Rubber Review 16: Loki Arthur Asia, the Hardest Arthur
This installment of the Rubber Review / Mushroom Field Guide covers the Loki Arthur Asia.
Test blades: Sanwei Blue Marlin Pro, GEWO Founder all-wood
Quick Take
- Arthur Asia belongs to Loki’s flagship Arthur series. Hardness is 41 degrees, bare weight about 66.3g, but it feels fairly light, and it sells for around 120 yuan.
- The surface is tacky, with a black tensor “Kunlun” sponge. (Honestly, I’d only call Arthur Asia mildly tacky; Arthur China is the truly super-tacky one.)
- This is a hard “fast-attack loop” forehand rubber with a bit of a Platinum V flavor to it. The sponge is firm and the ball-grabbing feel isn’t strong, only a touch better than Platinum V, but the rebound on contact is good, producing a high, jumping arc with solid spin and power.
- It carries on the Arthur series’ signature trait: a metallic ring once you drive through it. The high hardness gives fairly high loop quality. But because Arthur Asia is so hard, the feel takes on a bit of a “carbon blade” character, so the feedback to your hand isn’t very honest or readable. Feel at small-to-medium force is average, but once you load up, the power shoots up.
- I’d suggest pairing Arthur Asia on an all-wood blade, which gives you more controllable feel while still letting the hard sponge show its power. If you put it on an outer blade with fast, springy release, it demands a fairly compact stroke from the user. Overall recommendation: moderate. Worth a try.
PS: Everything in the Mushroom Field Guide is my own subjective impression. Rubbers vary from sheet to sheet, and blade pairing changes things too. Comments and corrections welcome.