Stiga Genesis M

A good Chinese rubber with a bouncy sponge. It is similar to the Tin Arc rubbers. The Rubber is made by DHS. It is medium fast and is very spinny on slow loops. High amount of control and excellent for close to the table type of play. Pushes and blocks well too.

STIGA Genesis Rubbers M
Thickness: 2.0 mm
Style: Offensive
Hardness: Medium sponge
Blade used: Butterfly Garaydia ZLC
Made in CHINA

Look and first impression: The package and design looks good and the rubbers got a thin plastic protection film which you must remove. I was surprised by the grippy topsheet and the great looking surface, almost the same like Tenergy where the sponges is visible thru the surface even without booster/speed glue.

The rubber is made in China but does not have the super tackiness like many other Chinese rubbers. Stiga is marketing the rubber as a combination between Chinese and Europeans feel.

Genesis is fast but not super-fast. I think it suits offensive players who prefers control the best. What I really like is the spin, extreme spin when looping against underspin, very easy to put heavy underspin on the table compared to many other European rubbers.

The spin also make the rubber great in serves and I could easy keep the ball short in returns due to the great ball contact. I have only played with it for three practices so it’s too soon to tell for me but from what I have read the topsheet is very high quality with great durability so I hope that’s true.

My conclusion: This is a great rubber for offensive players who likes control in combination with spin. I think this rubber can also work good for younger players who develop their game since the rubber is offering such a good control (of course it’s important to not match it with a too fast blade).

I can agree that the rubbers feel as a good combination between Chinese and European feel. The sponge is not as hard as a Chinese rubber Hurricane but the topsheet is still much spinner than most other European style rubbers.

I've started using Genesis M Max on my forehand. It's a very linear rubber, with a Chinese-like tackiness, and lots of control.

Suitable for agressive and controled play. Struggling a bit from a distance, as it's quite inert (compared to other tensors), and need a good technique to generate lots of speed.

Seems very durable. Far more than any other non Chinese rubbers so far...

STIGA Genesis M Rubber
Weight: 66 grams uncut, 42.5 grams uncut
Sponge Hardness: 47°
Hardness: Medium/Hard
Speed: Medium
Spin: High
Blade used: STIGA Carbonado 90 and STIGA Infinity blade (Dan), STIGA Hybrid NCT Wood blade (Tom)


Written Review

Initial

The Genesis rubbers were released in July 2016 and are completely different to predecessor STIGA rubbers in terms of composition. Right out the packaging I could feel the high quality. The top sheet being very glossy and aesthetically quite similar to Chinese rubbers such as the Hurricane 3 but not as tacky. The rubber comes in a protective film which you need to peel off and the sponge is orange and porous.

The pores of the rubbers themselves are quite large and it's hard to tell the difference between the soft and medium versions with the only real difference between them being the sponge hardness. The Genesis Genesis Medium has a sponge hardness of 47 degrees.





Topspins

The first thing that impressed us with these rubbers was sheer amount of control they give you. The ball snaps of the bat quickly yet you feel very safe and confident in your strokes. Again there are similar characteristics to a Chinese style rubber in how that the Genesis rubbers feels, with a hard sponge and a grippy surface.

Speed

The Genesis is a responsive rubber however not as responsive as traditional tensor type rubbers. You don’t get the same spring effect you feel in traditional tensor rubbers. This means you have to utilise more body and rotation when playing shots. What we like about the Genesis is the sponge effect feels quicker than most Chinese type rubbers giving the Genesis a Euro, Chinese feel. The Genesis rubbers have a consistent contact and provide more control than most tensors, as the rubbers tacky nature gives you more time on the ball.

Brush the ball

Due to the Chinese style topsheet it is important to brush the ball during your stroke. You don’t get away with hitting the ball flat. This means you need to adjust your bat face by opening it more to allow for the medium throw angle. The advantage of this really helps with topspinning low balls or when you are out of position.

The medium version definitely produces less of sound however Tom preferred the medium version to the soft as he wants a bit more pace on the ball. He finds the medium to produce high spin and control and enough speed to finish the point.

Spin

In today’s modern game it’s important to generate a lot of spin especially with the plastic ball. These rubbers do just that with the tacky surface gripping the ball extremely well producing lots of spin. This was very noticeable against backspin and in the short game.

I could produce a lot of spin on my open ups and liked the pace I could produce on the fifth ball. I did find it a little tricky to get as much power as I would have liked when the incoming 5th ball was slow. To generate the power needed to win the point required a good use of legs, body and timing at top of the bounce.

Serve and touch

Initially I served into the net on quite a few occasions. The tacky rubber keeps the ball on the rubber for a long time. After some slight adjustments with my technique I produced a spinny consistent serve. During short play, this is the area of the game is where the rubber excelled. Keeping the ball tight around the net was easy due to the grip.

Counter topspins

A particular area the Genesis works super well in is during a counter topspin. The grippy topsheet brings the ball down quickly and low over the net allowing for a strong attack

Backhand flicks

Another advantage of the genesis was picking up low side and backspin balls on the return of serve using a backhand flick. The rubber grips the ball superbly even against the lowest of backspin serves. I really liked the follow up backhand punch and topspin I could do after the flick. I could be play very aggressively whilst maintaining accuracy at the same time. I found the soft gave me a lot more control on the backhand, its softer nature gave me more time to play strong shots with the backhand.

Away from the table

When away from the table you can really make the ball kick off your opponent's side due to the vast amount of spin.

Conclusion

To conclude, STIGA have definitely upped their game with these latest Genesis rubber series and are an improvement on their previous high end rubbers such as the Airoc and Calibra series. The Genesis soft and medium both pack a lot of punch in terms of spin and they really grab the ball well due to and the grippy topsheet. These rubbers don’t feel completely like a Chinese rubber in the sense that they are not as hard and are not extremely tacky, they also have more dwell and a crisper feeling. The balance between speed and control is excellent which gives you plenty of safety in your strokes.

In comparison to other rubbers the Genesis is spinnier than an Evolution rubber for example however it is slower. For those who find some rubbers too responsive to incoming spin and hard to control Genesis could be a good alternative. They are especially effective in the serve and receive game. If you're an all out power player you might find the Genesis series slightly too slow however for those players who value spin and control more these may be the rubbers for you. This is not to say the Genesis are slow rubbers they just require more use of legs and rotation to get the same speed as a Tenergy for instance.

We would recommend the medium for players who take the ball early and play aggressive opening attacks, the rubber works well from close to mid range to the table. I personally like the soft version especially with its loud sound and clicky feel which gives a bit more control and works especially well on the backhand side for blocking and counter hit shots. These rubbers are fantastic for active blocking and controlling the table. For players wanting more speed the medium would be a better choice over the soft. STIGA have developed a high quality top end rubber that produces supreme spin and control without compromising on speed. We feel that the Genesis rubbers are a refreshing update from STIGA and are the best STIGA rubbers currently on the market for advanced attacking players.

Got the Genesis M rubber as soon as it was available and immediately felt a big improvement in the spin in my game. The topsheet is very tacky, which helped to generate lots of spin during serves. Combined with the Clipper Wood this rubber is amazing.

I have played two practises with Genesis M and I loved this rubber directly. What I like the most is the spin this rubber is able to generate, my serves got much spinnier and I really like the balance between speed and control. It's kind of different in feel from the earlier Stiga rubbers I have tried, maybe becasue it's made in China, however I think it feels much more like a euro rubber than a Chinese rubber when it comes to how it plays.

If I compare to Tenergy I think this rubber is more spinny and and got a little higher arc. As Tom wrote I think this will be a popular rubbers that suits many offensive players.

I have been using the Genesis M 2.0 rubbers for the last few weeks and it's a fantastic rubber. The high amount of grip it has is key for the spin it can generate, I found in comparison to the Tenergy series it has even greater spin. However tenergy does still have perhaps a slight edge on speed, but for players looking for a controllable and spinny rubber this is perfect. Don't get me wrong Genesis is still fast with a good high arc and spring. Very impressive new release from Stiga I think it will become extremely popular, it is a great middle ground between a Chinese style hard hurricane type rubber and a European style high tension type rubber!

Great rubbers!

I'm using the 2 mm medium hardness variant (FH)

I'm using these rubbers for 2 years (2 sets, one a year) and they are just perfect.

When you score a lot of points with your serve this rubber is made for YOU.

It gives lots of spin and much of control, this means you kan get it everywhere with every kind of spin but of course, technique is the major part

In game it is a great rubber to set up the ball, when the ball has got the right speed you can start playing. You can chop-block to suprise your opponement or you can easily take over every kind of ball

Overall, when you are a player of serve, spin and tactics, this is the best rubber you can get.

Stiga Genesis M
thickness: 2.2mm
weight: 68g
After cut: 48g (quite heavy to me, prefer 44g)
Blade: Bufferfly Kenta Matsudaira (weight is 133g with Tenergy 05 fx, total is 181g)
hardness: very hard

i have tested out the genesis M with 2.2 thickness rubber on my butterfly kenta matsudaira. The problem with this genesis M is the hardness. i find out it is very hard for me to punch the ball into the sponge when playing stroke. Balls have difficulty sink into the sponge as the rubber hardness too high. I have to smash the ball very hard to achieve high speed and spin.

My expectation to stiga is stiga airoc sponge with DHS rubber. The reason behind is airoc sponge really give the sense of catapult and ball feeling in hand when stroke, and paired with the chinese rubber topsheet, then, it will perfect to me.

Stiga Genesis M
Weight: 64 grams
Thickness: 2.0mm
Speed: Off

Throughout the review I will compare the Genesis M to the Genesis S and to similar rubbers that share the same characters as the Genesis series. The Genesis M feels fairly tacky however not to tacky like other Chinese/Tacky rubbers in the market. The topsheet on the Genesis could easily pass for a Euro style topsheet on first look however it is a Chinese topsheet. The Genesis M has the best topsheet I have seen for a Chinese rubber, very high quality, better than rubbers such as the Haifu which I have tested before. Someone has commented already that the rubbers have been produced by DHS and are similar to the Tin Arc series by DHS. I have tried the Tin Arc series previously and I think the Genesis is a few notches higher in performance and quality and definitely feels more responsive. The markings on the sponge as seen below are a giveaway on who made and produced the rubbers. The pores on the sponge are more porous and larger than DHS rubbers. Between the two Genesis rubbers the M version is 47 degrees whilst the S is 45 degrees. The topsheet on both the rubbers are medium to soft and not as hard as DHS Hurricane rubbers.

Speed

The Genesis M is fast and bouncy and feels similar to a Euro rubber instead of a traditional Chinese rubber. In comparison to other Stiga rubbers, the Genesis seems as fast as a Stiga Calibra LT Sound but with a more harder feeling. The Genesis M is definitely faster than the S and Calibra Spin. When comparing the Genesis against other brands in terms of speed the M is faster than DHS Tin Arc rubbers and has similar speeds to the Donic Acuda S2. The Genesis M is faster than the Acuda S2 however slower than the Airoc Astro or the Evolution series by Tibhar for example.

Spin

Over the last few years this is definitely the most spiniest Stiga rubber I have ever used. The spin on the M produces a high arc and long trajectory. I would say the Genesis M has slightly less spin than a Hurricane 3 or a Tenergy 05 however it is just as spinny as a MX-P by Tibhar or a Rhyzm rubber by Joola. The Genesis M is a notch spinier than the Tin Arc rubbers. The topsheet on the Genesis feels more 'grippy' than 'tacky'. The M only needs a minimal brush technique to produce a lot of spin. The Genesis series have a lesser sensitivity to spin in comparison to other Chinese and Euro rubbers.

Overall performance

Overall I think the move by Stiga to produce this type of rubber is excellent. The Genesis M is a fantastic rubber which works well on both an allwood or carbon blade. The Genesis M is my favorite between the S and M and is a well rounded attacking rubber which allows you to play all shots. The rubber works well in the serve and receive game as well as touch shots such as the drop shot. The rubber is a good alternative to Hurricane rubbers with players who struggle to adapt to the new plastic ball era. Players who struggle with the new ball may like the Genesis as the rubber offers increased speed and who do not want to change to a Euro or Japanese rubber. The M version works very well from mid distance and near to the table. In the near future I will review the Genesis M in 2.1mm to feel the fullest speed of the M version.

How does this rubber stack up against Tenergy 05?

If we compare the Genesis rubber to the Butterfly Tenergy 05 I would say, it's still a few notches below but the m version is already fast at 2.0mm. Spin is greater than some ESN rubbers but lower than T05. A superb rubber by Stiga.

Pictures from the Review:

I like the spin your able to generate with the rubber, it gives your topspin more loop and added kick especially for a person who can't generate spin that well on the forehand! The control is surprisingly impressive as I found it relatively easy to block with and moving to counter loops was effortless as the rubber is so fast and has good control in my opinion!

Away from the table it allows you to stay in the rallies with quality shots! It gives an added boost of extra spin in serves as I found people was commenting on how much spinier my serves were to what they are usually! I found it hard to do touches with as it is a fast rubber! Generally it's a good rubber I think and I've tried it in about 5/6 sessions! It's only downside is I found it hard to punch with on my backhand! Even though it's a very fast rubber with loads of spin I had to chip away from the table a few times and it was very effective even though it's not designed for that.