JUIC is one of Japan’s largest manufacturers of table tennis equipment, producing a wide range of top quality products that meet the needs of players of all skill levels, including some of the world’s best players.
The JUIC brand may not be as well known as some of the other major manufacturers, but they have been in business since 1970 and the quality of their goods is among the best in the world. JUIC has also shown real innovation over the years in the design and manufacture of new products, some of which were true breakthroughs in technology. This article describes some of the important innovations and unique products of JUIC…
JUIC Blades:
Starting with the offensive blade range, the Air Series balsa blades are high-speed, lightweight blades offering exceptional control and touch. JUIC offers the widest range of balsa wood blades and uses only high quality materials to manufacture their blades. Probably the two most famous and high in this series are:
JUIC Air Texa, an OFF+ rated blade weighing an impressive 72g and consisting of a thick center layer of balsa combined with two layers of texalium and two layers of Japanese Abachi wood.
JUIC Air-Large, a blade that is actually the new and improved version of the JUIC Air Carbon blade (which has been discontinued). It is also an OFF+ rated blade weighing 75g and consisting of a thick center layer of balsa combined with two layers of carbon fiber and two layers of Japanese Abachi wood. Both blades have an extremely soft feel due to the thick and soft inner balsa layer.
Then of course there is the JUIC KISO Hinoki blade, consisting of a single layer of high quality Japanese Kiso Hinoki wood. JUIC is one of the few companies that offers this type of blade with a shakehand handle. The power and feel of a single ply hinoki is felt to be believed…offers a soft touch and slow speed in the short game, but can generate great mid to long range power and can still generate good spin for added control .
JUIC also has the unique and innovative JUIC Shot series of blades. The JUIC Bamboo Shot and JUIC Maple Shot blades are unique among all table tennis blade manufacturers (at the time of writing) and offer a unique ball feel not found in other blades.
For a more versatile playing style for both offensive and defensive players, it’s hard to go past the JUIC Texalium blade. This blade offers a great touch and feel and is a truly versatile blade. It offers enough power to play in an offensive style, but still enough control and feel to play in defense or helicopter. With the right rubber selection, this blade can be used for any style of play.
JUIC also offers blades for modern defensive styles, the JUIC Euro Chopper and Euro Cut blades. These are big blades with a great soft feel, offering a chopper with extra reach and feel, but with plenty of power for a power loop or to retrieve the ball…
JUIC tires:
Although JUIC offers a wide range of tires to suit all levels and styles, they have some unique and innovative products that set them apart from other manufacturers.
The JUIC Couga tire is almost certainly their most famous tire. This rubber is without a doubt one of the fastest rubbers in the world, faster than many offensive rubbers even when stuck with speed! JUIC was one of the first (if not the first) to introduce Nano-Tech technology into both the top sheet and the tire sponge. This technology offers much better grip and a big increase in speed, but also durability. More recently, JUIC also introduced the JUIC Nano-Cannon, which also uses the same technology but is designed and optimized to produce a sharp arc of contours at high velocities.
JUIC also offers a range of high pressure mushroom tires, most notably the JUIC Varites and the Driva Smash Ultima tire. The highly elastic sheet and high tension sponge provide a boost in both spin and speed, perfect for players with a strong offensive style.
Another great JUIC innovation was combining a Chinese-style sticky top layer with a soft but powerful Japanese-style sponge, such as the JUIC Ultima sponges. The most highly regarded of these tires would be the JUIC 999 Elite Ultima, which uses a thin sticky topsheet (based on the design of the Globe 999 topsheet) with a soft and powerful Ultima sponge. This high voltage ultima sponge is also available on a range of their short bud erasers, the most notable being the JUIC Offensive Ultima.
Most recently, JUIC added the JUIC 999 Elite Nano – the world’s first sticky rubber with a nanotechnology sponge!
For defensive playing styles, JUIC offers JUIC Neo Anti and JUIC Leggy Defense. Neo Anti kills spin and absorbs the force of any incoming attack, but unlike most other anti-spin rubbers, the resilient surface of the top sheet and soft sponge still allows you to generate significant spin when you hit the ball harder… The protection of JUIC Leggy is a very dangerous and deceptive tire with long studs. The soft and grippy bud combined with a soft sponge is great for cutting off the table, providing great spin reversal and allowing for highly deceptive spin manipulation. The soft and grippy bud also allows you to attack serves and provides good offensive potential near the table.
JUIC accessories:
Although JUIC offers a wide range of table tennis accessories, their most famous has to be the JUIC Ecolo Expander II. It is a rubber treatment fluid that provides a speed and power boost to almost any sponge rubber sheet. Not only is it completely non-toxic and will not be affected by the upcoming ban on VOC-based speed glue. The treatment only needs to be done once, the effect lasts for many months, which at higher levels is usually for the life of the tire. Now in its 2nd generation, the much improved JUIC Ecolo Expander II is a true innovation in table tennis technology and there is nothing like it on the market right now. The JUIC Shenron rubber is specially designed and optimized for use with the Ecolo Expander for maximum adhesive speed. JUIC also provides a full range of cleaning products that are non-volatile and can be shipped safely by air.
This was an overview of JUIC’s most notable products. They have a much wider range of products than covered and are sure to have something to suit every style and requirement and probably at lower prices than their Japanese competitors.