Palio Rubbers

Palio table tennis rubbers — inverted, Chinese-style sheets, most of them with a tacky topsheet, at prices well below the European and Japanese ranges.

Tackiness is the character of the range. A tacky surface holds the ball for an instant, which makes heavy spin on serves, pushes and slow loops close to the table, and asks for a fuller stroke to produce speed than a European tension rubber does. The Hidden Dragon, Wildish Dragon and CJ8000 families are the tacky sheets; the Biotech versions add a sponge under tension, for more speed from the same surface.

Sponge hardness is given as a range in degrees, such as 36–38° or 48–50°, and The Way 40+ is sold in two hardnesses, chosen on the product page. Not every Palio rubber publishes a hardness, and each manufacturer measures on its own scale, so compare a figure with another Palio sheet and not across brands. Our rubber selection guide places the ones that do publish it beside every other brand we carry.

Rubbers are sold as single sheets, in red or black, so a full racket needs two — and a blade and glue to fit them.