On Tuesday, May 29, 2001 at 11:14:23 AM UTC-5, Dave Williams wrote:
Stiga Innova is well described as being "sprung from the loins of MP".
It has the same crisp, dynamic feel. As advertised, the sponge is
different. Lighter and less dense, BUT without necessarily being
softer.
That's the most interesting point in playing reactions so far. It's
kinda like adding a third dimension to a flat 2D image. We don't
necessarily have a frame of reference to explain the new dimension. Generally, players think about sponge as either being hard or soft or somewhere in between. Innova seems to feature a sponge that "plays hard
but weighs soft". It accomplishes this without being extra elastic at
low speeds like a traditional soft sponge.
The one thing our testing staff at Don Iguana Labs has noticed is that
Innova allows for remarkable control over aggressive responses against attacking shots. It may well be that the better offensive player you
are, the better Innova performs, especially if its strength is
generating strong counter attacking shots in the face of extreme
incoming spin. This morning, I talked with Mitch from Table Tennis
Pioneers and he confirmed that Karlsson and Hakansson both adopted this rubber immediately and that Stiga expects that "top end" of the player's world will flock first to this innovative product.
I can't recall testing a rubber that was as good at counter looping as Innova. The throw angle stays low, the ball dips very fast and there
seems to be sufficient dwell time to guide your shot. That's where this weird third dimension feeling comes from. These three attributes
usually don't go together. Long dwell time usually creates a higher
throw angle, but not with Innova. Harder sponge can create a low throw angle, but then the ball usually doesn't dip as fast, but not with
Innova. If we can have cake and eat it, too ... hitting low fast
counter spins that dip like the devil on the other side AND stay on our blades long enough to guide them ... then Innova fills the bill!
Maybe this is all about air. If that's the case, Innova seems to be MP
with more air and less rubber and that could be a good thing!
Maybe SPO, being the longest term tester so far, can shed some light on
the mechanics of counter looping with this neat new sheet!
Lefty liking this air thing
Totally agree with your analysis of Innova. I used it on a Stiga Offensive blade and loved the light feel but also control and power in max thickness. I thought that Karlsson and Hakansson used MP but did not realize they switched to Innova. Think I nee
to go back to Innova but not sure what blade to mount it on. Gambler Black Diamond Light, Nittaku KVT, Waldner Dicon, Persson Glassfibre?
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