Tibhar Vari Spin

As a beginner, I used this rubber on my backhand. At the time, I was not proficient with my backhand, and I disliked playing on that side. However, when I revisit this bat, I am surprised by the quality of this rubber. It still offers excellent spin and control. While it is not a fast rubber, this is actually beneficial for beginners. Overall, I believe this rubber would be a good choice for either side of a beginner’s bat.

UPDATE: After becoming a coach and learning more about equipment for beginners, I would no longer recommend soft rubbers to beginners. Instead, I would suggest tacky, Chinese, Friendship 729 rubbers like Super FX or Geospin Tacky. It’s not that this is a bad rubber, it’s just that I would not recommend soft rubbers to any type of player.

After using a premade blade, my first rubbers were 1.8mm Stigas with all-around classic. I enjoyed them and they felt comfortable, which was helpful for learning the strokes. Given my level at the time, I didn’t find them particularly slow. If I were to do it again, I might try Acuda S3 1.8mm (my second rubbers) directly on the forehand and Vari Spin 1.8mm on the backhand. This would allow me to experiment with tensor rubber and downgrade to Vari Spin on the forehand if the Acuda proved too fast.

In conclusion, I believe it’s beneficial to use slower rubbers, like these, as they encourage proper technique without hesitation. When I tried faster rubbers at a beginner level (such as Mark V), I felt uncomfortable. Ultimately, I downgraded back to Vari Spin.

Good all-round rubber for beginners, all-rounders, and defenders, depending on thickness. Excellent for older players who need to slow down faster strokes.

I use this rubber on the backhand and it’s great for players who like to have a lot of control. It’s also great for blocking.

This rubber is, in my opinion, way slower than the ‘‘8.1 speed’’ it is currently rated. For example, Donic Desto F3 Big Slam has 7.7 speed and is way faster than this vari spin.

It is a good and controlling rubber, and blocking/backspin goes very well with it. However, I believe it does not have as much spin as the 9.3 rating suggests. Looping is also possible, but I would recommend a more speedy rubber for generating loops with more pace.

In conclusion, I would recommend this rubber for a backhand/forehand that is controlling and not so much for an aggressive attacker that needs speedy loops. (Personally, I use this rubber for my backhand, with which I don’t attack that often.)

Based on my experience, this rubber is durable.

This rubber excels in defensive play but is unsuitable for modern attacking styles due to its slow speed. It provides excellent service return capabilities. I encountered difficulties generating sufficient topspin on serves, which could potentially be attributed to my technique.

For many years, I have used this rubber on my backhand (BH). When I was younger and faster, I played with the Stiga Clipper blade (the very first, signed by Bengston, hard and OFF+). The forehand (FH) had Speedy spin 2.0, and the BH had Vary spin 2.2. Later, I used the Yasaka ALL+ blade, Butterfly X5 OFF-, and Andro Suss OFF - BH, always with Vari spin 1.8.

• Service: very good
• Return: very good
• Undercut: excellent
• Spin: good to very good
• Blocking: perfect
• Short to short: very good

All-round/contra: better for close to the table but suitable also for mid-distance (with a faster blade).
Defense (with variations): very good.

A very reliable and predictable (“secure”) rubber.

This is an outstanding and versatile rubber ideal for backhand (BH) play. I really like its comfort of play and polyvalence.

This rubber is a good choice for beginners.

A friend of mine ordered this a few years ago. He used it against me, and the incoming spin was extreme even on blocks. Slow balls had an erratic bounce. I won the match, but I worry about playing him again in the future.

Beginner’s Choice: Jack of All Trades

The [name of rubber] is a well-rounded rubber that is ideal for beginners to learn the fundamental strokes of table tennis. It offers a good balance of spin, control, and speed. While it may not excel in any one area, it provides a solid foundation for developing a versatile playstyle.