The Butterfly Company is a world-renowned table tennis equipment manufacturer. Most of its rubbers are high-end non-tacky ones. A brand-new bouncy and tacky rubber, D09C, was released by Butterfly on April 1, 2020. It feels like the Butterfly Company wants to open up new markets in tacky rubbers now.
On July 1st, another new sticky rubber Aibiss, was released and is priced at 44 euros on the official website. Obviously, Butterfly also seems to want to further expand its leading edge in the world.
Overview of Butterfly Aibiss
Let’s start by looking at what the official website says about this rubber. Butterfly Aibiss is an extremely tacky as well as high-friction rubber with a specialized top sheet. The rubber enables players to play the game with heavy spin and a beautifully curved arc.
Features of Butterfly Aibiss
Data
The bare weight of the Butterfly Aibiss is 78 grams and the thickness is 49 degrees. As you can see the rubber is still a bit heavy and by comparing it with the T05 on the left you can see that the Aibiss has a high-density sponge. Thanks to the special technology, the “spring sponge” is very elastic and should naturally perform well on the offensive end.
Speed 3.5/5.0
The speed of the Butterfly Aibiss is moderate but does not compare favorably with the T05 or DHS Hurricane in terms of absolute speed. Although the hardness of the rubber is not bad, it is recommended to use it with a speed-based blade such as Butterfly Zhangjike Super ZLC.
When I used my CLCR, as we mentioned before that is a pure wood blade, to do the playtest, I felt that I couldn’t keep up with the speed of my opponent and was easily counterattacked by him.
Spin 4.2/5.0
The surface of the rubber is not as sticky as the DHS Hurricane, but it can also generate heavy spins. The stacky rubber combined with the butterfly’s unique sponge technology allows the ball to be wrapped more comfortably. The sponge is more flexible than others such as Rozena.
In terms of the serves, it is more spinning and faster, making it easier for the opponent to eat the serve. The spin is also great when pooling or driving, but it is suggested to hit more upwards than most rubbers.
Topspin 3.8/5.0
In the part of the continuous loop in the middle and back court, T05 or DHS Hurricane can give more support than Aibiss. This rubber performs poorly in this aspect, and it is also difficult to do heavy loops from the middle court, which reflects that the Butterfly Aibiss is not the type to play far away from the table.
In terms of absolute power, the sponge is not comparable with Dignics 64 nor T05. It can be inferred that this is rubber for amateur high-level enthusiasts, but not suitable neither for pros nor for those beginners.
Backspin 4.3/5.0
I have always been a fan of DHS Hurricane. But after using Aibiss, I feel that it is quite an amazing rubber. It is more comfortable to wrap the ball with small and medium strength, and I can lift up the ball with more confidence. As a classic sticky rubber, DHS Hurricane has a unique feel for a long time but now seems that Aibiss will surpass it.
The ball looped by DHS Hurricane is not high enough, and it is easier to block it back, while Aibiss’s ball has a stronger spin and a more curved arc, which is rather difficult to defend.
Flick 4.1/5.0
The Butterfly Aibiss can hit the ball quickly, and wrap the ball better under medium and small force. However, the sponge of Hurricane fails to “bite” the ball sufficiently.
Obviously, Aibiss performs much better in this aspect, especially with some balls in the net zone. The sponge can wrap the ball very tightly so that it can flick the ball with great speed. It can be said that if you play well in the first three strokes, you can use Aibiss to end the game without consistent looping in the middle court.
Control 4.0/5.0
There is not much difference among those rubbers in terms of drop shots and short pushing. Despite the fact that DHS Hurricane is more stacky, the sponge has a lower density.
So the feeling of both two rubbers is quite similar. But the Butterfly Aibiss performs almost perfectly when doing long pushing, especially with medium and small strength. The placement is more precise and you are able to move the opponents better.
Defend 4.0/5.0
There is no big difference between the Aibiss and the other rubbers in this aspect. As we normally defend close to the table, so all the rubbers are quite similar. In fact, due to the high density of the sponge, the Aibiss performs quite well in blocking. The ball can be bounced back easily with the right angle and proper power.
Who is it for?
The butterfly Aibiss is a highly characteristic rubber set for high-level enthusiasts and professional players, but it is not suitable for everyone. Highly-tacky rubber with Butterfly’s unique sponge manufacturing process makes it have a great advantage in the games, especially in the short court.
Honestly speaking, both Aibiss and DHS Hurricane 3 NEO are not really suitable for amateurs. Aibiss is a rubber that is more suitable for consistent loops near the court and is more suitable for players who are good at the first three strokes.
While T05 or DHS Hurricane performs better in the middle court or the back court. This is the difference among these three rubbers.
Conclusion
The biggest feature of this rubber is that it has excellent control without losing spin. But the most important point is that its price is really really really cheap. From this point, the Butterfly Aibiss is a low-priced version of Dignics 09c, just like Rozena is a low-priced version of tenergy 05.
It can be said that this is a very cost-effective tacky rubber. This rubber is quite amazing and brings me surprises in the counter loops. Therefore, it is more suitable for defensive, controlled, or counter-attacking players. Of course, if you are still a beginner, this rubber is still not suitable.
Finally, it is recommended to pair with a fast-speed blade, preferably one with carbon fiber. It will be weak in speed with pure wood blades like Maze Advance or Joola X7.
