Butterfly Sriver G2 High Tension Rubber review

by Varghese on January 8, 2008

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When someone thinks about Butterfly table tennis products, there are two rubbers that come to his or her mind are Bryce and Sriver. They are legendary rubbers that have helped legendary world class players.

I have used a Bryce rubber on a Butterfy Schlager Carbon blade a year ago. I like its hitting capabilities. This is the second time I’m using such a Butterfly quality product like Sriver. I tried Sriver G2 on a Dr.Neubauer Combination Effect paddle.

Whenever I play against expert players, I watch the amount of power and spin my opponent can generate. Recently, I played against a player whose loop smash froze my forehand – I was not able to return his shots successfully. Later I had a look at his paddle, and found that he was using Sriver.

I’m not a hitter, neither I like hitting unless I don’t have an option. My favorite shots are top spin and back spin. The Sriver rubber is not good for both of those strokes. Don’t misunderstand me, you can do both those strokes with Sriver, but this is not what the Sriver has been designed for.

Sriver is not tacky. The Sponge is medium hard. It is best suited for forehand drives and loop smash. You can generate a great amount of side spin because of its mechanical configuration. Generating top spin by brushing the ball with Sriver G2 does not generate measurable top spin.

Sriver G2 is excellent for blocking heavy top spin shots from your opponents. You would notice that you can return the same spin to your opponent with blocks.

This rubber is suitable for players who play close to the table and medium distance, and with loop smashes. It is highly effective for your forehand.

Sriver is built with a high tension technology. You can take advantage of its real speed and spin by using speed glue or speed glue alternatives. High Tension rubbers have tension built in to the sponge and top-sheet. This helps reduce the amount of energy lost at the point of impact. In essence, it turns the speed of your opponents shot into additional power for you. In short, High Tension rubbers are fast, VERY FAST. The first such rubber was Bryce, introduced in 1997. It is by far the most widely used rubber among Butterfly’s sponsored players including the 2003 World Champion, Werner Schlager(Austria).

This rubber is $40 - $49 in the market.

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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }

Ashish Bajoria November 3, 2009 at 11:14 am

hi Varghese, really like your reviews !

I got back to TT after 10 years and it feels great ! I just bought a viscaria fl butterly carbon blade with a sriver fx g3 and a tenergy 05 rubber. I use the sriver for backhand and find it super for my aggressive play. I had some issues initially controlling top spin from my opponent but once u get the hang of this fantastic rubber, its awesome to play with. I am able to open most services and chops with ease and can generate spin at the same time. A very very fast rubber indeed.

Tenergy is also great for fast play. The rubber is hard though sounds awesome when you hit the sweet spot ! However, I find it hard to generate forehand loop top spin from it. I get my required power but not the spin. Is it the rubber or my technique?

Ashish

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