I like playing with ESN rubbers and believe they do give a competitive advantage over most others (apart from Tenergy or H3 boosted). 

However, for a few friends of mine I am searching for alternatives with a Max Budget is around 25-30 USD per rubber - no ESN even if they fall within that range.

Are there any alternatives from Yihne / Galaxy , DHS, or any other company that will allow them (good players with good technique) to compete effectively against ESN rubber users? (These are players used to ESN products, therefore the feel has to be at least a bit similar)

So far I have recommended the Sanwei T-88i, but it is still quite hard and does not quite feel like an ESN rubber. 

I have seen Galaxy Moon Speed / Pro might be a good alternative to ESN stuff. Any others? 

However, I would like to Keep this thread about rubbers like Yihne / Galaxy and stuff which is not ESN (not XIOM, Adidas etc) - to find out which alternatives play well enough to replace an ESN rubber.

The IQUL quality seems to be pretty consistent.  I like the fact I can order different sponge hardnesses and thickness.  The DHS quality is not quite there.  I have seen the thickness of the sponges vary so that a 2.15mm is thicker than a sponge that is supposed to be 2.2mm.

CipheR wrote: TG3/TG2 Boosted. ha ha ha

That's an interesting opinion, considering the Xtend PO is in and of itself a 3G Tensor.

Honestly, I think TG3 Neo is better -- much spinnier and more powerful, but it's obviously not that ESN feel that you're looking for. 

If you're recommending rubbers for your friends, I take it that they're not playing at a very high level, so what's the big deal? Any of these rubbers would be fine up to elite levels of play, assuming that you know how to use them (the Chinese tacky ones, I mean). I use TG3 Neo and do fine around 2000 level. I never feel like I'm at disadvantage with it. 

Yeah, right. Who wouldn't want to play with a rubber called "Tensa" or "Mopha" ...

First is LKT Rapid Speed, a great allround rubber that has been around for a while, and it seems that everybody likes it, some more some less. Completely non tacky. Medium hard feel. Price in the neighborhood of 10 euros a piece. This strikes me as a rubber that is very good at everything, but not exceeding in anything. As I said, a great all-rounder.

Second is Friendship 729 Aurora. A new rubber from 729 RITC that is already getting lots of positive feedback from users. Haven't used it myself, but I'm planing to try it in the near future, just to see what is all the fuss about. Price around 15 euros.

And if you wanna go really cheep, go with Galaxy/Yinhe Mercury 2. I love the soft version of this rubber (33-35 deg), and the price is somewhere around 3.5 to 5 euros a piece. Amazing. The feel is medium soft. It has great spin capabilities and the speed somewhere similar to, lets say, Donic Acuda S3, maybe even a bit faster. This rubber is slightly tacky when new (tackiness fades away shortly). If you like harder feel, you can chose the hardness when you order: soft (33-35), medium (36-38) or hard (39-41).

Both LKT Rapid Speed and Mercury 2 (soft version) are not heavy rubbers. In max thickness, cut for Clipper wood, both vary between 43 to 45 grams per sheet. For Aurora I'm not sure, but it seems that (according to reviews) it is a medium heavy rubber as well.

If you get 729 or Palio ESN, they are very reasonable. 

I'd totally buy a rubber called "Mofo". "Bad MoFo" would be even better!

TT newbie wrote: I know the topic talks about inverted rubbers but I will give my opinion about short pips. There is a SP rubber from Yasaka called Xtend PO which can not only match high-priced ESN SP, but surpass them any day. I tried Rakza PO, Moristo SP, Xiom Zava and Raystorm. All failed to perform like Xtend PO did. Xtend gives a better control when hitting and blocking passively. Its speed is more than enough to kill the ball. I found Rakza and Moristo faster but with much poorer control. Touch is also different with Xtend. Other 4 fell very soft while Xtend fells a bit harder. In my opinion this harder touch allows the rubber to excels when hitting, making it a nice crisp and solid stroke. I can´t see myself playing with another short pip but Xtend PO.

The two best players in the world now use tuned H3 both sides (boosted Big Dipper will be close).

http://ttnpp.com/store/29-donic" rel="nofollow - http://ttnpp.com/store/29-donic

The tenergy sponge retains kick forever. And the topsheet, while gradually losing grip, is still not slippery at the 6 month mark, and does not have the signature center wear and discoloration of ESN rubbers. ESN rubbers look totally different in the center in a week, not sure why. 

I don't even use tenergy any more, its too jumpy for me. So I am not really a fanboy. That doesn't mean I can deny the durability.

Palio Blitz is the only decent chinese rubber that I know. The thing is, as of late, it costs more than Rhyzm, and that is completely unacceptable.

There's another solution.  Get a few guys together to place an order.  If you get 5 guys, hitting 30% should be easy enough.

Few sheets of Tenergy vs. thousands of dollars and wasted time ejaying on crappy rubbers. A one year old Tenergy is imo superior to many one week old esn rubbers. I had a 4 year old Tenergy that could beat the crap out of any new rubber under $40. 

In your opinion and for your game.  Not everyone likes the same rubber.  While I find Tenergy to last a very long time, I don't play any better with it.  I would argue that I actually play worse with Tenergy.  There's nothing worse than catching Tenergy on the table and throwing $60 down the drain.  I'm not happy when my $20 rips, but it's not nearly as bad.

Not everyone needs/wants to use the most expensive equipment out there.  Just because something costs more, doesn't mean it's better for your game.

This is the blade I've been using for the last few months:

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12215455&cp=4406646.4425420.12208429

I had these cheap paddles at home for others to use.  The inverted rubber that was on them was horrible, i.e. pretty dead and reaaaally slow.  So, I peeled off the rubber and put some hardbat stuff on them, and they played half way decent.  Well, I decided to take some higher quality sheets of inverted and put them on one of these cheapo paddles as a backup.  Lo and behold, I really liked how it played!  I'm actually liking it more than the Waldner Senso Carbon that I was using (which I still like).  The speed is just a tad slower, but the softer feel just seems so much better to me overall.

Lately I've been getting some good wins off of higher rated players (2100+ rated players).  It's not all about the equipment, rather I've also just been playing better.  But I'm putting it into perspective.  The blade I'm using is a $10 paddle.  Clearly $$$ does not equal performance.

I don't use Tenergy either (currently using Xiom, which I have been liking).  It's not about the price.  EJ all you want.  It's a free country.  But IMO no rubber or blade is going to magically make you a better player.  It might make a small difference, but it's really all about technique.  Now, I do think that the wrong equipment can really hurt your game though.  That's why I stay completely away from just following what the pros use.