Loki Arthur Europe

I tried this rubber as a backhand option, but it somewhat lacks the rebound required for a good backhand rubber. While it isn’t slow—it’s medium-fast—it still doesn’t provide the bounciness I look for in a quality backhand rubber. In comparison, the AK47 and even Loki’s own T3 feel better to me.

The rubber has a slightly tacky surface, but this tackiness wears off completely after a while. Additionally, it is quite heavy, although it is lighter than the Arthur Asia.

This medium rubber performs exceptionally well. The sponge is medium hard, while the topsheet is medium, which allows the inverted pimples to break easily, resulting in a nice grip on the ball.

I highly recommend it for backhand play; it excels at easy flips, and both active and passive blocks work like a charm. While it is not as springy as the Diamond version, you don’t need to engage the sponge as much to achieve spin, thanks to the rubber’s superior grip.

However, due to the medium soft topsheet, there isn’t much spin sensitivity. I would not recommend it for forehand strokes if you enjoy driving from mid to far distances, as it lacks the grip for those hard drives. In my experience, the RXTON 5 performs significantly better in that regard.

I just got this rubber to try out as I was looking for an inexpensive Tenson option. Overall, this rubber performed well. I was happy with the feel and touch it provided.

I was pleased with how it pushes, blocks, counters, and hits. However, I found that while looping, I could generate great spin and control, I did not get as much pop or speed on my loops as I had hoped.

Despite this, I played well with it and have no real complaints. I would recommend this rubber if you are looking for something that offers good spin and control.

I should mention that I have not played much in the last few years, so my looping technique could have been off. Additionally, I am using an old all-around blade, which worked well before the ball changes. I believe that if I were using a faster or more advanced blade, I would have found more pop in my loops.

This is a nice forehand (FH) rubber. It offers great spin and speed. I use this rubber for my forehand strokes and pair it with the Europe Diamond for my backhand (BH).

I tested this rubber in Max on a forehand with a Yinhe V-14 PRO ALC blade. The weight uncut is 75g and cut is 55g, making it quite heavy.

As usual, I am comparing it mostly to the DHS H3N 41° rubber. Out of the package, it is very tacky; however, after a couple of cleanings, the tackiness diminishes slightly, but it still retains a good amount. One drawback is that it can be somewhat hard to grip where this rubber shows its advantages compared to the H3N.

I believe it needs some breaking in, but I feel there is quite good speed when I hit hard enough to engage the sponge. The short game is really good, and I have noticed excellent spin on serves as well.

This is not a rubber suitable for slow lifting loops. Instead, it excels with hard hits and heavy loops. Overall, it feels like a very interesting rubber, and I plan to continue using it a bit more.

Table Tennis Rubber Review: Europa

Updated!!!

Facts: The black rubber weighs 93 g in its original packaging and 70 g uncut with foil. It weighs 48 g when measured at 157 x 150 mm, and it is stated to have a sponge hardness of 40 degrees.

I have been testing this rubber on various blades for two weeks now. The stickiness of the Europa is roughly equivalent to that of a hybrid rubber. At first, it seems very slow, but this perception does not hold true during play. When the ball hits the rubber, it produces an unusual, somewhat dull sound, especially in comparison to the Chinese rubbers. This gave me the impression that the Europa is softer than the Chinese rubbers; however, this was not later confirmed.

Since I have had a shore meter for a long time, I decided to check the sponge hardness. To my surprise, I found that the “Europa” measures only 39 degrees on the Chinese scale, instead of the 40 degrees claimed by the manufacturer. This translates to approximately 50 degrees on the international scale.

Conclusion: This is an interesting and very inexpensive rubber. It is easy to control, with above-average spin. However, its speed leaves something to be desired, making it more suitable for very fast blades or for use on the backhand side. It is certainly also excellent for tuning!

Addendum: Even though this rubber is marketed under the name “Europa,” it is more reminiscent of a typical “Chinese rubber” with less stickiness!