Butterfly Company is one of the most popular table tennis rubbers available on the market. Its popularity is due in large part to its excellent all-around performance. Butterfly Rozena, released in 2017, is designed for attacking players who need a rubber that can generate a lot of spin without sacrificing speed or control.
It is widely acknowledged that Butterfly Rozena is an ideal alternative for the Tenegy series. Especially for those players who lack enough skill to use T05 or T80 but want a similar experience. What’s more, Rozena is much cheaper than T05, which can be acceptable for most of us.
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Star Players of Butterfly Rozena
The most famous user of Butterfly Rozena is Chinese table tennis player Zhu Yulin. Born in 1992, Zhu began playing table tennis at the age of six. By the time she was eleven, she had won her first international competition, the Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships.
Since then, Zhu has gone on to win numerous titles, including the World Cup, the World Championships, and the Olympic Games. In addition to her remarkable achievements in competition, Zhu is also known for her quick reflexes, precise shots, and mental toughness. These attributes have helped her become one of the most successful table tennis players in the world.
About Butterfly
Butterfly Company is a well-known manufacturer of high-quality table tennis equipment, and their rubbers are no exception. The company produces a wide variety of rubbers to suit all playing styles, from the aggressive attacker to the patient blocker.
Butterfly rubbers are known for their exceptional spin and speed, and they can provide players with a significant edge in competition. However, these rubbers are also quite expensive, and many players opt for cheaper alternatives. Nonetheless, Butterfly rubbers remain some of the best in the business, and they continue to be used by many top players around the world.
Butterfly Rozena VS T05
Butterfly Rozena still uses the Spring Sponge technology of the tenergy series. The high performance of Spring Sponge has been fully proved in the Tenergy series.
This cutting-edge technology, which has been developed for nearly 10 years, can be said to be an innovation in table tennis equipment in recent years. And it has been proven that in modern ping pong games, players need it to improve their performance.
What’s more, the most eye-catching feature of this rubber is the bright rose-red sponge. This time, instead of following the color of the Tenergy series, more vivid color is adopted. In addition to the visual effect, it can also better reflect the compatibility expected by Butterfly Company.
Speed 4.2/5.0
Just as Butterfly Company positioned this rubber at the beginning, Butterfly Rozena is a low-end version of Tenergy 05. Overall, the speed of Rozena is slightly inferior to that of T05, but it is similar to the speed of T64. But the performance isn’t all that far off either, and it is still dominant in short court.
Spring Sponge can ensure that the rubber is very elastic, and the speed of backhand flicks and drives is actually not inferior to T05. In the middle and back court, with delivering more force, you can clearly experience the catapult effect.
Although the dominance at a far distance from the table is not as good as that of T05, it can still produce impactful loops. Actually, for the vast majority of mid-level players, Rozena is a great choice.
Spin 4.0/5.0
Butterfly Rozena’s throughput after holding the ball is a little slower than Tenergy 05 and there is an obvious sense of pause when the rubber is holding the ball.
It is very similar to the feel of the early generation of large-aperture sponge rubbers when they first came out, but the difference is that the first-generation large-aperture rubbers are very easy to penetrate, while Rozena has obvious enough support after delivering more force, which is relatively solid.
The extra sense of pause allows the user to make fine adjustments such as friction to create rotation and control the direction of the ball more easily, especially in short games.
The serves and returns of serves are the most difficult to practice in table tennis. Butterfly Rozena can wrap the ball well and generate enough spin even if the hitting point is not so timely. It can better control the height of the ball arc through friction and enhance the user’s ability to deliver spinny shots.
Of course, T05 still performs better in the fast forehand and backhand conversions and the topspin rallies at a mid-to-far distance from the table.
Another advantage that is worth noting is that Butterfly Rozena is quite spin-insensitive. So when you are faced with the incoming spinny shots, you can still produce your own spin, no matter whether push, smash, or counter-loop.
Control 4.5/5.0
Control is the Butterfly Rozena’s biggest selling point and the only aspect it surpasses the Tenergy Series. Rozena’s fault tolerance is quite higher, both in active offense and passive defense. The softer rubber allows the ball to go on stage even if our movements are not very standard at times.
Especially in short games, I have better control over the placement point, as well as a good experience in the drop shots, which is the most satisfying thing about this rubber. However, sometimes you need to exert more force to generate super spinny balls so that your opponents won’t lift up or flick the ball easily in the net zone.
Defense 4.4/5.0
Defense is also one of the highlights of this rubber. As Butterfly Rozena is spin-insensitive, we can easily block the opponent’s impactful topspin. My experience is to try to close the angle of the blade a little bit down so that the defense will be more stable.
Of course, the angle should not be too low, otherwise, the ball may drop into the net. It is actually a bit troublesome to constantly adjust according to the rotation and strength of the incoming ball.
From this point of view, Butterfly Rozena is more friendly to beginners and intermediate players, because they often lack enough skills to return the heavy spin loops. But Rozena will do a great job of helping them improve their defense and deepen their understanding of the table tennis games.
Topspin 4.2/5.0
As we mentioned earlier, Butterfly Rozena has the same dominance as T05 in the near court, both speed and rotation performance are quite fantastic. Especially with smash and flash hits, you can win the game in the first three strokes most of the time.
But when playing far away from the table, it can be clearly felt that the ball’s speed and spin have decreased. Especially when I was driving the ball with the backhand, I felt the ball become less impactful and I had to deliver more force to make up for the lack of strength itself.
But the advantage is the rubber’s spin-insensitivity, so in most cases, although the return quality is not as high as T05, at least there are fewer mistakes.
Backspin 3.8/5.0
Looping off of the backspin is a piece of cake for Butterfly Rozena. As long as the movements are standard, even beginners can easily accomplish this task. And it can also generate strong rotation in the short court,, which is one of Rozena’s advantages. This piece of rubber is ideal for coaching or practicing, helping to improve the overall level of the players.
Who is it for?
As an alternative to tenergy 05, Butterfly Rozena is more suitable for players who are not skilled enough to use T05 but want a similar experience. Many fans on the forum struggle with whether Rozena should be used for the forehand or the backhand.
My personal suggestion is that if you are a beginner, you can use it on your forehand to practice basic skills. Because the forehand is often more difficult to practice than the backhand, you can use Rozena to improve flash hits, flicks, looping off the backspin, etc.
But for some intermediate or even high-level players, I would recommend putting it on the backhand. On the one hand, because of spin insensitivity, athletes have certain advantages in receiving the serves and defense; on the other hand, as the forehand is more lethal, professional players prefer to pair it with harder rubber in the forehand, which is more offensive and powerful.
Match Suggestion
Beginners can use pure wood blades such as Stiga CLCR, Maze Advance, or Koki Niwa Wood. The advantage of pure wood is that it is relatively stable and the speed is not too fast, so it can be used to practice basic skills.
Intermediate or professional players can use carbon fiber blades such as Timo Boll Spirit, Zhang Jike ZLC, or Butterfly Primorac Carbon. A harder blade paired with a softer rubber ensures speed and rotation without losing stability, which is an ideal choice.
Conclusion
In general, Butterfly Rozena is a very cost-effective rubber. The overall performance is very good, but the most important thing is that the price is moderate, most of which are acceptable. Many amateur players are discouraged by the high price of the T05. In fact, Rozena may be the most suitable choice for them.
The result is a rubber that is extremely fast and spinny, making it ideal for aggressive players who are looking to take their game to the next level. If you’re looking for a table tennis rubber that can help you dominate your opponents, Butterfly Rozena is definitely worth considering.
