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I used the Hurricane 8 as aforehand rubber for 6-8 months during which it lost very little of it's tackiness - it was very durable. I started of using it on an old version of the Butterfly Timo Boll Forte (they don't sell them anymore) which was a moderately soft blade and around an OFF-. The first few weeks when I used the hurricane on this blade, it was so beautiful that I thought that I found the perfect rubber; it was extremely good for serving - thanks to it's tackiness - and open-ups off a backspin ball, as well as looping was incredible. The rubber put a lot of spin on the ball during loops, more than a tenergy, the only downside being that the power was limited. This means that if you prefer power over spin, this rubber is probably not for you.
The only thing that I left out of the equation when playing with the Hurricane was adapting my technqiue to the Chinese technique over the standard European techniques. This could have been a factor which limited the power that I was able to generate with this rubber, maybe, I don't know.
I then changed blades to a Timo Boll ZLC whilst still using the Hurricane 8, for anyone hwo doesn't know, this is a faster blade than the Timo Boll Forte which I used before and a lot harder than the other blade. One thing that I can tell from this experience is that hard blades and hard rubbers do not go together, so if you are using a hard blade DO NOT buy this rubber. The ball will spring off the bat too quick for the rubbers to spin the ball and the feeling of the bat becomes really bad.
Hope this helps, Mat

The best allwood blade I've ever played with!.Really good blade with a sweet spot covering almost the whole playing surface!!
Driving feels good with little vibrations and the feeling is fabulous!! Using a hard tacky chinese rubber is the best with this blade,it plays good even with tensor rubber! LOOPING with this blade is just toooo good!!! its a MONSTER!.Even though its a fast blade the touchplay is not affected,the ball stays low to the net when pushing or chopping .One thing i admire in this blade is its control,its really good,blocking is and piece of cake with this blade. I dont feel it too heavy as some people said and the handle is really very comfortable and thin,but the wood absorbs moisture/sweat and the blade gains some weight....that's not a big problem,u can just lightly lacquer the handle or keep silica gel packets (absorbs moisture) in your racket case.

Overall, this is a good blade, I have it for 8 months now.
However, this blade is recommended to me so I tried it, but I noticed that it is not good for the modern topspin player, which made me pretty anoyed, becouse i am one... So this is a good blade if you're a active blocker, shortswing topspinner and a hitter.

I have tried this blade with speed-glued Sriver EL a long time back and used it for several months when I put Bluefire M3 on both sides. The blade has a very good feeling due to it being comprised of balsa. It has a core that has carbon balls which move around as you make your stroke. You fell the effect very well on power loops which are incredibly fast. I also had the blade in the OFF+ version so it was a real rocketship. Still, the control was quite good. For blocking I'd say there is no better blade. No matter how hard the opponent loops or smashes the block is effortless and very consistent. The looping with this blade requires very little effort and you might want to take the ball a little later if you're using high-throw angle rubbers. The serving and short game bits are pretty good especially if you want to get a good low spinny push due to the speed and high throw. Flicks require little more than just a simple flick of the wrist (around 90 degrees) However, long pushes can go long. Opening up against backspin just requires a little more open of an angle and barely any effort and it doesn't come up really high. This blade shines at mid to long distance where you can do top to top rallies, lobbing, and counter loops/smashes very easily. It's not bad close to the table but you will find it hard to play a strong loop close to the table due to the blades speed. Still overall a very good blade for those who like to take a step away from the table and play with very little effort.

STIGA Mantra Medium
Weight: 66 grams uncut, 49 grams uncut
Sponge Hardness: 45°
Hardness: Medium
Speed: Medium
Spin: Medium/High
Blade used: Carbonado 90 & 145 + Infinity



Written Review

Initial Inspection

Latest review with myself and Tom reviewing the new rubbers from STIGA, the Mantra series. Last year STIGA launched their new rubbers, the Genesis. This year STIGA have rolled out the all new Mantra rubber series which come in 3 versions, soft, medium and hard. The Mantra rubbers are made in Japan, the same factory that produced the Airoc series. The most obvious difference we notice right away with the Mantra, is that the topsheet is not as shiny as the Airoc. The Mantra seems to have a more grippy topsheet on initial inspection, something STIGA have really improved on over the last few years with their rubbers such as the Genesis.

The soft, medium and hard versions of the Mantra all have the same pimple structure with the only difference being the sponge hardness. The Mantra medium has a 45 degree sponge hardness and comes in at 66grams when uncut and when cut is 49 grams.


Speed

From the word go myself and Tom noticed the obvious high speed of the Mantra. This is quite typical of Japanese based rubbers, and the ball shot of the bat fast. Tom has been using Genesis for the last 3 months in his Swedish league matches and noticed the initial increase in speed on the Mantra as he blocks off the table on numerous occasions.

The Mantra rubbers felt really controllable on the backhand. I actually preferred it on this side. I could change direction with ease and had excellent control due to the balance of the speed and spin even when accelerating my arm and wrist at max pace.

During the popular exercise 2 backhands and 2 forehands, tom found a Stable, consistent contact.

When using the hard version of the Mantra rubber the ball sometimes almost felt like it was diving down towards the net due to the low throw produced. Sometimes we both found we needed to finely brush the ball to get the amount of grip needed to get the ball over the net. As you would expect the hard version produced the most speed in the series. When using the medium during 3 point forehand the rubber was a touch slower than the hard version however produced a higher arc, this was even more apparent with the soft version.


Spin

When opening up against backspin we were pleasantly surprised with the spin we were able to produce. The grip of the topsheet of the Mantra series is much greater than the previous STIGA Airoc series. This allowed me to pick up low balls with relative ease. The Mantra rubbers are not as spinny as the Stiga Genesis series however pack more punch in terms of speed especially when following up with a fifth ball attack.

I sometimes struggled to pick up wide balls on my forehand side and needed to be in good position due to the low throw of the hard version. I found this easier however with the medium and softer versions.

Tom produced a lot of spin on the backhand side when top spinning balls with backspin. The medium and soft versions grabbed the ball well.


Backhand flicks

When playing a backhand flick from a service, having a grippy topsheet on the rubber is important to pick up the ball with spin. The mantra series has this grippiness and we were both able to backhand flick strongly with good spin.
When serving Tom was able to impart a good amount of backspin on the ball when using a fast acceleration of wrist.


Counter topspin

Initially the ball shot of the end of the table during the counter topspin again this was due to the speed, but with certain bat angle changes we were able to adjust and play a strong shot.


Touch play

During touch play we had enough bite on the ball to keep it low over the net which helped to stop each other from attacking. Sometimes the ball did pop up a little high as you can see in the footage, but again, with a few adjustments to the bat angle, we were able to keep the ball low over the net.


Top to top

Top to top rallies with the mantra rubbers were fast and direct especially with the hard version. We both found we had good control. However when playing away from the table with the mantra series, you do need a more open bat angle to get the height needed to get the ball over the net.


Conclusion

STIGA’s latest Mantra rubber series are a great advancement to their predecessor Airoc. The major difference between the Airoc and the Mantra is found in the topsheet. The topsheet of the Mantra is a lot grippier, however packs similar speed to the airoc, thus the Mantra allows you to have more safety in yours shots without compromising on speed.

In comparison to other rubbers the Mantra series have similar spin capabilities to ESN based rubbers Donic Acuda and Joola Rhyzm. But less than the previously released STIGA Genesis series, although they do have greater speed. The speed being similar to the recently reviewed Tibhar evolution series.

A key feature we like with the Mantra series is its quality during active blocking and holding against aggressive topspin balls. The rubbers are not too sensitive to incoming spin which gives you great confidence when you need to really control the ball.

The Soft is good for all round offensive players, as it's slightly slower than the medium and hard versions and possesses more control giving greater safety. The Medium is for players who want a equal balance between high speed and good spin. Finally the hard version is good for all out attacking players wanting decent spin but are primarily focused on playing hard offensive shots.

Stay tuned for upcoming TableTennisDaily reviews in 2017.


Pictures

Weight of the STIGA Mantra Medium



Sponge hardness of the STIGA Mantra Series

STIGA Mantra Soft
Weight: 63 grams uncut, 45 grams uncut
Sponge Hardness: 42°
Hardness: Soft
Speed: Medium/Fast
Spin: Medium
Blade used: Carbonado 90 & 145 + Infinity



Written Review

Initial Inspection

Here is mine and Tom's review on the STIGA Mantra Soft in the TableTennisDaily Studio. The Mantra seems to have a gripper top sheet on initial inspection than the airoc series.

The soft, medium and hard versions of the Mantra all have the same pimple structure with the only difference being the sponge hardness. The Mantra sot has a 42 degree sponge hardness and comes in at 63grams when uncut and when cut is 45 grams.


Speed

It was apparent from the beggining that the Mantra series were fast rubbers with myself and Tom making errors with our shots just missing the end of the table. The Japanese based rubbers are known for their speed. Within the series the soft was slower by quite a notch however had more control over the medium and hard versions.

The Mantra worked very well on the backhand side and gave great consistency and control. For example on wide balls when out of position the Mantra soft grabbed the ball well giving good arc in the shot.


Spin

As mentioned in our Mantra Medium Review we were pleased with the amount of spin we were able to produce. This spin excelled it's predecessor Airoc by quite a margin. The soft being the softer sponge soaked the ball into the sponge well producing lots of spin. The spin was not as high as what the recent Stiga Genesis produces but it was enough to put our opponents under all sorts of pressure to follow up with a strong 5th, 7th ball attack.

Tom found he could produce a lot of spin on his backhand side and found it easier with the soft version. More safety and accuracy was found when using the softer sponge of the series.


Backhand flicks

The backhand flick has become an integral part of table tennis. This shot requires a grippy top sheet to pick up the ball against backspin. I found with the Mantra soft I could grab the ball well over the table producing a reasonable amount of spin.


Counter topspin

Initially the ball shot of the end of the table during the counter topspin again this was due to the speed and we found this quite often with the hard version. When using the soft version there was greater control and with the rubber being slower we had more time and precision to execute a successful counter topspin.


Touch play

During touch play we had enough bite on the ball to keep it low over the net which helped to stop each other from attacking. Sometimes the ball did pop up a little high as you can see in the footage, but again, with a few adjustments to the bat angle, we were able to keep the ball low over the net.


Conclusion

The latest rubbers from STIGA, the Mantra series is a great development to the previous Airoc series with one major key advancement, the rubber being spinnier.
STIGA’s latest Mantra rubber series are a great advancement to their predecessor Airoc. The major difference between the Airoc and the Mantra is found in the topsheet. The topsheet of the Mantra is a lot grippier, however packs similar speed to the airoc, thus the Mantra allows you to have more safety in yours shots without compromising on speed.

In comparison to other rubbers the Mantra series have similar spin capabilities to ESN based rubbers Donic Acuda and Joola Rhyzm. But less than the previously released STIGA Genesis series, although they do have greater speed. The speed being similar to the recently reviewed Tibhar evolution series.

A key feature we like with the Mantra series is its quality during active blocking and holding against aggressive topspin balls. The rubbers are not too sensitive to incoming spin which gives you great confidence when you need to really control the ball.

The Soft is good for all round offensive players, as it's slightly slower than the medium and hard versions and possesses more control giving greater safety. The Medium is for players who want a equal balance between high speed and good spin. Finally the hard version is good for all out attacking players wanting decent spin but are primarily focused on playing hard offensive shots.

I have given this rubber 4* as I prefer the medium version of the Mantra which I have given a strong 5* which you can read here.

Stay tuned for upcoming TableTennisDaily reviews in 2017.

Pictures

Weight of the STIGA Mantra Soft



Sponge hardness of the STIGA Mantra Series

Ok the test is done ......testing the Rasanter R42 2mm sponge in red
Weight of uncut rubber is 62 grams ... 175*170 mm
As far as i do not like the feeling of the rubber the rubber just plays great ...
I have used it on my Bh side ....
The rubber has lot of control ,i was just surprised how stupid played balls landed on opponent side of the table . The rubber is perfect for flat hitting as for looping .
Spin is good . If you want to apply spin you have to hit it hard ... this is not brush spin rubber, it is more drive spin rubber ... however this helps it to be practically not responding to incoming spin ...however still not as good as Tg3-60 ...
Speed is there and it is definitely very fast rubber .... I played it with koto outer ply off+ blade, but i think off- stiff blade will helps to achieve more gears in low velocity balls...
in short game it is still bouncy but has still good control.
For serves .... i have to be apply high toss and punch type of serve to the ball activate the sponge it self ... other ways there is practically no spin on serves ... so it is not suited for short spiny serves.... shame (or maybe some other kind of serve which i`m not aware for now have to be used) ....
I have borrow it to much skilled players for test and all of them like it mostly for FH .... but in combination with my off+ stiff blade it was not suited for chopping. So no review here. but it was safe to loop from mid to far distance with great control and speed.
For now it will stay as my Bh rubber ....not for the rubber it self but i was forced in this test to use my TG3-60 on fh and i found a sleeping beauty on this rubber for short game on fh ...this is just monster and now i`m level above with my FH .......but this is other rubber
i definitely can say yes to R42 2mm rubber. Go for it you will not regret.

Update....
I liked this rubber so much so i bought the same one, but in Black ..
And the spin is greater .... i not sure if it was because of blade (now i`m using limba outer ply wood) or the color or what ... But now the spin is great also on brush spin loops and short serves ... so now it is just perfect .
I like it.

The blade came in an unmarked cardboard box with foam padding. The first thing I noted was the high quality of the blade. The wood was incredibly smooth and the blade required no sanding whatsoever. Another thing I liked was that the wings are curved at the edges so that they don't dig into your hand (Stiga take note). This handle was also the most comfortable of any blade I have tried and the laser marked seal makes the handle feel smooth. I tried this blade with Andro Rasant Powergrip and Rasant Grip. This blade feels very similar to the Andro Ligna and Donic World Champion 89 blades. That's not surprising as they all have relatively the same composition and are all manufactured by Soulspin. The blade has a very good feel on impact (better than Ligna or World 89) and it has good dwell due to its softness. The throw angle is in the mid-high range and it's higher than the Ligna OFF. This blade also has a great control to speed ratio. However, the blade is not that fast. It's slower than a Stiga Infinity VPS but faster than the Donic Appelgren World Champion 89. Still, if you use fast rubbers like Rasant Powergrip and Evolution MX-P the speed will be good. Overall, I like the blades performance but I am even more impressed by its quality.

I have tried this blade several times from my partner and he is using Rasant Grip on both sides. The blade's surface has a smooth finish and the handle smells like a weird glue and your hands will too after playing with it. The handle also needed to be sanded as it was too thick on some parts of it. This blade is pretty darn fast, even faster than an Andro Kinetic Explorer OFF+ which is also quite fast. This blade is also quite stiff which is good and means you can also use softer rubbers if you like. Blocking is a breeze due to the hard surface. The looping is easy but overall, they are more on the speed side than on the spin one. Flat hits are really easy and have more than enough power to win the point. However, the blade doesn't have a very good feel or feedback which I find common in these very fast carbon blades. This blade would be great for players who want to hit hard and like a stiff blade and don't care that much about spin.

Good lightweight blade,suitable for women also, combined with medium-soft sponge has lack of speed, the spin though is really good with low trajectory and always on the table . Blocking is easy as well as the control in short game is quite good . For smashing the ball you need to be fit and with strong arms ...... to have some power in your strokes , but anyway you cant have them all !!

This is my current blade which I am using with Rasant Powergrip on the FH and Rasant Grip on the BH both in MAX thickness. This all wood blade comes in the standard Stiga packaging and you will definitely need to sand it especially the wings. I got this blade in wide FL by accident. I have smallish hands so I should have went for the regular FL. I sanded the handle down though so its fine. Get the Wide FL if you have big hands. Also get this blade lacquered as the top ply is not very tough. The blade felt a little weird when I first starting playing with it but as the glue and lacquer dried I started getting a better feel. This blade has an excellent feel and the control is very good considering its speed and the rubbers I was using. The blade is probably around the OFF- range and its sweetspot is good for a wood blade but not as good as composite or carbon blades. The dwell time on the blade is less than say a Timo Boll Spark but more than a fast carbon blade. The throw angle is medium to high and I like its open up. The short game is good but long pushes and chopping is not which is a bummer because i do that sometimes. As Dan mentioned in his review the flicking is not that good and you have to be precise. However, it is quite easy to loop a medium to long push with good power. I can't give that much more details as I haven't tried this blade with any other rubbers. Still, for the price this blade is great (Got it for $40) and it can be used by developing players with slow rubbers and by advanced players with fast rubbers.

Hi,

This is my first review ever, so I'm not really sure how to begin with it. I'll start with telling more about my playing style and playing level.

I play Table Tennis for 13 years in Belgium. When I was younger I had some training but my technique is far from perfect. I have no idea how to convert my Belgian rating to USATT but I guess it must be around 2000 or more. When I look at our rating website, I'm in the 5th percentile of all competitive table tennis players in Belgium. My playing style is based upon my serve and my serve return. I'm no rally player. Around 40 percent of my serves are straight winners. If they do come back I try to end the pont with the third ball. My serve return is quite agressive and full of risk. Most of the time I open up with my backhand and then I try to put pressure with my backhand. My main weaknesses is my footwork and short balls to my forehand. I'm not good at flicking with the forehand.

Now the review:

I bought two Rasanters R50 2.0. One for my forehand and one for my backhand. The Blade I use is BTY Liu Shiwen ZLF. I used the rubbers immediately in a league match and had no training with the rubbers. After the league match I did an hour of training with a club mate to verify my initial observations.

Feeling: The feeling of the R50 is quite similar to the powergrip. It feels a little bit softer, maybe because of the thinner topsheet. Overall I really liked the feeling of the rubber. It was fun to play with.

Speed: It's the fastest rubber I've ever played with. It's a hard rubber so it's quite good in the short game but it has an immense power reserve. When I went all out for a power loop they were unreturnable. I've never experienced a rubber where I can put so much power in.

Spin: This is not a rubber to do slow spinny loops. The sponge is very hard so I had difficulty creating spin on slow balls. Maybe my power loops were loaded with spin but I can't really say because all my power loops were straight winners. Anyway, I had no problems spinning heavy backspin balls with my forehand and backhand but I did not have the feeling that they were loaded with spin.

Serving: Easy to do short serves but my opponents had way less problems returning my long serves than usual. I'm not sure why. The topsheet is very grippy but I just couldn't put as much spin on the balls than I usually can. Maybe because of the hard sponge and my serving technique needs a softer topsheet and/or sponge? I don't know.

Blocking: It was great for blocking. I like hard rubbers to block because of the stability. It's easy to smash through spin with this rubber and to do power blocks. No complaints.

Overall: I'm going to keep using this rubber on my backhand but not on my forehand. I simply can't put enough spin on the ball when I serve or open up against backspin. Probably this has more to do with my technique than with the rubber. My forehand technique is not as good as my backhand technique. I still decided to give this rubber 5 stars. Why? Because it's a pleasure to play with. It's great for doing power loops, my forehand never had so much power than yesterday. My power loops were fast as light and unreturnable. The short game was also good and the rubber provided me with great stability in rallies. Andro made a good rubber with the R50. In the right hands this rubber is a great weapon.

Update: I decided to quit playing this rubber. I have the feeling that every shot needs to be a rocket to be effective. It's simply too fast and too hard. I can't seem to put any spin in slower loops. The Rasant Powergrip was easier to play with. Blocks were easier, flat hits were more efficient and it was easier for putting topspin on slower loops and flicks. Anyway, the R50 is certainly a good rubber but it's not for me.

I have tried this blade on an OFF+ carbon blade (Avalox Ruiba), an OFF all wood blade (Stiga Infinity), and an OFF- soft composite blade (Nittaku S-series SCZ). Currently, this rubber is on the BH of my main blade which is the Infinity. This is quite a heavy rubber but it doesn't feel boosted like the Evolution rubbers. The rubber is quite soft compared to the Powergrip, MX-P and it's even softer than Vega Pro. Due to this softness the rubber has a good amount of dwell and is not linear. The rubber also has a high throw angle. The spin this rubber can generate is very good and open ups are very good especially on the FH. This rubber has a bouncy nature and high throw which makes the short game difficult especially compared to the Xiom Vega Pro. This rubber is good on the BH due to its high throw which make flicks easy. This rubber has quite a pronounced catapult effect. It is very easy to do slow spinny shots and and quickly punch a low ball with this rubber. This rubber will pair best with the hard and stiff blades that are at least in the OFF category. One thing to note about this rubber is that it has ok durability and the topsheet gets messed up very easily. The rubbers also seem to be inconsistent in terms of characteristics. The one on my Infinity is softer than the other ones I have. Some are also faster and spinnier than others. If you like bouncy rubbers that have high throws and good dwell get this.

I am currently using this on the forehand of my Infinity VPS. I have also tried this rubber on a Nittaku S-series SCZ. This rubber is quite hard and reminds me Evolution MX-P except that MX-P is faster and has a bigger catapult. This rubber serves quite well but due to it being fast it is hard to keep serves short but they still are very spinny, low, and hard to return. For returning serves keep an open angle as the rubber is low throw and is not very bouncy. The open up against underspin is difficult at least compared to Rasant Grip and Evolution MX-P. Still if it lands it will be quite powerful. The counter-loop is very good and can be placed easily. Blocks are also amazing. Smashing with this rubber is great especially with a hard blade. Overall, this rubber goes well on the forehand and if you plan to use it on your backhand don't expect very good results. With soft blades this rubber is easy to control and alows you to create soinny and controlled loops. On harder blades this rubber is not as good in the looping department but the power shots are going to be outright winners.

Bought in red in MAX thickness, 37

topsheet is very grippy when fresh, and the sponge has some liveliness to it. Doesn't feel like a typical Chinese jap rubber clone, has that tensor-like sink and rebound. Good control for a backhand rubber, not overly spin sensitive. D ecent spin and power, but probably too slow and mushy for 5 ply all woods, but on an OFF rated composite blade should have adequate finishing power. Loops have good control and safety, but needs a fast blade to get real power. Although marketed as a tenergy 05 clone, this rubber comes off feeling more like a slower version of a Xiom vega rubber. Rubber quality was overall impressive for the price, but durabiliy seems to be an issue, the edges tend to chip and small scratches appear on the surface of the rubber rather quickly. The tuner effect also wears out within a month or so, and the rubber becomes a lot slower after that. The rubber is also quite heavy, about the same weight as tenergy 05, but without the power to justify it. Also comes with a nice thick adhesive rubber cover, which is a nice touch for the price.

All in all, it is a solid rubber for the price, more than enough for beginners, or developing players who use composite blades. However, a little more money gets you into the Xiom/Tibhar/Yasaka price range, and this rubber is a notch below all of those.

Tibhar Evolution FX-S
Weight: 68 grams uncut, 49 grams uncut
Sponge Hardness: 42°
Hardness: Soft/Medium
Speed: Medium
Spin: Medium/High
Blade used: Tibhar Stratus Carbon blade


Written Review

Thank you to TableTennis11 for supplying us with these rubbers to review, be sure to check out their website. The success of the popular MX-P, used by pro players such as Paul Drinkhall and Vladimir Samsonov, led these new rubbers to be highly anticipated in the latter part of 2016.

Initial inspection

Like previous Evolution rubbers the EL-S and FX-S are both ESN based, you can see our review of earlier models in the series here. The FX-S has a sponge hardness of 42 degrees. The sponge hardness of the FX-S is similar to its predecessor FX-P.

The weight of the FX-S when uncut is 68grams and when cut is 49 grams.

The two (EL-S and FX-S) rubbers were each used on the Tibhar Stratus Samsonov blade and were used throughout the review.

Forehand Topspin

During the topspin exchange we noticed that nice rebound effect you get with the other Evolution series rubbers. The ELS in particular sprung of the bat quickly and had a medium to high trajectory. What we like about the Evolution series is their boosted effect you feel when you strike the ball, this has not changed with the new ELS and FXS.

Spin

One of the biggest advantages with the FX-S is its ease of use against backspin. The sponge and topsheet grab the ball well producing a lot of spin. The FX-S is a very stable rubber and I felt very confident going for power in my shots whilst maintaining accuracy. Also when I dropped off the table I could feel the ball dig into the sponge making me feel in control of the ball, producing a quality shot consistently.


Speed

We both found whilst using the FXS on the forehand it was slightly too soft and could be a little tricky to control aggressive incoming shots. The rubber worked well when playing at around 70% of max speed and going for spin during rallies rather than speed.

However the FXS came into its own and worked fantastically on the backhand side, it gave a lot of margin for error. The softer sponge of the FXS combines well with a compact backhand stroke. Again the FXS is not as fast as the ELS but but due to its softer sponge it was easier to produce spin. It felt really effortless when directing backhand shots down the line.

Short game and serves

During the short game the ELS is able to produce high amounts of spin on short aggressive pushes and flick shots. The ELS grips the ball well when playing the modern backhand flick made famous by the likes of Zhang Jike and Fan Zhendong. This is a similar case with the FXS where it really shines in the short game producing loads of spin with good consistency.

We liked serving with the FX-S, the topsheet gripped the ball nicely and produced consistent high end spin.

Away from the table

We found both the ELS and FXS similar when playing top to top rallies away from the table, the only difference being that the ELS is slightly faster.

Conclusion:

For players who play with more of an allround offensive game the FXP would suit especially on the backhand side. It has great control and nice feeling. I find you have a lot of accuracy in your shots as the rubber is forgiving. It is not as fast as the ELS but possesses more control.

Pictures

Weight of the Tibhar Evolution FX-S



Sponge hardness of the Tibhar Evolution FX-S

Tibhar Evolution EL-S
Weight: 74 grams uncut, 52 grams uncut
Sponge Hardness: 45°
Hardness: Medium/Hard
Speed: Medium
Spin: Medium/High
Blade used: Tibhar Stratus Carbon blade

Hey guys, heres our review on the Tibhar Evolution EL-S. Thank you to TableTennis11 for supplying us with these rubbers to review, be sure to check out their website. The success of the popular MX-P, used by pro players such as Paul Drinkhall and Vladimir Samsonov, led these new rubbers to be highly anticipated in the latter part of 2016.


Written Review

Initial inspection

Like previous Evolution rubbers the EL-S is ESN based, you can see our review of earlier models in the series here.

The El-S has a sponge hardness of 45 degrees and FX-S comes in at 42 degrees. The sponge hardness of the EL-S is similar to popular MX-P and the FX-S is more closely related to its predecessor FX-P. The EL-S has a medium to hard sponge hardness whereas the FX-S has a Medium to soft sponge hardness. The main difference between the EL-S and its predecessor EL-P is that the EL-S has larger pores in its sponge this is designed to increase speed.

The weight of the EL-S when uncut is 74 grams and when cut is 52 grams. The weight of the FX-S when uncut is 68grams and when cut is 49 grams.
The two rubbers were each used on the Tibhar Stratus Samsonov blade and were used throughout the review.


Topspins

During the topspin exchange we noticed that nice rebound effect you get with the other Evolution series rubbers. The ELS in particular sprung of the bat quickly and had a medium to high trajectory. What we like about the Evolution series is their boosted effect you feel when you strike the ball, this has not changed with the new ELS and FXS.

The ELS has a tremendous balance between speed and spin whereas the it’s predecessor the MXP is a touch faster but has less spin. The Sponge hardness of the ELS is between the MXP and the ELP. This hardness felt optimum for my style of play as it gave my shots a lot of accuracy and enough power when I needed it. If you find the Evolution MX-P too fast, the ELS could be a great alternative within the series.

Spin

One of the biggest advantages with the ELS is its ease of use against backspin. The sponge and topsheet grab the ball well producing a lot of spin. The ELS is a very stable rubber and I felt very confident going for power in my shots whilst maintaining accuracy. Also when I dropped off the table I could feel the ball dig into the sponge making me feel in control of the ball, producing a quality shot consistently.

We both found whilst using the FXS on the forehand it was slightly too soft and could be a little tricky to control aggressive incoming shots. The rubber worked well when playing at around 70% of max speed and going for spin during rallies rather than speed. With the ELS there was a more natural zip and spring effect meaning it is easier to play harder through the ball, which works well on the forehand side.

Service and short game

During the short game the ELS is able to produce high amounts of spin on short aggressive pushes and flick shots. The ELS grips the ball well when playing the modern backhand flick made famous by the likes of Zhang Jike and Fan Zhendong.

When serving with the ELS we liked the quality, the rubber gripped the ball nicely and produced consistent high end spin.

Away from the table

We found both the ELS and FXS similar when playing top to top rallies away from the table, the only difference being that the ELS is slightly faster.
Here are some points taken from match play.

Conclusion:

The ELS has an optimum balance of sponge hardness and sits right between the popular EL-P and MX-P so the rubber gets the best of both worlds. The high amounts of spin produced with the ELS gives nice arc and dip with topspin strokes which adds to accuracy. A lot of the online table tennis community found the MX-P too fast and felt it catered more for the pro’s, with the ELS coming in a notch slower providing slightly more control and safety which might combat this problem for certain players. In some sense the ELS is a slightly softer and slower version of the Tenergy 05.

In comparison to the previous rubbers in the Evolution series, Tibhar have really come up with a new and improved version with the ELS which is more stable during game play.

For players who have an strong attacking style of play the ELS would suit well. For players who play with more of an allround offensive game the FXP would suit especially on the backhand side.


Pictures

Tibhar Evolution EL-S Rubber Weight



Tibhar Evolution EL-S Sponge Hardness

So the ejing began again, after playing with Force Pro Black Edition for some time, I decided to try Paul Drinkhall's signature blade. It is named the Powerspin Carbon but I named it Paul Drinkhall Spirit, as it is Tibhar's blade designed for Paul who used Timo Spirit previously. Obviously, the PDS is faster than the TMS even I can't believe my eyes that in Dan's review the balls were shooting like rockets. I finally began to realize when I used PDS with Evolution rubbers that even mortals can create ballistics.

Rubbers used:
FH: Evolution MX-P
BH: Evolution FX-P

Spin and Power:
The first time I hit with the PDS, I can already feel the power of the blade using only short strokes. The blade is really direct that I can shoot the ball anywhere I want. Using brush stroke, the balls produced are really heavy and fast. When using power, the ball blasts off from the blade with incredible speed. A single powerloop can end the point outright because the ball is really low and fast. When the ball is blocked, it is very easy to reloop and continue attacking.

Blocking:
Like all composites, minimal effort is needed when blocking and what I like about the PDS is it's ease in countering balls. A loop can be smacked to humiliation. The blocks with PDS is very stable, I can vary my blocking from counter the chop block next with ease. The blade is better if the user has very active strokes.

Flicking, Pushing:
As shown in Dan's review, flicking is made easy with this blade due to it's direct nature. When I first used PSC, I used it with H3 NEO and pushing is very deadly because the ball is loaded with heavy spin and the ball is very low. When I used it with MX-P I had trouble at first but adjusted afterwards. The blade is also very good with the two types of flick, the chiquita (sidespin) and the drive due to it's dwell and a kick of power at the end of the stroke.


Conclusion and comments:
- Paul Drinkhall Spirit works well with the Evolution rubbers (not a marketing scheme)
- Due to the blade's power, I can't control MX-P sometimes
- For really aggressive players that want to attack everything they see
- Control is a plus, specially when looping
- Ballistics, ballistics, ballistics!! when timed well

This blade can compete with Butterfly's ALCs because PDS has more feel than Viscaria and Timo Boll. Comparing it with the Timo Spirit, the Drinkhall Spirit has more dwell, more feel, faster and more powerful. Another plus is that the PDS has minimal artificial feel (ultra carbon vibration) and I really like it as an allwood lover.

Got the Blue Sponge in MAX thickness.

This is a solid rubber for a complete beginner who is just learning the basic strokes, how to serve, etc. It is quite slow and the rubber is dead and hard, but this gives it ample control and the tackiness gives it solid spin as well. On a flexible all wood blade this is a great rubber to begin learning how to loop properly, the chinese style.
Unfortunately for players beyond the beginner stage, unless you are into boosting or other gluing methods, this rubber doesn't have the speed you need to play a modern offensive game. It takes a ton of effort to generate reasonable speed during loops, and even third ball attacks run the risk of being blocked back. The tackiness, although fairly high, is still not as high as most DHS rubbers like hurricane and skyline, and there is occasionally some slipage after extended play. Combined with the dead sponge, this means the spin is also not quite as high as you would like for competative play. Shots like lifting underspin pushes and chops require very big and integrated motions that, again, are great for training, but not ideal for performance.

Although the $10 price tag is outstanding and makes the rubber hard not to recommend, this isn't a rubber I would chose for a developed player, or even a developing player. Dishing out a few extra $ for DHS hurricane or skyline will give you all the control this rubber offers, with a lot more speed and spin on almost all shots. It isn't a bad rubber by any means, but there are better options.

This rubber is super cheap, has a soft and very light sponge and a completely non-tacky but grippy topsheet. I was recommended it for learning RPB, and I do think this is a sublime beginners rubber for BH. It is soft, so high spin can easily be made with a softer stroke and increases the dwell and feeling on the ball.But this rubber isn't slow, so you can finish points with it. It's very difficult to serve and play short with this rubber as the sponge is engaged easily and the completely non-tacky topsheet doesn't hug the ball. I wouldn't recommend this FH. get a tacky/hard or Euro/med instead.