Friendship/729 Aurora Max PRO

Table Tennis Rubber Review

This rubber is well-suited for enhancing backhand technique, featuring a medium-hard topsheet and a soft sponge. With proper execution, it delivers exceptional spin. However, it may not be the best choice for forehand play due to its limited spin and speed. For those seeking an affordable tensor rubber, the AK47 Red is a better option.

The rubber’s throw angle is sufficiently high for a Chinese rubber. Its durability is remarkable, as it has remained like new after nine months of use. The reviewer intends to switch to a different rubber solely to accommodate their improved technique and believes that this one could last up to 2-3 years.

I have the medium-hard sponge. It’s a decent all-around backhand rubber that’s not too slow but not fast either. Unboosted, it feels quite unremarkable and like a beginner’s rubber. The speed would be around 8.3.

However, after testing a little Haifu Seamoon on this rubber, it reacts incredibly well. The bounce becomes more than MXP or Tenergy or other popular bouncy rubbers. It’s literally the bounciest and fastest rubber I’ve ever tried. The speed is 9.5 with the booster. It’s quite spinny as well. This rubber is very fun to power-drive with on the backhand and very fun to block with. It feels like it has a lot of control with a lot of rebound.

Booster is a must on this rubber. I don’t recommend this rubber if you don’t plan on boosting it.

[Update after booster]

Still not good, won’t buy this again.

First of all, this is a cheap rubber. I have the medium-soft and use it as my backhand (BH) rubber. I was using Tibhar Auros soft before trying this one, and I think this is much worse than Auros soft.

You can’t even trust your back-end with this rubber. When you do slice, the ball goes too much, and it makes it very easy for your opponent to open. When you want to block the ball, you feel the rubber can’t control the ball, and it cannot go to where you want it to be.

So for this, I don’t even recommend it. You may try it when you are just a beginner for a very low price. I will try to boost this rubber and see if it improves.

Pros:

• Very affordable
• Decently speedy
• Offers good control due to its linear nature

Cons:

• The rubber forms an “O” shape when removed from its packaging, making gluing and cutting difficult.
• Excessive boosting is necessary to mitigate the “O” shape effect, but too much boosting can cause bubbling.
• Without boosting, the rubber’s “O” shape is prone to detaching from the blade.
• The orange-reddish topsheet is slightly tacky and prone to staining and discoloration after a few uses.
• The topsheet resembles cheap tire rubber in terms of smell and appearance, suggesting poor durability.

Overall, while this rubber may represent a promising first step, its flaws in terms of shape retention and topsheet durability make it an impractical choice at the current time. Future versions with improved manufacturing techniques and a more durable topsheet may address these issues.