Player Level and Style
Penholder with short pips forehand and inverted backhand for RPB, 1700-1800 USATT level.
Rubber Reviewed
Joola Snabb short pips, red with 1.8 mm sponge. This replaced my previous forehand rubber, Joola Tango Ultra 1.8. I have been using the rubber for the last 4 months and I recently got a second sheet to replace the first one. Rubber used on a Joola Guo 3C blade.Summary
Good all around short pips for attacking players who like spinny short pips.Who Will Like It
Attacking short pips players, who live to open first and dominate the exchanges.Who Will Hate It
Players who hope that the rubber will produce “weird spin” or hope short pips will cover a weakness.Specifications
Snabb has a rich, dark red topsheet, similar to other Japanese short pips like Clippa and Raystorm. The pips are medium large, vertically arranged and a bit narrower and harder than the very soft pips on Joola Tango Ultra. Sponge is white and medium (40 hardness or so), rather than the very soft sponge on Joola Tango Ultra.Unlike Joola Tango Ultra, this rubber is not tensioned so I treated the first sheet with one coat of Ecolo Expander 2 to tension the topsheet and soften the sponge as I no longer speedglue my short pips. This still seems to give a mild tension effect, which is really all I want or need.
Playing Impressions
This is a great rubber for opening with. I can land my initial loop or roll on the table, deep and low with enough speed and spin to have the upper hand in the resulting exchange. The higher throw angle compared to Joola Tango Ultra means the ball gets over the net, even when I let it drop before stroking. It has great feel, while with my old Joola Tango Ultra the very soft sponge meant that it was harder to feel the ball and led to inconsistency.The harder sponge also means that I can get more spin on serves and pushes and vary the spin more as well. The harder sponge means the ball doesn’t sink in as much blocking so I have to be a bit more careful of racket angle when blocking as otherwise the ball can grab and shoot off at weird angles if I’m not paying attention.
Overall
The rubber has been durable. I played my best tournament ever with a sheet that was 2 months old. That alone means it’s a better value than the Joola Tango Ultra which was usually dead after two months. While the new “premium pricing” on Joola products gives me pause (currently $42.95 a sheet) the quality is certainly there and it’s worth it to me to get a sheet that is consistent in feel and performs the way I want it to.Interested in purchasing Joola Snabb? Buy Direct
