Friendship/729 Higher

729 Higher is an excellent backhand (BH) rubber. It is a very spinny and controlled rubber for players who seek spin variation and prefer winning by placement and control rather than overpowering opponents with power loops.

This rubber is low throw and tacky, with a very soft sponge. If you brush the ball, you won’t get spin. Additionally, there is no power on the forehand and it is also very slow.

This cheap, average Chinese rubber performed below expectations. Specifically, I noticed a lack of spin, which significantly hindered my gameplay.

Used on BH with Stiga All Classic for 1 month:

Medium sponge hardness with a rather compact, yet responsive tacky topsheet results in a great BH rubber (for me). Easy on short game, good control when blocking, can create massive spin when looping. I recommend it a lot if you want to improve your BH strokes.

I think this is a good training rubber, but I like the general sponge much better for training or beginner. The one argument in favor of higher I can see is if you plan to end up using springy sponge later on, this sponge has a little more spring in it (if that helps anything). But, it “binds up” your stroke more if you are trying to learn a stroke in my opinion.

For a tournament-winning sponge as a beginner, maybe this would be good also, but I wonder if it is too low performance with too little control for that. To me, it is not enough more than general sponge in performance to merit using it. If you want more performance, a bigger step than this rubber might be better.

This was my first BH rubber several years ago based on reviews from this site. I felt it had a bit more spin than 729 cream transcend on my forehand.

I tried the higher spin rubber and it’s quite spinny, but the speed is a bit slow. Maybe if combined with an off blade, it would be faster.

Review

This rubber has some unique characteristics. I tested it on two blades with differing speeds (slow and fast), and I encountered an issue with consistency. Occasionally, the ball would deviate from its intended trajectory. One sheet of the rubber became unusable very quickly, while the other sheet has maintained its performance.

In terms of speed, it is not particularly fast, but it generates excellent spin. It is well-suited for slow, high-arc topspin loops.

This is the best 729 rubber I have used. At first, I was disappointed because it was so tacky when new. In fact, you can pick the ball from the floor using the rubber’s tackiness.

After playing with it for a few days, the tackiness decreased, but it still created exceptional spin. I glued it to my T11 blade, which was a very good combination for generating speed and ball control.

After that, my top spins, loops, chops, serves, and ball placements drastically improved. It helped me gain my confidence back during match plays.

Zadovoljavajuća guma, koristim je na 729 Bomb za FH. Mislim da bi bilo još bolje kada bi se stavila meka spužva.

For me, it’s a great rubber with high control. The most important thing is that it’s cheap.

EDIT: After playing with this rubber for a month, I’m going to replace it. I tried hard to learn to play with it, but it’s difficult for me. Initially, I couldn’t beat a friend even once since I started using it. Before I put it on my four-hand, we were pretty close players. Now, I’m losing to him a lot.

The rubber is peculiar. It has a medium-low throw angle. Blocking with it is pure. You must hit hard, well-balanced, and controlled to hit the table. Sometimes it grips the ball more, sometimes less. I don’t know why. Maybe I can’t handle it, but it’s for sure that the rubber is tricky to play with. Defense with this (blocking) is a waste of time.

My review is based on comparing this rubber with Joola Energy Xtra and Tenergy 64. I played with this rubber for about 2 hours on my forehand on my Kong Linghui Euro blade, glued with New glue although this is rubber for speed glue.

Speed: About 30-35% less than Xtra and Tenergy, so I rated it 7.

Spin: Really good, a little higher than Tenergy and even more higher than Xtra.

Control: I think it’s very good. Maybe that is because the rubber is slower than the other two, but it’s certainly higher anyway.

Throw angle: Quite similar to Xtra, maybe 10% lower, but it’s noticeably lower than Tenergy 64. Let’s say it’s medium.

Other things about this rubber: It’s okay for close to table playing. Far away you have to hit much harder, but it’s quite easy to annul the opponent’s spin and hit it with top spin. I like the rubber and I think I will keep playing with it because speed isn’t everything I need in the game.

I think it’s medium-hard, medium tacky, and very durable rubber.

My review is based on comparing this rubber with Joola Energy Xtra and Tenergy 64. I played for about 2 hours with this rubber on the forehand of my Kong Linghui Euro blade, glued with New glue, although this is a rubber for speed glue.

Speed: About 30-35% less than Xtra and Tenergy, so I rated it 7.

Spin: Really good. It’s a little higher than Tenergy and even more than Xtra.

Control: So good I think. Maybe that’s because the rubber is slower than the other two, but it’s certainly higher anyway.

Throw angle: Quite similar to Xtra, maybe 10% lower, but it’s noticeably lower than Tenergy 64. Let’s say it’s medium.

Other things about this rubber… It’s okay for close to table playing; far away, you have to hit much harder, but it’s quite easy to annul the opponent’s spin and hit it with a top spin. I like the rubber, and I think I will keep playing with it because the speed isn’t everything I need in the game.

I think it’s medium-hard, medium-tacky, and a very durable rubber.

Como es habitual en las Friendship 729, ofrecen una muy buena relación calidad-precio, con gomas de calidad, económicas y duraderas. En particular, la 729 Superior ha recibido buenas opiniones.

Según WHANG, quien ha probado innumerables gomas y utilizado Marck V y Sriver de Butterfly durante más de 20 años, la 729 Superior es una sustituta adecuada. Si bien no es tan explosiva o rápida, es mejor para bloquear y picar. Es adecuada para el intercambio de golpes tanto de derecha como de revés, tanto de cerca como de media distancia.

La goma negra con esponja verde es muy buena y puede usarse tanto de derecha como de revés. La goma roja, con esponja crema, es similar a la negra, pero un poco más dura y más apropiada para el derecho.

La Galaxy T-11+ no gustó en un espesor de 2,2 mm en la Yinhe N.º 9, pero tratada con cola rápida funciona mejor. Es una de las favoritas, junto con las Reactor Corbor, muy buenas y parecidas a las Sriver.

Un poco más lentas y pesadas, pero con más control, están las Globe 999 y Nacional, las Ritc 729 OEM, gomas polivalentes y ligeras, especialmente la roja, similares a la Superior.

Últimamente, se están probando las Mercury 2, que son más rápidas (tipo Tenergi 05-XION) y están disponibles en varias graduaciones. Estas no desagradan y pueden superar a las 729 Superior.

Finalmente, las 729 Superior superan a las DHS Hurricanes 3 (más pesadas y lentas), las H-2 y las Skyilines.

I have only ever used 2.2mm black rubber. I didn’t like it because it was too slow for my playing style, so I gave it to my friend. However, it may be suitable for you if your playing style is more all-round.

This rubber has good spin but is quite slow for forehand play. However, it is well-suited for backhand play.

This rubber is spinny, but it is also very reactive and inconsistent.

I like this rubber especially when used for forehand.

After trying Cream Transcned, Focus 1, Focus 3 Snipe, Sriver, Sriver EL, and others, this rubber is my current choice for aggressive attacks.

It is tacky, quick, and extremely spinny. I had trouble adjusting my swings at first. It is not a very forgiving rubber, meaning you need good techniques. Out of all my other rubbers, this one allows me to:

• Serve with excellent spin (tacky)
• Initiate third-ball attack (very good at looping)
• Offer enough speed well into the fifth ball (mid-distance counter-looping)

This is a good rubber that is not too hard. However, it is not as tacky as DHS TG 2 Skyline, so it cannot really pick up the ball with its stickiness. It can only lift it a bit.

I use this rubber for my forehand and I recommend it.

I have tried many different RITC 729 rubbers because they are low priced. Of all the different rubbers, this one is the best for loopers. It has more spin than Cream Transcend, Focus 1, and Focus 3 Snipe. This rubber only loses in speed when compared to Focus 3 Snipe. However, the heavy amount of spin makes it difficult for the opponent to return the ball. I highly recommend this rubber for loopers. It has a medium tacky feel and medium hardness.

A bit faster than Higher III. The 2.2 sponge seems a little thinner compared to the 2.2 version of Higher III. The Transcend version seems a few grams lighter compared to the same thickness Japanese sponge.

Great rubber! It is not very fast, but you just need to use a fast blade to compensate for that. Ideal to play close to the table. Not too good to play away from the table. Good rubber with a reasonable price.

Review:

A very good rubber for serve and over-the-table techniques. Timing and fitness play a huge role when looping away from the table.

One of the few Chinese rubbers, made during the pre-glue ban period, plays excellently without glue.

Not as spinny as LKT XT, but not bad. When glued, the speed is OK. I like the hardness of the green sponge.

Good looping rubber. Serves are spinny too.