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.
