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Dynaryz AGR vs Rakza Z Extra Hard

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Hans Regenkurt View Drop Down
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    Posted: 05/27/2020 at 4:48pm
I ordered me these two rubbers because I wanted to see whether Joola have come out with a rubber that is really better than the ESN rubbers of the past few years. Take Donic for example who have put several rubbers on the market but in my view they were not really different / better compared to each other until the Bluestorm series.

At the same time I wanted to see how different Yasaka's new rubber compares to the Joola, bearing in my that Yasaka have followed another marketing strategy: they have held back from selling a new rubber every year and what they have in their range are really different.

The test will be without booster for now but it is worth  noting that the two rubbers smell differently: while the Joola has a more of a sharp smell, the Yasaka gives out a kind of sweetish odour. In neither case is the smell strong and they are very far from the level of boosting of an MXP or a Donic something, if they are booster at all.

There is a difference in the sponge: the Joola's purple sponge has slightly bigger bubbles in the sponge. The Yasaka's sponge resembles the Gewo Nexus Hard 53 EL. The bottom most rubber is a TSP short pimple that I will be testing for defence. The pimples on the Joola are taller.


The red colour of the topsheets is different as the picture shows and the Yasaka comes with a plastic foil:


Some preliminary remarks on the Joola: I got to play 15 minutes with it in a friend's garage and it seems very good. I agree with all the positive reviews it has received so far. I bought mine back in February and it has been on a blade ever since. The Yasaka is brand new.

Bounce test: the Yasaka is on a Butterfly Diode, the Joola is on a Yasaka Swedish Defensive as can be seen on the picture. I am using these large headed blades for the first tests because I will put them on an offensive blade later that has obviously a smaller head and also, if they should shrink, they will still cover the whole surface. The AGR is a very fast rubber, at least the speed category of a Bluestorm Z1. It feels very european but very different compared to a Z1 / Z2 or even the Gewo Nexxus series. It feels more firm and you can really feel the ball with it. Therefore a more forward motion on loops becomes possible that would go into the net from older generation ESN rubbers. The Yasaka is a lot slower it seems, maybe around the speed range of a Z2. It is noticeably harder than the Joola but not as hard as a H3. It behaves differently, closer to how Chinese rubbers work but more on that after I have tried it out.




Edited by Hans Regenkurt - 05/27/2020 at 4:51pm
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Hans Regenkurt View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hans Regenkurt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05/29/2020 at 7:55pm
I had my first session with them, played about 4 hours with both rubbers.  I did forehand loops, serves and opening loops against one of my standard training partners. I have mixed feelings about both rubbers. Here is the good:

Both clearly represent a next level in the evolution of ESN made rubbers. My problem with a rubber like Bluestorm Z1 or last year's Gewo series is that opening loops are difficult to do in such a way that they put the opponent under real pressure. The topsheet grabs the ball quite well but it needs some more correction from the arm, otherwise the opening loop will be high enough for a better opponent to kill and in general, opening loops from these rubbers lack the kick that a Tenergy 05 can produce. This gap has been narrowed by Dynaryz AGR. Its topsheet is firmer compared to a Z1 and allows for extremely good control and placement. It is as if the topsheet condenses under the ball upon impact and provides the trajectory correction necessary for the opening loop to have enough kick and stay low enough.

However, there is a negative side to this behaviour: a rather big effort is required to activate the rubber and I have found it is very difficult to produce really fast backhand loops. Slower spinny ones are possible but they will not be enough to keep a better player at bay. This leads me to believe that many people will still prefer Tibhar's MXP.

The rubber feels a little harder than a Bluestorm Z1, MXP 50 or a Gewo Nexxus EL Pro 50, maybe even the 53 but it is by no means unplayable. What sets it apart from these rubbers is the way its topsheet works.

Another good thing about the Dynaryz is that is does not seem to be picky about blades. On my Yasaka Sweden Guardian it was just as fast as on a friend's Mizuno Fortius FT. Furthermore, we bought the Dynaryz AGR together back in February but he used it more than I. Both rubbers are the same which means that the age identically. I believe it is enough to use a simple five-ply offensive blade with the Dynaryz AGR, composite is not neccessary.

The Yasaka is a very good take on a hybrid rubber. To my great surprise, it is not significantly harder than the Joola.  In general, loops from it arc a lot more compared to the AGR, sometimes T05 like. It is less hard than a Hurricane 3 so I think hardcore Hurricane fans will not really like it. Besides the outstanding arc and in spite of its hybrid nature it can produce almost the same speed on loops as the Joola, which is surprised me. This rubber is more influenced by the blade's speed than the Joola AGR. The short game is easier with Rakza Z EH.

Here comes the bizarre part, though. We have tested the rubbers with three balls: Butterfly A40+, Joola Flash an Nittaku Premium.

When we used the Flash, the Rakza Z EH produced enormous spin, very dangerous service spins and all loops landed  the very end of the table. The Joola lost both in speed and spin. When using the A40+ things reversed. The Rakza Z EH became less troubling for my partner and the Joola won out. This might be because the Yasaka's topsheet is slightly sticky while the Dynaryz AGR is completely euro. Add to this that the A40+ is a ball that is too hard and it somehow gets stuck in the covering, be it pips or inverted.

All in all, with A40+:

Speed on fast loops: Rakza Z Extra Hard > Dynaryz AGR
Spin: Rakza Z Extra Hard < Dynaryz AGR
Service spin: Rakza Z Extra Hard < Dynaryz
Opening topspin: Rakza Z Extra Hard < Dynaryz
Base speed: Dynaryz AGR > Rakza Z Extra Hard

With Flash:

The reverse of the above except for the base speed which is greater in the Joola.

When we tried it with Nittaku Premium neither rubber worked well.

Summary: both rubbers are very good and promise a lot of potential but they are most probably for advanced players. The Yasaka has opened a new dimension in hybrid rubbers, they deserve a lot of praise for that. They work accurately until the user starts to really commit and put in a lot if force, when they tend to overshoot balls.

Although I see these two rubbers in a positive light, I must note that my 4 month old Bluestorm Z1 which I tuned up back in February proved itself superior to both these rubbers. We tested it with all the three balls and I must say, the Z1 was 20% faster and noticeably spinnier on fast loops than the others. It simply handled highspeed shots better, it even worked wonders with the Nittaku Premium, where the other two rubbers failed.

So logically my next step will be to tune the rubbers with one layer of Falco long and give them a go next week.





Edited by Hans Regenkurt - 06/03/2020 at 6:05pm
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slevin View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote slevin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05/29/2020 at 9:07pm
thanks, Hans Regenkurt - very informative. What tuner did you use on the Z1?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hans Regenkurt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05/30/2020 at 7:58am
To clear up incostencies in my review, I was referring to the Extra Hard version of the Yasaka Rakza Z throughout.

@slevin: I used Falco Long. One layer is enough and it lasts a long time. In the case of people who play several times a week, the rubber can be thrown out before it wants reboosting.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Hans Regenkurt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06/21/2020 at 2:49pm
Update after about 15 hours of use: the Dynaryz AGR, when boosted, is more similar to a boosted Donic Z1 in feel but has speed reserves: I would say where the Z1 runs out of power, the Dynaryz AGR still has about 15% more.

Rakza Z Extra Hard vs Dynaryz AGR: the speed difference is striking in favour of the Joola. The arc on loops from the Rakza Z Extra Hard is huge, while the Joola remains flat. In spite of this high arc, however, the Rakza Z EH does not push the opponent away from the table and due to its lesser speed I do not see that it can be effective on higher levels.

A teammate of mine happened to have a Tibhar Hybrid K1 Euro on him which I tried out in a training session this weekend (nobody around me had had that rubber so far). It is a little closer to the normal euro spectrum of rubbers than the Rakza Z EH but I can say that if I was offered one out of these two rubbers, I would choose the Tibhar without hesitation.

As for the durability of the Joola Dynaryz AGR: my friend who I bought it together with took off and reglued his sheet still without booster. Ever since then balls have been slipping off and the rubbers accuracy has gone down. He really enjoys this rubber and he does not boost normally but this experience led him to apply one layer of Falco Long on his sheet. We will see next week what are the results but it seems that 3-4 months are the maximum time before the modest amount of factory boosting goes away.


Edited by Hans Regenkurt - 06/21/2020 at 2:50pm
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andzejgolot View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote andzejgolot Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06/23/2020 at 9:11am
I really appreciate this type of reviews.

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Hans Regenkurt View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hans Regenkurt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07/19/2020 at 5:46pm
A little feedback on the longevity of the Rakza  Z Extra Hard. I am afraid the underlying sponge is the same as the Gewo Nexus EL 53, which is different to the EL 50 Hard even. My problem with the Nexus 53's sponge was that it did not hold the boosting effect for more than 2-3 weeks. I guess it is inherent in the rubbers technology. After that it became extremely dead, much worse than the average 48-50 degree sponges.

Unfortunately, I have found the same with the Rakza Z Extra Hard. Maybe the plain version is better in this aspect, if I recall correctly, it comes with a white sponge.
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