New Stiga Mantra Pro

[ben1229]

I should try the H one ,when I touch the M I feel a little soft . But the top sheet feels way better then the DNA pro series I had a few yrs back. After my eld done , will try the M on 968, H on zlc.

 

[Baba3149]

What do you think of the hardness of this rubber ? compared to others, is it true European hardness or is the feeling more softer or harder?
I'm hesitating between version M and H

it's for my backhand, I am a block and counter player

 

[Zwill]

I should try the H one ,when I touch the M I feel a little soft . But the top sheet feels way better then the DNA pro series I had a few yrs back. After my eld done , will try the M on 968, H on zlc.

Yeah even I sometimes think the M is a bit soft, but then again it's just fun to use. Maybe H isn't a bad idea for BH.

What do you think of the hardness of this rubber ? compared to others, is it true European hardness or is the feeling more softer or harder?
I'm hesitating between version M and H

it's for my backhand, I am a block and counter player

Honestly just trying to remember every rubber it reminds me a lot of FTL boosted Fastarc G-1. The bounce, the spin, the transparent nature, the hardness. Maybe Mantra Pro M has less rubbery feel and more airy if that means anything to anyone. Like the Mantra sponge can compress more.
But now that I think about it it's a pretty high achievment to make a better than boosted G-1 rubber without any boosting trickery.

 

[ben1229]

Yeah even I sometimes think the M is a bit soft, but then again it's just fun to use. Maybe H isn't a bad idea for BH.

I didn't buy the xh version, I think it's too hard for BH, will try them after my eld finished its mission. Let me know if the rubber be able to survive more then 3 months.

 

[Baba3149]

those who tested it could compare it tibhar quantum x pro ?

 

[Zwill]

After 2 and a half months of use (120-150h??) on BH side the Mantra Pro M is like new. Only have a few marks where I have my finger at serve. No playing property change either.
I swapped it over to another blade, I didn't experience shrinking either, or not significant anyway.

Love it so much.

 

[jammmail]

I think im gonna give them a try too. I quite liked the old Mantra - though it was a while ago I tried it, and there is something about the DNA pro im just not sure about. The slightly more supple Mantra pro might be worth a try.

 

[Zwill]

After another month there are more signs of wear on my Mantra Pros, especially on my red (M) side which I used more. But the grip is still pretty much as new. I have intentionally tried M and XH in severely cold conditions aka 15-16deg inside the hall. They are still pretty bouncy even in these circumstances. With some ESN rubbers, this is not the case at all. Once below 18 deg they are just brittle and much-much less bouncy.

I am kind of developing a Truls type of flat hit if possible game with these rubbers, and they support it a lot.
I believe I have compared them with Dignics and Glayzer before. Actually, I would revise that somewhat, the Mantra Pro M is more like a tad softer Tenergy 05-19 and Mantra Pro XH is like a T05H or a non-existent T19Hard.
The topsheet is very supple with bouncy sponge that does a lot of work instead of the player.

I wonder where this rubber came from. I get the vibe it's a bro rubber of Etika. I'm sure Daiki is selling similar tech to different brands just like ESN does. But hey I love it. I like the Mantra Pro and there might be even more similar options like Redmonkey, Etika... I have a slight suspicion that Mizuno Q Power is also a Daiki rubber and not Sumitomo.

It sounds funny how I'm saying that Mantra Pro XH is like a possible T19 Hard but it could also be a direct replacement for H3N 40 deg orange sponge. I feel the hardness is pretty much the same. The contact angles and brush, lift, hit motions are very similar too. But Mantra Pro XH is really easy to use compared to H3.
It doesn't have the top end spin that H3 does, but this is a tricky thing. Does a normal player/driver want a rubber/car that he can only extract the max potential at perfect technique/9000RPM V-tech kicked in yo??
I don't know others but if I play real matches I rarely get in a situation when I can go 9000RPM+, so having a more flexible "power train" I can extract more of Manra Pro XH at 30-40-50-60-70% than from H3.
I am always cautious when some manufacturer says they cracked Chinese style and made a rubber that makes H3 obsolete etc. But I feel Mantra Pro XH really has many benefits for the average pro player.
Same thing applies to Mantra Pro M and T05 too. Not a replacement but it is an alternative... Maybe better than T05 in fact...

I think all Mantra Pro rubbers are pretty fast so maybe not pair them with too hard blades. I really enjoy them with the Stiga Inspira Plus (Wang Manyu blade) but I will also try them with Cybershape.
I strongly believe they would do very well with W968 or HL5 and clone blades too. Viscarias are also fine but need much more skill and precision to use well. If one has it then by all means and of one can sustain that against stronger opponents then go with Viscaria, but if you can't handle that against strong opponent go with Inspira Plus, W969, HL5, H301T and such blades.

 

[ben1229]

After another month there are more signs of wear on my Mantra Pros, especially on my red (M) side which I used more. But the grip is still pretty much as new. I have intentionally tried M and XH in severely cold conditions aka 15-16deg inside the hall. They are still pretty bouncy even in these circumstances. With some ESN rubbers, this is not the case at all. Once below 18 deg they are just brittle and much-much less bouncy.

I am kind of developing a Truls type of flat hit if possible game with these rubbers, and they support it a lot.
I believe I have compared them with Dignics and Glayzer before. Actually, I would revise that somewhat, the Mantra Pro M is more like a tad softer Tenergy 05-19 and Mantra Pro XH is like a T05H or a non-existent T19Hard.
The topsheet is very supple with bouncy sponge that does a lot of work instead of the player.

I wonder where this rubber came from. I get the vibe it's a bro rubber of Etika. I'm sure Daiki is selling similar tech to different brands just like ESN does. But hey I love it. I like the Mantra Pro and there might be even more similar options like Redmonkey, Etika... I have a slight suspicion that Mizuno Q Power is also a Daiki rubber and not Sumitomo.

It sounds funny how I'm saying that Mantra Pro XH is like a possible T19 Hard but it could also be a direct replacement for H3N 40 deg orange sponge. I feel the hardness is pretty much the same. The contact angles and brush, lift, hit motions are very similar too. But Mantra Pro XH is really easy to use compared to H3.
It doesn't have the top end spin that H3 does, but this is a tricky thing. Does a normal player/driver want a rubber/car that he can only extract the max potential at perfect technique/9000RPM V-tech kicked in yo??
I don't know others but if I play real matches I rarely get in a situation when I can go 9000RPM+, so having a more flexible "power train" I can extract more of Manra Pro XH at 30-40-50-60-70% than from H3.
I am always cautious when some manufacturer says they cracked Chinese style and made a rubber that makes H3 obsolete etc. But I feel Mantra Pro XH really has many benefits for the average pro player.
Same thing applies to Mantra Pro M and T05 too. Not a replacement but it is an alternative... Maybe better than T05 in fact...

I think all Mantra Pro rubbers are pretty fast so maybe not pair them with too hard blades. I really enjoy them with the Stiga Inspira Plus (Wang Manyu blade) but I will also try them with Cybershape.
I strongly believe they would do very well with W968 or HL5 and clone blades too. Viscarias are also fine but need much more skill and precision to use well. If one has it then by all means and of one can sustain that against stronger opponents then go with Viscaria, but if you can't handle that against strong opponent go with Inspira Plus, W969, HL5, H301T and such blades.

Zwill do a review of the wmy blade. I played that for a few matches and some training , really good blade.

 

[Zwill]

Zwill do a review of the wmy blade. I played that for a few matches and some training , really good blade.

I kinda did: https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/topics/the-blade-off-wang-manyu.27701/post-434230

 

[ben1229]

I kinda did: https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/topics/the-blade-off-wang-manyu.27701/post-434230

I didn't notice it, after reading it, enjoyed. And if you play longer on this blade, you might feel the ball coming from it is very fast. Like a bullet .

 

[Zwill]

I didn't notice it, after reading it, enjoyed. And if you play longer on this blade, you might feel the ball coming from it is very fast. Like a bullet .

On FH it feels very fast after 2-3 hours to be honest. It's a very impressive blade that Butterfly nor the Koreans could replicate so far. In fact I like Yinhe blades a lot but not even similar...

 

[ben1229]

On FH it feels very fast after 2-3 hours to be honest. It's a very impressive blade that Butterfly nor the Koreans could replicate so far. In fact I like Yinhe blades a lot but not even similar...

True yinhe made some good blade, I tried a North Korean special pretty good.

 

[Kolev]

.....I believe I have compared them with Dignics and Glayzer before. Actually, I would revise that somewhat, the Mantra Pro M is more like a tad softer Tenergy 05-19 and..............

Hi Zwill. I couldn't find this comparison so if you don't mind I am asking if the Pro H share some qualities with the D05. I have bought the Pro M but it is possible to change if you say that the H and D05 play similarly. Thanks

 

[Zwill]

Hi Zwill. I couldn't find this comparison so if you don't mind I am asking if the Pro H share some qualities with the D05. I have bought the Pro M but it is possible to change if you say that the H and D05 play similarly. Thanks

Hey, I actually haven't tried the H, only XH and M. I think I said it before but Pro M is like a boosted G1. XH more like T05H. The good about both is that they are really easy to use. Much more simple than Tenergy, Glayzer and especially Dignics.
Some local league players tried them on my racket and one has already ordered a sheet of pro M for his forehand since he liked it more than his usual T05.

If one is a higher level player it's also a very nice rubber since it's very easy to handle high incoming spins with both M and XH, and over the table countering is surprisingly easy. In this regard I think it's much better than Dignics.
Otherwise I would say more they are more like Tenergy series as they are more bouncy have more grip (than Tenergy) and more rewarding on weaker strokes than Dignics. Dignics has a stronger topsheet.

If you bought the Pro M for BH maybe I would keep that. It's fine for FH if you like something like a boosted G1 rubber without ever have to deal with boosting. But if you want more umpf then probably go H. From what I saw from players who tried all three it seemed the H is closer to M than XH.

 

[TheProfessor]

Thanks for the heads up. I thought I was getting good deals on Aliexpress compared to Amazon, now comes Taobao at half price compared to Aliexpress.

Does taobao ship internationally?

 

[TackyForehand]

They do for a fee: 89 rmb for the first 0.5kg and 49 rmb for every additional 0.5kg up to a total of 20kg.

Does taobao ship internationally?

 

[TheProfessor]

They do for a fee: 89 rmb for the first 0.5kg and 49 rmb for every additional 0.5kg up to a total of 20kg.

OH NO looks like I'm going to be ordering a whole bunch from taobao then.

 

[Zwill]

One more thing which I'm not sure how relevant it is, but Tenergy and Dignics, especially 64, but it is valid for 05 and 80 too, the edges chip off from ball contact. This is not a thing with 09c since that has a thick top sheet nad it's more durable.
Mantra Pro, no problem, I still have some hairs that I left on when I didn't cut the rubber properly. You know you miscut and some hair is created.

Mantra Pro is much better in varying conditions. Cold humidity, hot humidity, no issue. Butterfly is acceptable but most of ESN rubbers take a dump in cold. I noticed this with old Mantra too few years ago when all my teammates were struggling in cold humid and I was a happy chappy. Hell, shit conditions give an advantage to Mantra and Pro.

 

[Zwill]

One more thing I noticed since I glued 2 new sheets of Mantra Pro on a Cybershape. Like all rubbers, this also has some anti-stick material on the top so that during production the workers can remove it more easily from the mold. Kinda like how crepes and pancakes are easier to remove from teflon pan. They just use other tricks with rubbers and tires.

Anyway, once you rub off this material the rubber is not ready yet it needs 1-2 days to be exposed to oxygen so it can oxidize a little. I noticed the newly assembled paddle was dropping the ball while my 5months old rubbers weren't. I didn't understand and I blamed the Cybershape for it. But turns out once the rubber oxidizes for a few days it reaches peak grip.