Latest reviews

Pros
  • great dwell
  • spinny
  • ideal for blocki
For those players who do like to boost their rubbers here is the review-

Stigas Mantra S is far softer than the Airoc or Genesis S- you can tell that even as you attempt to hold the sheet -it just flops around!
I prefer to use Haifu oil oil on my rubbers and therefore boosted it as i do with my DHS h3n

I tried the 2.1mm thickness and found the following-

This rubber i found to be fast and spinny- you can really feel the ball sink in to the rubber and therefore dwell time is excellent- especially good for backhand looping v underspin.

Additionally i found pushing and serving to be effective with this rubber from my backhand
Counterhitting and driving is really impressive with much speed and power. And heres the great thing blocking is so good with control and feel allowing for soft hands to get the best out of blocking.

The Mantra rubber is not a heavy rubber so the blade doesn't feel top heavy (DHS HN3) is a heavier and denser rubber.

Although the surface of the topsheet is not as tacky i found this to be a spinnier rubber than both Astro s and Genesis s and i for one will be changing to this rubber- in fact order a couple of sheets to keep me stocked up!!
T
Speed
9.1
Spin
9.3
Control
9.2
Pros
  • Very Spinny
  • boosts well
  • backhand
Having used Chinese DHS Hurricane Neo 3 (Provincial ) on my forehand i have experimented with lots of euro rubbers on my backhand-usually Stiga rubbers such as Calibra and Airoc types to varying successes. However in search of my perfect combo and yes i will admit to being an equipment junkie i was intrigues to see a Chinese/Euro rubber on the market that i wanted to try.

The attraction i thought was to try a top sheet that i could boost with Haifu oil i had been using on my DHS Husrricane 3 Neo -blue sponge to great effect.Euro rubbers don't work well with Haifu so i have been boosting with Pang vulcanized rubber glue on the euro ones i mention above which is fine but short lived as the con of such treatment. I couldnt find any info online from anyone trying the Haifu on this new rubber so i thought id share my experience with you on here.

Firstly i bought the 2,2mm red S version as i prefer to play with a softer rubber on my backhand for spin and blocking but i have yearned for mre power when punching/smashing from my backhand side-a holy grail to have all these traits i hear you say.

The top sheet was definately Chinese on inspection of its characteristics. The protective film on the sheet is similar to DHS one- the feel although not super tacky has a similar feel and it has a firmness that is unmistakably Chinese in its production. The euro / Jap rubbers especially Butterfly last in my opinion/experience about 3-4 months if practising and playing regularly every week- far too short in my opinion for a £50 a sheet item. My DHS by comparison has not chipped or split over the last 4 months after putting 3 layers of oil on the sponge and playing 4-5 times per week, so durability is a consideration to me.

Now i had a choice, do i use the safer 'vulcanized' rubber glue as a short speed glue effect or go for the same Haifu oil treatment i give my DHS Hurricane Neo 3 Rubbers. My brain said go for it!

A layer of white copydex, dried then a thin layer of Haifu followed. 6 hours drying later no doming occurred- not unusual in itself i reassured myself.

Another thin layer of Haifu later and doming occurred- about 3 inches or so. Great i thought its reacting like a Chinese rubber should

Another layer applied and 24 hours later blade meets rubber- great

I couldnt get to the training venue quick enough- i was like a kid on Xmas eve.

2 hours of practice with a very good looper as my sparring partner and these are my findings-

Spin- Very Very Spinny- serving looping and applying backspin was so easy with this rubber. You have to brush contact well to get the best out of this......
If opening on my backhand from 3/4 length underspin i found backhand looping really good as the arc was nice and low and i could apply some pace to the ball knowing the topspin would land it where i wanted at the other end.

Speed- Fast i mean as fast as Tenergy 05 - which i have used before. My partner on the other side stated without prompting that he noticed a difference in my power and speed of my backhand smashes or punch blocks. Great i thought.

Blocking- I love nothing more than to block on my backhand whether as a defensive block or my preferred weapon to block in an attacking way using the pace of the opponent against them
This rubber was better than my Airoc Astro S or Calibra Tour S for this technique in my opinion. Consistently my opponent looped with pace at my backhand and i would with some control move the ball around the table at will and with some pace to win points.

I use an OSP Ultimate 3CRW blade which has a large sweet spot and with these rubbers in my opinion i have found my perfect combination of blade/rubbers/my offensive style.

Any questions please PM me.
Mark
Speed
9
Spin
9.4
Durability
9.2
Control
9.3
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