Customer review for Butterfly Tackiness Chop II

External Review for Butterfly Tackiness Chop II on November 24, 2024

A moderately tacky rubber with a hard sponge (still the second hardest in Butterfly's catalogue), but the squashy topsheet makes it seem much softer, and it's very playable from the get-go. It doesn't generate masses of spin by itself, but it grabs the opponent's spin, especially on chops, and it's not too reactive to spin, so you can violently cut topspins without an issue. It's main purpose is obviously chopping, which is does brilliantly, and it allows heavy and short pushes as well as the ability to chop when you are close to the table (which is all but impossible to do consistently with most inverted rubbers). For the first time, too, I can now twiddle to my non-pip side and consistently butcher an inverted chop. This is not to say that the rubber has to be slow, either. If you step in and cream the ball, you will get some decent speed, at least with the 1.7mm and 1.9mm sponges. Okay, it isn't the best for loops, and the angle of the pips obviously makes it more suited to backspin, back-and-side, or side, but you do get great control on your open ups. If you want to unleash this rubber, you have to (a la Chinese sheets) activate the hard sponge with an all-out, hip-turning, wrist-snapping, airborne crunch of the ball, and the relative low speed of the rubber gives you great security when doing this. The result in the long run is still a lot of spin, because you can really let your body go. I think the people who complained about the velocity of Tackiness Chop II are used to brush looping with Tensors. There is zero catapult with this thing, and you will look foolish with anything except a complete Chinese-style stroke (i.e., weight transfer). Opening your shoulder and forward motion are the keys to unlocking the attacking potential of Tackiness Chop II, and this will enable you to enjoy its unrivalled chopping ability whilst not overly compromising your ability to play modern defence.

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