DHS PF4

Sticky

44 Reviews

#1June 2020

Good rubber for beginners who don’t want to spend a fortune.
However, I would not recommend it at higher levels.

#2December 2014

CHEAP BUT a little bit POWERFUL!

This is a wonderful rubber, it has a soft texture and great tackiness, and it has a great amount of control. The throw angle is pretty low and the ball just drops on the other side of the net, which makes it very difficult for your opponent to return. It is also very durable, and it can last for a long time even with heavy use.

Overall, this is a great rubber for players of all levels. It is especially good for beginners who are looking for a rubber that is easy to control and provides a lot of spin.

#3October 2013

Good spin in all shots, but very slow.

Very good for pushing and chopping with a thin sponge. Control is great in all shots.

Offensive game takes a lot of effort because of slowness and low throw angle.

Recommended for beginners and defensive players.

#4April 2013

A superb rubber for a controlled defensive game! I play with it on an ALL blade and it gives me tons of control. However, if you want to do a topspin with this rubber, you should do it with a full arm swing. This rubber is not suitable for European topspins with a slow, tacky rubber.

#5March 2013

Got mine before, and it’s tacky. It’s good, but not spinny. I wonder why, despite its tackiness.

#6December 2012

I think this is a great rubber I have ever used. I feel the control is good, the spin is amazing so you can loop better, and the speed is really good. I used it on Donic Persson Power Carbon Senso for my backhand. It is really good rubber.

I decreased the tackiness by using a lot of powder and after that cleaned it with water. It will make it better.

#7April 2012

I love the rubber.

#8April 2012

I got this rubber one year ago. I tried it on the same blade, and it was too hard, and the feel and control were not good. However, when I tried it on Stiga Offensive or Stiga All NCT, it was really nice - super control and feeling. The speed is not fast, but for my all-round style, it’s good.

#9November 2011

I have used this rubber for over 20 years. It is an excellent classic rubber that competed with Butterfly, 729, and Yasaka rubbers on many tables. I hope to try it again one day.

#10November 2011

I got this rubber from a bat set from LIDL in Sept 2011, priced at a mere £7.99 (this included 2 bats and 3 three-star Andro balls).

So, it works out to about £3.50 per bat, which includes the 2 sheets of PF4 rubbers and the Allround Andro blade. Not bad, eh?

As a penhold player (Japanese grip), I decided to make the switch to the Chinese penhold. To do this, I trimmed off the end of the handle by about 1.5 cm and sanded down the neck to get a more comfortable grip. Lo and behold, the control is superb!

Being a very slow rubber, you can afford to hit harder without fear of overhitting. It doesn’t slow down my flat smash. It’s also very good for topspin from a low table height.

As I have never tried reverse backhand on my Japanese grip bat, it came as a surprise that I could execute it quite naturally for both drive and topspin - all thanks to the rubber.

5 stars for LIDL’s once-in-a-lifetime price of £3.50 per bat. Work out the price per sheet yourself.

#11October 2011

Pretty good for smashing and chops. Driving is a bit hard, but it is ok.

#12December 2010

Personally, I think it’s a great rubber, especially if you’re using the Chinese looping style. I actually started with this rubber as a penholder. It’s a little fast to start, but I learned to control it after about a year, and it’s got some really nice loops, once you get the technique down. I’ve gotten fantastic, very powerful loops out of this.

Now, I’ll definitely admit, there are other Chinese rubbers that you would get far more speed out of with much less effort, but this worked out fine too. If you want more speed, I’d probably go for something else, but with enough practice, this thing can give you fantastic speed with great control in my opinion.

I also have it on my backhand, and this rubber isn’t too great for RPB in my opinion. There are plenty of much better rubbers out there. If it were a little softer, it’d probably work better.

#13January 2010

This was one of the first rubbers I used about 15 years ago. I can see why people don’t rate it too highly because it doesn’t excel in any department. However, for keeping the ball on the table and developing strokes, it’s one of the best. Just don’t hang on to it for too long, as you might get stuck in a rut as a safety-only player. It’s great for spin/pushing.

#14December 2008

Hmmm, sorry guys, but how can you play with this thing? Seriously, I can only play defensive balls with this thing. It’s too slow for looping, smashing, blocking, and all other offensive tactics.

#15November 2008

I’ve been using this for a few weeks, and I’m impressed. I’ve beaten very good players with it. It’s not as tacky or as quick as Globe, but use Spinmax on it, and it’s great. I’m really impressed with the sponge, as you can do pretty much anything with this rubber if you put the effort in. It is very quick. The only thing it lacks in is blocking a really heavy topspin as the sponge is so hard. However, if you time it right, you can counter loop anything.

#16April 2008

Most effective and popular as a chopper’s rubber, this rubber features a 1.6mm sponge that provides excellent control. This allows players to generate a high amount of spin. The rubber remains popular among choppers at relatively high levels of play. However, using a thicker sponge can result in a significant decrease in control.

#17March 2008

It’s a good rubber for serves, pushes, and beginners. But it lacks the extra umph! for looping and driving effectively. It’s pretty all-round, and you can chop and loop, but it doesn’t exceed anywhere.

You can use it to develop a style pretty well, but eventually, you’ll have to choose a style, go with it, and change the rubber to something less versatile but better for you.

#18June 2023

Review text:

Used 2mm on Stiga Clipper CR;
Pros: Very tacky and durable;
Cons: A little heavy.

#19January 2020

18 World medals for this rubber is outstanding. But that was a long time ago. Many things have happened since then.

The classic PF4 rubber with a hard sponge and super sticky surface has been reinvented.

As a defender, it is a good choice. A lot of spin but low. During my first rally, I was able to, with red 2.0 red, hit defensive chopping shots that bounced twice on my opponent’s side. You can do annoying things for your opponent, and it is even good at smashing close to the table, good for serving, so this is definitely a do-it-all rubber.

My friend plays with this on BH, a kind of pimples outplay, with spinny underspin shots, and has a Nittaku Fastarc G-1 on FH, and he is very good at that kind of play. Confuse the other side, then spin smashing with G-1 to finish the point.

Speed - 7.8 Spin - 8.7 Rating - 8.8.

#20February 2019

Very affordable. Slow rubber suitable for beginners.

#21August 2018

Good for loop topspin.

#22July 2018

Previše sporo, nisam oduševljen, ali može da se proba na bržem drvetu.

#23January 2018

I bought this rubber for a friend, and after trying it myself, I was surprised to see how good it is. It exceeded expectations. Without taking price into consideration, it’s a very good rubber for all-around/close-to-the-table style.

#24November 2017

I love the feel, control, and speed of this rubber. I can use it comfortably on both forehand and backhand. At such a low price, this quality is unbeatable. I only wish there were a 1.8mm thickness version, which would make it a little bit lighter. Highly recommend if you like tacky Chinese rubber.

#25September 2017

This is the cheapest rubber I’ve ever purchased, but man, was I pleasantly surprised. There’s not a single aspect that will “wow” you, but this rubber has such a great balance of speed, spin, and control that makes it so enjoyable to play with. When attacking, there is more than enough speed and topspin to finish the point from mid-range. It also has great control for defense and close rallies. Active blocking is also very easy and accurate. The only weakness is passive blocking and long-range attack.
All in all, a great rubber for anyone.

#26December 2023

It’s not the best rubber, but for its price, you can’t complain too much.
It’s well-controlled, good for beginners. Hurricane 3 is better, but this one is cheaper.

#27November 2023

This is a very good rubber for all-around players or for aggressive near-the-table style of play. After 20-30 hours of play, this will break in and will be much better. Works very well on flexible blades but also on less flexible ones. Not sure if it works on very stiff or carbon blades.

#28August 2023

Not only do I play with the DHS PF4 for several months, but one of my students does too. I actually bought it to test if it was worth recommending to my students, and now I have been playing with it for several months.

My technique was quite bad before (Mark V HPS) and thanks to the PF4 it got way better, meaning: full stroke (Chinese technique), power from the ground (use your legs and your pelvis). Because the PF4 doesn’t do anything the only way to properly accelerate the ball is via the right technique. When you finally hit balls that are as fast as your teammates (who use ESN or Japanese rubber) you can bet that you have a good technique. It is somewhat funny that I can beat my teammates who have sometimes €50+ rubbers with this cheap rubber. I also used to think that you can only play well with more expensive rubbers, but I was dead wrong! If you want to improve, buy this rubber, it is definitely worth it.

It also helps one of my students fix his bad technique (only arm, no body movement). He is now forced to use more body movement and after a few weeks I already saw some improvements.

General Information for better valuation of this review:
Playing style: Allrounder / variable offensive
League: Lower league
Years of experience: 8 non-consecutive years
Blade: Stiga Nostalgic Allround
Boosted: No
Glue: Revolution No 3 Medium viscosity
Usage Duration: several months
Used on: Forehand, black.

#29May 2023

The DHS PF4 is a classical sticky Chinese rubber that is quite hard. Like all hard rubbers, it allows for direct feedback, meaning that your stroke execution and technique have to be clean and perfect for the ball to hit your opponent’s side of the table. I would recommend this rubber to beginners and those who want to improve their technique (short movement, no body movement, no wrist acceleration during topspin-motion, etc). It is quite slow and always requires action. You can’t just hold your bat against the ball and expect it to jump to the other side of the table (like ESN or Butterfly rubbers with catapult effect). This rubber gives you confidence to attack with loops and topspin because you simply cannot overshoot easily. You really have to put all your strength into a stroke to miss the table. Consistency. That is what you get. It doesn’t matter if your Topspins are extremely quick and dangerously loaded with spin, if you can do that once… You are automatically prepared for the game, which means you expect the ball to come back (sounds trivial but is quite important) and really start playing instead of exchanging finishing topspins after the 3rd ball (and then be suddenly surprised when a ball is being blocked back).

Price-performance ratio is close to optimal. I used it as a forehand rubber, not boosted (gets softer after a few training sessions. Reminder: softer, not soft!). Glued with Revolution No°3 Glue. Reference: half as slow as Mark V HPS.

#30May 2021

It has decent control and spin but is too slow. When I hit the ball, I feel like I am hitting with slippers; the ball doesn’t want to bounce, even after using a booster.

#31December 2020

I bought this Hurricane PF4 Chinese rubber for my Stiga Allround Classic on both sides.
It’s for my training purpose to improve my strokes. With these sticky rubbers, I can loop and spin the plastic ball easily. Also able to do heavy underspin. It’s slightly hard, and I managed to hit some extremely powerful smash and go for the kill. It’s low cost, good sticky rubber, and it’s durable. I recommend you to try it.

#32September 2020

One of the best rubbers for a novice, it helps you learn the strokes.

#33July 2020

Pf4 is an excellent rubber, which is underrated. It has excellent control, is very good for cutting, and can produce quite a bit of spin. Recommended for playing with a penhold grip, both for reverse loops and for driving shots.

#34March 2020

I bought 2.0mm but it is not sticky.

#35September 2019

Best for beginners. Very durable.

#36September 2018

Muy buena goma para los que están empezando.

#37August 2018

Very tacky; ball dropped on it almost instantly dies down.
Remember to clean it, and it should serve for quite a while.

#38July 2018

I am very surprised with this rubber. Don’t be fooled by the low price; this is a real deal for the beginners, all-round players, and with some booster can be very useful for the offensive players who like the traditional hard and tacky Chinese rubbers. The price is also excellent!

#39February 2018

Немного медленнее Hurricane 3, но намного дешевле.

#40December 2017

A very spinny and quality rubber.

#41September 2017

I expected to be pleased with this rubber, but I was still surprised to experience that amount of quality and lack of weaknesses. I play it on a Victas Firefall VC (Off+) and don’t regret having bought 5 pairs of it. Don’t be fooled by hyped reviews and give lower priced rubbers a chance if their characteristics theoretically fit your playstyle. The rubber performs very well on correctly executed strokes and typically for very hard rubbers, it’s not that forgiving when it comes to technical mistakes. But this point also shouldn’t be overrated, because this cheap hard rubber has nice control and a good feeling on my Off+ blade, so give it a try. And for the Need for Speed guys of you: If you hit well with it, you can’t go noticeably faster with others. (My playstyle is modern offensive).

#42July 2017

If you like the European style, this rubber is not for you. But if you agree with Chinese play philosophy, this is an excellent rubber. Not fast (to get speed you need to hit the ball very strongly), excellent control in blocking top spin, amazing in short game and service return. You can perform service with huge spin, the throw angle is very low, and the top spin is incredibly precise.

#43July 2017

Una goma promedio. Lo único malo es que me provoca náuseas en el juego por el olor.

#44January 2017

Provides good value for the money.

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