You cant help but notice that table tennis is dominated by the Chinese. You cant help but notice that every Chinese player in the world top 100 and pretty much every Chinese player you know is using the same equipment.
They're all using Chinese rubber.
What is it about Chinese rubber Hurricane, Globe, Haifu , but mostly Hurricane that has the worlds best players all using it?
I remember the last time I worked with our national teams coaches they were all encouraging me to switch from Japanese rubber to Chinese.
I will cover that experience later.
I ran into an interesting post on mytt.net recently on the subject from a players point of view and with the kind permission of forum buddy Mahmoud I repost his experience here.
After my first year playing table tennis competitively I decided to try a chinese rubber.
I had always wanted to use one, but the problem with my bank account, shipping costs and the waiting was a burden to me, until I found a site in my country that sells a range of chinese rubber (729, galaxy, dhs, etc... but non from the provincial ones).
I placed the order after one of my teammates got 729 sniper 3. He let me try it and boy was it a real pleasure to play with.
So I got myself 729 transcend, a red 2.0 thickness.
My impressions:
I really really regret that I didnt start playing TT with a chinese rubber, I would have saved so much time, effort and frustration.
Its VERY controllable and VERY dynamic. 729 transcend is not a high-end/very high quality sheet but its too good for the price, ~12$.
- Its not heavy and its not hard, not soft either. I think its as hard as M2.
- Fast on strong smashes (WITHOUT over-throwing the ball like with euro/jap rubbers) and Slow on slow and short pushes or flips= dynamics (for me).
- Extremely spiny, I would say even more than BlueFire/Tenergy.
- Throw angle: It really depends on the way you use/hit the rubber. That means, because of the tackiness AND increased control, you REALLY can make the throw either high or low, not only that... Even the direction of the trajectory.
- Sponge/TopSheet: as for 729transcend, its very tacky AND grippy,mid hardness. Sponge softer than the topsheet, it doesnt bottom out of direct hits.
Me, being a fan of the new generation of TT players especially Ma Long and Zhang Jike, I usually try to play like them, smash like them.
After playing with a chinese rubber it really was evident to me why Ma Long/Zhang Jike can be that offensive with this enormous control and why Mizutani and Ovtcharov cant compete with them (to some extent) because tenergy is way too fast and uncontrollable... But I am in no position to think I am right or not.
The only problem I have gears. Being an ex-euro/jap rubber, I am used to play somehow lazy, meaning my blocks were the duty of the rubber rather than mine.
I used to just place the paddle and rubber's activeness was enough to pop the ball back to the other side. With chinese rubbers its a totally different mentality, since they are tacky, slower/more control (and also may be hard) the ball the doesnt pop out on lazy blocks or pushes.
Chinese rubbers really encourage you to play literally as active as the Chinese National Players are playing. Me, I love playing active, so it really suits my game... This might be a problem with an older player, or those with back problems.
The statement of ''red chinese rubbers are less tacky than the black one'' is totally true 
If there is anything I would want to emphasize on is:
Please stop thinking if you dont have a euro/jap expensive rubber you are not a good enough player or not scary enough. They are really fast even for international players.
Give any chinese rubber a try and see for yourself... Do not choose the most expensive of all, just a humble good enough black rubber and witness how much control you will have over your shots, their directions, throw angle, spin, speed...
I am saying in a friendly way, so please dont be offended.
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