How long table tennis rubber last?

Table tennis rubber plays a vital role in a game. A player changes paddle rubber to upgrade his game. A rubber needs to be changed after a period of time. So, how long a table tennis rubber lasts?

In general,

• High elasticity rubber lasts about 3 months.
• Tension rubber lasts about 2 months.
• Adhesive rubber lasts about 6 months.
• Table soft rubber lasts about 4 to 5 months.

Table tennis rubber -How to distinguish the life

I tried to summarize how to distinguish the life of table tennis rubber. I will introduce what table tennis life is. How long table tennis rubber last is slightly different depending on the type of rubber.

Rubber life = performance degradation

The life of the rubber is not fixed. The performance gradually declines and eventually reaches the end of its life.

Specifically, it shows performance deterioration such as less momentum and no rotation. You can say that the life of a rubber is gone when it feels deteriorated enough to hinder play.

In other words, it is the user who determines the life of the rubber. 

How much can performance degradation be tolerated? 

The life of the rubber depends on the line drawing. After becoming an advanced player, some people replace the rubber within a week. More specifically, some people change the rubber in one day.

The performance of rubber gradually decreases from the moment it is used. This is unavoidable. It is different for each person where the user feels the performance deterioration. 

When you feel that performance has deteriorated and play is hindered, it is the end of the rubber.

Rubber life = performance deterioration. It’s easy to say, but I think it’s difficult for beginners who are new to table tennis to judge performance degradation. 

So, below is a discussion on how to judge the life of various rubbers.

High elastic rubber (soft back) life

How to distinguish the life of high elasticity and high friction rubber is- white lines float on the rubber. 

If a white line floats in the middle of the rubber, it is a standard for rubber replacement. It’s easy to understand because it appears visually.

Although it depends on the amount of practice and the season, it is said that the life of high elasticity rubber lasts about 3 months. From this point, the performance deteriorates and many people replace rubber.

For beginners, it may be hard to feel the performance degradation. So keep it simple, if a white line appears, it is safe to think that it’s about to expire.

How to extend the life of the back soft rubber?

Be sure to use a cleaner after practice as a way to extend the life of soft rubber backing such as high elasticity and tension system. Clean the surface with a cleaner and sponge, and then attach a protective sheet.

Note that even with the same back soft rubber, the care method for adhesive rubber is different, so be careful.

The following also describes the care method for adhesive rubber.

Tension rubber (back soft) life

How to tell the life of the tension rubber is- the degradation of performance. It doesn’t look like a highly elastic rubber, and its life is unknown. 

Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish life in terms of performance.

If you feel like “I’m running out of momentum” or “ball is no longer spinning,” it’s time to replace the rubber. 

The life of tension rubber is shorter than that of high elasticity rubber, and it is said that 2 months is a standard ( It is just one standard but not fixed).

It is said that the tension-based rubber currently in the market has a longer life than the old tension-based rubber. 

Even so, it seems unavoidable that the life of rubber is shortened.

Reasons why the tension rubber has a short life

The tension-type rubber applies a load (tension) to the rubber part of the sheet or sponge to improve the bounce performance and rotation performance. 

It means that the load is applied, the deterioration is faster and the life is shorter.

Life of adhesive rubber (back soft)

How to distinguish the life of adhesive rubber is again- degradation of performance. As with the tension-type rubber, if you feel that the performance has deteriorated, judge that it is time to replace the rubber.

There is stickiness, but I cannot feel the friction and cannot rotate it. This is evidence that the life of the adhesive rubber has reached the end.

The life of adhesive rubber seems to be relatively long. Some people use the same rubber for more than half a year. 

Keep in mind that if you continue to use the same rubber for too long, you may get used to the deterioration of performance and you may not notice the deterioration.

We recommend replacing the rubber about once every three months, or at least once every six months.

How to extend the life of adhesive rubber

The core of adhesive rubber is its adhesive strength. The decrease in adhesive strength directly leads to deterioration in performance. Care after practice can prevent the adhesive strength from decreasing.

We do not recommend cleaners for high elasticity or tension-type rubber which are used for normal back soft rubber. 

Remove dust from the surface before applying the adhesive sheet. Doing so will prevent the adhesive strength from decreasing.

If you use a cleaner, the adhesive strength may drop at once.

Table Soft rubber life

How to distinguish the life of the table soft rubber is-  grain wear. If the height of the grain is lower than when it was purchased, or if it can be removed, it is considered to be the end of life.

The lower the height of the grain, the weaker the momentum when hitting the ball. If you find it difficult to play, think of it as time to replace the rubber. If the grain is removed, the performance will be visibly poor.

The life of the front soft rubber is often relatively longer than that of the back soft (high elasticity/tension). About 4 to 5 months. 

Depending on the environment, the service life will be longer or shorter, but it is relatively long.

How to extend the life of table soft rubber

The best way to extend the life of the front soft rubber is to take good care after practice. 

The difference from the back soft rubber is the difference in care products. For the care of front soft rubber, use mist cleaner and brush.

Three factors related to life

• Passage of time
• Practice amount
• Season

Passage of time

The first is the passage of time.

Even when not in use, rubber will deteriorate when exposed to air. The life will get shorter. In other words, the life of the rubber is steadily decreasing over time. This is common to all rubbers.

The main component of rubber is rubber. Rubber is oxidized by contact with air. Oxidation reduces performance.

Deterioration due to oxidation cannot be avoided. However, the deterioration can be delayed. 

The method is to stick a protective sheet. Stick a protective sheet when not in use. Doing so will reduce the amount of time you are in contact with the air.

Practice amount

The second is the amount of practice.

A lot of practice is important, but it is related to the life of the rubber. Needless to say, the more you practice, the shorter the life of rubber will be, and the less you practice, the longer your rubber life will be.

The more you practice, the greater the load on the rubber . Also, it means that it will be exposed to air for a longer period of time, so it will quickly deteriorate due to oxidation.

Season

The third is “season.”

The life of the rubber will be shortened in extreme weather seasons such as dry winters and hot summers. Since rubber is mainly made of rubber, it can be greatly affected by climate change.

Deterioration due to climate change is unavoidable. However, it is a standard for considering life. 

It is possible to predict the interval between rubber replacements, such as The temperature may be high, so the life may be shortened.

How to identify long-lived rubber

High elasticity rubber has a long life. Tension type rubber has a short life.

Similarly, the same type of rubber also has short and long lifespans. You want to choose a rubber that has a long life. The problem is how to identify it? How to distinguish?

The way to tell which rubber has a long life is to- listen to the voice of the user (review). The most reliable way is to ask someone who has actually used the rubber.

Look for the opinion of the rubber-user. It is the most reliable if you are in the surroundings.

Conclusion

How long a rubber will last depends on different factors. Rubber effects on your performance. So, choose wisely.