Donic Desto F3 Big Slam

This excellent rubber provides good control and spin in its 2.0 mm thickness.

Table Tennis Rubber Review

Using 2mm rubber on the forehand and 1.8mm on the backhand, with a Tibhar 4 L balsa wood blade, the reviewer found that flat hits were relatively easy for the opponent to return on spinny balls. They also noted a trampoline effect on the forehand during chopping.

I don’t think the sound is like the F3 Big Slam made years ago.

First choice for many years, 2 mm red offers great spin, a nice sound, and a speed glue effect. It’s a soft, spinny rubber that also offers great control. Not fast, but fast enough in rallies if you loop with spin and focus on placement. You can also test 1.8 mm or max if you want to adjust. The quality is great and it lasts a long time. It’s preferred on the backhand, but works great on the forehand as well. I’ve had mine for some years now, and it still has a lot of spin. However, the sponge has lost its power and it’s slow, but I’m still winning matches with it. :)

The rubber provides an exhilarating array of playing characteristics, including speed, spin, control, blocking, and ball placement capabilities. It also produces an exceptional sound upon impact. Its compatibility with semi-hard blades is commendable.

The rubber offers excellent feel and touch as the ball sinks into its combination of rubber and sponge. This allows players to discern the intricacies of their blade’s characteristics (exemplified by the Waldner World Champion '89 OFF blade). It is renowned as one of the most spin-elastic rubbers available, capable of generating the necessary speed for successful scoring. Additionally, it stands out as one of the top-performing blocking rubbers on the market.

These positive aspects are fully realized when proper technique is employed in delivering or receiving the ball. The rubber has earned a well-deserved five-star rating: * * * * *.

I had this on my BH for a short time. I thought it was kind of fast, but I had just gone back to a carbon blade. It was bouncy and very light. The weight in black max was about 37 g, so feather-light on my personal scale.

I’ve been playing with regular Desto F3 for many years, and I tried this one last year as I was looking for something softer to associate with my new blade.

F3 BS is close to regular F3, but it’s softer and a bit slower. You can especially feel it on attacking strokes, which come back more often. However, it’s still fast enough to deliver winning strokes. It’s really soft and thus dedicated to topspin attackers, even more than the regular F3.

Therefore, smashing and hitting the ball flat won’t be the strong point of this rubber due to its really soft nature.

Went to this rubber on a friend’s advice. This rubber has backhand written all over it. Control and block are fantastic, and when you hit with it, the sound and feel are very addictive.

However, it is very poor for generating backspin pushes and chops and can be attacked quite easily from this position.

It is excellent for attacking and hitting, but if you want to generate strong spin, this is not your rubber.

It is the most effortless rubber I’ve ever played with.

I’ve played with this rubber for 6 months (4 tournaments, 3 leagues) and realize I need more spin for my game. I will miss the ease of blocking attacking shots on my backhand and the best tensor sound on the market.

I love it. It has an excellent balance in speed, control, and spin. I love this soft sponge, which makes strokes feel much more satisfying. Very, very good rubber.

My DESTO lasts longer than ACUDA S2.

For strong spin, you must have good contact with the ball. It is very nice for blocking and looping.

You need more power for strong smashing.

I use it on Kreanga Powerspin and it is good for everything. I prefer looping, but it is not a problem when I need to chop. I do not like it for blocking because it is too soft, but with practice, that’s not an issue. I have had it for eight months and trained for five times three hours, and it needs to be replaced.

This rubber is great for loopy play on half distance. It gets better the longer you have it.

A very loud-sounding rubber, it gives me a very good feel and creates a cricketing sound!

However, it wears out easily.

Update on my previous review of Big Slam. I’ve played with this rubber for years, and it’s good for looping off my BH and blocking.

However, I have recently noticed one weakness with it. I practice regularly with another 2200 player who has short pips on his BH. When I push the ball to his BH, he can attack it easily. When he plays against other players that have Chinese rubber or rubber that has more spin than Big Slam, he can’t attack when they push to his BH.

As a result, I may switch to Baracuda as this definitely has more spin. If you play with Baracuda, make sure you play with 2.0 rather than max, as the 2.0 seems to play better.

This rubber is an exceptional product, boasting near-perfection in its design and performance. However, the black coating has a limited lifespan, making the red variant a more durable choice. I have been using this rubber since March/April, and it continues to perform admirably.

A 2200-rated player here. I’ve been using Desto F3 on my backhand for over 10 years. I’ve tried many other rubbers, including some of Joola’s soft offerings, but none have lasted nearly as long. This rubber is one of the best for your backhand. Big Slam is more like the original F3, while the regular F3’s tension was increased a couple of years ago. You can’t go wrong with this rubber, but it must be played with in Max thickness…as 2.0 is too slow.

When put on a fast blade, this rubber provides great spin despite being very soft. The only issue is looping from a distance. Aside from that, it offers excellent control and spin.

The best backhand rubber I’ve ever tried. It’s consistent, great for both counterlooping and opening against backspin, and very light. The only problem is that it doesn’t last long.

Great rubber for drive looping. It has loads of control and great touch when receiving heavy spin serves. I’ve used it for 18 months now, and it’s the only speed glue effect rubber that I’ve tried (believe me, I’ve tried most) that does what it says on the cover. It sounds great on my Joola Kool Balsa blade and feels like it’s loaded with glue. I love it!

The only downside is that it soon deteriorates. The edges break easily, and it slows up after about 3 months. I’m on my 7th sheet now! I don’t care though. I like it that much.

My tip: Use it with a fast Balsa blade and max sponge.

Great control, making it very enjoyable to play with. While not too fast, when you bust it…fantastic!!!

This rubber excels in backhand play, providing excellent blocking and looping capabilities. It generates impressive spin on spinny shots, while still performing well on flat hits.

Soft with very good control. Spinny, good for close-in play, quick attack, slow to medium speed loops. Very long dwell time. Good spin on serves, good control for serve returns.

Despite its good qualities, it has a rather loud crack when hitting topspin shots. It lasts a couple of months before it gets too soft. New rubber feels very good, but that feeling wears off in the first 30 - 50 hours. Then gradually softens until it needs to be replaced.

Overall, it’s a lot of fun to use, but it only lasts as long as a snowball in summer.

It is undoubtedly softer and slower than F3. My old and worn out F3 is still faster than the F3 Big Slam.

Surely better on the backhand, but a racket with two Big Slams is so light, that speed can be easily achieved with… racket speed!

The fastest forehand loop I can produce has tons of spin and still lands on the table. However, top speed is not there: the ball may still come back.

It is a great soft rubber, not very different from Energy Extra. It might be 2% slower. It has a good sound and allows for a lot of gears.

Some people say it has no spin and is slow, but that is not true!

You need to get used to these soft rubbers like Energy Extra.

It has a high throw and is best for off-the-bounce looping style. It is great for punchblocks with hard blades and is also great for controlled looping!

My favorite Donic rubber to date, the built-in speed glue effect is rather decent, arguably one of the best I’ve used (still not comparable to the real thing though).

The only downside I can identify is that the sponge seems to be slightly softer than the regular F3, which slows it down marginally.

The sound it produces is also excellent.

I have the F3 BigSlam max on my backhand. It definitely has the loud sound that they advertise. Every person I’ve played against has mentioned the nice cracking sound after a couple of backhands. This rubber is great if you like to loop your backhand. It generates great spin and excellent control, giving me the confidence to loop just about everything. It’s pretty good for serves - not tacky, but the sponge generates good mechanical spin. Blocks kick off the sponge well, but you have to remember to close the face so it doesn’t fly off the end of the table. It may lack a little power at mid-distance, but you can get LOTS of spin from back there.

See my review of regular Desto F3.

The main difference between this and the regular is sound. It makes a much more pronounced speed glue sound. The sponge is orange instead of yellow and may be a touch harder. I’ve just started using this rubber so I can’t comment on durability.

In my experience, this is the best backhand rubber I have ever encountered. I have associated it with 0X long pips due to its remarkable characteristics. The rubber offers excellent control, and its soft composition provides a good dwell time. Additionally, it is not overly sensitive to spin, making returns quite manageable.

What truly captivated me about this rubber is the sound it produces. There’s nothing else quite like the loud crack it makes when hitting flat shots. Some of my opponents have even thought I broke the ball, while others have remarked that they can’t tell which side was hit because of the sound, reminiscent of 0X.

However, like all ESN tensor rubbers, it does have a downside. The short game can be challenging, and the catapult effect can be difficult to manage, especially on low or dead balls. I would love to see a tacky version of this rubber come to market.