[masl83]

hier mal ein kleines englisches review zum belag...

Compliments of Brandon (Beeray1)

Darker VLON-S Gold Review:

I got this sheet from Albert to try out. It's in black, I assume max thickness. This review is based on impressions on the FH of a Donic Appelgren All-play Senso V1 blade.

Initial Impressions: It's a light rubber. Very grippy topsheet. Looks impressive. Soft topsheet, soft sponge. Reminds me of more expensive Donic rubbers- actually reminds me specifically of JO Platin Soft. Very nice, especially for 20 dollars. It's also very durable. Still looks and plays brand spankin' new after around 25-30 hours of play. Topsheet is just like new, too. Very durable rubber. If you saw it, it would look like I had just cut and glued it to the blade.

Lets get in depth a bit.

First Hit: I noticed two things about this rubber right away. The first thing being the sound of the rubber, and the second was the feel of the rubber. Speed glue effect hit right on the nose. This has a very nice, loud, speed glue crack that you all love. The feel is right on par too. Glue effect 101 in both of these. This is not a power house of a rubber though, The speed glue speed isn't 100%.

Counterhitting: After I got going some, I noticed that this rubber is full of control and the feel is great. Just like any soft sponged rubber, there is nothing but great control. I was really anxious to get opening up with this rubber. The click is just prounounced. Its loud. Not as loud as JO Platin Soft, but its pretty big. Nothing much to say here other than great feel and control.

Over the Table-
Service/Service return: Coming from chinese rubber, It's harder to get as much spin on the ball in service. But you can still create a lot. Especially if you have good service technique. Anyone can get spin out of chinese rubber. I can get a ghost service effect from a sheet of spectol short pips though, so I had no problem getting the spin I needed from it. Its just not as easy as chinese rubber is all. Service return was better though due to the grippy instead of tacky topsheet. There is a lot of control involved.

Short game: Again, lots of control. Not a bouncy rubber, there is a lot of dwell on this rubber. So you could really load up the underspin on the deep fast pushes. And it was easy to keep the ball short since its not super bouncey. The soft topsheet helps just as much as the soft sponge in this respect.When it comes to flipping, this is a nice rubber if you dont have as much power. When you start getting agressive, its very very forgiving. And it gives you an extra something you need if you have a weaker stroke.

Blocking: This is where the feel in control become very special. Its got the blocking characteristics of soft rubber. It's nothing but control control control. Feel feel feel: This rubber oozes with both. Especially the feel which was very impressive. Since it's so forgiving, it made blocking easier (imagine that!) Even blocking the heavy high arcing topspins was easier. Just bread and butter in many aspects of the game.

Looping: I suppose this is what everyone cares about the most. I'll divide it up. Over the table looping was great. I did encounter one problem here though, and that is the fact that I am a hard hitter. I don't usually buy into Euro soft sponged rubber. But after a few adjustments, I really started benefitting from the control. So once I started generating my own pace, the rubber really kicked in, gave me the extra something. The fact that its so easy to control made me that much more deadly over the table. The sponge never bottomed out like I thought it would, but that was due to my stroke adjustment. Once I got used to it, over the table looping was all very low arc, and just nasty to the opponent. Very spinny, It was very impressive, I was unstoppable on an allaround blade with a soft rubber. How does that happen? After playing this, it made me open my Donic catalog and look at the European stuff again. It just made playing that much fun because of the control and consistency I had, along with heavy spin I could produce looping when I got used to it.

Looping off the table: With the 2nd loop off the table, I stuck to being more compact. The feel never leaves this rubber. it doesnt change much in description: lots and lots of control. A great amount of spin, a very direct arc of the ball. The speed starts lacking just a bit away from the table looping, but its not lacking enough to turn me away. The extra control made me stick to it. If you played a faster blade like a Persson Powerplay or something, this would be much faster. But it gets better when the ball reaches the upper gears.

Counter looping: this is where it really starts to shine. About as effortless as it gets. Very forgiving, very controllable. When you start counter-looping, the pace really shows up in this rubber. I don't remember missing a single counter loop. I had 100% control ALL the time. You can really start opening your shoulders, and REALLY start getting the massive spin on the ball. Bread and butter. The most fun I've ever had away from the table. Even banana loops were easy stuff. Whether its controlled or agressive at this point, it just works. It was just very user friendly, easy to get the amount of spin you want, the amount of pace you want, and the precision you want.

Overall, I liked this rubber a lot more than I did the blue sponged platinum. It just had a much better feeling. It succeeded at the speed glue feel and sound much more than did the platinum. It was more alive, and just more pleasing to play with. I recommend this to all arounders or all around attackers who are looking for the utmost control at all times, with heavy spin factored in. I also recommend it to attacking players looking for an upped level of consistency and control on the ball . Or if you're just looking for the speed glue characteristics and dont want to spend 50 dollars, get this rubber! it succeeds very well at the speedglue feel and sound. The speed is acceptable. If you have a proper stroke, the speed is no problem. I could make it work on an allaround blade and compete against my friend with BW2 on a Hurricane King. I always ended up out rallying him. And sometimes, even overpowering him. But If I can use it on an allaround blade, I can see a lot of people being successful with it on OFF- equiptment no problem speedwise. Again, this rubber impressed me very much, and its one of the best values I've ever seen. Plays like the expensive stuff, maybe a bit slower, but at a much lower price tag. Its DEFINITELY worth a try. So if you want a tensor replacement, this rubber lasts very long, and never loses its characteristics. It's worth it.