DHS H3N for beginner

[ma_short]

Background: very much a beginner, have been playing for a 1 year after 20+ year hiatus from the sport (used to play on my high school team). Getting regular coaching for the last 6 months, 2 months ago upgraded from a premade racket to a custom one with commercial DHS H3Neo on FH and hybrid rubber on BH.
Situation: my coach didn't care about my set up and was very much "let's work on your stroke, equipment is secondary" mentality, but he moved back to Taiwan this May and I started training with another one (based on his recommendation). The new coach says that I need to change from H3Neo right away because it's a pros rubber and developing with it further will cause issues with the stroke. He recommends going European/Japanese route as it's better for development, preferably Butterfly Rozena or Tenergy/Dignics if I can afford them.
Frankly, I did enjoy playing with H3Neo because the spin felt good, short game felt great and if I had a proper swing, it felt like I wasn't lacking anything in power. And I also quite liked the price factor, now that I have two setups both with H3N on FH (one for playing at work/with friends and 1 for training at the club) that I would need to replace.
But on the other hand, I understand that the point is that with Chinese rubber getting a proper swing takes better legwork and core engagement, and a lot more training that I can afford to do, having work and life commitments. It seems kind of silly that you have to train harder to be able to use cheaper equipment (usually it's the opposite in other sports afaik).

Appreciate any thoughts on this.

**Apologies for repost, TTD deleted me original post (if you saw it and/or reacted to it already)

 

[Zwill]

Background: very much a beginner, have been playing for a 1 year after 20+ year hiatus from the sport (used to play on my high school team). Getting regular coaching for the last 6 months, 2 months ago upgraded from a premade racket to a custom one with commercial DHS H3Neo on FH and hybrid rubber on BH.
Situation: my coach didn't care about my set up and was very much "let's work on your stroke, equipment is secondary" mentality, but he moved back to Taiwan this May and I started training with another one (based on his recommendation). The new coach says that I need to change from H3Neo right away because it's a pros rubber and developing with it further will cause issues with the stroke. He recommends going European/Japanese route as it's better for development, preferably Butterfly Rozena or Tenergy/Dignics if I can afford them.
Frankly, I did enjoy playing with H3Neo because the spin felt good, short game felt great and if I had a proper swing, it felt like I wasn't lacking anything in power. And I also quite liked the price factor, now that I have two setups both with H3N on FH (one for playing at work/with friends and 1 for training at the club) that I would need to replace.
But on the other hand, I understand that the point is that with Chinese rubber getting a proper swing takes better legwork and core engagement, and a lot more training that I can afford to do, having work and life commitments. It seems kind of silly that you have to train harder to be able to use cheaper equipment (usually it's the opposite in other sports afaik).

Appreciate any thoughts on this.

**Apologies for repost, TTD deleted me original post (if you saw it and/or reacted to it already)

I think you're okay. We have a player who has started playing table tennis after a ~20 year hiatus too and first he got 1.7mm Sriver FX on his whatever slow blade which was pretty bad setup but he bought that because he knew those rubbers from 20+ years ago.

But now he basically bought a premade DHS paddle with a red H3N and a black H8. The blade is a kind of carbon blade but it's premade so I can't vouch for it. Still he plays very well with it. Sure no absolute destroying power but he has good spin and can put many balls on the table. For coming back to the sport that's pretty good, better to play than to pick up balls.
So I would say you have it figured out and keep using your setup. Also using Chinese rubbers will give you a better work out than using Tenergy or whatever. Maybe on backhand you can switch later from the hybrid to Eur/Jap rubber, I guess that would be a sane move.

 

[ttarc]

Change the new coach not the rubbers But I'm biased 1)

Let's start from the end: Not only Chinese rubbers like H3 or similar need a proper stroke, good legwork, core engagement, body rotation, recovery/relaxing (after/before a stroke) and so on. All rubbers need that at least if one want's to get good shot quality. Rozena is nowhere near a H3 in terms of spin, short game, power, stability. Some will argue that such soft rubbers like the Rozena are more forgiving but forgiving also means that a not properly executed stroke is not punished (or not as hard) as with a harder rubber. Some don't like this, some need this direct feedback to progress faster...

So the question is what do you prefer... For me the answer is fast punishment (as in fail fast, fail cheap) but only as long as I still enjoy TT, see progress, even if it's only small, and I'm having the will to work on my technique. Age will do the rest

On the other hand: H3 is available from "soft" 37° (35° for the H3-50) to 42°. So, if hardness x is really too demanding one can switch to something softer (and/or boost the rubber).

Dignics? Did your new coach really recommend these? These are really demanding rubbers, more demanding than Tenergy and H3.

BH: Similar to FH and what Zwill said. If one has not a BH like Fan Zhendong something softer, bouncier might be better. Trying myself boosted Glayzer 09C on BH (sort of a tamer Dignics 09C) lately but even this boosted G09C is too demanding for me in real matches. Nice for training because the G09C rewards properly executed strokes with much spin and speed but BH strokes simply have less space, less body rotation etc. to fully utilize the rubber and generate power.

If you enjoyed playing with H3 and found that you were not "lacking anything in power" than there are even less reasons to switch.

1) switched to speed glued, tacky rubbers on my FH before my TT hiatus, then started with Ventus Spin, Hexer Duro and Vega Pro before switching again to tacky rubbers around five years ago.

 

[latej]

Background: very much a beginner, have been playing for a 1 year after 20+ year hiatus from the sport (used to play on my high school team). Getting regular coaching for the last 6 months, 2 months ago upgraded from a premade racket to a custom one with commercial DHS H3Neo on FH and hybrid rubber on BH.
Situation: my coach didn't care about my set up and was very much "let's work on your stroke, equipment is secondary" mentality, but he moved back to Taiwan this May and I started training with another one (based on his recommendation). The new coach says that I need to change from H3Neo right away because it's a pros rubber and developing with it further will cause issues with the stroke. He recommends going European/Japanese route as it's better for development, preferably Butterfly Rozena or Tenergy/Dignics if I can afford them.
Frankly, I did enjoy playing with H3Neo because the spin felt good, short game felt great and if I had a proper swing, it felt like I wasn't lacking anything in power. And I also quite liked the price factor, now that I have two setups both with H3N on FH (one for playing at work/with friends and 1 for training at the club) that I would need to replace.

If you were a child, well, you'd not ask here, but if ;-) then I'd tell you follow what your trainer suggests. But you're adult, so I say, if you like the setup, keep it.

Sometimes people in europe are a bit skeptical against chinese rubbers. I've made a setup for my friend, who is/was returning to the sport, I think first was H3 38 FH and H3 37 BH. He lives in Germany. I remember his trainer was also a bit skeptical, and would suggest other rubbers. There for sure exist ESN rubbers which are not overly fast, and would be OK too. And the training is perhaps 85% of importance. At the same time, the rubbers I gave him definitely bring no harm either. What brings harm (within those 15% remaining) is too fast setup. As I've said, sometimes I see people overshoot and play some shots unnaturaly and imho would play them better with signif. slower rubbers, like those H3s.

But on the other hand, I understand that the point is that with Chinese rubber getting a proper swing takes better legwork and core engagement, and a lot more training that I can afford to do, having work and life commitments. It seems kind of silly that you have to train harder to be able to use cheaper equipment (usually it's the opposite in other sports afaik).

Appreciate any thoughts on this.

**Apologies for repost, TTD deleted me original post (if you saw it and/or reacted to it already)

I think this is a bit shifted. The point is that you actually need the legwork and core and body use always, regardless what rubbers you use. But having slower rubbers and getting the repetitions with them, where you don't have to (perhaps even subconsciously) brake/stop/slow-down yourself, will get you there faster. So, if you like the rubber, use it with zero doubt.

 

[Zwill]

I'm pretty sure people lose more points in short game due to fast/bouncy rubbers than they gain because of them.
You know the scoreboard doesn't care if you made a huge point or a small shitty one. But that being said you should have fun making big points :3
H3N or similar rubbers like B2, B3, Big Dipper etc will help you with that because they will make you understand spin control.
My FH blocking was my weakest part of my game, I'm a lefty I didn't particularly need a solid forehand block so it was weak. I was afraid of doing it, literally for very long. Then I started to use Big Dipper and Battle 2 and H3N and my forehand block got very good. The Chinese rubbers made me understand how to execute the block properly and now I'm whistling away blocking there.

Also another thing, once you learn to play with Chinese sticky rubbers you can play with anything afterwards. You will adapt to Japanese or European rubbers in minutes.

 

[mocker88]

I think your new coach is very in to Butterfly rubbers, so don't listen to him too much.

If you like H3 NEO and want something that lies somewhere between this and the hybrid rubbers you should check out Yinhe - Big Dipper 38 or 39deg. It's a really good rubber with the Chinese feeling and a little more springiness.

Another one that I've come across lately is the LOKI - Rxton IX 39deg. Very similar to H3 but the top sheet is more elastic, making it easier to place the ball. This one is more expensive though.

729 - Battle III is a variant that has the spin and feel of the classic Chinese rubbers, but there's a softness giving more control and a bit more speed. Really nice rubber.

The LOKI - GTX Pro is also a rubber in this area with a more soft tone than H3. Check it out as well.

 

[Lazer]

Yes, change the coach…
You can learn fine with just about any rubber. That H3 is difficult is an unam myth. It’s actually much better to start slow and go up in speed…
It can be a little slow from position 4 behind the table, but at 1 & 2 it works great. If You are real powerful it will work from position 3 as well…

Cheers
L-zr


Cheers
L-zr

 

[Zwill]

I think your new coach is very in to Butterfly rubbers, so don't listen to him too much.

If you like H3 NEO and want something that lies somewhere between this and the hybrid rubbers you should check out Yinhe - Big Dipper 38 or 39deg. It's a really good rubber with the Chinese feeling and a little more springiness.

Another one that I've come across lately is the LOKI - Rxton IX 39deg. Very similar to H3 but the top sheet is more elastic, making it easier to place the ball. This one is more expensive though.

729 - Battle III is a variant that has the spin and feel of the classic Chinese rubbers, but there's a softness giving more control and a bit more speed. Really nice rubber.

The LOKI - GTX Pro is also a rubber in this area with a more soft tone than H3. Check it out as well.

While H3N is really the best of the best, I would also suggest maybe getting a Yinhe Big Dipper in 38 degrees hardness, that is a very good gateway rubber. It's perfectly in between bouncy Euro/Japanese and sticky Chinese rubbers like H3N and it lasts forever too... For around 15EUR/USD it's not just a great bang for the buck it's probably the best bang for the buck for beginner, returner and intermediate players.
For very skilled players H3N and Battle 2/3 have SOME benefits, though not as much as many would imagine.

 

[JJ Ng]

I think people forget to ask if the coach also owns the club and the equipment shop. If that's the case, there might be financial incentives to switch to much more expensive rubbers.

But all in all, everyone is saying the same thing. If you enjoy H3 and you have done well with this, why change? Many good players reach their pro level and their semi-pro level using hurricane on the forehand side. In addition, if you develop some strong forehand fundamental with the hurricane and you get lazy later, you can always switch that to Dignics 05 and blast the heck out of the ball.

 

[joshmak10]

Adding to this thread by adding my own experience, I am a intermediate player, not too good, been using a Viscaria Super ALC that I got for my bday and paired with various tensors such as Butterfly T05H and D05 and Nittaku G1 and P1 but my short game is the weakest point of my game so I struggled a lot with controlling it.

My friend from taiwan came to visit and he had a Stiga Infinity VPS with H3 Prov BS and H8 (unsure abt hardness) and it felt way better than my setups, short game was excellent and not very spin sensitive at all, and I can get pretty good power with it, similar to my previous setups as well. So recently I just bought a 40 deg H3 Prov BS and a 37 deg H3 Prov OS (couldn’t find a 37 H8 and don’t trust 37 Deg H8-80) to pair with my Vis SALC, so will update with my comments soon because currently i’m in the process of boosting the rubbers (2 layer Haifu Seamoon for BS and 1 for OS)

 

[DaveNewbie]

Background: very much a beginner, have been playing for a 1 year after 20+ year hiatus from the sport (used to play on my high school team). Getting regular coaching for the last 6 months, 2 months ago upgraded from a premade racket to a custom one with commercial DHS H3Neo on FH and hybrid rubber on BH.
Situation: my coach didn't care about my set up and was very much "let's work on your stroke, equipment is secondary" mentality, but he moved back to Taiwan this May and I started training with another one (based on his recommendation). The new coach says that I need to change from H3Neo right away because it's a pros rubber and developing with it further will cause issues with the stroke. He recommends going European/Japanese route as it's better for development, preferably Butterfly Rozena or Tenergy/Dignics if I can afford them.
Frankly, I did enjoy playing with H3Neo because the spin felt good, short game felt great and if I had a proper swing, it felt like I wasn't lacking anything in power. And I also quite liked the price factor, now that I have two setups both with H3N on FH (one for playing at work/with friends and 1 for training at the club) that I would need to replace.
But on the other hand, I understand that the point is that with Chinese rubber getting a proper swing takes better legwork and core engagement, and a lot more training that I can afford to do, having work and life commitments. It seems kind of silly that you have to train harder to be able to use cheaper equipment (usually it's the opposite in other sports afaik).

Appreciate any thoughts on this.

**Apologies for repost, TTD deleted me original post (if you saw it and/or reacted to it already)

I'm also a complete beginner using H3N H39 on the forehand. My experience is that I'm the only adult beginner in my club that is developing a proper forehand swing. Others got faster results at the beginning with their tensor rubbers, they only needed a wrist movement or strange hip torsions and we're able to land a fast ball on the table. I also had a lot of issues receiving because my rubber was more sensitive to their spin.
But now, 9 months later, my forehand is already the most powerful and spinny one and I'm able to read serves much better. As a result I'm able to train with players of a higher level, which allows me to learn a lot.

On my backhand I use Jupiter 3 H38, and it's the same tale. Yesterday I trained with a diferent racket with a bouncy tensor rubber on the backhand and it was so easy to adapt, I felt that I'm doing things properly.

So tell your coach (is his name Gozo? 🤣) that thanks for the recommendation but you will stick to your current equipment for a while. If you are enjoying your it, don't change it.

 

[Lazer]

I'm also a complete beginner using H3N H39 on the forehand. My experience is that I'm the only adult beginner in my club that is developing a proper forehand swing. Others got faster results at the beginning with their tensor rubbers, they only needed a wrist movement or strange hip torsions and we're able to land a fast ball on the table. I also had a lot of issues receiving because my rubber was more sensitive to their spin.
But now, 9 months later, my forehand is already the most powerful and spinny one and I'm able to read serves much better. As a result I'm able to train with players of a higher level, which allows me to learn a lot.

On my backhand I use Jupiter 3 H38, and it's the same tale. Yesterday I trained with a diferent racket with a bouncy tensor rubber on the backhand and it was so easy to adapt, I felt that I'm doing things properly.

So tell your coach (is his name Gozo? 🤣) that thanks for the recommendation but you will stick to your current equipment for a while. If you are enjoying your it, don't change it.

Spin and spin sensitivity always go together. If you are an early beginner the best rubber is a slow unspinny rubber, but at the firs rubber change (6 months to a year) get a slow spinny rubber i. e. H3(Neo)…

Cheers
L-zr

 

[ma_short]

Thanks everyone for your opinions and support! Again, apologies for a double post, the other thread resurfaced and lives its own life now

 

[joshmak10]

Adding to this thread by adding my own experience, I am a intermediate player, not too good, been using a Viscaria Super ALC that I got for my bday and paired with various tensors such as Butterfly T05H and D05 and Nittaku G1 and P1 but my short game is the weakest point of my game so I struggled a lot with controlling it.

My friend from taiwan came to visit and he had a Stiga Infinity VPS with H3 Prov BS and H8 (unsure abt hardness) and it felt way better than my setups, short game was excellent and not very spin sensitive at all, and I can get pretty good power with it, similar to my previous setups as well. So recently I just bought a 40 deg H3 Prov BS and a 37 deg H3 Prov OS (couldn’t find a 37 H8 and don’t trust 37 Deg H8-80) to pair with my Vis SALC, so will update with my comments soon because currently i’m in the process of boosting the rubbers (2 layer Haifu Seamoon for BS and 1 for OS)

Update, got to hit the ball around today at my club and must say H3 on FH feels like a dream, a long lost child. My topspin’s are deadly and safe. As for my backhand, I do like H3 on it as it feels very safe and controlled but i really need to use my legs to get sufficient power on my topspin. Otherwise I am pretty happy with boosted H3 and maybe later in the future i’ll try to get my hands on a H8

 

[AdamTT]

Update, got to hit the ball around today at my club and must say H3 on FH feels like a dream, a long lost child. My topspin’s are deadly and safe. As for my backhand, I do like H3 on it as it feels very safe and controlled but i really need to use my legs to get sufficient power on my topspin. Otherwise I am pretty happy with boosted H3 and maybe later in the future i’ll try to get my hands on a H8

I've recently moved to Neo H3 on FH and absolutely love it too. I've started playing with Nittaku PK50 on by BH and get on really well with that. https://www.tabletennis11.com/other_eng/nittaku-sieger-pk50

 

[JJ Ng]

Three comments:

1) That's why people say that Hurricane is difficult to use is a semi-myth. Either you really like or you don't. Just give it a try. Commercial orange sponge 39 degree is a good place to start with. It is really not that expensive. Just give it a shot.

Some people find the control and spin they have been missing all along, while others find the rubber "dead" and cannot hit with it. Everyone plays table tennis differently! It is not like Hurricane costs $70-80 a sheet like Tenergy or Dignics. Just give it a shot. No harm. No foul.

Recently I converted a club mate from D09c to H3 neo provincial blue sponge. I think he should start with orange sponge but he is a more advanced player. So he went directly to blue sponge and quite like it right now.

2) Hurricane is very very good for forehand development. Newbies starting with Tenergy on the forehand side often have short strokes because they are afraid of hitting the ball off the end of the table. That really hinger their forehand development. Yeah, it is so fun to smash hard with Tenergy and have the ball flying at 100 miles an hour IF it lands on the table. But everyone would benefit from a "more full" stroke on the forehand side (use legs and waist to do proper weight transfer) and you can do that best with Hurricane. However, if you don't want to use Hurricane, I might recommend Sriver or Mark V on the forehand side to get started with. Yeah backhand side, because the stroke is more compact, I think starting with Xiom Vega Intro or Xiom Vega Europe would be good to start with (but still, no Tenergy or Dignics please......)

3) I hate to say this. I suspect all coaches who start newbies on Tenergy or Dignics are there for the money. Higher priced rubber = higher margin. The justification I hear all the time is, Butterfly is the best so just start with Butterfly and carry it through the development. Some posters here have also stated that if you have a coach to carry you through the development, it is ok to start with Timo Boll ALC with Dignics/Tenergy on the forehand and backhand. Personally, how is that even logical? The balls are just flying all over the place! It is just a false justification. Yeah, Sriver, Mark V, Vega Intro and Vega Europe are much cheaper than Dignics/Tenergy. there is not much margin to make money. But if the coach can develop the players, the coach can make more money through lessons and upgrading to Butterfly later. Many coaches are short sighted. Starting a new player on Timo Boll ALC with Dignics/Tenergy is a disaster waiting to happen. If the new player cannot keep the ball on the table, he will quit in 2-3 weeks! Now you just lost a recurring revenue source (i.e. you just lost all the future lessons this new player will take if he/she has started with Mark V/Sriver and Xiom Vega Intro/Europe!).

Now at my club, the owner is the main coach and sells equipment. All the assistant coaches teach new players. When the players and their parents have had a month or two lessons, the assistant coaches will set the players and their parents to the main coach to get Timo Boll ALC or Viscaria, with Tenergy 05 or Dignics 05 on both sides. Now we are talking about $300-$400 set-up.

Also don't get me wrong. I have had new players showing off their $300-$400 set-up because they think it will make their playing better. And the main coach was pressured by the new players to get them the "best" set-up because they see all the advanced players fooling around $300-$400 Butterfly set-up; those new players want it too! So if I look at it objectively, it is not the main coach's fault. However, if I were the main coach and the new players really want Butterfly, then I would probably pick SK 7 or Falcima (both all wood blade) with Sriver/Sriver EL/Sriver FX on both sides or Rozena 1.9mm on both sides. Still sounds pretigious! It is Butterfly after all. I just don't think people should touch Timo Boll ALC or Viscaria until at least 2-3 years later for adult beginners who fool around at the club for 10 hours a week. For aspiring junior players who are serious and are taking three private lessons a week and 15 hours of group lessons a week, then yeah, maybe after a year, they can upgrade to Timo Boll ALC or Viscaria and I would probably stick them with Rozena 2.1mm both sides before introducing them to Dignics and Tenergy maybe one more year after that!

 

[joshmak10]

Two comments:

1) That's why people say that Hurricane is difficult to use is a semi-myth. Either you really like or you don't. Just give it a try. Commercial orange sponge 39 degree is a good place to start with. It is really not that expensive. Just give it a shot.

Some people find the control and spin they have been missing all along, while others find the rubber "dead" and cannot hit with it. Everyone plays table tennis differently! It is not like Hurricane costs $70-80 a sheet like Tenergy or Dignics. Just give it a shot. No harm. No foul.

Recently I converted a club mate from D09c to H3 neo provincial blue sponge. I think he should start with orange sponge but he is a more advanced player. So he went directly to blue sponge and quite like it right now.

2) Hurricane is very very good for forehand development. Newbies starting with Tenergy on the forehand side often have short strokes because they are afraid of hitting the ball off the end of the table. That really hinger their forehand development. Yeah, it is like to smash hard with Tenergy and have the ball flying at 100 miles an hour IF it lands on the table. But everyone would benefit from a "more full" stroke on the forehand side (use legs and waist to do proper weight transfer) and you can do that best with Hurricane. However, if you don't want to use Hurricane, I might recommend Sriver or Mark V on the forehand side to get started with. Yeah backhand side, because the stroke is more compact, I think starting with Xiom Vega Intro or Xiom Vega Europe would be good to start with (but still, no Tenergy or Dignics please......)

3) I hate to say this. I suspect all coaches who start newbies on Tenergy or Dignics are there for the money. Higher priced rubber = higher margin. The justification I hear all the time is, Butterfly is the best so just start with Butterfly and carry it through the development. Some posters here have also stated that if you have a coach to carry you through the development, it is ok to start with Timo Boll ALC with Dignics/Tenergy on the forehand and backhand. Personally, how is that even logical? The balls are just flying all over the place! It is just a false justification. Yeah, Sriver, Mark V, Vega Intro and Vega Europe are much cheaper than Dignics/Tenergy. there is not much margin to make money. But if the coach can develop the players, the coach can make more money through lessons and upgrading to Butterfly later. Many coaches are short sighted. Starting a new player on Timo Boll ALC with Dignics/Tenergy is a disaster waiting to happen. If the new player cannot keep the ball on the table, he will quit in 2-3 weeks! Now you just lost a recurring revenue source (i.e. you just lose all the future lessons this new player will take if he/she has started with Mark V/Sriver and Xiom Vega Intro/Europe!).

Now at my club, the owner is the main coach and sells equipment. All the assistant coaches teach new players. When the players and their parents have had a month or two lessons, the assistant coaches will set the players and their parents with the main coach to get Timo Boll ALC or Viscaria, with Tenergy 05 or Dignics 05 on both sides. Now we are talking about $300-$400 set-up.

Also don't get me wrong. I have had new players showing off their $300-$400 set-up because they think it will make their playing better. And the main coach was pressured by the new players to get them the "best" set-up because they see all the advanced players fooling around $300-$400 Butterfly set-up; those new players want it too! So if I look at it objectively, it is not the main coach's fault. However, if I were the main coach and the new players really want Butterfly, then I would probably pick SK 7 or Falcima (both all wood blade) with Sriver/Sriver EL/Sriver FX on both sides or Rozena 1.9mm on both sides. Still sounds pretigious! It is Butterfly after all. I just don't think people should touch Timo Boll ALC or Viscaria until at least 2-3 years later for adult beginners who fool around at the club for 10 hours a week. for aspiring junior players who are taking three private lessons a week and 15 hours of group lessons a week, then yeah, maybe after a year, they can upgrade to Timo Boll ALC or Viscaria and I would probably stick them with Rozena 2.1mm both sides before introducing them to Dignics and Tenergy maybe one more year after that!

This is so true because I have made this mistake during my EJ journey. Started with FZD ALC and Rozena both sides for 6 months before moving to Dignics 80 and Dignics 05 and then soon later Tenergy 05 Hard. It was so difficult to control short game even tho it was easy to play powerful strokes with little movement so I ditched those rubbers and blade (wouldn’t have ditched the blade if there wasn’t a chip and i’m too scared to try and repair it myself) and went to my current Viscaria SALC with H3 Prov both sides (Blue 40 FH and Orange 37 BH. Now I have good short game control and am forcing myself to have full arm stroke to play a good topsin

 

[greenbeanmachine]

There may be some issues starting with Hurricane 3 as a beginner (because of the hard sponge) but you can deal with them. Personally I really like the hard sponge because it gives me good control in the short game, and I can hit the ball much harder if I put in a lot of power. It has a bigger range of speeds than soft sponge, but that means you have to be more precise about what you intend to do with it.

CERTAINLY you should not be starting with tensor rubbers, like Tenergy, Dignics, or even Rozena. If you want to start with a European-style rubber, try using Mark V or Sriver.

Soft sponges are much more sensitive to incoming spin, especially with soft touches in the short game. I found it very hard to return slow spinny serves with a soft rubber. The ball will dig into the sponge because it is so soft, and that will make the spin have much more of an effect on you. Some might say that playing with hard rubber prevents you from learning to return slow spinny balls correctly. They might be right, but I still don't like playing those shots with soft rubber.

Personally I started with 39 degree Hurricane 3 orange sponge and I thought it was fantastic. My first setup was:
- Ma Lin Extra Offensive blade
- Hurricane 3 forehand
- Andro Rasanter R45 backhand (softer EuroJap rubber)

I quickly learned that H3 suited my style better, and within a month I replaced the backhand rubber with another H3. I think I already had some intuition for how to hit the ball correctly, as I played tennis and squash.

If you REALLY want a soft sponge, there are options. Hurricane 3 has a soft sponge version. You can also check out Friendship Battle II or Yinhe Big Dipper rubbers. They're very cheap, they're tacky, and they have a softer sponge than Hurricane 3.

After playing with Hurricane 3 for a while, I switched to Skyline 2. It's less popular than H3 but I think it's better. At least worth giving a try, imo. Especially if you are a penholder.

 

[tackyfh]

The new coach says that I need to change from H3Neo right away because it's a pros rubber and developing with it further will cause issues with the stroke. He recommends going European/Japanese route as it's better for development, preferably Butterfly Rozena or Tenergy/Dignics if I can afford them.

asking you to change from a pro rubber to another pro rubber is weird lol, you're already used to H3Neo then no reason to change tbh. Feeling is the most important aspect especially on the FH so I think you should prioritize that.

 

[WingTT]

If you're fine with H3 then maybe it's for you despite what someone else says. I have tried a few different variants of H3 and some are OK and others not so much. There is a reason why so many people say you should boost H3. If you can afford it or have other club members you can ask to try their gear, go ahead and see what the other options are. Personally I've gone with Loki Arthur China as that is much easier to play with and performs better for me than H3 without the need to boost.