Brief Review on Stiga Airoc Astro M and Airoc S

The current changes of the ITTF rules for the poly ball hugely impact the players’ performance to produce and maintain a good spin. To assist in this matter, Stiga has released the Sitga Airoc Astro rubbers to combat the potential loss of power on the spin. Here are the two Stiga Airoc Astro rubbers released by Stiga: Airoc M (Medium) and Airoc S(Soft).

Stiga Airoc M

Control: 78

Speed: 152

Spin: 128

Style: SPIN ELASTIC

Sponge: MEDIUM

Price: $60

The Stiga Airoc M was the first rubber release to combat the limitation of the plastic ball. It features an oxygen capsule system. The sponge of the rubber has a large air pocket in there. It means the ball can spin faster, and the sponge is more reactive.

Spin

You can achieve a lot of control with this rubber. You can play well with topspin as it can produce many spins, and the ball is synched with the rubber.

Besides, the soft rubber can provide good speed for you. While Stiga manages to counter the manual spin posture restriction, the amount of power you can achieve with this Stiga Airoc M is somewhat limited.

This rubber is suitable for playing closed-table and mid-range. When you are doing a looping, you can’t produce quite a high up on the ball, this kind of shot can be somewhat effective, but in terms of playing a strong fair ball game, you can exert a strong direct power on the ball. Those kinds of players will need to look for something a little bit firmer for the sponge.

It is a touchy rubber for the spinning in the attacking and control game. It is almost flawless for the player to control the ball. So it is an excellent control rubber and is great for playing counter-loop. But there is a limitation for the power that you want to achieve.

If you are going further back the table, you can produce a high up loop, and you can get good spinning and control. However, you may not get the powerful shot that you are looking for.

Short Game

The rubber and the sponge itself are so reactive, and you need to make a minor adjustment to your short game to keep the ball low. Some players might find that they may face difficulty and struggle to play and receive the plastic game by playing a short game.

They may need to put a little more effort to control and lower the ball. If you didn’t control well, the ball could easily fall off from your racket. It is effortless and comfortable for you to do an underspin.

You don’t have to transfer too much weight to the ball because of the amount of spin you can produce. It has a lot of gears and therefore a lot of variation you can produce with the rubber. Besides, it is excellent for blocking as well.

Stiga Airoc S

Control: 84

Speed: 144

Spin: 128

Style: SPIN ELASTIC

Sponge: SOFT

Price: $60

The soft version rubber sheet is almost similar to the medium one. The only difference is the softer sponge present underneath the rubber.

Speed

In comparison with the medium rubber, the spin of the ball is slightly higher. It is suitable for topspin play. Even though this rubber is softer, it still allows the player to play with accuracy.

 When you hit the ball for soft speed, it makes well for the table’s contact points. With a softer sponge, it allows the user to have better control and attack.

Spin

The Airoc S rubber performs well for the spinning, and it generally exceeded the catapult spin to a series of spin that produced on the ball. It is perfect for backspin when a good smash applies to the ball, and it can return comfortably.

The rubber will produce a higher ball when playing a short game. You will need to put on more effort to keep the ball low to prevent the opponent from getting a chance to underspin the ball.

It can help to produce a fine stroke to ensure reasonable control of the ball. With the softer sponge, your actual playing level will improve due to the ball’s longer contact time on the rubber.

I like this rubber because the sponge design allows me to produce powerful spin without much effort.

The Stiga Airoc S is suitable for attacking players who are looking to play an aggressive attacking stroke. They can maintain a high level of control and precision. This rubber provides good speed and spins to win the point.

Overall

When I played with the Stiga Airoc M version, the first thing I noticed was the throw out is a bit lower. I needed to play some topspin, and some loops with the rubber‘s black medium version and was pleased with what I found.

I was able to get a decent spin on my loops and felt quite comfortable, not too different with Butterfly Tenergy. I play with the medium version rubber, which was the one that I was expecting, and I am pretty happy with it.

I started to use the red Stiga Airoc Astro S, the soft version had a very different feeling, and I prefer the red one for whatever reason. For some reason, the soft version is better and nice to use. Just the way the top sheet and the sponge combine.

I like the soft version. If I decided to buy this Stiga Airoc Astro rubber, I would go for the soft version for both sides of my blade.

Other Stiga Blades Reviews:

* STIGA Sense 7.6 Blade Review

* STIGA CC7 NCT Blade Review

* STIGA Offensive CR WRB vs. Classic WRB