Complete Setup Compares
Compare complete setups against each other as computed systems - blade, forehand, and backhand working together.
Build a betterTable Tennis Racket
RubberMetrics helps you compare rubbers, test blade combinations, and choose a setup that fits your level, style, and budget.
175k+ monthly page views from players comparing table tennis gear
backed by 250+ registered users and 200+ saved setups
- Rubbers
- 659
- Blades
- 1.9k
- Analyzed Specs
- 78.6k+
- Pro Players
- 82
- Brands
- 17
Buckle up. Features incoming. Blue-shifted. Offensively over-engineered.
Welcome to the new meta.
Blades surfaced from the database a week ago. But right now, you still can’t compare them on the Compare page. That’s an issue even Itacchi wouldn’t accept.
Feature: Compare Blades
Upcoming RubberMetrics database features
Club Infrastructure
Full network integration incoming. Clubs, players, tournaments, and ratings — connected properly.
Global RBM Elo System
Local rating chaos, spreadsheet bureaucracy, and closed systems had a good run. Register globally, play anywhere, and build a rank that actually travels.
RBM Swiss Tournament Engine
A completely new, hyper-optimized tournament system built from the ground up for medium-to-large table tennis tournaments.
Data Quality
RubberMetrics' Data
Accurate equipment data is the foundation of RubberMetrics. We start with manufacturer specifications, product pages, public equipment sources, merchant listings, player reviews, brand ratings, prices, as well as playing impressions from pros. They are all useful, but they do not form one shared measuring system, nor are they all accurate.
That is why normalization matters a lot. Before a value appears in a list, chart, or setup model, we turn those mixed inputs into comparable scores for speed, spin, control, gears, hardness, price, and other traits. This is naturally imperfect: brands rate differently, reviews depend on player level and subjective feelings, etc. We compare sources against each other, remove obvious outliers, and keep revisiting values when better information appears.
Data quality matters the most to us because the same normalized rubber and blade data also powers tools like the Racket Builder. Once a blade and forehand/backhand rubbers are selected, it estimates the setup's characteristics such as speed, spin, arc, dwell, control, forgiveness, bounciness, catapult, and sharpness. Those estimates are built from heuristics that depend heavily on the rubber and blade values we store. The optimizer then uses a genetic algorithm to search for rubber or blade changes that move a setup closer to a target profile. More realistic input values give both the heuristics and the search better ground to work from.
Reviews are also part of that quality loop. If you know a rubber or blade well and a value looks off, a review on that product helps improve the signal for everyone.
For sorting and charts, we calculate one overall score from normalized speed, spin, control, and gears. It is a compact summary, not a new measured property. It helps you scan a list quickly or get a good first impression. The Price vs Overall chart uses that score next to estimated street price as a price/value map. Products that sit atop the frontier curve are all very good 'price vs. performance' rubbers, but you still need to check in detail if this is the right rubber for your blade and personal feel.
Adjusted Overall
82
Plain Average
79
Overall score in detail
Adjusted Overall uses the same score as the chart. It combines speed, spin, control, and gears, but the weakest trait only counts at half weight.
We do this to keep the score understandable while being fairer to specialized rubbers. A plain average is even easier to understand, but it can make a rubber with only one weakness look worse than its playing profile actually is.
Plain Average is the simple baseline:
with s = spin, c = control, g = gears, and v = speed.
RubberMetrics Goes Global
Table tennis is global.Now, so are we.
RubberMetrics now speaks seven languages. Switch between English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, German, French, and Spanish while keeping your current page and context.
Setup Engineering
Table Tennis Racket Builder
The table tennis racket builder keeps setup work simple: pick what you know, see a clear profile, then ask the builder for better blade and rubber matches when you want help choosing.
Equipment to chart is free without login. Create a free account when you want optimizer searches, saved history, and deeper catalog matching.
View sample analysis
Preview the analysis report before registering: racket physics, performance radar, ranked rubber combinations, compatibility scores, and AI notes.
- 1Racket physics and performance radar
- 2Ranked rubber combinations
- 3Compatibility scores and AI notes
Refine a Known Setup
Use this when you already know your blade or rubbers. It models the setup, then helps tune targeted swaps around it.
- 1Pick your blade Search the catalog, or choose a simple reference profile if the exact blade is unknown.
- 2Add your rubbers Select forehand and backhand rubbers and the builder shows a simple setup profile.
- 3Make one adjustment Move the target radar or run Smart Improve when you want a simple recommendation step.
Discover From Play Style
Use this when you want to start from your style instead of a known setup. Pick constraints and let the builder search from scratch.
- 1Choose a style Pick the simple preset that sounds closest to your game.
- 2Set simple limits Choose one or two rubbers, optional brands, and a simple budget mode.
- 3Review the short list Run Discover and inspect simple blade, forehand, and backhand candidates.
Start right here
Enter your current setup
Pick the blade and rubbers you already know. The builder opens with those choices loaded so you can inspect the setup profile or continue into recommendations.
Choose a blade first.
Blade
No manufacturer selectedNo blade selected
Forehand
Backhand
Database includes equipment from
Why RubberMetrics works
Hardness Normalization
Manufacturer ratings use different scales (Shore A, Shore O, ESN). We standardize these measurements to provide accurate cross-brand comparisons.
Performance Metrics
We track throw angles, speed ratios, and tackiness levels. Our data helps you understand how a rubber performs before you buy it.
Filtered Community Data
Reviews are weighted by player skill level. See feedback from players with similar styles to ensure the advice is relevant to your game.
Mascot. Analyst. Legal risk.
MEET ITACCHI
Itacchi is RubberMetrics' tiny, suspiciously well-informed chubby weasel assistant. In the Racket Builder, he patrols the target radar, budget buttons, FH/BH split, and blade-swap tab like a tiny bouncer for physics. Favorite ticket: "User set Speed, Spin, and Control to 100. Severity: believes physics is customer service."
Ask him something, and he skitters over the Racket Builder like a feral support agent: Refine means "tune the racket you own," Discover means "describe your game and I'll sniff out a setup," Same rubber means "one variable to blame instead of two," and Blade swap means "plot twist: the wooden pancake is on trial." He still lets you buy nonsense. He just makes you do it sober.
Is he polite? No. Is he certified? Also no. But every now and then, the feral paperclip with a tail saves you EUR 49.90 plus shipping.
- Species
- Unlicensed spec-sheet analyst
- Habitat
- Between Spin and bad decisions
- Weakness
- "Control" claims near checkout
Free Account
Built by players, for players
RubberMetrics is a community of table tennis players sharing real experience. Sign up for free and get access to better tools, your personal gear space, and a place to contribute to something useful.
What you unlock
Compare up to 3 rubbers at once
Guests are limited to two. Members get a third slot to make tougher decisions easier.
Your personal equipment bag
Save rubbers to wishlists, track what you own, and build setups to share with others.
More from the free tools
Unlock extra options in the flight simulator, LARC, and other tools - still free, just more of them.
Write reviews that actually help
Share your experience with a rubber and help players around the world make better choices.
Racket Builder included
Model your current blade and rubbers, discover a setup from your playing style, then run the optimizer when you want the builder to search the catalog for better matches.
- Free, ad-free, no subscription, no credit card, no strings attached.
- At least 600 RBM Coins for serious analysis: 20 Quick Sweep runs or 6 Deep Compute runs.
- Search across a 4B+ setup space with play-style, brand, budget, and target-profile controls.
Photo from Shane Drummond
Context Aware Reviews
In table tennis, a "9/10" means nothing without knowing who said it and what they played with. Every review embeds four data layers beneath the surface score.
ReviewingKinetic Metric 95
Erik S.
•Expert•Offensive
•Expert•Offensive6 months Playing Time
Vortex Pro CarbonCARBON
FHStrikeline Alpha 72.1mm
BHKinetic Metric 952.0mm
87/ 100
Pros
- Exceptional topspin loop
- Excellent on carbon blades
- Strong short-game control
Cons
- Steep learning curve
- Demanding at mid distance
StrikelineAlpha 7
81SPD 78SPN 82
Speed monster with a ceiling
2 weeks agoSix months on the backhand confirms it - Kinetic Metric 95 rewards a technical looping game but punishes passive play at distance. Paired with Strikeline Alpha 7 on the forehand, the contrast in dwell time is stark.
Product Anchor
Every score and axis rating below is locked to exactly this rubber. Without this anchor, numbers float in the abstract - meaningless unless you know what was actually tested.
Reviewer Identity
Playing level, style, and verified playing time give each score a human frame. An offensive player reads spin ceiling differently than a defensive blocker - knowing who rated it is as important as the rating itself.
Full Equipment Context
The blade and rubber pairing on both sides change how a rubber behaves in practice. A control score on a stiff carbon blade is a harder result than the same number on flexible wood - setup context makes ratings comparable.
Computed Weighted Score
The overall score is not a plain average. Playing time and reviewer reputation both multiply the signal, so a two-week first impression cannot outweigh months of practice data. Pros and Cons give the number qualitative texture.
4-Axis Profile
Spin, Speed, Control, and Gears each reveal a dimension a single number hides. Gears - the range of distinct power outputs available - is a property no manufacturer publishes but every player depends on to switch tempo mid-rally.
Written Review + Social Proof
Long-form prose captures feel, timing, and observations that axis scores cannot encode. Helpful votes and tip counts from other players show how widely the community trusts this reviewer's judgment on this specific rubber.
In-Text Rubber Links
Rubber names mentioned in the prose are auto-detected and linked. Hover any highlighted term to see the full product card inline - no need to leave the review.
Latest Community Reviews
Read all reviews
reviewingYinhe Big Dipper 5Forehand & Backhand
Great spin and banana flicks, but mushy feeling holds it back
10h Playing Time
I built this setup just as a training racket, and mainly to do banana flicks, to be honest.
And it is working very well for banana flicks I have to say! It has good spin and speed is also decent if you hit it hard enough, at least. but for me the feeling with the Pro 05 is a little bit too 'mushy'. coming from the gear hyper the higher throw angle makes it easier for beginners and intermediates, but in my opinion it is lacking some fun. the short game is very good on the Pro 05.
Topspins are easy but always have a mushy feeling at least for me.
But maybe after about 10h of play, I just didn't get the hang of this rubber. But if I hand this to better players in my club most of them don't like the setup either. Maybe this rubber would be better on a faster blade trading in some spin for a little more speed.
#U4Q4VV
edited
reviewingXiom Vega Euro DFon backhand
Average, very bouncy backhand rubber with high throw angle
Average rubber. Very high throw angle and very bouncy- super soft too- feels mushy and bottoms out quite easily. Does have relatively good grippiness- no tack obviously. Definitely only a backhand rubber
#YGENA9
edited
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