Victas VS > 401

Possibly the easiest offensive rubber to play with. It is significantly slower than other tension rubbers, but offers immense control due to being very soft and slightly tacky. Looping with this rubber tends to result in a somewhat slow yet extremely spinney ball. However, when speed is important, smashing is very controlled and spin insensitive.

It is very easy to produce very heavy pushes and block short. From a long distance, this rubber isn’t good for much besides chopping due to how slow it is. I would highly recommend this rubber for both defenders and close-to-the-table attacking players.

Hraji s potahem 1,8 mm, FH/BH. Tento potah je určen pro univerzální hru. Je vhodný pro začátečníky a mírně pokročilé hráče. Potah není moc rychlý, ale ani pomalý, má dobrou kontrolu.

Zkoušel jsem 2,0 mm na karbonu, ale bylo to moc rychlé a méně ovladatelné. Doporučuji všem začátečníkům.

Good for chopping, nothing else. A bit on the heavy side.

Probably the spinniest rubber I’ve played with. It’s great for chopping and serving, but it’s not super easy to control because it’s fairly reactive to an opponent’s spin. It’s a good rubber for attacking, albeit not at extreme speeds. If you’re going to use this rubber, it may be worthwhile using the other side for return of serve.

I’m currently a DEF+ BH and ALL FH player between advanced beginner and low intermediate. I have 1.5mm black on the BH and 1.8 on the FH on a 7 ply, balsa blade. I have tried Mark V variants, Xiom Vega variants, Tenergy 05, Hurricane 2&3, LKT Pro and Friendship 729, among others.

I love this rubber but hate that I cannot get the best from it, possibly due to my own technique. It’s an enigma to me still. While it has many gears, they seem to be at either end of the speed or spin spectrum, with no middle ground.

I find medium paced drives, blocks, and punches inconsistent. Feeling is less ‘available’ and spin/speed seem less controllable, causing issues with placement. Perhaps it needs more time, but it is definitely the least ‘user friendly’ aspect of the rubber.

For a hard rubber, it provides quite a bit of control in soft contact. You can take a heap of speed off with passive play, and the difference is significant with the ball dropping remarkably short. On the other hand, no other rubber I’ve tried comes close to generating as much speed and variation, except maybe Tenergy (but I couldn’t control it). High speed, high spin loops are easy, comfortable, and require less effort.

Spin is excellent, though I’m finding service spin more difficult to generate. Perhaps it is the hardness factor influencing this. Serves are solid, though not deadly.

Control is wonderful in the short game and also looping.

So far, the rubber still looks in pristine condition, faring better than any of the other rubbers mentioned above over similar usage. It has been re-glued twice now and suffered no damage at all. I haven’t rated durability yet though, as it needs more time and more abuse to see how it really lasts.

While touted as a strong defensive rubber thanks to its spin and chop control, this is also an excellent rubber for an ALL+ to OFF all-round and modern defender players, enabling great variation, touch, and speed.

This rubber is somewhat strange. It’s great for chopping and blocking, but also for topspins where I could create so much spin that almost none of my colleagues could block them.

Also when pulling hard topspins the catapult sets in quite a bit. Flat hits work like a charm, too. Only when it comes to normal counter play it feels somehow dead or lifeless. Comes alive in all other situations (especially with the unexpected catapult with topspins) but also makes my Kevlar enforced blade vibrate. How can that be? I don’t understand this.

Also played it on a Nittaku Septear, but it doesn’t fit on that one, plays wonky and not dangerous at all. Feels even weirder. So I guess it’s better to pair this rubber with a really stiff blade.

Sitting on the fence with this rubber, just can’t decide which side to fall to.

Edit: took it off my Kevplay, took off the old glue and glued it anew - and now it works like a charm. Seems like it wasn’t properly glued before. What a beauty to play :-)

Edit II: put it on my Andro Temper Tech All+ - they just don’t pair well. Feels dead again.

Edit III: put it on my Soulspin Roots 5: all fine, but still somehow doesn’t match my playing for some reason. We’re not going to be friends, 401 and I. Got used to the hardness and now it doesn’t feel that slow anymore…

A very spinny rubber, similar to Narucross or Rakza 7, it’s very good for chopping or pushing on the table, and good for blocking. It is a little slow so it’s not the best rubber for counterattacks or offensive blocks. It has a slight delay so sometimes requires longer motions to execute shots. The best point of it is the spin for sure, but the weak point is the weight because it’s relatively heavy, similar to T05. All in all, it’s a great rubber for defenders. I have it in 1.8 and may try the 2 sponge next time for a little more speed.

I bought a sheet of this rubber and tried it for a few weeks. It has good spin, but not as much as Rakza 7 Soft. The control was excellent, but it’s too slow for me to attack with, at least in 1.8 mm. It is one of the heaviest rubbers I’ve ever tried. It’s great at chopping.

Strange Rubber

This rubber is unique, despite being designed for defense, it can also be used for attacking when properly executed. It features a very low throw angle when cutting or blocking the ball. When attacking, the rubber generates substantial power and heavy spin.

Recommended Thickness and Hardness
I recommend using a thickness of 1.5 mm, as anything thicker may impede the intended purpose of the rubber. The sponge is firm and requires practice to master.

Not Suitable for Beginners
This rubber is not suitable for beginners due to its handling difficulty. However, it offers excellent flat hits and allows for easy returns of opponent’s serves.

I played with vo>01 limber before and now with this one. It plays a bit strange, but I like it. It has some delay when you hit the ball. Topspin is very good and very flat. Slow topspin has very good spin.

I have it for control play and defense with backspin and also for some attacking. I need some more practice, but I can say it’s very good for that!

The rubber has a low trajectory. It performs very well in aggressive chopping. I need more practice time with it to give a final review.

Very good rubber, but not for everyone as it has a very hard sponge.

I use it on a 2.0 sponge with an ALL blade. It generates great underspin and is very good for serving, chopping, and smashing. It has pretty decent control.

However, it’s not as great for looping. It can generate a fast topspin, but you have to play it with a very correct technique.

VS401 black 2mm on forehand.

Pros:

• Super spinny rubber
• A beast at chopping
• A lot of power when needed
• Many gears
• Ultra high durability

Cons:

• Very heavy

VS401 fits the Matsushita Special blade like a dream. “Spin oriented high energy tension rubber for aggressive chopper”. Nothing to add, probably the most accurate description you can get about it.

Probably my favorite rubber of all time (with V20 Double Extra).