New Stiga Mantra Pro

[Zwill]

can't find a store on Ali where it's that cheap.. do you have a link?

Only on Taobao can you find it for that price. Or TT-Japan is pretty similar.

@Zwill could you compare Mantra Pro with Glayzer 09c and Glayzer on W968 in terms of control and spin ? Why dont you use H instead of XH ? Thanks !

I guess G09c vs Mantra Pro XH. G09c is lighter about 10%, it is softer too, ofc it is tacky while Mantra Pro is not. G09c has a wider range of speed, it is very very slow on passive shots, but it's fast and bouncy once you start hitting it harder. G09c has a higher arc by default.

Mantra Pro XH works more instead of you so it's more like Tenergy but it's not overreactive as Tenergy. Also I would compare it to something like T19 if it had a hard version. It also doesn't have a high arc, it shoots the ball forward. What I like about it is that it follows your arm movement to a pea. If you pull up more then it can arc drastically but if you hit forward it will make a straight line even against quite heavy underspin. So it is very stable and can be used instinctively. G09c is not stable if you try to hit a heavy downspin ball just straight forward it will drop the ball while Mantra Pro will keep it straight.
Also Mantra Pro is very spin insensitive, for me the easiest rubber to counter over the table. G09c can bite too much and then the ball shoots way past the table. I would consider this to be a good trait of G09c but it keeps the player on the edge and might make you not commit to some counters out of "fear". While Mantra Pro is like let's do it, bro.

I haven't tried it with W968 yet since I have my Glayzers on that. I just removed my Mantra sheets from August from the Inspira Plus and gonna retire them but I might glue those on the W968 to test. I'm pretty sure it will be good since they are very good on the Cybershape too. The Cybershape has some great advantages. I never FH or banana flicked so well in my life like with that blade and Mantras... Also the feedback it provides to my hand is tasty.

I never even tried the H for me the 50-degree range is kind of a no-ones land. For BH it is a bit hard and for FH it is too soft. XH just replaces tacky Chinese rubbers and bouncy ones too for me.

i've heard negative feedback from testers in some country in Asia, so they didn't even bother importing them for sale.
also in the lines of how Daiki previous Stiga rubbers have oxidation issues and the quality of topsheet.
So, I'm really not too sure

On the sheets I got from China I see some marks, not sure what they are, not oxidation more like some defect or weird marks.
The ones my friends bought locally from EU stores are flawless. It's okay I can live with some marks, I never felt they influence anything just a visual mark. On top of this the topsheet does oxidize a bit but I find it to have better grip afterwards. It's very strange, but it's nothing like the old Mantra or Hurricanes.
I can imagine Stiga/Daiki sending the 2nd grade stuff to China for "half" price, but I find that okay.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

On the sheets I got from China I see some marks, not sure what they are, not oxidation more like some defect or weird marks.
The ones my friends bought locally from EU stores are flawless. It's okay I can live with some marks, I never felt they influence anything just a visual mark. On top of this the topsheet does oxidize a bit but I find it to have better grip afterwards. It's very strange, but it's nothing like the old Mantra or Hurricanes.
I can imagine Stiga/Daiki sending the 2nd grade stuff to China for "half" price, but I find that okay.

The ones I heard of was "samples", so I'm pretty sure it is higher quality versions.
And yes, there was some powder and marks on topsheet and it didn't last long
so they decided not to import them.

It would be silly to send low quality ones to China, since you would want market share.
End of the day, Mantra Pro has been out for a long time, and it has not taken off in Asia (where 90% of the table tennis population live)

 

[vossi39]

The sheets of MP H and XH I received last week from China are flawless. No marks or coverings. Compared to my Joola Tronix ZGR and other similar hard rubbers, the Mantras are pretty flexible. Seems the rubber itself is less firm...
I'm really wondering how they play...Will know in a couple of weeks...Will play them on my older Stiga Dynasty Carbon

 

[Topspinslinger]

Bought STIGA Mantra pro H & M, bought M pro already and liked it. I'll try on Carbonado 90

 

[Topspinslinger]

Bought eternity vps and glued it, first impression are good. Lots of spin and speed. Eternity vps is as fast as innerforce blades, it has a stiff feeling which i like. Kinda heavy setup tho.

 

[qlldominic]

The sheets of MP H and XH I received last week from China are flawless. No marks or coverings. Compared to my Joola Tronix ZGR and other similar hard rubbers, the Mantras are pretty flexible. Seems the rubber itself is less firm...
I'm really wondering how they play...Will know in a couple of weeks...Will play them on my older Stiga Dynasty Carbon

Do you play penhold? What's your opinion on them after your try, is MP H good enough to support the forehand?

 

[vossi39]

Do you play penhold? What's your opinion on them after your try, is MP H good enough to support the forehand?

No. I play shakehand and sorry no update on the playing so far, as I didn't have time between season matches....

 

[Zwill]

I want to give an example of how great Mantra Pro is, on the weekend I beat the best player in our league. Well, I have never taken even a set off him. He used to be a national team gravy player but even now he is still on that level.

From 40 singles matches no one has beaten him so far. So you can imagine how good he is. Well that changed on Sunday since I did manage to beat him on hid 42nd singles match on his home turf.
I was using Cybershape Truls edition with Mantra Pro XH on FH and Yinhe Moon Blue 12 M- on the backhand.

I think the Moon Blue contributed a lot to the win but the Mantra Pro XH on FH was just an absolute ripe peach. Does the Cybershape have any effect? Well yes, I am sure it does. In 2 months I learned how to hit the ball on the very top of the blade where the sweet spot is the largest.

Why I didn't use Mantra Pro M on BH? Well I would say just for fun I used the Yinhe Moon Blue M- since it is fun to use. It is very linear, very predictable, very good for blocking, and excellent for serve receive. So I would say the Yinhe rubber didn't get in my way on BH. I intentionally didn't bring this up in the Yinhe topic since I think it has some issues for pro players. So Mantra Pro M is clearly superior in most regards, but Yinhe Moon 12 Blue M- is very very easy to use and has great tolerance.

My opponent was using D05 on Mizutani ZLC, so I know what Dignics is capable of and it is very very impressive.
But Mantra Pro I feel is designed to counter high spin and high spin rubbers. It can successfully neutralize incoming spin and spin even on pretty fast blades.

I play fairly lot of matches against local league players, I give them 5-6-7 points advantage. And I feel with the Mantra Pros I am struggling more against these players, but when I play against similar or higher level players the Mantra Pro gives me the edge over them even if they use Dignics or Tenergy etc...

 

[Amayzde]

Interesting!

Im currently playing with DNA Hybrid H om the forehand and M on the backhand. Also on a Cybershape, but I use the wood version. I like this setup, but the H is a little too hard for my liking.

I prefer to wait for the ball a bit while looking at the opponent and then decide where Im gonna play it. And although the Hybrid H has great speed and spin characteristics, it was hard to lift the ball over the net in those scenarios.

So I swapped the Hybrid M to my forehand and changed my backhand to Mantra Pro M. The Hybrid M played quite nice on the backhand, but if I get a dead ball that lacks speed or spin I really have to brush to get it over the net. Im more of a backhand punch player after open-up, and the Mantra Pro seems great for this. Im eager to try it tomorrow.

 

[Doum]

I have played with Mantra Pro M on FH and BH for 15 hours now and it's a really good rubber. I'm still getting used to it, but i think i will use it for some times. I really like the grip and the sponge feel. And it's so easy to play with it.

If durability is good then it's a keeper. I log my playing hours so we will see how it last.

 

[Emin]

I think im gonna switch to Mantra Pro and leave Chinese rubbers aside for a while.

I ordered and Assembled a racket that was meant to be for my friend.

Yinhe Pro 05 + Mantra Pro XH + Mantra Pro H.

Been playing with it on and off for about a week now and I think I made my decision.

Mantra Pro H on BH is a killer.
So good.
Better than G-1.
Does every thing so well, its unbelievable.


Mantra Pro XH in FH is an even bigger killer.
It didnt even take too long to adjust from R9 on FH to this.

Today I switched Rackets in between matches and:
I played better
I had more fun
It was easier to play


The racket is so much fun to play with.

I didnt have a racket that blew me away this much in a while now.

 

[Tiz]

is Mantra Pro H similar to Nittaku Hammond Z2?

 

[Zwill]

is Mantra Pro H similar to Nittaku Hammond Z2?

Yeah, same manufacturer so I wager they are very similar. Nexy Etika rubbers also similar.

 

[Julzig]

Yeah, same manufacturer so I wager they are very similar. Nexy Etika rubbers also similar.

Does anybody know where they produce the Etika Rubbers? I just know its in Japan aswell.

I need to try the Mantra Pro and Hammond Z2 in the future, since I love the Etika!

 

[Zwill]

Made by Daiki, this is the companies name. Similar company as ESN, they subcontract for table tennis brands.

 

[Tiz]

Made by Daiki, this is the companies name. Similar company as ESN, they subcontract for table tennis brands.

Yes probably Daiki japan

 

[qlldominic]

I think im gonna switch to Mantra Pro and leave Chinese rubbers aside for a while.

I ordered and Assembled a racket that was meant to be for my friend.

Yinhe Pro 05 + Mantra Pro XH + Mantra Pro H.

Been playing with it on and off for about a week now and I think I made my decision.

Mantra Pro H on BH is a killer.
So good.
Better than G-1.
Does every thing so well, its unbelievable.


Mantra Pro XH in FH is an even bigger killer.
It didnt even take too long to adjust from R9 on FH to this.

Today I switched Rackets in between matches and:
I played better
I had more fun
It was easier to play


The racket is so much fun to play with.

I didnt have a racket that blew me away this much in a while now.

Have you tried the H on FH? How does it compare to XH? what's your play style, close to table or keep some distance?

 

[Emin]

Have you tried the H on FH? How does it compare to XH? what's your play style, close to table or keep some distance?

Havent played with H on FH so much yet, can try it out later.
It already "feels" softer than 50°, just like XH doesnt "feel" as hard as a normal 53° rubber.
On BH, the hardness is more significant.
On FH, it just bottoms out more easily and doesnt have as much power.
Although not that big, it is a notibale difference.

I mostly push, loop, block close and near distance to the table.
Never do I punch or flat hit a ball.

Although my playstyle wont change drastically, my rallies and maybe some shots could change here and there.

I already have some interesting thoughts and theories, among other things, its about equipment change and how it can affect improvement and performance.

 

[Emin]

Short questions to the more experienced with Mantra Pro on Forehand.

How do you go about counter loops on forehand from a bit further away?
Today was the first time I actually got to try that with a clubmate.
It was only about 5 minutes or so before he had to leave, but it was very strange.
On BH I could effortlessly produce counter loops and counter hits from mid-range distance.
But on FH to FH counter loops from that range I couldnt figure it out yet.
( that exercise everyone thinks of when they see pros training together on Social Media)
Like here at the beginning:

With chinese rubbers, I could do it more comfortably, but I was also more experienced with those.

Again it was only around 5 minutes or so, but still I was a bit clueless.
I also never played this loop to loop "exercise" with ESN rubbers or BTY rubbers for a significant amount if time, only chinese ones so far.

Before we try it next time, I wanna get some insights on this.

How should I go about technique and movement?

My setup is Yinhe Pro 05 ( inner KLC blade, similar to W968 and its type ) Mantra Pro XH on FH.

What are some tips and bits of knowledge that you can share about this?

No detailed in-depth explanation, just some easy info.

 

[Julzig]

Short questions to the more experienced with Mantra Pro on Forehand.

How do you go about counter loops on forehand from a bit further away?
Today was the first time I actually got to try that with a clubmate.
It was only about 5 minutes or so before he had to leave, but it was very strange.
On BH I could effortlessly produce counter loops and counter hits from mid-range distance.
But on FH to FH counter loops from that range I couldnt figure it out yet.
( that exercise everyone thinks of when they see pros training together on Social Media)
Like here at the beginning:

With chinese rubbers, I could do it more comfortably, but I was also more experienced with those.

Again it was only around 5 minutes or so, but still I was a bit clueless.
I also never played this loop to loop "exercise" with ESN rubbers or BTY rubbers for a significant amount if time, only chinese ones so far.

Before we try it next time, I wanna get some insights on this.

How should I go about technique and movement?

My setup is Yinhe Pro 05 ( inner KLC blade, similar to W968 and its type ) Mantra Pro XH on FH.

What are some tips and bits of knowledge that you can share about this?

No detailed in-depth explanation, just some easy info.

Will be a bit harder with the XH, but when I play far from the table I let the ball fall slightly and let it dig into the sponge to get it safely back on the table. Hitting it to flat or just brushing usually wont work or isnt precise at all.

Other than that i can tell you the obvious things seen in the clip: use ur whole body, stay low and maybe a stronger grip.