Tibhar Evolution MX-P
Weight: 73 grams uncut, 49 grams uncut
Sponge Hardness: 45.7°
Hardness: Medium
Speed: High
Spin: Medium
Blade used: Tibhar Stratus Carbon blade
Written Review
After many requests from users on the TableTennisDaily website, we have teamed up with
TableTennis11.com to review Tibhar’s most popular rubber series.
Initial inspection
The Evolution rubber is ESN based and has a firm glossy topsheet. What's interesting about the Evolution series is that the rubbers all have a strong smell which is evident right out the packaging. Other rubbers do not seem to possess this same strong glue smell.
The rubbers vary in sponge hardness with the FX-P being the softest in the range coming in at 41.1 degrees. The El-P has a sponge hardness of 42.4 degrees. The Evolution MX-P has a sponge hardness of 45.7 degrees. and finally the MX-S which is the hardest rubber in the series with a sponge hardness of 46.3 degrees.
The rubbers have slight variations in weight. Uncut The FX-P weighs 68 grams and cut 47 grams, the EL-P uncut weighs 72 grams and cut weighs 50 grams, the MX-P uncut weighs 73 grams and cut 49 grams and the MX-S uncut weighs 75 grams and cut weighs 51 grams.
I used the Tibhar Samsonov Stratus Carbon blade throughout the review whilst Tom used this and his regular bat, switching between the two setups to get a better understanding of how the evolution rubber series performs.
Topspins
We started out with the MX-P which is widely regarded as the most popular rubber in the series and has been highly praised by the table tennis tennis community, and you can tell why almost immediately. The rubber feels alive and you get a loud clicking sound on contact. Another quality that becomes apparent as soon as you start using the MX-P is the sheer amount of speed it produces. The strong catapult effect propels the plastic ball with minimal effort.
Although the speed is impressive with the MX-P we did sometimes find that the ball would fly out long due to just how fast it was, so you need good control and feeling to use this rubber to full effect. This rubber is also very responsive to incoming speed and spin and we both made a fair amount of mistakes initially before we got used to it.
Spin
When opening up against backspin using my backhand, for example, I felt I had a lot of grip and a fair amount of dwell for such a fast offensive rubber. Again sometimes due to the high speed of the MXP, my 3rd and 5th ball attacks went just off the end of the table so I had to close my bat angle to adjust and maintain consistency.
We both really liked the MX-P on the forehand side when trying to lift backspin and were both able to produce great amounts spin when playing aggressively. As this is a rubber for advanced players those with sufficient technique will be able to use this speed and spin to full effect.
Flicks
In the serve and receive game the MX-P worked exceptionally when playing a backhand flick. The evolution rubber gripped the ball well and, combined with its speed excelled in this area. I found that I could follow up with an effective backhand punch shot which, in general, is very effective with the entire evolution range.
Counters
Due to the crisp, clean feel and contact, countering with this rubber was fantastic. With little effort we were both able to produce consistent and effective counter topspins.
We also found that from mid distance and away from the table the MXP’s speed allowed us to impart strong shots.
Conclusion
Tibhar’s flagship evolution rubbers are superb, and have a range of different characteristics to suit different players needs. We found all the rubbers have a good spring, responsive feel, but all differ in terms of sponge hardness, speed and spin.
I personally preferred the MXP on my forehand and the MXS on my backhand. I felt I was able to control and handle the speed. This speed allowed me to pressure Tom in match play. For strong attacking players the MXP would be of a good choice as the hard sponge propels the ball forward with its extreme catapult effect with great spin. Players who take a bit more time in their shots and want control and dwell over speed would prefer the FXP or the ELP.
Alternatively players who struggle for speed and want that extra bit of kick in their forehand the MXP would be of a good choice of rubber. Players who want something a touch slower than the MXP but with more grip, slightly more spin and a harder sponge, the MXS would suit. The MXS is also slightly faster than the two softer evolution rubbers
The spin produced is not quite as much as a Tenergy 05 or a Chinese Hurricane rubber but easily effective enough to lift heavy backspin balls to put your opponent under pressure. Serving with all 4 variants of the evolution series did not give us any problems as the surface of the rubber grabbed the ball well producing good spin and gave us good precision and placement .