Mark V or DHS H3 Neo

Hi,

Just to add to the above post... Today, was the first day, I played properly with DHS Neo 3 and Mark V combo, and one thing I did not anticipate is the weight distribution .... The side with the DHS rubber seems significantly heavier... It feels rather odd, and imbalanced, especially if the DHS is on the BH... I've never used a combo with this type of imbalance in weight, so, I'm not sure how it's going to affect my game, in the long-run... 

Interesting observation Veet and not one many people would be likely to consider when selecting rubbers.  I can't say I've really noticed such a lateral weight difference despite having several bats with quite different rubbers on either side.

However, add the common practice of using thinner rubbers on the BH for more control and the difference could be quite marked, especially if using a thinner version of a lighter rubber on one side and a max version of a heavy rubber like the Hurricane series on the other. The biggest effect I notice though is heavier rubbers make the bat unbalanced in a 'head-heavy' way that then makes you feel like like you have grip more tightly to hold onto the bat.

Abhishek, I have both the Mark V and H3 (Nero). The H3 is harder, faster and has a bit more more grip/spin while the Mark V is a tad slower, produces a tad less spin but offers more control (both receiving and delivering shots).  The H3 is a more OFF rubber and the Mark V is a real ALL rubber. I'd go with the Mark V and follow Alois' advise.  GL

Hi Rohan,

I have the MAX variant of both rubbers on my Butterfly Joyner H-AN OFF blade, and the difference in weight is very noticeable, with the DHS side being heavier ... Initially, I thought it was just me, so I asked some fellow players to hold my bat, and they too found a marked difference in weight, to the extent that it was down-right unwieldy for some of them.

Sadly, in India, most vendor offer only Max variant of rubbers.. 

I'm very careful about the weight and weight distribution of my racquets, because of a sensitive wrist, and I never heard anyone having lateral weight distribution issues. I'm not saying yours are not reel, Veet, but isn't it that your blade is too heavy altogether? How much does it weigh? The Jonyer should be about 80g, the Mark V should be about 46g and the Hurricane about 51g, with glue a total of about 180g. This doesn't sound too bad actually, and the difference between rubbers weights shouldn't be that big... I'm also thinking about all the people who play regular backside rubbers on the forehand and 0x pimples on the backhand (no sponge). They should feel a much greater lateral imbalance, and apparently they deal with it quite well, but their blades are also globally much lighter.

Good points Jean. 5 grams seems a very small small difference, especially when the leverage effect (distance from the fulcrum - in this case the core ply) would be so small.

I have a bat (I don't currently use) with OX med/long pips on the BH and Mark V 2.2 on the FH so I pulled it out and had a play. I could tell when I had the lighter (OX pips) or heavier side (inverted) forward when twiddling on my FH, but I think that was mostly during the actual contact rather just holding the bat so I'm assuming it was the rubber's overall feel that contributed to the sensation.  Just holding the bat doesn't provide a sense of significant weight differential.

Perhaps there's something else going on with your set up Veet. The blade is a classic design so should be uniform mass across both sides so that leaves the rubber. Is the Hurricane boosted?

Unfortunately, the Neo is one of the lighter Hurricanes so other than going for a completely different, lighter rubber, I don't know what options you have other than playing with it until you become comfortable with how it feels. Good luck.

Hi,

I'm just not used to this setup, and it's just a matter of time before I do.... I'm okay with the over-all weight of the bat. The difference I found was in the weight distribution.. 

On another note - I feel, to use the Neo NH3 to it's fullest, brushing the ball properly is essential.. I didn't think the Neo H3 did too well with flatter strokes... It's not a very forgiving rubber...  These are just my initial impressions, having played just 5-6 games.. Also, my technique is not the most perfect, anymore

Back in the day, my FH style (so, I have been told) was somewhere, between the Chinese and Euro style - Arm was more extended, but also bent a bit at the elbow, replying heavily on shoulder rotation. These days (I have a calcifications around my rotor-cuffs), my style varies, at times from stroke-to-stroke.... Anyway, the word (around the club)  is that Chinese Tacky rubber, best-suite Chinese style players.... Is that true ?

I'll let Alois answer the last bit, although apparently the classic Chinese-style player uses a lot of wrist and tacky rubbers work best with a lot of wrist.

Re the H3N, I found the same - it is a bit inconsistent/less controllable in flat hitting. It really comes into its own in fast action looping using some wrist - a stroke I am a fair way from mastering which is why that bat usually stays at home.  I did give it a run at the club last night but put it away again.  On an OFF blade it is just way too fast and requires more skill to use it well than I have at the moment.

As far as the tackiness of rubber and styles I think it is all over rated.  Get a rubber that feels comfortable for you.

Yep Alois... at times, I feel that we're all reading a bit too much into all this .. frankly, none of this really matters, if the technique is not good enough... I know, mine has turned pretty abysmal... No amount advanced technology rubber, blade, booster, lotion, potion, can compensate for lack of technique/skill.