Armstrong Attack 8 Table Tennis Rubbers

Armstrong’s rubber is not sought after by table tennis players. I think that Attack M and Attack L are the two rubbers that some players use. Even if you don’t know Armstrong’s rubber, you won’t lose anything as there are many other great rubbers available in the market.

I haven’t seen many Armstrong rubbers advertised in the United States, but one of my good friends swears by the Armstrong Attack 8. She’s a chopper type player, called a “cut man” in Japanese, and likes how this particular rubber handles the ball. She has been out of competitive table tennis for a while but has decided to start playing again.

Armstrong Attack 8 Type M

She is planning on using the Armstrong Attack 8 with Tackifire that I reviewed before.

The type M shown here has the 1.2mm pips. There is also an L version with slightly longer pips.

I’ve always liked Armstrong rubbers, and I hope they catch on a little more in the US!

For the brand Armstrong, some people find that everything is at the highest level.

My friend placed this rubber and used it with her backhand. The backhand is mainly used to block and chop the ball. Sometime she will do a powerful topspin by shifting to forehand playing stroke.

She found that sometimes she has a problem receiving the ball in low bounce with the chop to make it just over the net to the opponent’s side. So she changed to a softer carbon blade, which is Stiga Offensive Classic Carbon. It seems like a good choice for her as she can now get reasonable control of the ball.

My Experience

I have tried to play the game with the Armstrong Attack 8 Type M rubber by borrowing the racket from my friend.

After a few strokes, I found that the trajectory that the blade generated is relatively flat. It won’t make a great arc from your shot. The hitting pace is just nice, and you do not need too much strength to hit the ball.

By having this rubber on your blade, you can play a relatively safe pushing. When you do the pushing, you can even notice that some spin reversals happened.

The trajectory is flat, and it won’t make a great arc from your shot. The hitting pace is just nice.

Does the Color of Table Tennis Rubber Affect Its Properties?

It is a question I also had when I started looking for the kind of table tennis rubber that would be best for me. I wondered if choosing which rubber to order in red and which rubber to order in black would affect my play.

That brings us to the scientific question of whether the color (or the coloring) of the table tennis rubbers changes it at all…

According to Butterfly Japan’s FAQ, the answer is that there is no difference between the black and red rubbers. When tested in the factory, they all produce the same results.

However, in Japan, players often say they feel that black table tennis rubber provides more speed than the same model in red.

To sum up, the official word is that there is no difference between black and red table tennis rubbers, although some players say they feel and affect the ball differently.

Rating of the Rubber:

• Speed: 7.1
• Spin: 5.8
• Control: 7.8

Armstrong Attack 8 Type L

This rubber is designed for players to play fast-attack close to the table. It is the special pimple-out rubber sheets manufactured by Armstrong. Once you get hold of this rubber, the first thing that you will notice is the pimples are slightly longer than ordinary short pimples.

By having this rubber on your blade, you can play a very safe loop and drive. You can get an excellent pace and reasonable control over the ball with this rubber. It is harmless to provide you with a good covering on the backhand.

The Armstrong 8 Attack Type L with a 1.8mm sponge is good at blocking and counter-attacking.

You can try to place this rubber on a slow blade. When you play with it, you will find a very soft touch on it.

The rubber can gives you reasonable control and spin reversal. However, if you test with a too soft sponge (35 °), it probably won’t fit

well.

If you play with this rubber, you can play a very safe game, and the rubber can fits very well for you to perform your defending stroke. It can give you excellent control over the ball, especially when playing close to the table.

If you are playing defense in mid-distance, you can perform an attack anytime you get a chance. You can also play sidespin with your backhand, and this rubber can give you an excellent spin.

Conclusion

The pip of Armstrong Attack L is small, thin, straight, and indeed sticky. It is perfect for pushing the ball but with low speed and control. The rubber sponge is very soft, but it doesn’t play well. You will feel the ball is very heavy.

These are the 2 types of rubbers that I have tried. Today I will brief you on the feeling of using them, and I hope this can help the players who use these rubbers.

I am not writing them in very detailed because the blades used by all players are different, so the feeling of the sponge will be different. However, the actual performance will be the same.

Another reason is that the technical movements of different players will have different feelings on the rubber.

The third reason is that I have some description of the rubber to have a basic understanding of the rubber‘s performance by the height, density, and size of the rubber pip!

Whether the rubber is easy to use or not, you must try it yourself. And don’t just understand it without actual play with it.

For the Japanese Armstrong’s ATTACK rubber, I think it is more to pimples out. But it can give you more dwell time than other short pimples rubbers and give you a better spin. But I don’t recommend using them.

I think the most significant advantage of Japanese rubbers is their sponge. They are very soft, very elastic, good strength, reasonable control, and feel very good.

Advice About Trying Table Tennis Rubber with Pips