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Globe 999 National
version
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This
is a special version of Globe 999 rubber designed for Chinese National players.
RED
Globe 999 National version rubber (orange sponge) is used by Ma lin.
BLACK
Globe 999 National version rubber (blue sponge) is used by Kong Linghui.
This
version is not normally for sale to the public, and certainly not sold outside
China. Since ‘One of a Kind Trading’ is the Authorised agent for Globe in
Australia, we managed to secure a small quantity of these rubbers. Note that
since these were purchased directly from the manufacturer there is NO chance of
these being fake
(which
is a common
problem
with these special types of rubbers).
Note
that these rubbers don’t come in the normal package, but only in a plastic
sleeve. This is normal for this rubber. The black rubber has a dark blue sponge,
and the red an orange sponge. Both have the stamp on the back of the rubber as
shown in the picture. All sponges are 2.2mm thick, and the hardness is marked as
either 38 or 39 Degrees.
Click here for pricing on Globe 999 National from One of a Kind Trading |
Globe 999 National
review: |
Globe 999 National version, Black 2.2mm on a Stiga Energy
Wood: The topsheet is tacky but not ultra tacky like the normal
Globe 999. I hear the red topsheet is almost non-tacky, but I have not tried
this myself. The sponge of mine is dark blue, and is marked with the special
stamp, and marked 38deg (or was it 39?). It felt a fair bit harder than that to
me, more like 41-42, but it all depends on what you compare it to and what scale
was used.
Since I feel this rubber is usually used speed glued, I decided to try that
straight away as well (apart from the fact that I could hardly wait to try it!).
I primed it with a few layers of normal speed glue, left it to stretch and
shrink back overnight, than glued it up with my Tibhar Rapid Clean Delux. The
first thick layer produced almost no dome, but a second thin layer (an hour
later) produced a decent dome. I put it on my slow blade (Stiga Energy) since I
was afraid it would be too fast on my faster blades. I did not stretch the
rubber onto the blade, and the gluing hardly stretched it either.
Well the rubber played VERY nice! Although the sponge did not feel that soft to
me, I could feel the ball penetrating the rubber like a softer sponged rubber. I
had great control in the short game (where the glued up sponge did not have much
impact), and felt awesome on loops. I hit my counter loops (against my ball
machine with a moderate amount of topspin set) harder and harder, but they
seemed to get spinnier so they still dropped. Hitting/driving felt really nice
too, as with most harder sponged rubber.
Against chop I found the throw a little lower than I expected, and had to hit
through the ball a little more to get then over. These too produced very good
spin. The throw is considerably higher the harder you hit with this rubber.
This rubber has the most gears of any rubber I have tried. A full on hit/drive
comes off very fast, but on the other hand I still have enough control to chop
with it as well.
The second time I glued it up (almost a week later), it got a good dome with the
first thick layer of glue. This time I rolled it onto the blade a little harder,
and was surprised to see it stretched about 8mm which was not my intention!
Playing comp that night, it felt a little too fast for me, but toward the end of
the night I started to adjust. I think I won't stretch it at all in the future,
since it's already plenty fast for me, and I'd rather get a little more control.
No doubt I'm a little excited with this rubber, and may make it sound a little
better than it really is. I will continue using it to see if I can find any
weaknesses, and hope to adjust to it even better.
After playing with the rubber for almost a month now, I'm
still VERY impressed with it! It still has the same characteristics as it did at
the start (so it's quite durable), and my game has improved considerably because
of this rubber. I have NOT discovered any considerable weaknesses in this
rubber, and find this rubber truly remarkable...Alex V
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