A rebound test showed the Pointfore Blue Dot bounces well for beginners and D level players. A rebound test showed the Dunlop Max also bounces well for beginners and D level players. However, the Dunlop Max is oversized, and feels heavier on the racquet. I recommend the Pointfore Blue Dot for the beginner and D skill levels because it is the same size as the Dunlop Pro. If you don't mind playing with an oversized ball, The Dunlop Max is an option.
Recommendation to Dunlop: retain the Max's rebound characteristics, but change it to have the same size and weight as the Pro.
Dunlop advertises the Max as having "40% longer hang-time" to that of the Pro. The rebound test showed 14% more hang time, not the advertised 40%.
A rebound test showed the Pointfore Red Dot bounces well for C level players and most B level players. A rebound test showed the Dunlop Max Progress also bounces well for C level players and most B level players. However, the Dunlop Max Progress is oversized, and feels heavier on the racquet. I recommend the Pointfore Red Dot for C/B skill level range because it is the same size a the Dunlop Pro. If you don't mind playing with an oversized ball, The Dunlop Max Progress is an option.
Recommendation to Dunlop: retain the rebound characteristics of the Max Progress, but change it to have the same size and weight as the Pro.
Dunlop advertises the Max Progress as having "20% longer hang-time" to that of the Pro. The rebound test showed 7% more hang time, not the advertised 20%.
The Dunlop Competition is advertised as having 10% more hang time as the Pro. A rebound test showed 1% more hang time, not the advertised 10%.
Recommendation to Dunlop: bump up the rebound curve of the Competition. Put it right between the Pro and Max Progress. Right now it is too close to the Pro.
Pointfore markets their Single Yellow Dot to compete with Dunlop's Competition. A rebound test showed that the Pointfore Single Yellow Dot has to get a bit hotter than a Dunlop Pro to bounce the same, but is close enough to be used almost interchangeably with the Dunlop Pro.
Recommendation to Pointfore: bump up the rebound curve on the Pointfore Single Yellow Dot such that is it half way between the Pro and the Pointfore Red Dot.
Pointfore markets its Double Yellow Dot to compete with Dunlop's Pro. A rebound test showed the Pointfore Double Yellow Dot has to get hotter than the Dunlop Pro to bounce the same. The difference is not huge, but it is enough that this ball did not make my recommendation list, as I think this is the wrong direction to go in for the vast majority of club players.
However, some players may prefer less bounce than they get from a Dunlop Pro, and may want to consider this ball. Also, this ball is currently sold for less than the Dunlop Pro.
Recommendation to Pointfore: bump up the rebound curve of the Pointfore Double Yellow Dot such that it is the same as the Dunlop Pro.
Based on the rebound results for the Pointfore and Dunlop balls, there is a gap between the Dunlop Pro and the Pointfore Red Dot. It would be nice if the Dunlop Competition or Pointfore Single Yellow Dot were changed to fill this gap, but currently both of those balls bounce very close to the Dunlop Pro.
The Pointfore Double Yellow Dot ball is available from Pointfore USA's squash web site.
The Dunlop Max Progress and Max balls are available at most places which sell squash equipment.