Got to play for about an hour with Rozena 2.1 on Stiga Emerald VPS V. There was a Mantra H 2.0 on that frame as well.
An hour isn't much, and that frame definltely is a bit out of my comfort-zone, speed- and controlwise. But I got some impressions.
First, a few words about the Mantra H. I wasn't focused on it in particular, just left it on my BH. Yet it surprised me, especially when blocking. I got amazingly aggressive active blocks out of it, with a great feeling of control. Flicks and spins were OK, but I think my spins weren't loaded as heavily. I got flatter curves, but extreme speed. I've played with T80 and would prefer Mantra H, based on that limited experience — but I'm not playing with T80 for a reason. Still, I had fun with Mantra H.
But that's not why I picked up this setup. That was for Rozena. Having come from T05, which I greatly liked. Yet within the confines of my physique, age, and amount of training time available to work on matters of consistency, I never felt I mastered it sufficiently in both the short game and in direct, flat hits — including flat kill shots, smashes.
Rozena does recall the T05 feeling. The feel of the ball being grabbed and chewed on is exactly the same, with a similar "thwck!" sound starting high-pitched then dropping low. Throw and curve look close enough. Others report it's not quite a spinny, which might be true. But it feels great, and you get a nice large window when playing spins. Once you get the hang of it, spinny and curved slow brushes feel very solid, and can be alternated with speedy, deep spins; I had a lot of fun hitting a few rallies with a classic chopper.
I could block with T05 confidently, but I think even more so with Rozena. About equal in passive blocks, but when blocking actively I just felt there was no limit to the pace I could put in that stroke. Cannonballs. The same held for counterhits; doing that with good consistency was hard work (for me) with T05, but Rozena felt natural and easy. When in position and close to the table (again, I'm by no means a young whippersnapper and must confess anyway that even when I was I wasn't the fastest of the bunch near the table) direct hits were amazing to do.
Touch play, then, and service reception is where I hit the limits of my abilities with T05. Which is why I "downgraded" to Vega Pro, in the end. Rozena is still a lively beast, but when I played a few games with higher-level players that usually are level with me in rallies but win the points that make the difference when serving I now beat them. I tried both a more passive and a more aggrive attitude in service reception, and both worked. With T05, I was very vulnerable in passive reception (less so actively).
For me, then, Rozena did in the end feel like a T05 tamed a bit to suit my limited level. Compared to my Vega Pro, it is a bit livelier, and in brush loops/powerloops it's probably even a bit better. Direct hits, touch play and serve/receives are probably on a par.
I've also spent a few moments with Rasanter last week, which is a different thing altogether. T05, Rozena and Vega Pro feel like a family, with some siblings a bit wilder and some a bit tamer. The feel (and sound) of Rasanter is great, but different.
A friend, after playing with it, put two Rozenas (2.1) on an OCC and will play with it over summer. I'll borrow it every now and then to get a more in-depth acquantance with it. Come the end of summer, and the start of the next competition season, I'll have to see where my recovery training is taking me. My current VPs will be spent by then, and Rozena is definitely a contender.
![Butterfly Apolonia ZLC [FL] - Butterfly ROZENA (black, max).jpg](https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/data/attachments/10/10012-51dda2cc9a3164a575f4e9f8ab890c3a.jpg "Butterfly Apolonia ZLC [FL] - Butterfly ROZENA (black, max).jpg")
