Hexer - full geko review

[gekogark1212]

• 1. The reviewer: I’m a 2 winged looper, with mybackhand being quicker, but with less power. Aussie B grade standard, which isroughly 1900 USATT. Tested this on my Yasaka Extra blade with JO Gold on theback.
  
  2. Physical Properties: I have a red sheet, in 2.1mm. Sponge is mediumsoft, without a durometer I’d say around the 42.5(tensor scale) mark, andsmells like the usual Donic/Andro tensor stuff. The feel of the topsheet isvery grippy, even compared to Jap topsheets like the Donic Coppa Speed. Spongeis like the Tenergy stuff. The red doesn’t look as artificial as the Vega.Impressed so far at the German rubber.
  
  3. Speed:
  Speed on slow strokes fairly fast, however it also has an excellent short game.It behaves extraordinarily on services, great on pushes and good on flicks.
   
  Speed on power loops is only so-so. I thought it would blastme out of my seat, but in the end, my mind isn’t blown, my socks aren’t knockedoff, and my wallet’s now a little lighter.
  On the 100% power geko rocket put-away shots, this rubber isindeed faster than Tenergy 05, JO Gold, Donic Coppa Speed, Plasma 470, Roxon450 etc. etc., but we’re talking whole body, whole arm, complete waist turn andno recovery type loop-kills. Which to me is COMPLETELY unrealistic to baseanything on.
  
  
  Smashing with the Hexer is ok. It doesn’t have the meatyfeeling as with Tenergy 05, but neither does it reward your half-heartedefforts.
  
  4. Spin:
  Spin on slow loops is quite good, though I can’t see it being Tenergy 05spinny, it gets close, and though none of us really believed him, Rob was right(again haha), the Hexer’s slow loop spin is marginally if at all, better thanthe Roxon 450.
   
  Spin on faster loops is actually very high! My loops werelanding way, way shorter than the Donic Coppa Speed, which I have gotten usedto. In fact, some were so short, it started to land in the net…but this couldhave to do with its slow speed also.
   
  Spin on serves is nothing to write home about. Good spin,but absolutely brilliant control on it. Very, very short serves (althoughhardly as spinny as they look) can be performed easily.
  
  5. Control:
  In terms of blocking, I’d agree with the advertisements. It is magic! Verystable blocking ability and not as sensitive to spin as I’d imagine fromlooking and feeling the topsheet.
   
  Pushing and looping is very close to where you want it,especially looping the corners closest to the net.
  
  6. Other Playing properties: The throw is high! Almost ridiculouslyhigh. This gets annoying as you try to loop consistently, but at the same timekeeping the ball low and putting pressure on the opponent. Hexer robs you ofthat stroke and punishes you if you try to close your angle by slipping.
   
  Glue feel is present and lovely sounding, given you hit hardenough. Otherwise, it’s more of a “pak” sound than a “tock” sound.
  
  7. Reference: In the best way I can sum it up, I’d say the Hexer is aprepubescent Donic Coppa Speed, I mean that in two ways. Firstly, it seems likeit hasn’t grown its muscles yet but is still trying to compete with the bigboys. It loses out in speed rallies. Secondly, like an annoying youngerbrother, it brags on and on about its better spin, but in actuality is nobetter than the Roxon 450, and is marginally better than a new sheet of DonicCoppa Speed. Plus it demands more pocket money than the older kids, brat!
  
  8. Other comments Other than the fact that its sponge looks differentfrom previous tensors, and being labeled “4G”, I’d say Andro is still on thedetour to finding a good post-glue solution. Again, like the Roxon series, theHexer has great short game and close to the table ability, but in terms ofexplosiveness or dynamic properties, it hasn’t surpassed the Plasma series. Nowin terms of control and spin, it still hasn’t reached the pre-glue level. Oi! Andro!What are you doing son?

[speedplay]

A very good and comprehensive review Geko, but since I have a sheet on order, I do hope you are wrong

I notice you said the top sheet was grippy compared to Donic Coppa speed, but how is it compared to Roxon?

As for the speed, when I aim for speed, I think I use my entire body, so hopefully I will get the speed I need. Being a modern defender, I don't waste energy attacking if I can't fully commit to it.

I was hoping the slow loop spinn would be better then that of Roxon, even if Roxon is great, I was still hoping for something better.

Now about blocking, you say it is good for blocking and since this is one of my weaker parts, I'm curious, is it good as in forgiving, or is it good as in rewarding a good block? I think I need something forgiving...

Throw angle? Well, as long as it isn't seriously low, I've been able to adapt pretty quickly to different throw angles, so hopefull this will be the case with Hexer as well.

Once again, thanks for the great review.

[gekogark1212]

I would say the Hexer topsheet feels grippier than the Roxon topsheet, however in play they exude roughly the same spin.

It is forgiving on blocks, but also rewards a good block by staying very flat. Pretty much stick your racket out, have the right angle and you're set.

No worries mate! I hope you can enjoy your Hexer. BTW, just because I don't like it much as a rubber, it actually matches me quite well for tournaments where I sometimes gets nervous, can't serve quite as short as I want, or overpower my kills, or being too eager for "safety" in control loops etc.

[blue_smartie68]

Great report Geko (applaud!)
This is what forums are all about....sharing experiences and information to assist others! 
 
I know nothing (other than what I read on here) about the rubbers you mentioned but this sort of info helps clear the fog with regards to options out there.
I've just had my second night with my new set up (using Donic JP Gold), thanx to info from this forum...and I do like it, but it feels like ive stepped from a base model Holden into a Porche and am still sliding out on most corners!! 
It's  bit hard for me to write a report as I don't have much to compare it with!
Cheers,
Chris
 

[RebornTTEvnglist]

Nice review there Gek! Convinces me I don't need to try Hexer even more than I was. Quite happy to stick with Roxon, although giving Proton a fair go first. I get jaw-dropping blocks and counter-smashes from the Roxon. I doubt the Hexer would improve on it. I haven't really had much of an opportunity to do much blocking with the Proton yet given the few players I've hit with haven't set me up for many lol. Time will tell whether I play out next season with Proton or get back into my snuggy Roxon!

[gekogark1212]

Update: tried it on the Kool, the Photino and the Rutis.

On all of them the rubber flew. I completely take back everything I said about this rubber being slow. It's many things but slow isn't one of them, also on these blades the short game suffered as a result of the increased speed. Spin is also not as impressive as it was on the YE3D.

Furthermore, I may have mentioned on another topic that this rubber is good on the BH, definitely not for me on the three aforementioned blades. Throw is way too high, which makes opening loops great but still slower than my normal JO Gold, but the high throw makes looping against topspin a pain...I'm just not used to having to close my angle THAT much on the backhand, especially when attacking.

Final conclusion: It needs a fast blade to bring out its speed, but by doing so you lose out on some of its spin and its short game, so that rules out forehand rubber choice for me. Whilst on the backhand, opening loops lack penetration and regular loops require too closed an angle for my liking, thus that rules out the backhand. So I guess Hexer isn't for me either (neither is Roxon 450 though). I guess I'm just not Andro's targeted audience.