Well-Known Member
I've copied Stiga's performance ratings from their website into the table below, and it looks like the Mantro Pro rubber is just a slightly slower rubber than the comparable DNA rubber at each hardness category.
Granted that we take manufacturers' performance ratings with a pinch of salt, but even so, Stiga themselves rate Mantra Pro as being only fractionally different to DNA: slightly slower, fractionally more/less spin, and a little easier to control.
I'm a bit puzzled as to why they would invest in the production of a new rubber series that is so minimally different to an existing series. Is the strategy to produce rubbers aimed specifically at mid-level players (i.e. most of us)? Or maybe the DNA Pro series isn't selling well and they plan to phase it out and replace it with Mantra Pro which, maybe, is cheaper to manufacture?
I have similar questions about Xiom's J&H series. I don't really understand where it fits in relation to the Omega 7 series. This is one area in which Butterfly does better than any other: their product range is much easier to understand.[tbody] [/tbody]
Speed Spin Control Mantra Pro M (47) 148 135 82 DNA Pro M (47.5) 156 134 78 DNA Platinum M (47.5) 160 140 76 Mantra Pro H (50) 152 135 80 DNA Platinum H (50) 164 140 74 Mantra Pro XH (53) 156 135 78 DNA Pro H (52.5) 160 134 76 DNA Platinum XH (52.5) 168 140 72
I'm sure they feel quite different beyond the stats. The stats also seem different enough to the DNA's.
And hey, confusion and an abundance of choice is what leads people to consume more.
Butterfly's series are definitely very comprehensive.