Friendship/729 Focus 3

A soft, light, grippy rubber that is ideal for reverse penhold (RPB) techniques. The grippy surface allows for easy generation of short, spinny serves while also being less sensitive to incoming spin. This makes it quite forgiving for executing pushes and blocks.

However, brush looping can be a bit challenging. To loop effectively, players need to ensure that their stroke goes through the ball and engages the sponge to generate mechanical spin.

Overall, this rubber is a spinny, all-around, Euro-like choice that is perfect for all-round players who prioritize both spin and control.

The rubber is simply too slow. It cannot be rated as 12, 11, 11 as claimed. Unless I received a fake product or it has gotten old, I find it excessively slow for my needs.

While it may serve well as a good defensive rubber, it is definitely not suitable for offensive play.

This rubber doesn’t fit my playing style. It is super slow, which is disappointing.

I’ve applied this rubber on my Butterfly Primo Vitesse, and it’s very good for my backhand. Considering I struggle with my backhand, this rubber has significantly improved my performance.

However, I am somewhat disappointed. I was hoping for a completely non-tacky rubber, but this one is slightly tacky instead.

While I will not provide a rating for this rubber since I’ve only had one training session with it, it is important to note that the Focus III sponge is very soft—much softer than the Focus I (which is already considered a soft sponge) or the Focus II (which is on the harder side).

Therefore, players who do not favor very soft sponges should steer clear of this one.

That said, it is a good rubber, just like the Focus I and II.

The rubber is very similar to the Palio Macro Pro, but it is a bit softer and slower while still providing excellent control.

This is a highly effective rubber that is often overlooked by many players, possibly due to a lack of promotion by the manufacturer.

A slightly harder sponge, around 4 to 4.5, could enhance the speed of the rubber. With this adjustment, it would be nearly perfect.

This rubber is of good quality and has a slightly soft feel, which I personally prefer. It excels in generating topspin, provides excellent control, and offers satisfactory speed. I have found it to perform well on both the Stiga OC and the Schlager Light.

While it may not be the fastest rubber on the market, it is more than adequate for producing enough speed for drives and smashes, making them quite effective. If you’re someone who prefers super-fast rubbers, this may not be the best choice for you. However, if you appreciate decent spin and control, this rubber could be a great fit.

I enjoy using this rubber; it has a very European feel to it. It reminds me of Rapid Dtecs, although it is not quite as fast.

This is a high-quality product. The topsheet is completely nontacky and looks very nice. However, the sponge makes it feel somewhat “dead.” I believe that Focus III would perform better with the addition of glue.

This rubber is quite peculiar! I agree with Gatisubbu’s observation that it performs better when glued to a soft feel or medium-fast blade.

It does not pair well with a carbon or stiff blade; the feel is akin to dead jello and exhibits an unusually low throw angle on such a fast carbon blade.

However, when used on a wood or soft/medium blade, it plays and feels surprisingly good, albeit still on the slower side. If you’re a relatively new player who utilizes European strokes, this rubber might be suitable for you. Just remember: don’t pair it with a fast or carbon blade!

The price-to-performance ratio is very high. This rubber performs better when glued to soft feel and medium-fast blades. However, when glued to hard or faster blades, it exhibits a very low throw.

It is suitable for mid-distance play but not ideal for chopping. I have never tried it with speed glue.

This is a very good looping rubber that works best when played off the table. However, it is not suitable for chopping. While it performs adequately in the short game, it does not excel in that area.

I consider this the highest quality product from Friendship. It is unique among Chinese rubbers in that it does not come with any protective film stuck to the topsheet; instead, it has just tracing paper, reminiscent of the old-school Japanese rubbers.

The finish is very much Japanese. I had to really toss a coin between non-sticky and lightly sticky. This rubber feels like Friendship’s answer to Joola Mambo. It is soft and great for looping, but slightly too soft for the short game and for driving or hitting the ball fast.

Overall, it is a beautiful product as far as Chinese rubbers go—definitely the top of the heap.

This rubber was surprisingly slow, especially considering it is a non-tacky variant. It seems to be more suitable for controlled blocking. However, I have not tested it with speed glue.