Customer review for Donic BlueStar A1

External Review for Donic BlueStar A1 on September 29, 2024

UPdated: Dear readers, whenever I see the "tackiness" values" in the table, I wonder what exactly is being evaluated here! Because: "Tackiness" describes how well the rubber "grips" the ball and how easily spin can be generated. "Stickiness," on the other hand, describes whether a rubber can lift and hold the ball. ;-) The Blue Star A1 (like the A2) can only hold the ball for a very brief moment, but it is extremely spin-oriented! Facts: black rubber, 2 mm, 49 g. cut. (156 x 150 mm) First test on a Huieson ZLC (outer!) - glued with solvent-based glue. Apart from the noticeably higher hardness (52 degrees) compared to the A2, this rubber feels the same "softer"! Just like with the A2, you can generate incredible spin simply by using your wrist! - which helps me immensely to play serves with incredible spin. :-P ... however, this rubber is also "a bit" sensitive to incoming spin. Unlike the Dig 09c, with which I can neutralize the opponent's spin quite easily, the A1 presents different challenges. I found its greatest strength to be the ability to pull the opponent's shorter serves forward very early (over the table). (Definitely try it out!!!) In the short game, the rubber is more difficult to control than my Dig 09c (because of the higher catapult effect!), but the control is still very good. Secure blocking and pushing are no problem. However, when I played with the racket further away from the table, I was initially not at all satisfied. I didn't feel comfortable with either topspins or counters, which was a mystery to me... especially after reading completely different reviews here!!! My conclusion: I changed blades. Now I'm using the XVT ZL Koto (1st & 2nd generation), faster, but softer. Result: the control has suffered too much. :( ... CONCLUSION ??? ... Change of wood !!! ;-P Lemuria's new "Super ALC" (- a Butterfly Viscaria SALC replica) is absolutely the right partner for this great rubber !!! - at least temporarily for ME. ;-P

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