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[729 fx]

LKT Pro XP (untuned), black top sheet, claimed by manufacturer to be soft sponge with no markings on the sponge. The topsheet is slightly tacky. The overall weight of this rubber is Very Light.

Gluing:
I used 2 coats of Andro Free Glue and a hair dryer to dry each layer.

Test Blade #1: Dawei DR-2 (cost only < USD25).

Test Blade #2: Butterfly Japan LAK.

Pro XP on Dawei DR-2 – Two hours of practice with club-level player (non-state or national player). The Pro XP showed much better control on the DR-2 than it did on the LAK but I suspect I would have still better results with a 35 or 37 degree sponge. The one that I have is categorized as soft sponge. Looping off the bounce was very good and power was OK on the DR-2 but very good on the LAK. The natural stroke for the Pro XP was somewhat different than the Haifu White Shark (my previous rubber) as the dwell behavior is different but the adaption is pretty instant. The Pro XP sinks deeper into the sponge and then comes out faster, especially on flat hits that compress the sponge onto the blade. Loop drives that stretch the sponge along the face of the blade while compressing it however allowed the Pro XP to provide much more rebound power than it would provide from a simple compressive rebound.

The opening elbow bent sharp loops and counter loops with the Pro XP was very good and the throw made it easy to stay out of the net while the touch let me make slower opening touch loops. Ehite Shark, on the other hand, has a faster rebound from the surface which allows one to make last second recovery wrist loops that will clear the net when the same shot with Pro XP will not.
Off the bounce fast opening loops with Pro XP were more forgiving than they are with White Shark.
It’s also possible that a harder sponge on a more flexible blade would also offer a performance envelope that would fit many people better. I have not ever tried such combination for testing as yet but its been commonly said on forums that hard sponge on a springy blade works as well.

Pro XP on Dawei Jalan LAK – Pro XP has a sponge that is remarkably like a dense version Bryce sponge without the bounciness. The rubber top sheet is not very thick, more like European rubbers.
Pro XP is fairly medium throw rubber (especially on the DR-2) without a lot of top sheet spin that seems to excel in control and “power reflection”. Since it isn’t bouncy or particularly fast , you need to put some energy into the swing when adding speed to the slow ball. However, when the ball already has a lot of speed on it, the advantages of Pro XP become increasingly clear. What it lacks in speed, it makes up for with a great ability to block, punch block, counter drive off the bounce and counter spin off the bounce against the most powerful drives without losing control of the ball. To add power to your opponent’s power, contact the ball at the center of the blade or a bit further out with a firm grip and some forward motion.

Opening BH Loops – Opening backhand loops against short chop serves were significantly easier and better when I contact the ball nearer the tip of the blade. I am able to get a softer grip and higher throw out of the racket which lets me attack chop serves better. If I contact the ball in the middle of the blade or closer to the handle, the throw is much lower and requires more acceleration to lift the ball.

Blocks and Punch Blocks against loops are reliably performed with a flat hit off the bounce that contacts the ball a bit closer to the handle than the center of the blade. There is no “dead” feeling during blocks.

On my softer DR-2 blade, it feels a wee soft as a combo - as a result the FH topspins and loops are good and spinny but not too powerful. But I suspect that this will be remedied when I move the Pro XP to a faster stiffer blade(LAK).

Very good control in short game, at least on par with the previous rubbers I tried such as Haifu White Shark, Tulpe 007, Super FX.