Friendship/729 729 OEM

I have been testing Chinese tacky rubbers for the past 12 months, using the Friendship 729 RITC (which I believe is the OEM) for the last 7 months. I usually order it from this link:

Friendship 729 RITC on AliExpress.

I paired it with the Stiga Allround Classic, and I have found it to be the perfect backhand rubber for me. The performance in various aspects—serve, serve receive, spinny push, flip, drive, and block—is excellent.

Wrist action is crucial due to the tackiness of the rubber. My spinny serve receive often fails if I do not counter it with my own spin. The long backspin push works great and frequently results in an opponent fault or a high ball, which I appreciate. I can generate moderate topspin with this rubber.

However, on the forehand side, I lacked the power to finish points effectively, and my lobs weren’t as good. As a result, I switched to the Palio AK47 red for my forehand. While the 729 provides better control and leads to improved consistency, the AK47 scores me more points.

Each 729 topsheet lasts me about 100 hours of play. It loses tackiness after around 10 hours and becomes less grippy after about 50 hours. After 100 hours, it is no longer playable due to the lack of grip. I clean the rubber with water daily. Currently, I am on my fourth topsheet and have already ordered two more. It is hard to find a better tacky backhand rubber for under £5!

I just got this rubber on both sides with the Galaxy N9 paddle, and I am impressed with how it picks the ball up into the air.

The black side is noticeably more alive than the red side. While it may not be ideal for far-range looping, it handles close to mid-range play very nicely. I experienced good spin right from the first day of use.

However, I did find it to be slower than my T11+ carbon blade.

I applied this rubber to my backhand. Considering the price, it performs remarkably well, and it was faster than I expected.

The red 2.1 model weighs 45 grams, which is average, while the 2.0 model weighs 42 grams. I believe the uncut 2.0 rubber was around 60 grams.

This is a good all-round rubber that offers excellent performance at a very reasonable price. I highly recommend it for beginners.

This is truly an amazing rubber for the price. For a long time, I’ve tried almost every cheap, tacky Chinese rubber priced between $14 and $20. Honestly, this rubber performs just as well as many of those options, and it’s only $5! It’s incredible.

The rubber is pretty tacky and offers good grip. I’ve owned two sheets of this rubber. The first sheet was very tacky, while the second was moderately tacky. Regardless, this is a high-spin rubber paired with a medium sponge. It hits really nicely, and I can’t recommend it enough.

Try it out; you’ll be hooked! You’ll love the price, and you’ll appreciate that you can order this rubber several times over for the cost of just one standard rubber sheet.

I am currently using the black rubber with blue sponge on the backhand side of two of my setups.

This rubber handles incoming spin exceptionally well. It offers the perfect speed and tack for my backhand flips and is also very good for blocking.

Overall, it provides excellent value for the price.

This rubber is easy to play with and can work well for both beginners and advanced players. It is fast, yet it also performs decently for blocking, especially when not standing right at the table.

Overall, it is definitely an all-around rubber that can accommodate multiple playing styles. Given its price, it is absolutely worth trying.

This is a very good rubber, particularly in terms of quality and price. At first, it is sticky, but over time, it loses some of its stickiness and becomes faster.

The control it offers is excellent; this rubber is versatile and allows for cutting, blocking, attacking, and performing topspin shots with a decent amount of speed. While it may not match the performance of Tenergy 05, it lasts significantly longer, provides better control, and is much more budget-friendly.

The red version, which features a pink-orange sponge, is lightweight and performs better than the previously available cream-black option, which had a harder and heavier sponge. Additionally, the inverted tips of the black rubber were shorter and heavier. The earlier black rubber came with a blue sponge, which was lighter and performed better, closely resembling the red rubber’s qualities. However, recent changes seem to have not improved the black rubber.

It would be great to see them return to the old design. Also, sticking them with fast glue yields better results than using traditional glue.

This rubber reacts extremely well to tuning, particularly when using paraffin oil. It is very economical if you know how to tune your equipment.

However, when untuned, this rubber performs at an average level, so it is essential to tune it for optimal results. The 2.1mm sponge provides plenty of room to work with while remaining within the legal restrictions for sanctioned play. ;)

This rubber is excellent for all-around players. It provides great spin for serves and loops, while also being fast enough to incorporate powerful loop drives into your game. In my opinion, it outperforms Tackiness Drive.

729 OEM is similar to 729 Classic. I believe it features the same topsheet but with a lighter sponge. Compared to 729 Classic, it is slightly slower, but it maintains the same level of durability. When new, the rubber is tacky; however, it will lose some of that tackiness a few weeks later. Overall, it offers great value, but I prefer to tune it before playing with it.

The speed rating of this rubber should be raised. I previously used the 729 Cream Transcend on both sides, but I decided to switch to this OEM rubber. Every club mate I hit with mentioned that the OEM was faster than the Cream.

I rated the durability as average, but that was merely a guess. I have been using this rubber for about a month, playing 4 to 5 times a week, and it still looks and feels like new. For just $5, this rubber is amazing!