Lion Claw (tried it yesterday prior
to Meteorite but with a 0.5mm sponge and it's way too fast for me so I
remove the sponge and will try it next week).
Until yesterday the Saviga was my choice (as it's insensitive to
incoming spin) but now that I've heard my partner say that the pips I
play are extremely disturbing, I am hesitating..... |
