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dear DAN
Do you have a video review on the STIGA Etrenity VPS blade.?

I had these rubbers lying around for a very long time just sitting in sandwich bags. They were on an Andro Kinetic Explorer OFF+ 3 years back. My friend had been using a Xiom Muv Racket (he is a beginner) and the rubbers on his blade had become very messed up. I suggested putting these rubbers on and he agreed. I put a decent amount of baby oil on the rubbers before gluing them to make them a little softer, tackier, and stretch them out a little as they were a little smaller than the racket face. After a few hours the rubbers had become tackier, bigger, etc. but to my surprise the old and dried speed glue on the rubber had become slightly liquidy and really sticky. I stuck the rubbers on and they domed so I put some books on the it and an hour later the rubber was fine. When I started playing i could feel the speed glue effect and sound. The rubber had very good control and the speed glue created tons of spin. My friend liked it a lot even though it was a little bit fast for him but he got used to it. Without the speed glue from what I can remember is that this is was a lot less spinny and slower but had better control. Sriver is still the best rubber for a beginner along with Mark V

I have used this blade for around maybe 4-5 hours in total with Donic Bluefire M3 on both sides in 1.8 mm thickness. The quality of this blade is exceptional like the other Andro products I've used except this one had an even higher level. The handle is top notch, comfortable, and perfectly flared. The feeling that the spruce wood gives is quite exceptional. I've used other Andro blades before but this one had a very good feel even better than a the Andro Kinetic Explorer (a blade that I love but don't use due to the anatomic handle) The dwell time on this blade is a also quite good and despite being a relatively soft blade the ball contact is crisp. As yogi bear stated the throw angle on this blade is high (good if you want to stick some hard Chinese rubber). I don't think I need to talk about how the blade performs because yogi bear covered it pretty well. I would like to add that when doing a backhand flick this rubber gives you that sensation that you can just slam the ball and it'll still land. Also, this blade is I would say identical to the Donic World 89 blades (made in the same factory same composition etc). I have the Appelgren ALL+ one so it is slightly slower than this (but then again with MX-P that is a killer). Rubbers that would go well on this blade are ones that are relatively hard and have low throw angles like MX-P, Omega V Asia, and Chinese rubbers should also perform well

Despite its age, just like tenergy this rubber remains one of the OGs that still got it. There are faster and spinnier ESN tensors now but as far as I know none of em have this combination of it. The spin this rubber can generate on a fine brush is high and even on something like a loop drive the quality is there. The best shots are by far when you're a few feet away from the table hammering out the loops and counters. Making sure the shots land is not as easy so yeah make sure you can handle a speed monster before slapping this on your blade. I currently use this on my backhand and have tried it on my forehand where it proved to be to fast for me. Also, even though this rubber is cheaper than tenergy, its durability is nowhere near the same. After about 2-3 months the boosted effect will mostly be gone and in my experience wear spots will begin to show after about 75-100 hours of use.

I have used this rubber previously on three blades. The first was an Animus blade which was very stiff and fast and when paired with the M3s it became an uncontrollable rocket ship as the rubbers was also MAX thickness. After that I had it again on both sides on an Andro Ligna with 1.8 thickness. This combo was amazing in every way except I should have got the MAX because some loops weren't very powerful and spinny. I slapped the MAX ones on an Andro Kinetic Explorer OFF+ and that combo was also really good. Fast but with superb blocks, flicks loops. Most shots required little effort and mid to long distance was real good. This rubber has a relatively high throw angle and is better on the backhand for sure. I would say the best blades for this rubber are ones that are relatively hard, don't have high throw angles, and are at least OFF. The only disadvantages are the lack of speed if you use a slow blade and the great amount of doming that occurs when you glue the rubber. But other than that this is a solid rubber.

Thanks to a tip from the member Chuck Jordan I was able to buy two boxes of the new DHS 3* D40+ balls from this place:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Excl...-Seamed-New-Material-Plastic/32793435592.html

I received them in about 10 days and I played with them this evening. I paid $15 for 12 balls. Here is my review:

I already believe that this is the best plastic ball in table tennis right now when everything is considered.

From a playing perspective I actually like them slightly better than the Nittaku Premium!! I never thought I would say that about a Chinese plastic ball!

Surface of the ball looks exactly like Nittaku Premium. The seams are a little larger, though, more like earlier seamed balls from China.

They are absolutely perfectly round.

The static bounce is exactly the same height as Nittaku Premium. If you let the bounces die out on the table, they stop bouncing at exactly the same time the Nittaku does. This is a huge improvement for DHS. None of their earlier plastic balls bounced for crap.

The D40+ have a normal sound on bouncing (this is different from the 1* version).

Spin and speed is very similar to the Nittaku, but the DHS feels a little more solid. My practice partner could not tell the difference from the Nittaku Premium when I switched up on him. More significantly, coach Li Kewai (~2700 player) could tell a slight difference and his opinion is that he preferred the DHS D40+ to the Nittaku Premium, and I shared that opinion, although the difference is very very slight. I think the DHS might be very slightly heavier. There is no accounting for tastes, but I would be really surprised if very many people conclude that the D40+ is significantly worse to play with than Nittaku Premium.

On top of all that, the DHS40+ is cheaper. Also, as DHS stops the production of their previously horrible awful terrible miserable plastic balls, these will probably become the standard, and hopefully other companies will be putting their brands on this ball. It would be a major improvement for the sport. The key will be if DHS can make enough of these D40+ balls to meet the demand and still maintain this level of quality.

This is the best news I have been able to report in a really long time. As for my expertise on this, I think it is extensive. I know the plastic ball situation in detail (more than I know about most other equipment issues). Very early on I completely stopped playing with celluloid balls, and I have tried about every 40+ ball made, and I was the first one on English language TT forums to really push the idea that the seamless balls are decent, and not as bad as the prototypes floating around for awhile might have led us to believe. (At the time the expectation was that they would be really bad). Seamless balls actually have a lot of good properties, especially durability, but I think these new balls by DHS will probably be very bad news for the makers of seamless balls. I doubt once people get their hands on these, especially given the price, that people will want to use seamless very much. The playing properties are superior (by which I mean a lot closer to celluloid) and they are cheaper.

The likelihood as a result is that in the foreseeable future we will have a lot more uniformity of balls, which for the last few years has been a big problem for our sport. If in the future the dominant balls become the D40+ ones made by DHS (possibly sold by many companies) and the Nittaku Premium, we will have returned to a situation where the brand of ball doesn't matter very much (as in celluloid era).

Mine was an old primorac carbon whose outer ply was harder than usual. It gives excellent confidence for direct and fast shots. Spin can lack due to rubber or technique because its contact duration is very short. Also in short game it lacks control much. But it fits almost all rubbers, with hard rubbers it lost almost all feeling. I think this blade was one of super star in speed glue era, nowadays more off-, off blades favorable for variable players, even top pros do not use that fast and stiff blade. Of course it depends on the taste of player.

After a few years break from table tennis I decided to play again and thought about using a classic rubber to regain my techniques. In general picking Donic Coppa was a good decision, there were some downsides however if you were ever used to playing a Tensor or Glue-effect rubber.

What I really liked about the rubber was it's super grippy topsheet. I could load slow topspins with lots of spin and my opponents had big problems with it. During short game the ruber is easy to play since it plays super linear, it does not have a lot of catapult and predictable. The rubber is not fast but not slow either.

What I had problems with was sometimes getting the ball over the net. The last rubber I used before my break was the Xiom Vega Pro, a rubber a bit similar to Tenergy 05. Those rubbers had a high throw so I could play the topspin more horizontal than vertical. With the Coppa this led to many balls landing in the net. I had to open my blade a lot and move my arm more upwards. This resulted in lower speed and while it had lots of spin, my Topspins sometimes lacked danger for my opponents. The further away from the table, the more this got a problem. For regaining my technique, to stop playing half-hearted topspins, this was good. I had to follow-through every movement and only then I was rewarded with a good ball. My carbon blade probably didn't help a lot there since those don't have a lot of catapult because of their stiffness.
I will probably keep the rubber on my backhand and will move to Tenergy 05 on my forehand since I am much better there.

This blade is not quite Off-, more All+. I switched from a considerable thicker and slightly softer OFF- blade, and this is definitely slower. But with decent rubbers, it'll win the point, because this blade is a spin machine. Loads of flex makes this a looping dream, and the medium hardness outer plies give good control in the short game. It is absolutely perfect close to the table, but you really do have to work away from it. I play a close-to-the table third ball attack PH game, so spin, control and opening attack/counters are most important. blocking is a tad more difficult than a more rigid blade, but there's still loads of control on this blade, so it's alright. It is very lightweight. Mine was the advertised 80g which is more important for ph as a heavy setup will put strain on the wrist. With such a light blade, I can afford to put a heavy chinese rubber and a medium euro on the bh. However, lack of weight is lack of speed. There's quite a lot of vibrations with this blade, but I just think of it as extra sensory information, so I don't know why people complain. But if you hate vibrations, this is probably not for you. Also, no errors in construction. Completely flawless. And it comes pre-sealed which is handy. I've had no issues with outer plies splintering from water based glue.

I decided to use this blade after I put Xiom Vega Pro on both sides. (before I had some really old and horrible Banda Helix rubber) I am overall really impressed with it. Loops have a highish throw angle but the arc is still long and low. Make sure you pair this blade with hard rubbers that have at least a medium throw. (Those helix rubbers produced no arc whatsoever) the speed of the blade is quite good and more than adequate for mid-distance play. You can also chop with this blade if you have a very good stroke but don't do it unless you really have to. (I chop sometimes to get back in the rally) Touch play with this racket is not very easy. Vega pro is spin sensitive and this a flexy blade so you have to touch the ball very well. Opening up against backspin requires quite a vertical technique. Flicks are good if you time it right though I feel that I can't produce as much speed and be consistent as with a slightly stiffer blade. The flared handle is really good for people like me who don't have big hands. Also please remember that this blade is not the best for a beginner as it won't forgive your mistakes very often. (If you plan on using softer, less spinny, and controllable rubbers you won't have fun) Still overall a very good blade.

Hello All!

At first I tried the one star version of this ball, and I could not find a round one. Many balls got stuck in the robot (Butterfly Amicus). I nearly gave up on these balls. This time our country distributor announced the three star balls which are round and perfect in every sense. So I bought a box (6 balls). My initial thoughts and expectations were to find 1 perfect round 2-3 imperfect but very good, 2-3 eggs and 1 Butal egg shaped balls. I found 1 imperfect and 5 eggs. Because of these characteristics there is a great chance when you loop a ball with decent spin, it will simply jump or sneek on the table after contact, which makes the game untolerable and dissapointing. Also handling spinny balls is a pain, because predicting the bounce is hard math. Compared to other balls the durability is average, other balls like Butterfly MQ are more durable. Xushaofa can handle 2-3 blade edge hits before cracking. The ball gets polished quickly, which is a real pain to loopers, not to mention, that this ball is seamless. Usually seamless balls tend to rotate less, and they have a differrent feeling, when playing. The effective lifespan of one ball is around 5-6 training hours. Plastic ball in general does not support spin oriented game, this particular ball does not support it further more.

This ball is suitable for "girlish" fast and flat exchanges, for some hours, then it loses grip and deforms to an egg shape.

Sorry if being negative, but old celluloid balls were better. Nowdays there are good plastic balls, I have official competition balls (like ETTC 2016 Nittaku, HUN World Tour DHS) and they play better then commercial balls, but the durability of these balls are also low.

This is the best ball you can buy at least from what I've tried. It lasts a really long time and has a great bounce. It's not too heavy and it's hardness, roundness, etc. are great. It bounces a little tiny bit slow though but I guess no ball is perfect. Also, they are not cheap. Anyone now about the one star training versions? How are they compared to this one?

I was using this rubber previously on a lot of blades and it was a little too hard for me to control but i loved it still. After I improved my game I went back to it and put it on BTY Timo Boll Spark and it's great. Throw angle is a little higher than I would have liked on the forehand but loops on both sides are great but better on BH. Remember that this rubber is hardish and not very forgiving so timing and brushing the ball well is crucial. If you get it right the rewards are high. This rubbers durability is also really good if you maintain it. If you want to fix the rubber's hardness a little, put a tiny bit of sunflower, baby, etc. oil on it and it'll soften up a little. Also, make sure you remember to change your racket angle when opening up. Too low, and you'll hit the top of the net. Too high and you'll barely miss the edge of the table. To sum up though, if you want a relatively cheap rubber, buy this.

STIGA Mantra Rubber: H
Weight: 65 grams uncut
Speed: OFF+
Spin: Very High

After waiting patiently the new Mantra rubbers are here. I finally got hold of each version S, M and H. To stop the rumors flying about that the Mantra rubber series was recalled due to a low durability. It was due to a factory enhancement with the rubber which I know but do not have the liberty to discuss.





I paired the Mantra H, alongside the Genesis Rubber on a DHS Hurricane 3 for the Carbonado 290 and 245 and the Celero Blade. Out of all 3 versions soft, medium and hard I preferred the hard. The medium version is 47 degrees in hardness. Between all 3 versions the pimple structure between the Soft, Medium and Hard are the exact same the only difference being the hardness of sponge.

The topsheet on the Mantra rubber is a huge update from the Airoc and a great improvement. The Japanese company that produced the rubber has surprised me with is new topsheet. It has a very grippy surface and it does not come with the plastic like texture.

Speed: The Mantra rubbers are fast with the hard version being the fastest. It has similar speeds to the Tibhar Evolution MX-P if not even faster! The Japanese rubbers never had a problem with speed it was that they needed more spin. The M is also fast but on similar speeds to a EL-S. The S is slow and soft, slower than a FX-P.

Spin: The Mantra rubbers are very grippy. This is the first time the Japanese company have produced such a topsheet for Stiga. The Airoc was spinny but not on the levels of the new Mantra rubbers. In comparison to other rubbers the topsheet feels closest to Haifu Shark 3 and Whale 3. They are grippy without the tackiness. The hard version has almost the same amount of spin as the Evolution MX-P but a sharper and longer trajectory. When used with the Carbonado 290 the throw was low but accurate enough to clear the net. The medium version is also very spinny. Both M and H versions of the Mantra are spinny enough that they could pass as ESN rubbers, its this trajectory that makes them different from ESN rubbers. The M produces a medium arc whereas the S has a medium to high arc. You need to hit through the sponge more with the S to produce more spin. The Genesis rubbers are initially more spinny but when you compress more on the sponge and when you do very strong attacks, that is where the Mantra H and M rubbers shine and you can feel the combination of the speed and spin.

Which version do I prefer of the Mantra series? I was really biased with the H version but lately I also like the M version a lot. Let me explain why.

The Mantra H is the most stable rubber of the 3 in terms of attacking and blocking. The H version was placed on a Carbonado 290 which is a very fast attacking blade, a OFF+. I didnt have any problem with blocking the ball. It produced a low return when blocking

Mantra H version is one of the most stable rubber I have tried in terms of attacking and blocking. Take note that the H version was placed on a Carbonado 290 and the said blade is an off+ very fast attacking blade. I had no problem blocking with it. It produced a low return when blocking just an inch higher than the net which is sometimes hard for opponents to attack back. Both the M and H are really easy to block with. The M is a tamed version of the H and is easier to control. The H versions very low throw often upset my opponents with its unique attacking properties. The players who tried it were using the Donic P-Series and MX-P series. The guys using the Donic P-series all said the Mantra H was a more vicious and better rubber in attacking. The guys using the MX-P were very impressed by its good spin capabilities and sharp low arc.

The M version is the tamed version of the Mantra H. It can do everything the M version can but on a more tamed attack and easier to control. The 3 rubbers are never spin sensitive but they spin great with serves and pushes aside from loops. The S version, I would recommend it really for a backhand rubber or for developing players mostly. The H and M versions are really the rubbers to buy.

STIGA Mantra: M
Weight: 63 grams uncut
Speed: OFF
Spin: Very High

After waiting patiently the new Mantra rubbers are here. I finally got hold of each version S, M and H. To stop the rumors flying about that the Mantra rubber series was recalled due to a low durability. It was due to a factory enhancement with the rubber which I know but do not have the liberty to discuss.







I paired the Mantra M, alongside the Genesis Rubber on a DHS Hurricane 3 for the Carbonado 290 and 245 and the Celero Blade. Out of all 3 versions soft, medium and hard I preferred the hard. The medium version is 45 degrees in hardness. Between all 3 versions the pimple structure between the Soft, Medium and Hard are the exact same the only difference being the hardness of sponge.

The topsheet on the Mantra rubber is a huge update from the Airoc and a great improvement. The Japanese company that produced the rubber has surprised me with is new topsheet. It has a very grippy surface and it does not come with the plastic like texture.

Speed: The Mantra rubbers are fast with the hard version being the fastest. It has similar speeds to the Tibhar Evolution MX-P if not even faster! The Japanese rubbers never had a problem with speed in the past it was that they needed more spin. The M is also fast but on similar speeds to a EL-S. The S is slow and soft, slower than a FX-P.

Spin: The Mantra rubbers are very grippy. This is the first time the Japanese company have produced such a topsheet for Stiga. The Airoc was spinny but not on the levels of the new Mantra rubbers. In comparison to other rubbers the topsheet feels closest to Haifu Shark 3 and Whale 3. They are grippy without the tackiness. The hard version has almost the same amount of spin as the Evolution MX-P but a sharper and longer trajectory. When used with the Carbonado 290 the throw was low but accurate enough to clear the net. The medium version is also very spinny. Both M and H versions of the Mantra are spinny enough that they could pass as ESN rubbers, its this trajectory that makes them different from ESN rubbers. The M produces a medium arc whereas the S has a medium to high arc. You need to hit through the sponge more with the S to produce more spin. The Genesis rubbers are initially more spinny but when you compress more on the sponge and when you do very strong attacks, that is where the Mantra H and M rubbers shine and you can feel the combination of the speed and spin.

Which version do I prefer of the Mantra series? I was really biased with the H version but lately I also like the M version a lot. Let me explain why.

The Mantra H is the most stable rubber of the 3 in terms of attacking and blocking. The H version was placed on a Carbonado 290 which is a very fast attacking blade, a OFF+. I didnt have any problem with blocking the ball. It produced a low return when blocking


Mantra H version is one of the most stable rubber I have tried in terms of attacking and blocking. Take note that the H version was placed on a Carbonado 290 and the said blade is an off+ very fast attacking blade. I had no problem blocking with it. It produced a low return when blocking just an inch higher than the net which is sometimes hard for opponents to attack back. Both the M and H are really easy to block with. The M is a tamed version of the H and is easier to control. The H versions very low throw often upset my opponents with its unique attacking properties. The players who tried it were using the Donic P-Series and MX-P series. The guys using the Donic P-series all said the Mantra H was a more vicious and better rubber in attacking. The guys using the MX-P were very impressed by its good spin capabilities and sharp low arc.

The M version is the tamed version of the Mantra H. It can do everything the M version can but on a more tamed attack and easier to control. The 3 rubbers are never spin sensitive but they spin great with serves and pushes aside from loops. The S version, I would recommend it really for a backhand rubber or for developing players mostly. The H and M versions are really the rubbers to buy.

Mantra S
Weight: 62 grams uncut
Speed: Off-
Spin: High

After eagerly waiting several months for the new Mantra rubbers, I finally got hold of all 3 versions. Also to stop all the rumors that the Mantra rubber series needed to be recalled due to low durability is in correct. It was due to factory enhancement with the rubber which I know but do not have the liberty to discuss.









I paired the Mantra S, alongside the Genesis Rubber on a DHS Hurricane 3 for the Carbonado 290 and 245 and the Celero Blade. Out of all 3 versions soft, medium and hard I preferred the hard. The soft version is 42 degrees in hardness. Between all 3 versions the pimple structure between the Soft, Medium and Hard are the exact same the only difference being the hardness of sponge.

A Japanese company developed the Mantra and it is surprisingly different to what I expected especially with The topsheet. The new topsheet on this rubber is very grippy and not like the Airoc series whereby it has that plastic like texture. Lots of people have been asking what are so good about the Mantra's, is it just a marketing gimmick, I have asked myself the same questions. I also asked myself when I tried to place myself on other people’s shoes especially the doubtful ones and I do not blame them for being doubtful.

Between the 3 Mantra rubbers I found the soft version to be the slowest, slower than a Tibhar Evolution FX-P. The Medium version is faster and similar speeds to a EL-S. The Hard version was the fastest one, it matches similar speeds if not faster than a Tibhar Evolution MX-P. The Japanese rubbers didnt really have much problems with speed in the past it was that they needed more spin.

In terms of speed all 3 versions are very grippy, this is the first time that the Japanese company produced such a topsheet for STIGA. The Airoc series was spinny but not on the level of the Mantra rubbers.

The soft version reviewed here requires more hit through the sponge to produce spin. This rubber is for players who compress the sponge a lot when driving or top spinning.

The M version has a medium arc while the S version has a medium to high arc. The S version needs to be hit through the sponge to produce more spin. This rubber is designed for people who compress the sponge a lot when driving or looping. The Genesis rubbers are initially more spinny but when you compress more on the sponge and when you do very strong attacks, that is where the Mantra H and M rubbers shine and you can feel the combination of the speed and spin.

I have also posted a review on the Medium and Hard versions which I preferred more.

I used this rubber on the backhand side of my Waldner Senso Carbon and I've got to say, the rubber is fantastic!

Blocks and punches are great with the Acuda S2. The speed of the ball projected is fast but not too fast that it's uncontrollable. Touch playing is absolutely great, I can control the ball wherever I want with the Acuda S2 as it has quite a lot of gears, very versatile.

Looping and topspinning is great but not as great as something like Bluefire M1. It doesn't create that good of an arc than for instance, the Bluefire.

Counter-topspinning is quite hard to do as the rubber is quite sensitive to incoming spin. This also means that you have to have a really deep understanding of spin to counter spinny serves.

Despite all of this, you really need to be careful not to hit the edge of the rubber to something like the edge of the table. It can really tear it out piece by piece until the whole outer layer is torn. But the rubber takes a long time to wear off.

However overall, this is one hell of a weapon! Recommended for people who really want power from their shots but still maintaining the ability to control the shots coming in and out in an excellently elegant fashion.

While the Vega Pro and Euro reside in the OFF-/OFF range, this blade is definitely OFF and has a lower trajectory on blocks and loops, though not by much. The honoring outer gives it and amount of feeling similar to the Pro and more speed. Just about everything I said about the Pro applies here given the similarities in blade and handle design. While Xiom advertises this as all hinoki plus the composites, I am skeptical and think it is likely only the outer ply that is hinoki and different from the other Vega blades. The hinoki grab on my blade is not as strong as I have felt in other hinoki blades likely in part due to how things the outer ply is. That said, the blade has good feeling and I think it will serve people who want to play an all round game with a faster blade well. I have used it in the straight handle - initially I used it with Baracuda and have recently mostly used it with Next Karis. Because faster blades tend to be more expensive as well as the slightly higher cost of hinoki, this blade is more expensive than the Pro and the Euro. But it is money well spent if you want the extra speed and lower arc. I currently like the control and arc of the Pro for my technique and still use it as my main blade but can use this as well with barely a change in technique.