London Worlds: How to Use These Forehand Slightly-Tacky Tensors? Part 1
1
Dignics 09c. Representative: Sora Matsushima. If you ask which slightly-tacky tensor is Top 1, it surely points to D09c. So is it actually first in absolute performance? Hard to say. But it really is all-around. Good for both loop and hit, with a very nice surface friction; the sponge is not especially solid, but the bottom power is basically enough. The spin-speed combination is quite good. Besides, what makes it the slightly-tacky number one in most people’s minds is mainly that it came out fairly early (though not the earliest slightly-tacky), and it is under the Butterfly brand. But its absolute bottom power is not especially fierce, so when seeking a boost-free option for Hurricane 3, many players still lean toward domestic rubber over D09c. Because many are used to domestic high-density tacky rubber’s solidity, and the high-tack surface’s ability to scrape up underspin. This shows in: when ripping half-long underspin, domestic tacky rubber is often more free, while with D09c you have to lift up a bit more.
2
K2. Representative: Darko. Unlike many slightly-tacky tensors, this Tibhar K2 actually counts as high-tack. High-tack suits amateur penhold veterans’ over-the-table control plus push-attack style. Plus cheap and easy to use, it sells well in the amateur realm. In the general understanding, it is dumb-and-steady, lands easily, with a steady-as-an-old-dog arc, not fast enough, not powerful enough. But because it is very steady and grounded, in violent men like Darko it can produce enough quality (with more built-in-energy processing, like boosting, ball quality can rise). But if you want a forehand tacky rubber that easily produces quality on its own, without you always firing hard for threat, K2 is not a quality choice. It is too middle-of-the-road, even a bit mediocre — not sneaky, not jet enough.
3
Bluestar A1. Representative: Kedun. Among Donic-signed players, Asians preferred the Bluegrip C2, Europeans the Bluestar A1. If you want a slightly-tacky forehand with a sponge more solid than D09c, but more controllable than K2 Pro and Hurricane ZGR, the A1 can be considered. The sponge is very porcelain-firm, thin-brushing is decent, so it became a built-in-energy Hurricane substitute. But compared with many slightly-tacky tensors, its speed is a bit slow. So I generally advise gluing it on an outer blade to raise speed and make it easier to drive through.
4
Bluegrip C2. Representative: Lind. Actually Lind uses the pro version, which feels different from retail. But the retail C2 is fairly popular among amateurs, because its threshold is very low, even lower than the Bluestar A1 above. Playing such a slightly-tacky forehand, you can freely choose to drive-loop or spin-loop. Many see it as a mellow D09c. In plain words: cheaper, and not as hard. The rubber and sponge are highly integrated. But using it still has the slow problem. The A1’s slowness is because the sponge is porcelain-firm and hard to drive through; the C2’s slowness is because it is a bit meaty. So the C2 is still advised to pair with a harder or springier blade if playing forehand.