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We Test the Top 4 Flipper Bands Used in Pinball -- Our Flipper Rubber Battle!

Wild Dog Arcade·video·46m 55s·analyzed·Aug 29, 2025
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.026

TL;DR

Wild Dog Arcade tests four flipper rubber products with gameplay comparisons and detailed technical analysis.

Summary

Gary and Ed from Wild Dog Arcade conduct a hands-on comparison test of four flipper rubber products: Stern OEM black rubber, Titan Pinball low-bounce silicon bands, Super Bands urethane, and Pinball Life Dura Bands urethane. They play multiple games with each rubber type, evaluating grip, bounce characteristics, dead bounce behavior, drop catches, and multiball control. The hosts conclude that Super Bands remain their preferred choice for their collection, though Dura Bands emerge as a competitive softer alternative.

Key Claims

  • Stern OEM black rubber leaves black schmutz tracks on the playfield from degradation over time, which must be cleaned with alcohol

    high confidence · Gary demonstrates rubber debris on flipper base and explains the contamination issue with natural rubber aging

  • Titan Pinball low-bounce silicon bands require less installation effort but provide higher, less controllable bounces compared to urethane alternatives

    high confidence · Both hosts tested and compared installation difficulty and gameplay behavior across multiple balls and multiball modes

  • Super Bands urethane rubber is very grippy, deadens bounces significantly, and introduces more backspin on post passes, making them highly repeatable but requiring backspin management

    high confidence · Extensive gameplay testing and host commentary on grip characteristics, dead bounce behavior, and backspin issues

  • Dura Bands urethane is softer than Super Bands (intermediate hardness between natural rubber and Super Bands) and easier to install while providing good control with less backspin than Super Bands

    high confidence · Multiple gameplay tests with direct comparison to Super Bands; Gary notes Dura Bands feel 'spongier but stiff' during installation and gameplay

  • Natural rubber color variants (white, red) behave differently than black rubber due to different coloring compounds affecting durometer, while synthetic rubbers (urethane/silicon) perform identically regardless of color

    high confidence · Gary explains that older white rubber is 'super bouncy' and notes this is unique to natural rubber; notes synthetic products perform same regardless of color choice

  • Every game in Wild Dog Arcade's collection currently has Super Bands installed

    high confidence · Gary states: 'basically every game in our collection right now has Super Bands on it'

  • Urethane rubber products remain durable and consistent when cleaned, while silicon gets 'chewed up pretty quickly' and natural rubber changes hardness as it ages

    high confidence · Ed and Gary discuss durability and maintenance characteristics of each product type

Notable Quotes

  • “These are a lot more difficult to install. So, just keep that in mind.”

    Gary @ ~22:00 — Installation difficulty is a key practical consideration for Super Bands that affects user accessibility, contrasted with easy silicon installation

  • “That's from the natural rubber. So, what happens is your ball hits those and it tracks it all over the playfield. You end up with these little rubber tracks all over the place.”

    Gary @ ~35:00 — Highlights a major maintenance drawback of OEM natural rubber—playfield contamination and degradation tracking

  • “The grip—the grip allows you to like stop balls like when they're coming down the in-lane pretty good because they'll grip. But it but they will introduce like—if you post pass, we find that—if a post pass goes over the other flipper, it usually has a ton of backspin.”

    Ed @ ~42:00 — Identifies the core trade-off with Super Bands: superior grip/control vs. unpredictable backspin behavior

  • “It's like religion here... There's been many battles as to what is the best to use.”

    Gary @ ~8:00 — Acknowledges the passionate, subjective nature of flipper rubber preferences in the pinball community

  • “I feel like it's a little more predictable than the silicon ones.”

    Ed @ ~28:00 — Indicates Super Bands provide more consistent, predictable behavior than Titan silicon despite higher installation effort

  • “I think these are like a good compromise between the Super Bands and that natural rubber.”

    Ed @ ~43:00 — Positions Dura Bands as a middle-ground option that balances installation ease with performance characteristics

  • “You're trying on a pair of new shoes, you know? You're kind of like I I like it, but do I like it enough to have them on forever?”

    Gary @ ~41:00 — Captures the adaptation curve and personal preference challenge when switching rubber types

  • “It's sort of like what's your what's your uh style of play? Like what are are you wanting a more offensive run of things? Do you want to be more defensive?”

Entities

GarypersonEdpersonWild Dog ArcadeorganizationStern OEM black rubberproductTitan Pinball low-bounce silicon bandsproductSuper BandsproductPinball Life Dura BandsproductPinball Lifecompany

Signals

  • ?

    community_signal: Flipper rubber selection is treated as deeply subjective, 'like religion' in the community, with no universal optimal choice but rather style-dependent preferences

    high · Gary states 'It's like religion here. There's been many battles as to what is the best to use.' Hosts emphasize personal preference and playing style throughout

  • $

    market_signal: Multiple competing aftermarket flipper rubber products (Titan, Super Bands, Dura Bands) indicate active innovation and differentiation in pinball parts aftermarket, suggesting healthy market for customization products

    high · Four distinct products tested with different material compositions (natural rubber, silicon, two urethane variants) showing manufacturer focus on addressing specific player preferences

  • ?

    product_strategy: Flipper rubber products differentiate on four key axes: installation difficulty, grip/control, bounce characteristics, and backspin behavior; no single product optimizes all dimensions

    high · Systematic testing reveals Super Bands are grippiest but hardest to install and introduce backspin; Titans are easiest to install but bounciest; Dura Bands balance ease and control

  • ?

    product_strategy: Pinball Life Dura Bands represent iterative aftermarket improvement on Super Bands, offering softer urethane composition with easier installation while maintaining durability and reducing backspin issues

    high · Gary describes Dura Bands as 'a little softer than the Super Bands' and notes they're 'easier to install than the Super Bands' while providing 'good compromise' with less backspin than Super Bands

  • ?

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

0:28
[Music] Hey everybody. Welcome to the Wild Dog Arcade. I am Gary and I am Ed. and I am Ed. And tonight we're going to be doing a And tonight we're going to be doing a little bit of tech for you. We're actually going to be doing some play testing of different flipper rubbers. I know everybody out there likes different kinds. Some people don't know what different ones do. So, we're going to do some backtoback comparisons and play with four different types of rubber. The first one is the Stern OEM black rubber. So, this is what you'll get on a brand new Stern machine. So, typical normal rubber. Second is going to be Titan pinballs low bounce silicon uh bands. So, these are a silicon uh they're supposed to be low bounce. So, we'll see. Third one we're going to be testing are super bands and these are a urethane product. They've been around for a little while. Um and uh yeah, we use them on a lot of our games. And then the fourth and final one are a relatively new product. It's Pinball Life's own Dura Bands and they're a urethane rubber. They're a slightly different composition than the Super Bands as far as durometer and stuff like that. So, we've actually got them in different colors so that way you out there can see uh which ones we're playing with. We'll also be letting you know on the screen and stuff like that when we get over to the game. So, I think we should go play some pinball and we'll let you know at the end what we think. All right, here we are. We're going to be play testing our first one. So, as you can see, the black bands are on there. Those are the OEM black rubber that came with this machine. So, we're going to play that. We're going to play a few balls each and just kind of see how they behave. And you can watch that along, too. We'll each play a few of them. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, most people are very So, you know, most people are very familiar with the stern black rubber because that, you know, what comes on all the games unless an operator has changed something else.
2:22
All right. So, our goal will be just to do like dead bounces, post pass, drop catches, things like that. Not trying to really get big scores on the game.

  • Post-passing is easiest with silicon bands because they're bouncier, but requires more careful backspin management with Super Bands urethane

    high confidence · Gameplay demonstrations and direct host commentary on post-pass behavior across rubber types

    • Ed @ ~44:00 — Frames rubber selection as dependent on individual playing style, not as objective superiority

    Titan Pinball
    company

    product_concern: Titan silicon bands (even low-bounce variant) exhibit unpredictable, bouncy behavior and reduced control despite ease of installation, limiting competitive appeal

    medium · Both hosts note difficulty with bounce control and recovery shots with Titans; Ed states 'I felt like the bounces were a little higher' and hosts conclude they 'don't like them as much' compared to other options

  • ?

    technology_signal: Synthetic rubber products (silicon and urethane) are increasingly positioned as superior to natural rubber OEM rubber due to durability, consistency, and reduced playfield contamination

    high · Extensive discussion of natural rubber's black schmutz contamination, color-variant performance differences, and aging issues versus synthetic products' consistency and durability

    • 2:49
    Well, finding new ways to get over there. Okay. Post pass successful.
    3:05
    Oh, hey. So, So, you're very familiar with these ones, Ed. So, yeah. I mean it it a lot of places what yeah. I mean it it a lot of places what they'll actually do is take these natural rubbers off and put on the polyurethane which is a little harder to grip. Um these ones are as I as you've noticed as a little bit of the footage there I was able to grip things fairly easily. I was able to grip things fairly easily. Yeah. Every each one of these flipper Yeah. Every each one of these flipper rubbers behave a little bit differently. They have different bounce characteristics. They have different grip characteristics. So yeah, in the end it's going to be like what do in the end it's going to be like what do you want to play with versus, you know, what maybe we prefer because everybody's going to have different preferences. So sort of like religion here. So sort of like religion here. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There's there have been many battles as There's there have been many battles as to what is the best use. Yeah. Lots of internet debate. So we Yeah. Lots of internet debate. So we thought we'd just kind of sit down and play some some lad play here a little bit longer.
    4:09
    Oh, nope. I saw that one coming. All right, we'll jump on there. All right, we'll jump on there. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so each one of us will play a couple Um, so each one of us will play a couple of games here. So, I'm going to reset this and restart. and restart. Yep. Yep. Play a couple balls each and then we're Play a couple balls each and then we're going to swap out the flipper rubbers. So, all right. Here we go.
    4:34
    You have to touch the flippers first. All right. Pretty good. Uh, good recovery. Easy to kind of good recovery. Easy to kind of kind of know how much pressure to put on there as well. Yeah, these are pretty much We're only Yeah, these are pretty much We're only going to be changing the flippers on the lower flippers tonight. We're not going to bother with the upper one. Ah. Uh, there's really no, you can't drop, Uh, there's really no, you can't drop, catch, or dead bounce off the thing really. So, yeah, that's true. yeah, that's true. So, let's So, let's But I I kind of realized as I'm sitting But I I kind of realized as I'm sitting here watching you play this round that uh there might be speed might be a factor as well as uh how fast you're reacting to whether you're going to have a control of the ball or not, at least to your uh Mhm. expectations.
    5:32
    So, as you can see, the natural rubber Oops, that one hit the metal. So, natural rubber dead dead bounces really pretty good. So, it's got decent grip. Um, the one thing it's got decent grip. Um, the one thing about the rubber is they will change over time as the rubber hardens and ages. Also get obviously will get dirty, but it'll change. That's the one drawback to natural rubber. The other thing is it can it can help make your game dirty. it'll pick up bit little bits of rubber from the different flippers and different uh items around the playfield and start to leave little ball tracks. So, that's one of the negatives to the the original uh black rubber is is a natural product, right? right? I might see a game like that in the wild a few times simply because the operator didn't decide to change the rubber or even check on the rubber for a while. Yeah. Yeah. Right. But as you can see, I can I can Right. But as you can see, I can I can stop it pretty well. Yeah. Yeah. I'm going to do some dead bounce. I'm going to do some dead bounce. So, man, I got to try the dead bounce, too. man, I got to try the dead bounce, too. I forgot to do that. Mhm. Mhm. Okay.
    6:45
    Shoot the target. [Music] a joke about the Wilhelm screen. I wasn't paying attention that I was I wasn't paying attention that I was saying. So, does have pretty good control here. So, does have pretty good control here. Mhm. Mhm. So, this is a, you know, pretty familiar So, this is a, you know, pretty familiar territory here with the natural rubber. Okay. All right. Now, we're going to put on All right. Now, we're going to put on the Titan low bounce. They're a sil silicon product. They're pretty soft. Uh, we'll see how well they behave compared to the natural rubber. So yeah, it'll be interesting to see. So I don't recall what how it behaved because I think we've tried it a couple of times. We've tried it a couple of times. We've tried it a couple of times. Yeah. So this will be a fresh fresh time Yeah. So this will be a fresh fresh time for us. Yeah. Yeah. Right. These are actually really easy to Right. These are actually really easy to install. They're really soft, so they're really stretchy. So it doesn't really take much to put them on. All right. Here we go. Titan low bounce. The purple ones. The purple ones. just
    7:55
    All right, I'll try a couple of things that I prefer doing, which is not drop catching.
    8:07
    Okay. All right. Here we go. That was a little bit of a lower bounce there. Notice on the dead bounce or dead flip rather. Maybe it is about the same. Let me try it again. And on second thought, maybe it seems like it's the same.
    8:27
    All right, we'll try a couple of things here. Okay, that seems to work. Okay, Lost Temple is lit. Lost Temple is lit. I'll just pick one randomly here. I'll just pick one randomly here. Mhm.
    8:47
    does have it does seem to have a little bit of a higher bounce perhaps as I'm moving around and navigating things especially if it's going at a higher rate of speed compared to the rubbers. Yeah, I think silicons these are these Yeah, I think silicons these are these are a special version of the Titans that are they have multiple different types and they have the regular silicon ones and then these low bounce silicon ones. Okay. Okay. So So So is this the low or the high? So is this the low or the high? This is the low bounce. This is the low bounce. Okay, got it. low bounce. Okay, got it. low bounce. Yeah, because a lot of the ones you'll Yeah, because a lot of the ones you'll play on location where they've got where the flippers are really really really bouncy, right? right? Those are the like regular silicon ones. Those are the like regular silicon ones. Yeah, those are the ones that uh like to Yeah, those are the ones that uh like to eat money in arcades cuz it's harder to control to control the ball. Oh yeah, not that one. We have to do the bottom ones to battle T-Rex. See if you can see if you can catch it. See if you can see if you can catch it. Okay, I'll try. Okay, I'll try. Oops.
    9:48
    Why don't you know how to handle the rescue? A little hard to do that way. Oh, backspin was able to control that. Okay.
    10:13
    [Music] All right. Whoa, that was near vertical or horizontal that was near vertical or horizontal rather. Yeah, that is a doable shot.
    10:31
    Hold on. I do a I do a little harder to drop catch, I think. little harder to drop catch, I think. Yeah, I do feel like you have a little Yeah, I do feel like you have a little less control with these just watching you here. Uhhuh. Uhhuh. Yeah, I think one of when it comes to like trying to drop catch it or do a little more fin like that right there. I was trying to do a a cradle that seem to roll off a little easier to me. Yeah, I don't think I have as much grip.
    10:58
    So, I don't know if that would have wor if that same thing would have happened to the natural rubber or not that whole thing there. But we'll we'll see what you think. we'll see what you think. Yeah. Yeah. Boom. Do not skip
    11:32
    What do you think? I don't think there's quite as much I don't think there's quite as much finite control. Yeah, that's kind of what I was thinking as well.
    11:44
    You were struggling on that microscope for a moment. Oh, hello. Don't move. What we'll have to do also is kind of What we'll have to do also is kind of review uh with our viewers what kind of bands we've been using, what games have what bands. Yeah. Yeah. Um things like that. cuz for as I Um things like that. cuz for as I mentioned earlier for a while we've been able to we were really comfortable with the super bands and were able to flip a lot of our games out for those specifically and nowadays I actually kind of lost and nowadays I actually kind of lost track of what kind of what kind of bands we actually use a lot. Yeah, I think they they did they did Yeah, I think they they did they did dead bounce a little springier dead bounces. Okay, that's kind of what I was feeling Okay, that's kind of what I was feeling too. Yeah.
    12:32
    Like are they are they less predictable? Do you feel like it's a little more difficult to handle? They're just they go higher it seems to They're just they go higher it seems to me. Okay. Okay. Interesting. Yeah.
    12:48
    That's a good idea. Trying to trying to do multiball on that also kind of determine help determine what what it is that we like or don't like about it.
    13:00
    All in all, I'm not find I'm finding I think a little little bit less finite control over the stock rubber. I agree. I agree. Um Um it's not like it's I mean it might be it's not like it's I mean it might be because we're better players at this point, but it it I feel like I'm able to adapt to that. Not terribly. Yeah. you know, it's not terribly Yeah. you know, it's not terribly difficult to to adapt to,
    13:27
    but I at this point I I kind of prefer the rubbers. [Applause] Yeah. The the bad thing about the rubbers, they they make your help contribute to your game being a lot dirtier and also and also um um it it makes it dirtier like quicker. it it makes it dirtier like quicker. Yeah. And also the rubber ages, so they Yeah. And also the rubber ages, so they change the their behavior. Oh, yeah. Good point. Oh, yeah. Good point. Yeah. Yeah. Just like a tire, you know, like on your Just like a tire, you know, like on your car, you see cracks on the side of the wall of your tire, your Yeah, it's a little I think it's a Yeah, it's a little I think it's a little bouncier than the stock road. I've actually seen some games that have I've actually seen some games that have had brittle looking uh bands on the flippers
    14:13
    just from age alone. Okay. All right. We'll kill that and we'll move on to the super bands. All right. Now, we're ready to put the super bands on instead of the Titan low bounce. So, uh if you buy these, you're going to find these are a lot more difficult to install. They don't they're very hard pretty hard durometer and they don't stretch a lot. So, they're going to be a lot more work to try to put them on. Now, the silicon ones come off super easy. They're So, if you have arthritis, make sure you So, if you have arthritis, make sure you get someone younger to put it on. Yeah. Yeah. On these ones. So, these Yeah. Yeah. On these ones. So, these these do take a bit of things. So, I might get in the way of the camera. So, you'll have to uh deal with it. You're fine so far.
    15:08
    As long as the game doesn't break. Yeah. I'm always kind of worried about Yeah. I'm always kind of worried about these are a lot more difficult to these are a lot more difficult to install. So, just keep that in mind.
    15:26
    Okay. And then you got to push them down to seat them on the little ledge. So, yeah. So, that is more work to do, but we'll see how they behave. All right. Ed's going to play it with the Super Band. So, the one nice thing about like the the urethane or the silicon ones is no matter what color you get, they'll be they basically perform the same. Now, rubber, natural rubber, if you got like red rubber or white rubber, they actually behave completely different than the black rubber. They'll be a completely different durometer. So, Oh, cuz it's like different materials. Oh, cuz it's like different materials. Yeah, it's got due to since it's a Yeah, it's got due to since it's a natural uh product, when you add the coloring and stuff into it, it changes the behavior. So, I've tried like some older school ones and it's like whites are super bouncy. So, that's the nice thing about the urethane. So, no matter what color you put on or even the silicon, they'll be they'll play the same. So, they'll be they'll play the same. So, it's just color choice is just your personal preference. So, here we go. Super bands. Super bands. Super bands. Oops, I wasn't trying to do that.
    16:33
    The super bands do uh their dead bounces are definitely more damped. Yeah, they are. Yeah, they are. They hit when they hit they just they They hit when they hit they just they they deaden quite a bit. So, they're definitely different to get used to. Right.
    16:47
    Okay. [Applause] I think that was a normal one. Normal behavior on that. I think
    17:05
    I have to kind of remember what the behavior was on the first one versus the second one versus the third one now. So, it's going to be kind of interesting to see if I can tell kind of interesting to see if I can tell after I play a few.
    17:26
    Wow. I feel like the ball's going faster. I don't know about you. Oops. Like it feels like it's going into that that scoop pretty quickly. Oh, here we go.
    17:41
    Okay, so Golden. Wow, that really dampened the crap out of that dead bounce. Yeah, let it then bounce more. I do think you can you they they seem to I do think you can you they they seem to be kind of a little more grippy. So, it see you can catch them a little easier, I think. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Dead bounce. Yeah, dead bounces do take Dead bounce. Yeah, dead bounces do take a little bit of getting used to because it will it does seem to deaden. Yeah, it deadens quite a bit. Yeah, it deadens quite a bit. But this but the drawback to being a But this but the drawback to being a little more grippy is they do put more backspin on things. Yeah, if you especially if you're going to going at it at a high rate of speed and a lot of times in games you're pretty much harder, it definitely makes it a lot quicker, too. Yeah. I mean, look at this. It just kind of And it even goes in there a lot. I just learned that goes in there a lot easier when it's going quicker, which I don't see happening on the uh natural rubber uh fans. Oh man. Okay. Okay.
    19:04
    Oh, look at that. Okay. Got got a hang of the uh leap of faith Got got a hang of the uh leap of faith nudge, I guess. So, well, I haven't even kind I guess. So, well, I haven't even kind of nudge at all. I feel that like it is definitely a lot grippier grippier. I feel that it is grippier. Um, with that being said, I think it has some drawbacks in terms of Oh, that was kind of nice right there. Liked that. Makes it a lot easier to drop catch. It deadens. Yeah, I think it deadens. It deadens. Yeah, I think it deadens. They're grippier and they deaden the ball quite a bit more. So, yeah,
    19:41
    especially the behavior I'm getting on the missing the, you know, doing the leap of fa faith a little easier. Whoops. I didn't let it bounce off the post like I should have. Now Gary's turn.
    20:05
    All right. Able to stop that. Let's hit something here. Mhm. Mhm. Just about missed the ball there. Oops.
    20:32
    works on this game to postp pass. Yeah, I think it's a little easier to be Yeah, I think it's a little easier to be honest because of the grip that's on it. Are you noticing the grip on there versus rubber? Well, excuse me game. me game. It's like, how dare you just test the It's like, how dare you just test the game? All right, All right, let's take
    21:37
    Wow. I wasn't expecting distance off of that uh bounce on on there like that.
    21:49
    Careful. Don't move. Definitely got more grip, but when I hit Definitely got more grip, but when I hit the rubber on the back, it the backspin stopped the ball on that rubber. Oh. Do you think it like do you think it Oh. Do you think it like do you think it uh stops the back spin easier or Well, I think because it was back Well, I think because it was back spinning in the correct direction since the rubber is more grippy, it actually break on the thing. Oh,
    22:17
    definitely has a different dead bounce characteristics. Yeah. Yeah. Than the rubber or the silicon.
    22:27
    Yeah, I know you do a lot more dead bounce uh moves than I do, but that being said, I did notice that myself when I was trying it out. All right, let me try backhand. See how All right, let me try backhand. See how well this backhand works with this rubber. Does that seem easier? Does that seem easier? No, seemed about the same. It's a tight No, seemed about the same. It's a tight shot. Oh, Oh, all right. Let's see.
    23:00
    Oh, well, it's a good practice or, you know, well, it's a good practice or, you know, good test for the multi rolls. Yep.
    23:10
    Oo, there's some back spin. Yeah, Yeah, the uh the ureth this urethane certainly the uh the ureth this urethane certainly has more backspin. Okay. Okay. Cuz it's grippier. Yeah, cuz as we speed Cuz it's grippier. Yeah, cuz as we speed up through and get lot more excitement going on on here, things like that will happen and roll off the tip if you're not careful with the bat spin on on those super bands.
    23:35
    Dead bounces are very they're they're not as active, but they are definitely um definitely repeatable and yeah, they Yeah.
    23:47
    I I definitely feel a lot more confident with it. Yeah, cuz they don't go out of control. Yeah, cuz they don't go out of control. It deadens them enough to where it's actually feels like I think it's a little more predictable I think it's a little more predictable than the silicon ones. Exactly. Exactly. Rubber had has pretty good bouncability, Rubber had has pretty good bouncability, but I think these urethane ones do that a little little bit better. But again, that's probably a personal preference. Yeah. So, Yeah. So, yeah, it's kind of interesting to see yeah, it's kind of interesting to see what we kind of preferred or what we like as we've, you know, gone through year after year of playing pinball, you know, as we get better and better. And of course, every game is going to be And of course, every game is going to be different, too.
    24:30
    So, I would encourage you if you want to try different flipper rubbers, try them on every like buy batch and try them on your different games cuz every game is going to behave a little differently. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Going to swap out to the Dura All right. Going to swap out to the Dura Bands. So, these red ones are the Dura Bands. Uh they're a urethane product, too. They're a little softer than the Super Bands just as far as feel. So kind of feel maybe between the natural rubber and the the super bands here is hardness. So pop off all the super bands. Yep. Yep. And here we go with the install of And here we go with the install of these. So we'll see how we'll see how well these do. Yeah, they definitely feel a little softer. Okay. Oh, yeah. They're easy way easier to Oh, yeah. They're easy way easier to install than the super fans.
    25:28
    Okay. Yeah, they uh they kind of went on like the more like the natural rubber. Uh definitely not as easy as the Titans and uh easier than the Super Band. So So they're kind of somewhere in the middle on hardness. Okay, now let's do some gameplay. All Okay, now let's do some gameplay. All right, folks. So, we put up a camera down here from a certain angle on this flipper because I want to illustrate one of the things you get with the black rubber. If you leave them on your machine, we haven't had this machine this long. And as you can see when I pull this off, this black schmutz, that's from the rubber. That's from the natural rubber. So, what happens is your balls hits those and it tracks it all over the playfield. You end up with these little rubber tracks all over the place. So, that's one of the negatives to the actual natural rubber you can see there. It's just amazing, you know, for the limited number of plays we've got, how much just the rubber flexing on there has left behind on quite a bit. So, what is it that we have to do in So, what is it that we have to do in order to clean that off? Oh, just a little alcohol will clean Oh, just a little alcohol will clean that off, but it's just a good illustration of, you know, rubber degrades over time. And these both the silicon and the And these both the silicon and the urethanes don't leave behind that kind of a mess uh over time. This is what if you see a really dirty game that's got a lot of big tracks on there, it's it's all from the natural rubbers. And so eventually I change out all of the rubber in here to a either a silicon like clear on the slings or whatever flipper rubber. But yeah, it's that's definitely an interesting thing that's definitely an interesting thing to point out. All right. All right. All right. Here we go. Playing with the All right. Here we go. Playing with the Dura Bands.
    27:08
    Super skill shot. Thank you. Thank you. Don't lean your head in too much. Don't lean your head in too much. T-Rex. T-Rex. Sorry. I was doing your thing. Sorry. I was doing your thing. Yeah. Yeah. All right.
    27:40
    Well, that was just bad luck. Yep. That just hit off the metal. Yeah. Yeah. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. Okay.
    27:57
    [Music] See what happens here. I like them. I'm trying to decide if I like them better than the super bands, though. Like, they're definitely pretty grippy.
    28:26
    And like the fact they're easier to install, too, you know. Well, that is the one nice thing about the urethane ones is they they urethane tends to be very durable. The silicon will get eat get chewed up The silicon will get eat get chewed up pretty quickly. Uh and then rubber of course gets chewed up and also changes hardness as it ages. So yeah, yeah, these as long as you clean them, these these as long as you clean them, these and the super bands will remain pretty consistent. I'd like to be able to try a multi-roll I'd like to be able to try a multi-roll mode. thing. Hit the spider a bunch. Hit the spider a bunch. Okay. Okay. You almost had it. So, You almost had it. So, can I I can I do it while I'm here on can I I can I do it while I'm here on See you there. I can. Okay.
    29:12
    This will be a good test to also. Oops. Yeah, there we go. Don't move. I think the little finite control I think the little finite control doesn't seem as quite as good. Um I don't know. Um I don't know. I feel like they are. I feel like they are. Yeah. Yeah. But I don't know. It's sort of like But I don't know. It's sort of like trying on a pair of new shoes, you know? You're kind of like I I like it, but do I like it enough to have them on forever, you know? Like right now, I'm feeling pretty confident with my shots, you know? Oops.
    29:49
    So, I definitely feel a lot more confident, I feel, in general with it.
    30:07
    All right. Now he's got a three ball going. Yeah. Oops. Oh, man. Yeah. Oops. Oh, man. Oh, I ice poke. Sorry. Oh, I ice poke. Sorry. Yeah, you ruined it now. I'm fine with Yeah, you ruined it now. I'm fine with two to kind of get the idea of what it's like with malted also. It's fine. I I'm I'm liking these. They seem to stop pretty good. They seem to stop pretty good. Yeah, they do. And they don't feel like Yeah, they do. And they don't feel like they're back spinning like really quickly all of a sudden. Oh, that was a good uh good save there. You know what I mean? Like I'm not really jostling for control and making sure I look up for that back spin to happen. [Music] So, yeah, maybe there are a little bit less yeah, maybe there are a little bit less grippy. Maybe it'll be better for a little bit less crazy backspin. Yeah.
    30:58
    I don't know. It's uh it's hard to tell. Yeah. But I do like them. I will say that. But I do like them. I will say that. They really want me to shoot the left They really want me to shoot the left target. Uh-oh. All right. Let's see what happens. All right. Let's see what happens. Not quite. All right.
    31:16
    Want to give it a shot? Yep. Let her drain. Yep. Let her drain. It's hard to let it drain. I want you to keep playing. I know you do. I know you do. Everybody wants to keep playing. That's Everybody wants to keep playing. That's the great thing about pinball. Yes.
    31:58
    You got I already have a King Kong almost ready. Banana combo. Banana combo. Banana combo. It does seem to It does seem to does seem to uh
    32:13
    is it behaving the way you would like it, I guess, is a good question to start with. Yeah, cuz when I So dead bounces seem to be working So dead bounces seem to be working pretty well. Feels feel really similar to dead bounce Feels feel really similar to dead bounce then as the dura bands. You mean super bands? You mean super bands? Yeah, sorry. Super bands. Yeah, sorry. Super bands. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, cuz I can I can do those little Yeah, cuz I can I can do those little tip things. Right.
    32:41
    It doesn't seem to have as much crazy backspin as the uh as the certain super bands. as the certain super bands. Oh, super band. Yeah, the super bands. Oh, super band. Yeah, the super bands. You're right. I now that you point that out, it definitely seems to have that property and the sort of thing you have to look out for. Whereas this, it seems that it uh doesn't really have that. All right, see if I can get this Kong All right, see if I can get this Kong multiball started so we can play some multiball. Oops. Oops. [Music] So I think post passing I think the easiest one to postp pass has been the silicon. Okay. Okay. Cuz I think they're a little bouncier. Cuz I think they're a little bouncier. So the That's true. So I think That's true. So I think so it's almost like what's your what's so it's almost like what's your what's your uh style of play? Yeah. Like what are are you wanting a more Like what are are you wanting a more offensive run of things? Do you want to be more defensive? Then you probably want to go ahead and do uh Yeah.
    33:43
    [Music] How's it feel in multiple mode? Pretty good. I'm going to try to drain Pretty good. I'm going to try to drain Oh, now I got four balls. I wanted I wanted to drain out to two just so I could uh I mean, you could certainly tell just I mean, you could certainly tell just even if it's four balls, you could have a little bit of an extra amount of control, I believe. Yeah. I mean, look at that. There you go. All right. One, two, three. Break.
    34:22
    Yeah. Kind of lets you do a little more finite control. Yeah. I'm kind of liking these so far. Yeah. I'm kind of liking these so far. Mhm.
    34:36
    Nice catch. Wow. Yeah, Yeah, I'll have to remember that when we play I'll have to remember that when we play when we stream next time. Yeah, I think these are like a good Yeah, I think these are like a good compromise between the super bands and that natural rubber. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. It sort of seems like it's somewhere in the middle or something, huh? 4.
    35:08
    They definitely dampen more like the super bands as far as dead bouncing. Mhm. Mhm. So, they're not they're not quite as So, they're not they're not quite as springy as the uh silicon, right?
    35:25
    And do you feel like when you're doing your dead flip there that it's feeling like it's pretty controllable? feeling like it's pretty controllable? Okay. Okay. Have you tried drop catch yet?
    35:53
    Okay. Little bit bouncier than the super bands Little bit bouncier than the super bands on there because I think they just don't quite grip the same. Yeah. Yeah. But but it's pretty stoppable when But but it's pretty stoppable when things like that. Yeah. Even if you don't make a perfect Yeah. Even if you don't make a perfect drop catch or um um Yeah. Yeah. tap passing. Tap passing is a little tap passing. Tap passing is a little easier I think to navigate with it, too. So, okay. So, okay. So, one thing we wanted to point out was on all of our games, we ended up with super bands. We ended up liking them and falling in love with them. Yeah. Well, we kind of like them Yeah. Well, we kind of like them because, you know, especially the classic games, we we found that we like them for the grip factor, the ability to trap and grip and stop the ball. Well, and I think that's where we kind of migrated to uh with that. So, but yeah, basically every game in our collection right now has super bands on it. We just took took a look. So, we've we've done our testing here. Um, natural rubber. Yes. Yes. Titan pinball low bounce super band Titan pinball low bounce super band urethane and pinball life duraband. So, um, so yes. yes. All right. Let's let's do this. Let's All right. Let's let's do this. Let's compare it to the natural rubber. So, uh, so let's let's look at the Titan pinball. So, when you played these, what did you think of their head? Um, with Titan it it it seemed a little more difficult to uh control the bounces. I felt like the bounces were a little higher off of uh things when I was trying to do my recovery shots. Yeah. I think it was a little more Yeah. I think it was a little more springy. Like everything bounced a little higher and stuff like that. Exactly. Exactly. Even though these are the low bounce Even though these are the low bounce ones. Imagine what the non- low bounce ones would do. Right. Yeah. I think uh drop catching Right. Yeah. I think uh drop catching also um again not not really sure how well I was able to perform that kind of thing with it. Yeah. Um, Um, yeah. I don't know. I kind of from what yeah. I don't know. I kind of from what I remember, I remember these guys being a little more on the side of, okay, we did it for a while with Titans, we don't like them as much. There's something else that we typically liked. Um, whether it was the rubbers or the super bands. Yeah. And it sort of seems that way now, I And it sort of seems that way now, I think. You know, I I I felt what I felt with these, the I I I felt what I felt with these, the the the small control was pretty good. Mhm. Mhm. U, but definitely dead bounces bounced a U, but definitely dead bounces bounced a little higher and and stuff like that. Okay. Um, I would also be afraid of the Um, I would also be afraid of the silicon. They they might tear up pretty good and I've seen a lot of those. So, all in all, I think they uh they So, all in all, I think they uh they have good kind tiny control like little control stuff seem pretty good. I seem to be able to stop the ball and stuff like that. Dead bounces seem to be able to do that. They just were higher so you had to adjust for it. Right. Right. Right. Right. Okay. So, super bands. So, these are the Okay. So, super bands. So, these are the hard urethane ones. These have been on the market for a little while. Uh we use them in a lot of our games. Um what what's your opinion? Um what what's your opinion? Well, you know, we've been playing games Well, you know, we've been playing games with the rubber, the black rubber for a while. And for going backwards a little bit in time when we started playing the '90s pens. We started falling in love with these a lot. And the reason being is it's very, very grippy when it comes to stopping the ball, um deciding what you want to do, and then hitting that shot confidently. as well as when you get that ball return a lot of the times you can kind of predict a lot easier and control the ball a lot easier um with that. But that backspin that backspin comes comes back at you a little quicker I think doesn't Yeah. Yeah. The grip the grip allows you Yeah. Yeah. The grip the grip allows you to like stop balls like when they're coming down the in lane pretty good because they'll grip. But it but they will introduce like if you post pass, we find that I find if a post pass goes over the other flipper, it usually has a ton of backspin and then sometimes tries to accelerate off of the flipper. Yeah. So, um, dead bounce. I find these dead bounces on these things very repeatable. They don't go very high. So, you have to make sure that it's not too close to the end or the speed's too slow because it they're they definitely deaden the ball quite a bit comparatively. Yeah, exactly. I think when we mentioned Yeah, exactly. I think when we mentioned uh going back to rubber again, when we did the dead flips um dead um bounces off the dead flips, they were a bit higher, weren't they? On the rubber ones. I think I think the On the rubber ones. I think I think the rubber I think the rubber ones are a little I think the rubber ones are a little less high than the silicon ones. I think these bounce a little bit. They're I'd say the rubber and the silicon Titans are pretty comparable as far as dead bounce. This definitely deadens them quite a bit. So, you have you do need to allow for a little more velocity to make sure you dead flip and don't dead flip into the into the middle. Right. Right. Right. Right. So, So, and then final and then final Dball Life Dura Band. So, these are Dball Life Dura Band. So, these are another urethane product. They're a little softer than the Super Bands. So, um um what was your impression? what was your impression? You know, at first I wasn't really sure what to make of it. Um, and what's interesting also is when I when I touch both of them and I can kind of understand why the ball is behaving at the way it is because the fact that it's a little bit spongier but yet pretty stiff and you know nice and I guess firm at the same time. Uh, as well as flexible I guess is what I was trying to say. You know, I feel like uh I felt confident with this and I I started to like them more and more. I wasn't quite sure when I started my plays where I was going to go and how I was going to feel about it. But then as I was, you know, doing drop catches and dead flips and and uh cradling and things like that, you know, it the ball felt a lot more uh predictable and controllable. That was my thought, you know. That was my thought, you know. So for me, I I felt that these these are So for me, I I felt that these these are a good compromise between the the grippyiness but the but the hardness of the super bands versus the natural rubber. I think they're kind of feel like they're like right in between. I can I can repeatedly dead bounce very well with these. very well with these. It deadens them a little bit, but not a It deadens them a little bit, but not a ton. Not compared to So, not too compared to that, but the finite not too compared to that, but the finite control felt pretty good. Maybe not obviously not as good as the super bands. The super bands with their grippyiness really stop the ball and stuff like really stop the ball and stuff like that, but I also didn't notice a lot of horrible backspin with these. Yeah, that was the other thing I noticed Yeah, that was the other thing I noticed as well. That's I'm glad you pointed that out and as I as you were talking there I was kind of feeling the difference between rubber and this and it kind of has the same properties in terms of the feel of it and you can kind of understand okay that is a little easier to prevent the back spins than this you know by the way this is an extremely by the way this is an extremely scientifically calibrated stiffness measurement well you know well you know but yeah I think the hardness feels but yeah I think the hardness feels really similar right this is not I don't have a durometer checker so um I I mean, for for us, I mean, um I I mean, for for us, I mean, we're just playing by feel anyway, we're just playing by feel anyway, right? We're playing by feel, literally in the We're playing by feel, literally in the game. So, um, but yeah, you can feel how soft um, but yeah, you can feel how soft these are compared to even those. Yeah. Yeah, that one's really squishy Yeah. Yeah, that one's really squishy compared to this one. That's a good point cuz when you when That's a good point cuz when you when you pinch it, you can you feel it kind of, you know, pushing in. Whereas this doesn't really have a give to it, you know. Yeah. Yeah. I think Yeah. Yeah. I think I think the Dura Bands here, these these I think the Dura Bands here, these these do a really good job of replicating the natural rubber actually. I think um given the fact they're urethane, they're probably going to last longer and they won't make your game dirty. So now, correct me if I'm wrong. U in now, correct me if I'm wrong. U in general, isn't this something that the arcades put in because they want to prevent people from getting good? I think a lot of them use cheap silicon I think a lot of them use cheap silicon bands which are really bouncy, okay, and have no grip. Um, which those if you ever played an arcade and the balls will come down and go boing boing boing boing. They're generally a silicon one. There are some really some hard some urethane ones that I've seen, but I think it's mostly the silicon ones they put on the urethane ones. There seems to be only two and that's the super bands and now the durabs. So, but there's a lot of silicon rubber So, but there's a lot of silicon rubber flipper rubber out there that's been around for quite a while. Um, and they the ones they put on a lot Um, and they the ones they put on a lot of arcades are just extremely uncontrollable. I hate playing games like that. Which is obviously the operator has put them on to make money. Um, but the low bounce ones are if you if you like if you like if you like a little soft a little more movement when dead bounces and stuff like that, they're they're a pretty good compromise, too. It's definitely a different style of play than you get with either of the urethane ones, but I think um I think I want to try but I think um I think I want to try some of these Dura Bands on more machines. So, I'm kind of liking the way they were behaving. Kind of a good compromise. I mean, we we all love natur the way the natural rubber plays, but I hate how dirty it makes the game and they change over time. These will get hard after a while. Yeah. Forget and you forget. You don't Yeah. Forget and you forget. You don't realize that maybe your gameplay is suffering or maybe you're just you're just realizing one day, how come I'm not hitting this this way like I used to or whatever. Mhm. Um, you want something that lasts Um, you want something that lasts longer, not only for you the sake of your game being clean, but also for your own gameplay, I guess. So, yeah. So, yeah. And typically, I find that the the the And typically, I find that the the the Super Bands are extremely longlasting. Even if they start to see a little wear, you just rotate them and you get years out of these things. Years. Now, we haven't these are brand new for us, so we haven't tried them, so we can't speak to the durability of those. silicon ones. I've seen a lot of silicon ones get chewed up on locations. In a home use, probably not going to have a problem with it. So, yeah. And then rubbers, I mean, yeah. And then rubbers, I mean, rubber is rubber. Everybody's seen rubber is rubber. Everybody's seen rubber and it it chew gets chewed up on the ends. Yeah. And then you'll see like the one Yeah. And then you'll see like the one strand that's left that's holding on for dear life before it just goes and snaps off the flip. Hope you that doesn't happen during your Hope you that doesn't happen during your game. So, all in all, that's things. Uh, but I encourage every one of you if you own a pinball machine, go buy some different kinds and try them on your game because every game is going to be different. You know, based on the speed, how how the ball moves. Some of the crazy geometry games like Uncanny X-Men are going to probably put a lot of back spin on the ball and how you play your game, too. and how you play your game, too. Honestly, you might be a defensive player more than an offensive player. And so, you might want to decide, okay, maybe I like the Titans better because of this and that or or whatever it is. Yeah, it's definitely a personal preference. So, you take what we say with a bit of grain of salt. Uh, but I think I'm going to try some of these these Dura Bands on some more machines here and see if we like them cuz I am kind of liking them a little better than the Super Bands at this point. Yeah. Yeah, it was interesting. It was Yeah. Yeah, it was interesting. It was fun. I'm glad that we did this. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All right. All right. All right, everybody. Make sure you All right, everybody. Make sure you subscribe to our channel if you like our content, but we also do live pinball play on Twitch and on YouTube on Wednesday evenings and Sunday evenings. So definitely definitely join us if you like some live game play. Absolutely. And come in, chat with us or Absolutely. And come in, chat with us or lurk or otherwise. So until then, thanks for watching us and uh we hope to see you next time. Bye Bye bye.