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Never tried Hybrid K3 as I feared it would be too hard for my liking. When Tibhar introduced the Hybrid MK, I was curious so I purchased 2 sheets in 2.0mm.
Current setup: Viscaria (87gr), FH: Bluegrip S2, BH: Hexer Grip. Played with the MK on both FH and BH a couple of weeks in the meantime.
Tibhar rubber stats: Hardness: 48 , Speed: 125, Control: 110, Spin: 125
Marketing text by Tibhar:
“The knowledge gained in the development of HYBRID K3 in collaboration with our top players Darko Jorgic, Vladimir Samsonov and Shang Kun form the basis for the HYBRID MK That collection of knowledge, combined with the personal requirements of Kenta Matsudaira lead into this offensive rubber. HYBRID MK combines everything that is defining Kenta Matsudaira's playing: An extraordinary touch, high spin potential, a long ball/bat contact time and nevertheless enough reserves in speed to put the pressure on your opponent.”
Rubber weighs 108gr including packaging. Uncut without packaging it weighs 66gr. Both red and black sheets weigh the same. When cut the rubber weighs 48gr. (vs Bluegrip S2 2.0mm: 45gr, Hexer Grip 1.9mm: 52gr). Total setup (including few grams of glue): 183gr
There is a little Tibhar logo in the bottom that marks the middle, which comes in handy when putting the rubber on the blade. The protective sheet on the rubber in the packaging, is a regular paper sheet instead of a plastic cover (which I expected by the way). The Mk surface is grippy, but not sticky at all. I did the ball-lifting test and there is zero lift.
I watched a couple of Japanese YT vids and almost all them mentioned the high throw of the rubber. Maybe they were comparing MK with a normal Chinese rubber, but compared to regular medium ESN rubber, the throw is rather low. I could adjust fairly easy with my FH, but only after 2 training sessions I was able to adjust my BH. But still, in a practice match, I made too many unforced errors with my BH. For BH, I do need some catapult as I mainly play with my wrist.
Compared to the Evolution series, the MK has much less catapult, which I actually prefer. The high amount of catapult of the Evolution series, makes those rubbers too unpredictable for my liking. (Having said that, I haven’t tried the new EL-D)
Due to the lack of strong catapult, the rubber offers a high level of control. I could easily switch from strong, fast FH topspin to a delicate slow/soft and well placed topspin. This is a kind rubber where the phrase “you get what you put in” is in place.
Push and block is a breeze and despite the grippy surface, not very sensitive for incoming spin. I also noticed this when playing topspin-over-topspin. The amount of spin you can generate with the MK, is high. My opponents where unpleasantly surprised a couple of times. The MK is not a fast rubber and just a few balls went too long.
In all fairness, the MK doesn’t feel like a hybrid rubber to me. Most likely, Tibhar calls it Hybrid MK to lift on the success of the Hybrid K3. The surface is not sticky at all and feels like a normal rubber without much catapult. I don’t see top players using this rubber as it falls short in multiple areas compared to its bigger brothers like Hybrid K3 and Evo MX series. If your gameplays is focused on speed and full force attack, forget about the MK. On the other hand, if your gameplay is focused on (top)spin and keeping the ball in play, the Hybrid MK might be suitable for you. Personally, I really enjoy using the MK on my FH and I’ll use Hybrid MK for this season (which just started). For my BH, I return back to Hexer Grip.
Current setup: Viscaria (87gr), FH: Bluegrip S2, BH: Hexer Grip. Played with the MK on both FH and BH a couple of weeks in the meantime.
Tibhar rubber stats: Hardness: 48 , Speed: 125, Control: 110, Spin: 125
Marketing text by Tibhar:
“The knowledge gained in the development of HYBRID K3 in collaboration with our top players Darko Jorgic, Vladimir Samsonov and Shang Kun form the basis for the HYBRID MK That collection of knowledge, combined with the personal requirements of Kenta Matsudaira lead into this offensive rubber. HYBRID MK combines everything that is defining Kenta Matsudaira's playing: An extraordinary touch, high spin potential, a long ball/bat contact time and nevertheless enough reserves in speed to put the pressure on your opponent.”
Rubber weighs 108gr including packaging. Uncut without packaging it weighs 66gr. Both red and black sheets weigh the same. When cut the rubber weighs 48gr. (vs Bluegrip S2 2.0mm: 45gr, Hexer Grip 1.9mm: 52gr). Total setup (including few grams of glue): 183gr
There is a little Tibhar logo in the bottom that marks the middle, which comes in handy when putting the rubber on the blade. The protective sheet on the rubber in the packaging, is a regular paper sheet instead of a plastic cover (which I expected by the way). The Mk surface is grippy, but not sticky at all. I did the ball-lifting test and there is zero lift.
I watched a couple of Japanese YT vids and almost all them mentioned the high throw of the rubber. Maybe they were comparing MK with a normal Chinese rubber, but compared to regular medium ESN rubber, the throw is rather low. I could adjust fairly easy with my FH, but only after 2 training sessions I was able to adjust my BH. But still, in a practice match, I made too many unforced errors with my BH. For BH, I do need some catapult as I mainly play with my wrist.
Compared to the Evolution series, the MK has much less catapult, which I actually prefer. The high amount of catapult of the Evolution series, makes those rubbers too unpredictable for my liking. (Having said that, I haven’t tried the new EL-D)
Due to the lack of strong catapult, the rubber offers a high level of control. I could easily switch from strong, fast FH topspin to a delicate slow/soft and well placed topspin. This is a kind rubber where the phrase “you get what you put in” is in place.
Push and block is a breeze and despite the grippy surface, not very sensitive for incoming spin. I also noticed this when playing topspin-over-topspin. The amount of spin you can generate with the MK, is high. My opponents where unpleasantly surprised a couple of times. The MK is not a fast rubber and just a few balls went too long.
In all fairness, the MK doesn’t feel like a hybrid rubber to me. Most likely, Tibhar calls it Hybrid MK to lift on the success of the Hybrid K3. The surface is not sticky at all and feels like a normal rubber without much catapult. I don’t see top players using this rubber as it falls short in multiple areas compared to its bigger brothers like Hybrid K3 and Evo MX series. If your gameplays is focused on speed and full force attack, forget about the MK. On the other hand, if your gameplay is focused on (top)spin and keeping the ball in play, the Hybrid MK might be suitable for you. Personally, I really enjoy using the MK on my FH and I’ll use Hybrid MK for this season (which just started). For my BH, I return back to Hexer Grip.
