Blaze Spin

Blaze Speed

both rubbers have:

thickness: 1.8mm

weight: 50 gms (1.8mm); 64 gms; 2.0mm (which I asked a friend to weight for me) for both rubbers

dimensions: 169x169mm

hardness: sponge is medium soft

Test blades: Challenge Speed 7 ply all wood limba blade; Challenge Force 5 ply Limba Blade. Stiga Rosewood 5

I have used short pips in the past extensively as a backhand rubber. i have owned ritc 802-40, stiga royal, stiga radical in the past and have also tried tsp spectol and butterfly raystorm. Ive been excited to try these pips since i havent used anything new of a short pip from another brand for a while now.

both pips are high quality pips out from the factory. each of their topsheet is very thin unlike that of the 802-40’s topsheet which has a thicker base. its like pips were added to an extremely thin flat layer that is about 0.2-0.3mm thin.

both sponges have the same hardness. felt like a 34-35 degree DHS scale hardness to me. The sponge for both pips is a semi-porous ESN sponge. On closer inspection you would see that the spacing of the pips between the speed ad spin versions are obvious. The Speed version has bigger spacing in between pips and the Spin version has lesser space in between pips.

the picture above is the Blaze Speed on top and Blaze Spin on the bottom (i took photos of both red and black spin and speed versions)

you will see that the Blaze Speed on top has a narrower pip diameter. The Speed’s pip has a straight vertical design after its short conic base while the Spin version has a wider conical design from its base to its top. both pips have a ribbed design.

side by side you can see and compare the pip structures and spacing between the Spin (red) and Speed (black) on the above picture.

My lady friend who was a former national player was also excited to test these rubbers with me. She is a short pips user since she first learned table tennis. She has a US equivalent rating of at least 2300+. I glued the 3 pips (2 on my challenge force blade and 1 on my friend’s rosewood 5). i think its important to mention that both the Speed and Spin version have some sort of reverse doming when i was placing them flat on the table before gluing. I couldn’t smell the tuning though.

We both immediately made drills with the 2 pips. She used the red speed version while i was using the red spin version on the backhand. both pips are very fast on a 1.8mm thickness especially the Speed version. If compare it with other pips I have used i would say the Speed version is as fast as the Stiga Royal, faster than the Butterfly Raystorm and Stiga Clippa. The Spin version is slower than the Royal by a few notches but still faster than the Clippa or 802-40.

The Speed version has a very good knuckle ball effect due to its narrower pip diameter and wider spacing. The knuckle ball is really annoying especially when a high rating player plays with it. The speed version takes a bit of adjustment for me. it has a lower arc than the Spin version but nevertheless a very good attacking pips. The Spin version on the other hand is more versatile in terms of spin variations. The Speed version is linear and predictable. You hit the ball or brush the ball, the spin isnt much to be expected. The Spin version however can several effects to the ball. From a spinny brush against underspin balls which i really find not difficult to lift in my backhand to producing a knuckle ball effect. The knuckle ball effect of the Spin version is not as profound as the Speed version. The Spin version is spinnier than the Royal or 802-40 but on par with the Raystorm. Both pips have a medium soft sponge and the ball kinda sinks onto the sponge.

on the forehand, I also tested both pips. On hitting and smashing the Speed version is awesome. On driving with some brushes, spinny pushes and serving, the spin version is better. The speed version is an all out attacking pips but also has a good blocking ability where the return of a topspin ball has lesser spin and most of the time a sort of float. The spin version is more predictable in blocking against it or attacking against it. In terms of control, the spin version is easier to handle and has more margin for errors. The speed version gets to shine if you are an all out attacker that wants to take risks.

I’m very impressed with the 2 pips and I would recommend the Blaze Spin for all around short pip users who wants to attack and at the same time have variations in their game in terms of spin generation, hitting and blocking. The Blaze Speed is for players who attacks relentlessly and want to have more knuckle ball effects on the ball. The speed version is for advanced players only in my opinion