About Haifu
Haifu is a Chinese brand like 729 Friendship or DHS. The Haifu brand became popular in China after the ITTF banned speed glue containing VOC. Haifu introduced a less VOC containing booster called Haifu Oil after the banning of the speed glue. With its success came new Haifu Whale rubbers. The latest is Haifu Whale III rubber. The Chinese National players use this brand as per the claim.
Legality
I know few international players who have used the Haifu factory tuned rubbers in the US Open. They all have passed the test. The Haifu Whale II / 2 that I have tried guarantees a sure pass of its rubber in an ENEZ test - on its package it says VOC has less than 5 PPM (parts per million). It also guarantees the thickness would be less than 3.95 mm to pass the ITTF rules 2.4 and 2.4.7.
A few layers of the Haifu VOC free tuner on a rubber can dome the rubber. The Haifu Oil or the tuner is not available in the market at this time. The reason may be it can change the characteristics of the rubber, so the ITTF has a role to ban it. I’m not an expert on these different glues from Haifu. It is confusing to me.
Technology
The table tennis rubber has two main components – the top sheet or racket covering and the sponge attached to it. The Haifu Blue Whale 2 has them. In addition what it has is a thick glue sheet style third component. I thought this third component is a glue sheet, but it is not. It is this magic that they call it factory tuning. This third component adds some speed to the whole combination. I assume when this third layer is removed the whole combination will lose its tuning effect. If you are one of those who have removed this third component, you are unlucky. I don’t know where can I get one of those.
I had to apply my XIOM I-BOND to attach the Haifu Blue Whale 2 to the blade. You apply regular glue to this third layer and also to the blade.
The Haifu Whale II seems similar to 729 Super FX with blue sponge rubber. The sponge is not blue though, the Haifu Whale II 2 has a black sponge. The package says the hardness is 40. I can’t compare this hardness to any rubber like Butterfly Tenergy or XIOM Omega. This hardness range is something unique to Haifu like many brands who keep their own rating of hardness. The Whales series has rubbers with lesser hard rubbers also – from 37 to 39. I have not seen it or tried, so I can’t compare to the one I have tried.
Speed Glue Effect
I use two rubbers on my blades regularly – Butterfly Tenergy 25 and XIOM Omega III. The players who I play against at the clubs know the speed and spin my forehand can generate. I was surprised when the player I have played against made this surprising comment “Varghese, your forehand is very slow.”. That itself told me how this Haifu Whale II 2 compare to Butterfly Tenergy or XIOM Omega series in its speed.
I played the Haifu Blue Whale II 2 at my home before playing at the club yesterday for the first time. It had good click sound. However it is unlike a sound that Butterfly Tenergy 64 or XIOM Omega II can make.
Spin
I have no dispute about its spin ability. It has good spin like DHS Hurricane III. This Chinese rubber generates more rotations than Butterfly Tenergy 25. I have tried to return shots from mid distance. The Haifu lacks speed compared to Butterfly Tenergy or XIOM Omega III 3. The Haifu Whale II 2 is very apt for a close to the table player. It is faster than and spinier like DHS Hurricane III – I like DHS Hurricane 3 except its speed ability.
The Haifu Whale II has excellent spin while serving. It is not tacky like some Chinese rubbers, however it is tacky enough to call it tacky. The tackiness of XIOM ZETA and Haifu Blue Whale II are in close range.
Looping
The Haifu Whale II is an excellent looping rubber. It has high looping angle like DHS Hurricane III 3. I don’t use Chinese rubbers regularly, but I’m a fan of some Chinese rubbers because of its power against medium to high top spin. However for my game, it does not help much. Some of my opponents hate to loop against my cuts. They like to push back to me. I have no problem in looping such high spinny reverse rotating balls with Butterfly Tenergy or XIOM Omega. I need extra skills to loop such balls with Haifu Whale II 2. I think this skill apply to any Chinese rubber. I had to loop over the table to return such shots, still I had to drop few shots on the net. If I had little more speed with Haifu Whale II, I would been able to return it few feets away from the table. The other option I had was to use the Haifu Whale II on a faster Carbon blade. My blade is an allround custom blade, so I lacked little speed.
Haifu Whale Tuned to Untuned
I decided to change the rubber to Butterfly Tenergy and XIOM Omega III after three hours of play. That’s where I have seen the whole world collapsing. The rubber did not come out from the blade easily. The rubber now looks like in the picture. The special tuning layer was separated from the rubber now. My Haifu Whale II has become an unturned version. To achieve the speed and spin I have got out of this rubber has gone. I can’t go back to tuning it as I hate tuning.
Haifu Blue Whale II
Haifu Blue Whale II
Haifu Blue Whale II
Haifu Blue Whale II
Haifu Blue Whale II
Haifu Blue Whale II
Conclusion
The Haifu Blue Whale II is a decent rubber for players who like Chinese rubbers. It has speed and spin. I have not seen a drop in its speed in some 3 hours of play, so I assume the speed will lasts for a while. I’m not planning to test its durability because the rubber is not a testable condition.
Where is it available?
Some used and new Haifu Blue Whale II are available on the World’s first table tennis auction website TableTennisMarket.com.
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