DHS Hurricane 8 was first released in 2015, which was designed to work well with the 40+ plastic ball. In fact, 2015 was a momentous year in the history of Chinese table tennis.
It marked the end of the era of the “Two Wangs and One Ma” (Wang Hao, Wang Liqin, and Ma Lin) and the emergence of a new generation of male players led by Zhang Jike, Ma Long, and Xu Xin.
Under such circumstances, Double Happiness (DHS) seized the opportunity to launch many new products, including Ma Long’s new blade, the DHS Hurricane Long 5, and the new rubber, DHS Hurricane 8.
According to the official statement of DHS, Hurricane 8 is a rubber that addresses the challenges posed by the 40+ plastic ball by offering compensation for the loss of spin and speed. The rubber achieves this through its unique design, which includes a hard, high-density Chinese-style sponge that provides 15% more elasticity than previous models.
So in this blog, we shall make an in-depth review and test of DHS Hurricane 8 table tennis rubber.
Who uses DHS Hurricane 8?
DHS Hurricane 8 is popular among professional and amateur Chinese table tennis players. Actually, the same as DHS Hurricane 3, we can hardly see European players use the DHS series. It is because European players prefer elastic and speedy rubbers instead of tacky ones.
The most well-known star player of DHS Hurricane 8 is Chen Meng, who won the win the women’s singles gold medal at the 2021 Olympics.
Chen Meng is known for her aggressive playing style and ability to dictate the game’s pace. She is a dominant attacker, relying on her powerful forehand to hit winners and create opportunities for herself. She uses DHS Hurricane 8 on her forehand and Tenergy 64 on her backhand.
Who is DHS Hurricane 8 for?
DHS Hurricane is a new rubber designed for plastic balls. It is suitable for both professional and amateur table tennis players who want greater control, decent speed, and the ability to generate strong spin on their shots.
It is especially suited for players who prefer to play close to the table and rely on quick drives and counter-drives to win points. It’s an ideal choice for professional players who have been used to speed glue before and find a new rubber to be accustomed to the non-speed glue era.
The rubber can be used quite well on the carbon blade and help players generate powerful and spinny shots with extremely nice control.
Review of DHS Hurricane 8
Appearance and Data
DHS Hurricane 8 is available in three hardness options: mid-hard, hard and soft. The mid-hard version of Hurricane 8 has a sponge hardness of around 39 degrees, making it suitable for players who prefer a slightly softer feel with good control and a higher arc.
On the other hand, the hard version of Hurricane 8 has a sponge hardness of around 41 degrees, providing a more direct and powerful feel for players who prefer a harder sponge and a flatter trajectory.
DHS Hurricane 8 has two thickness options: 2.15mm and 2.2mm. Both thicknesses are common for table tennis rubbers.
The rubber weighs around 66 grams uncut and approximately 48 grams after cutting. It is a little bit heavy than normal rubbers. Besides, it could also be felt that the surface of the rubber is super tacky. Balls almost don’t bounce up after falling on the rubber.
I used two DHS Hurricane 8 to do the test, but one mid-hard version on the backhand and another hard version on the forehand. I placed the rubber on the classic blade Stiga Clipper CR.
Speed
The rubber has quite a fast speed when doing forehand and backhand drives. The speed has been greatly improved compared to the DHS Hurricane 3. The rubber gives me a strong and solid feeling when hitting the ball.
Unlike Hurricane 3, which required a lot of power to feel the sponge’s “grabbing” effect, Hurricane 8 does not require as much strength. I can feel the hard version has a faster initial speed, but sometimes it has somehow dead feeling. This is more obvious when I start looping.
The forehand and backhand loops(or loop drives) have quite a great spin and make it hard for opponents to return it. The topsheet allowed me to exert significant physical effort into my shots, enabling me to produce speedy strokes while maintaining excellent control.
Even unlike Japanese rubber, DHS Hurricane 8 doesn’t have a crisp feeling when hitting the ball, the speed is still satisfying. I noticed that some European players complain that both DHS Hurricane 3 and Hurricane 8 are not fast enough, and they are not willing to choose the hard version as it’s struggling to control and requires great amounts of training time to be used to it.
To some degree, I agree with them, as DHS Hurricane Series normally need booster glue to accelerate the speed. But Hurricane 8 has made a great change, and I suppose the speed has been greatly improved compared to Hurricane 3.
So if you want to try tacky Chinese rubber with decent speed, I recommend starting with Hurricane 8.
Spin
Tons of players complain about the speed of DHS Hurricane 8 or 3, but no one denies the spin of the Hurricane series. Especially Hurricane 8 can easily produce stable spinny loops with a high success rate. The rubber surface has good friction that can grab the ball perfectly to generate huge amounts of spin.
The sponge of the Hurricane 8 is slightly softer than that of Hurricane 3, so even if I loop the ball with great power, I can still have decent control and feel quite comfortable.
I tried both quick topspins and high arc topspins. The rubber has medium to high throws, and without exerting too much effort, I can easily generate spinny balls that my teammate finds struggling to block.
This was also obvious when I was about to chop the topspin ball played by my teammate using Hurricane 8. I had to find the perfect time to hit the ball as once I missed it, it was almost impossible to return the spinny ball back.
Apart from the loops or topspins, the Hurricane 8 has a great performance in serving due to its tacky top sheet that briefly grips the ball before releasing it. This feature allows for increased spin potential with proper technique and execution.
Control
Nice control and relatively high error tolerance are other features of DHS Hurricane 8 apart from its spin. The top sheet has excellent grip and feels solid, providing great control even when out of position.
Players can exert quite powerful strokes with confidence. But keep it in mind that when playing away from the table, you may need to exert more effort and attack to generate enough pace on the ball. Especially if you play with the mid-hard or soft version of Hurricane 8.
But different techniques can be used to achieve greater control on maximum-effort shots. I prefer to use the mid-hard side to place the ball in the net zone. With its ability to absorb a substantial amount of spin on the ball, the rubber enabled me to deliver a return shot with a flat trajectory and abundant backspin.
Defense
As a defensive player, I am quite satisfied with its performance in blocking and chopping. Because of the characteristic of the tacky topsheet, the rubber can absorb the kinetic energy well, and I am able to execute precise active or passive blocks depending on the level of contact pressure applied to the blade.
This is quite obvious with the hard version of rubber. However, the hard surface is absolutely not friendly for chopping. I find it more comfortable to chop the ball with the mid-hard version.
It’s worth mentioning that tacky Chinese rubbers tend to have more dwell time compared to Japanese or German rubber. So if you want a quick active block, you probably need to adjust the angle and exert some effort to block the ball. Also, the angle of blocking is slightly different between the hard and mid-hard versions.
Difference between DHS Hurricane 8 and Hurricane 3
After the release of the Hurricane series, many players are confused about the difference between them—especially the difference between Hurricane 3 and Hurricane 8.
In fact, Hurricane 8 is similar to Hurricane 3 with speed glue, with a slightly bouncier feel compared to non-glued Hurricane 3. The difference between Hurricane 8 and glued Hurricane 3 is insignificant, and the glued Hurricane 3 has slightly better sponge support when hitting the ball with greater effort. However, the difference is small.
You can click the link to read our review of DHS Hurricane 3 here.
As a newer rubber designed for the plastic ball, Hurricane 8 has less tackiness compared to Hurricane 3 but with slightly more elasticity and overall medium-hard hardness.
It is not as easy to generate strong backspin when performing pushes as with Hurricane 3, as the surface is not as tacky as Hurricane 3.
Regarding looping performance, Hurricane 8 can easily produce strong topspins on the ball.
Overall, compared to Hurricane 3, Hurricane 8 has adjusted the topsheet and sponge, which appear similar but are not entirely the same. Both the topsheet and sponge have some slight changes, resulting in a slight increase in ball speed and a slightly lower trajectory.
It reduces the user’s power threshold, allowing even relatively small amounts of force to penetrate the sponge and unleash more power through its energy-storing capabilities.
Whether facing the upcoming new material 40+ ball or the popular carbon fiber blades, Hurricane 8 can work well with them and is a true non-speed glue rubber.
For professional players who have said goodbye to the speed glue, Hurricane 8 is a better alternative to their previous rubbers and to match with the fiber blades, while for less experienced players, it is more approachable and can significantly improve the threat and success rate of forehand attacks.
Conclusion
In conclusion, DHS Hurricane 8 is a high-quality table tennis rubber that balances speed, spin, and control for players of all levels. Its tacky top sheet and soft sponge allow for easy spin generation and precision, while its moderate speed provides enough power for attacking shots without sacrificing control.
The adjustments made to the rubber’s composition from the previous Hurricane 3 model have made it more suitable for the new era of plastic balls and fiber blades.
