Rubber Review 17: Loki Ryzen 5 Pro, Steady as a Rock

Originally published 2024-01-05 · Translated & republished with permission

This installment of the Rubber Review / Mushroom Field Guide covers the Loki Ryzen 5 Pro.

Test blades: Yuela Zhou Qihao Super 45, Thunder Qilin K7

Quick Take

The Ryzen 5 Pro belongs to Loki’s relaunched flagship Ryzen series. Hardness is rated 41 degrees (actually around 39), thickness 2.1mm, bare weight about 64g. It’s very light and sells for around 78 yuan.
The surface is super tacky, the topsheet is nice and supple, the sponge is a blue high-density type, and the packaging looks slick.

First Hit (Qilin K7 blade, 7-ply all-wood)

Feel: Attacking shots feel crisp and clear, with a slight buzz and snap to them.
Tackiness: The surface has the same kind of super tackiness as Arthur China, which to some degree slows down the ball release. After a few sessions the tackiness drops off a little.
Spin: The soft sponge grabs the ball well, and the super-tacky surface protects spin and arc. After a few loops I thought, “This is way too steady, you basically can’t miss. Even sloppy swings land on the table. This is perfect for beginners learning to rally.”
Power: The sponge is labeled 41 degrees but is really only 39 or even softer, so the sense of power is fairly weak and it’s hard to produce quality (allowing for individual variation between sheets, this one may just be on the soft side).
Support: The Ryzen 5 Pro is positioned as a forehand rubber, but at 2.1mm thickness paired with a fairly soft sponge, the support is a bit thin on the forehand. On the backhand, the ball release speed becomes the weak point.

So my first-test conclusion is: supple surface, super-strong tackiness, crisp feel, light weight, but not enough thickness, not enough support, not enough power. It needs to be paired with an outer blade that provides more support.

Second Hit (Zhou Qihao Super 45 blade, a softer outer SALC)

Power: The Zhou Qihao Super 45 is an outer aramid-carbon blade with a limba face, a long arc and a very soft feel. It has more support than all-wood, but it isn’t as crisp as a Viscaria or a Fan Zhendong ALC. As a result, the Ryzen 5 Pro still didn’t show strong power on the Zhou 45.
Support: A soft blade plus a soft rubber is still not ideal, which further confirms my thinking: the Ryzen 5 Pro actually has excellent fundamentals, but it needs a firmer outer blade for follow-through support.

So I think the Ryzen 5 Pro is a steady-as-a-rock rubber, but it needs some careful blade matching to be a good daily driver.

I’ve already suggested to Thunder that bumping the hardness up another degree or two would take this rubber to the next level. Hopefully they take that on board.

I’d recommend using it on blades with a koto face and an outer ALC structure (such as the Sanwei 75 or Yinhe Pro 01). That way it can show off better performance. Combined with the honest 70-plus yuan price, my overall recommendation is moderate to slightly above 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.