Stiga Genesis II M

I decided to try Stiga Genesis II as I am a fan of hybrid type rubbers and normally use DHS Skyline 3-60, but have had a couple of sheets with quality issues recently so am looking for an alternative.

Reading Stigas description: "It's a powerful synthesis of Japanese and Stiga-developed OCS technology, Swedish knowledge, and a new ultra-thin elastic top rubber made in China. The new sticky surface has been specially developed for the ABS ball for maximum spin." I was hoping it would be the Stiga Mantra sponge with a tacky topsheet, however I am fairly sure the sponge is also manufactured by DHS and most resembles something from the Tin Arc series of rubbers.

I would also say the Genesis II M is harder than the Mantra or Airoc M rubbers, and it would make more sense if it was labeled H to keep it in line with the rest of Stiga's range.

The topsheet looks really good quality, it is tacky, maybe not quite as tacky has DHS Hurricane or Skyline rubbers, but definitely a tacky rubber. It has a really smooth look with absolutely no imperfections and although I have only used it for about 8 hours so far, it looks like it will last really well. It still looks brand new, which would not be the case with Skyline 3-60.

Compared to Skyline 3-60 I would say it is slightly harder with a slightly lower throw. It is great for serves and in the short game and can generate really good spin with the right technique. I would say that it generally plays very slightly more like a Chinese rubber whilst still very much being a Hybrid type rubber. This is not the 'best of both worlds' because no rubber is and there is always going to be some compromise, but if you like hybrid type rubbers, then this is a really good quality one and well worth a try.

Tested on ZJK super zlc, which is a hard fast blade, I haven't played with Genesis I, But here are my thoughts about the rubber. It was a lot harder then I expected maybe even harder then MXS, Great control in short game and insensitive to incoming spin since the rubber's tacky surface . Low catapult as expected, good spin but inferior to Tenergy 05 for example I found it pretty slow even at 2.2 in my racket. Good weight (lighter the MXS ) around 70 gramms uncut , great quality overall, medium angle . Did not pair well with my Blade even it was a lot better after 2 thin layers of falco boost but overall felt hard and not "lively" enough. I would suggest pairing it with more flexible blades with higher angle then mine or boosting it so it becomes softer and less rigit.