The Andro Rasanter R47 is a mid-hard, fast, grippy tensor rubber. The Rasanter line by Andro was developed especially for the new plastic ABS ball introduced in 2014 and all the Rasanter rubbers have a great reputation for their speed and grip levels.
Among them, the R47 is the most popular offering due to its looping and counter looping potential. Medium-hard rubbers such as this one are hugely popular because of their stability and their seemingly endless power reserves.
I tested the rubber for around 10 hours to get a true feel of how this rubber performs.
Perfect for: Intermediate and advanced offensive players on the forehand side, and advanced offensive players on their backhand side. 2-15+ years of playing.
Ace
About the Reviewer
Alvaro brings 7+ years of playing experience. He’s tested 20+ rubbers for Racket Insight and his style is The Controller.
About the Review
Blade Used: Stratus Power Wood
Rubber Thickness: ULTRAMAX
Hours Tested: 10+
Recommended Playstyles & Loadouts
We recommend the Andro Rasanter R47 to players who want to attack and counterattack their opponents with fast direct shots.
Design of the Andro Rasanter R47
The Andro Rasanter R47 comes in a high-quality sealed package.
Inside, we can find the rubber. We bought the rubber in black to use as a forehand rubber.
If we rub our fingers across the rubber, we find that it’s slightly tacky but much less than the MX-P or Rakza 7. The Rasanter R47 relies more on the grippiness of its topsheet when the ball contacts the rubber.
The most characteristic design attribute of the Rasanter line is its Ultramax sponge. Most rubbers offered on the market, such as the popular Tenergy, have a maximum thickness of around 2.1mm.
The Ultramax Rasanters have a thickness of 2.3mm. Andro managed to decrease the thickness of the topsheet to just 1.7mm to accommodate this thicker sponge.
The Rasanter is the tensor rubber with the thickest sponge available on the market, which Andro says helps propel the plastic ball. Hence the slogan “boost the cell-free ball”.
The Ultramax sponge is lively, modern, and highly porous. On the R47, as the name implies, the sponge is medium-hard at 47 degrees, and it gives the rubber more power and stability. It feels quite hard and very firm.
In addition, the Ultramax sponge was paired with the “R” topsheet. What sets the “R” line apart from the Andro “V” line is the topsheet design.
The R in R47 stands for rotation. The pimples on all Rasanter R rubbers are thick and arranged close to each other to maximize the contact area with the ball.
The Rasanter R47 weighs in at 49 grams, which I think is very reasonable for a high-end, medium-hard rubber. It’s not exactly light, but it isn’t supposed to be for a rubber with a 2.3mm 47-degree sponge.
Other mid-hard / hard rubbers such as the Hurricane 3 NEO (53 grams), the Yasaka Rakza Z (53 grams), the Tibhar Evolution MX-P (51 grams), and even the Yasaka Rakza 7 (50 grams), all weigh more than the Rasanter R47.
Another thing I want to mention is that I have used its softer sibling, the Andro Rasanter R42, for 2 months now and it shows virtually no signs of wear.
Given that both rubbers share the same topsheet, the Rasanter line has excellent durability.
I think the Rasanter’s durability is one of its main selling points. I’m currently using the Tibhar Evolution MX-P on my forehand side and I have to swap them out for new ones every 2 months.
The Rasanter is an excellent choice for the looper who wants a high-performing, durable rubber.
- Weight (Cut): 49g
- Speed: High
- Spin: High
- Control: Medium
- Tackiness: Slightly Tacky
- Hardness: Medium-Hard
- ITTF Approved: Yes
- Sponge Thickness: 1.7mm, 2.0mm, or ULTRAMAX
Summary: Attack your opponent with direct shots with this high-end medium-hard offensive European rubber.
Playtesting the Andro Rasanter R47
I tried the Andro Rasanter R47 on my forehand side.
I would say that the Rasanter R47 is, in a sense, relatively similar to Chinese rubbers in how they should be used.
Both rubbers are linear, firm, stable, and quite hard rubbers that require active use to have good results.
However, the difference is that with the Rasanter you can generate more speed than with Chinese rubbers, blocks are better and it is not as sensitive to incoming spin.
We have written an article highlighting the differences between European and Chinese rubbers if you want to learn more about the topic.
Driving and looping
The Rasanter R47 was designed for these two shots, drives, and loops.
Drives with this rubber are excellent because it is a fast rubber but not too bouncy.
The rubber has great stability. In addition, the medium throw of this rubber means that the ball does not rise too much, as with the Tenergy line.
Driving with this rubber instills confidence and is very good for flat hits as well.
Even better than drives are loops.
Loops with this rubber are tremendously consistent. I’d say it’s like a harder, faster, and more stable version of the Rakza 7.
Loops have sufficient dwell time and travel with a lot of power. Again, if you want powerful loops, you’re going to have to hit the ball with good acceleration, otherwise, they won’t be that strong.
Here is a video in which you can see the power of this rubber. It’s a fast rubber, and it’s only a step down from the likes of the MX-P and the Bluestorm Z1 Turbo.
Loops are powerful enough and a lot more consistent than with the MX-P. I’d say it has just the right amount of power to compromise intermediate and advanced players but not to the point where it’s hard to control.
Speaking of which, its speed levels are ideal for performing counterloops if you are an intermediate or advanced player.
I feel like the rubber has a lot of control on this shot. It has the perfect dwell time and hardness. The ball feels stable on the rubber and doesn’t bounce off too quickly.
I had much better consistency in my counterloops than I do with the MX-P.
Where this rubber suffered a bit compared to the MX-P is away from the table.
The MX-P has enough power to play from anywhere, while if you want to play from distance with the R47 you will need to with all of your power.
You can play away from the table, It’s just not as easy as with other rubbers with a pronounced trampoline effect and higher throw.
For this review, we tested the R47 on a Stratus Power Wood, an OFF- blade.
Attached to an OFF blade with carbon fibers such as a Viscaria, for example, this rubber would have much more speed and it would be easier to use further away from the table.
With my blade, though, the R47 wasn’t very easy to play with when hitting shots away from the table.
Open-ups are quite good as the rubber has lots of grip and the ball doesn’t bounce off the rubber too quickly. These shots are quite consistent and controllable.
However, to generate good quality open-ups, one has to play actively. You can’t just use your forearm and expect a high-quality shot, as you could do with a Tenergy.
Serve and receive
In terms of serve and receive, I quite liked the R47.
You can’t generate as much spin on serves as you can with other rubbers such as the Hurricane 3 NEO, Nittaku Fastarc G-1, or Tenergy, but it’s not hard to serve short.
In terms of receiving, touching short was surprisingly easy, and forehand flicks felt safe and stable.
Maybe a higher throwing rubber would’ve made it easier to clear the net against backspin, but it was fine nonetheless.
Blocking and chopping
In these areas, the R47 surprised me for the better.
Its hardness and speed levels make R47 the perfect rubber for blocking.
The control you have when blocking hard-hit balls is very good. It is possibly my favorite blocking rubber.
I feel like you just have to angle the racket right, hit forward and you’ll never miss.
In terms of chops, the rubber performed relatively well.
Chops weren’t bad at all for a rubber of these performance levels and I think it’s viable to chop every so often with the R47.
Andro Rasanter R47 vs Tibhar Evolution MX-P
I generally use the Tibhar Evolution MX-P, so I was able to find some similarities and some differences between the two rubbers.
The Rasanter and the MX-P were designed with the same purpose in mind: creating a medium-hard, fast rubber to deal with the plastic ball.
Because of this, we decided to make a direct comparison between both rubbers.
First of all, I want to say that the MX-P is noticeably faster and spinnier than the R47, whereas the R47 feels a lot firmer, somewhat harder, and less lively.
I feel like the MX-P is a lot more bouncy than the Rasanter R47 and that has a lot of consequences.
With the MX-P, you can hit shots with 60-70% power and they will already be powerful shots. With the R47, that is not the case.
With the Rasanter, if you want a hard shot, you’re going to have to play actively, perform the weight transfer correctly, and have sufficient acceleration with the forearm.
Being more bouncy, the MX-P is less controllable but has much more quality on attacking shots.
Another thing I noticed in my testing is that loops landed more shallow on the table with the R47.
With the MX-P, all my shots bounced deeper onto my opponent’s side of the table, which compromised them even further (but also meant it was easier to overshoot the table).
The speed of the Rasanter is on par with the Fastarc G-1, and it’s a lot faster than the Donic Baracuda.
I feel like with the MX-P you can make blistering fast shots, to the point that the ball is even hard to see.
I couldn’t replicate these shots with the R47. The MX-P is faster in all of the gears, it is faster in both powerloops and short touches.
The MX-P has much less dwell time and this is felt when performing counterloops and touch shots. In these shots, the R47 is a lot more forgiving.
Alternatives to the Andro Rasanter R47
The Nittaku Fastarc G-1 is a slightly spinnier and higher-throwing rubber than the Rasanter R47. This rubber is also a bit more durable.
The Xiom Vega X is a tamer version of the Rasanter R47. Its throw and spin are nearly the same but it’s considerably slower, offering more control and dwell time.
The Tenergy 19 is very similar in terms of throw angle and weight to the Rasanter R47, but it has slightly more speed and spin while retaining good control.
Overall reflections on the Andro Rasanter R47
All in all, the Rasanter R47 is a very coherent, solid rubber and that is why it is so popular.
It is a fast rubber with good control and enough spin but not to the point that the rubber becomes too sensitive to incoming spin. Also, it is superb for blocking and good in the short game.
Another advantage of this rubber is that it is a durable, high-performance rubber.
The MX-P and the Donic offerings, for example, are much less durable.
Yet another strong point of the Rasanter R47 is its weight. While it’s not a light rubber, it’s lighter than most of its direct competitors.
Because of all this, I think R47 is an excellent rubber for intermediate to advanced offensive players.
I also think it’s a good stepping stone if you want to upgrade your rubbers and you’re coming from a Xiom Vega Pro, a Rakza 7, or other similar rubbers.
Alvaro’s been playing Table Tennis since he was 15 and is now ranked within the top 100 in his native Argentina. He loves to compete in provincial tournaments and is always looking for ways to improve. Alvaro made his favourite memories with a racket in hand, and he joined the RacketInsight team to share his passion with other players!
Blade: Butterfly Fan Zhendong ALC | Forehand: Butterfly Dignics 09c | Backhand: Butterfly Tenergy 19
Playstyle: The Controller
Hi, thx for this great review.
My question is:
What do you think about rasanter r50?
I was thinking that r47 to put it on bh and r50 in fh.
What fh rubbers do you recommend for advance players(50+ hardness) except bty products?
Thx.
Hello Cosmin,
We haven’t tried R50, but it’s apparently a faster, harder, more direct version of R47.
For forehand, if you’re an advanced player, you can use Donic Bluestorm Pro, Stiga DNA Platinum XH, Rasanter R50, R53, Xiom Omega VII Tour.
Those are some good options if you want speed and power.
Cheers,
Álvaro
Hi Alvaro , please info, is R47 better with all Wood Blade or carbon/comp Blade ?
Is fastarc G1 or MXP better with all Wood Blade or carbon Blade ?
What rubber is the most suit with tibhar SPW ?
Hello Bud,
It all depends on the player. G-1, MX-P and R47 are all suitable to both wood and carbon blades. They’re all fast and spinny rubbers that’d have different characteristics depending on the blade they’re put on. A professional player like Darko Jorgic uses MX-P on the backhand side of a carbon blade, but if you aren’t very advanced, I’d recommend using MX-P on a slower allwood blade to get better control.
As for the SPW, it’s the same story, you can pair slower rubbers with it for a more allround setup or something like T05 hard or MX-P to make it a lot faster. It all depends on your level and playstyle.
Cheers,
Álvaro
Hi Alvaro,
I hope you also do a review for Rasanter C48.
Thanks.
Hello Jeff,
We’re going to write a review for the C53 shortly, and we’ll consider writing one for the C48 in the future.
Cheers,
Álvaro