Tibhar Hybrid MK PRO

[Migzkulit]

perhaps this is just a master stroke by tibhar which enables them to live with a less good quality control. The Tibhar MK Hybrid rubbers that come out of ESN with a too high hardness can be relabelled as MK hybrid pro (since both rubbers look alike and only the wrapping is different if i did not miss anything).

Countering and looping was similar enough between the non-pro and pro version. Short game was unfortunately not more controlled with the pro version. I kind of hoped for a similar difference like G-1 to PK50 where there is a huge difference in the short game (even when the stickyness has worn off).
After half an hour playing with it and starting a training match with it i stopped using the pro version after the first set of the training match when i noticed something.

It is probably hard to explain but most of you should know this technique if you receive a serve that has just a little backspin. You dont go full open racket (meaning rubber points upwards), but more like a vertical slighly open blade to receive the ball while doing a little downwards chop motion to impart a little backspin to make it harder to attack your return in case it goes too high.

i am talking about a receive like this at 0:53

This exact technique was seemingly worse with the pro (not imparting much spin) and i can only guess that with that low speed and energy that you use for that stroke that the harder sponge does not get activated and does not aid in generating spin.

So in the first set my match opponent simply blasted a few of these returns, while after changing to the racket that has the regular mk hybrid this lead to him basically smashing into the net. This is just how i try to explain it to myself. I can not tell if this is what happened and maybe it was just anecdotal evidence or me adjusting the technique.

Since the open game (counter and loop) with the pro version was not noticable better than the regular, i will stick to the regular version.

If i get the chance with a more knowledgeable blocking partner i will try to find differences in the looping game, but i had no reliable blocking partner today.

I get that, it's most likely an adjustment though. Instead of fully vertical, go a little more horizontal to impart spin that way.

 

[Magic_M]

Both variants share the same topsheet.

This does not fit to my own impressions.

When #I played with the MK Pro for the first time, I realised that each ball was visible on the top sheet like a kind of "deepening" (I do not find a better word, because my english is not really good). After the training my to-sheet looked like a crater landscape and I have to say that I glued the rubber 2 days before this training and I glued hundreds of rubber before without this effect.

After the training I removed the rubbers and also the old glue and re.glued the rubber once more (again with the same Revolution 3 glue, 2 layers on the rubber and 1 layer on the blade). In the next training I had the same experience, while I do not see any balls on the "normal" Hybrid MK on my backhand.

My impression is, that they used a softer topsheet on the MK Pro to compensate the harder sponge.
Personally I clearly prefer the normal Hybrid MK.

 

[jk1980]

This does not fit to my own impressions.

My impression is, that they used a softer topsheet on the MK Pro to compensate the harder sponge.
Personally I clearly prefer the normal Hybrid MKMK.

To my knowledge the registration number on the topsheet is unique per topsheet and it seems to be the same. The only visual difference I could notice is the colour of the sponge.
Left is hybrid mk pro and the right side is the regular one.

 

[TensorBackhand]

To my knowledge the registration number on the topsheet is unique per topsheet and it seems to be the same. The only visual difference I could notice is the colour of the sponge.
Left is hybrid mk pro and the right side is the regular one.

The sponge color is a HUGE upgrade.

From your testing, how do they play compared to each other?

 

[RGo]

I hope this will be available in blue. If yes, then I might give it a try once my regular MK hybrid is dead.

 

[Airoc]

To my knowledge the registration number on the topsheet is unique per topsheet and it seems to be the same.

That is correct, and the topsheet is the part that ITTF approves. Different sponges can be applied, but a change to the topsheet would be against the rules.

 

[Airoc]

Yes, but special ones, not off the shelf…
At a minimum specially selected.

Yes, of course.

 

[Creek]

Oh no… purple sponge 😥

 

[Baba3149]

for those who have tested it, what does it give in terms of speed and dynamism? What is more famous than it is similar to?
I would like to test but I'm afraid of its speed otherwise it meets all the criteria I'm looking for

 

[Archosaurus]

Just from a kinetics standpoint, it might play similarly in the short game despite the harder sponge because sponges are progressive springs with probably some hysteresis. It might respond very similar to small inputs, perhaps having an almost identical linear region in the small forces, but have a completely different knee and slope on the progressive ramp on harder swings.

Someone should really dyno rubbers and get some force-distance and force-distance-time curves out of them. I've been thinking of some empiric methods to do it, but there are many ways to output something not-useful, and building a dyno that can calibrate accurately and output such small forces is not a ten dollar job.

 

[jk1980]

Archos, you are correct in the assumption. Unfortunately for me the short game is the same between the regular MK Hybrid and the pro version. I would have liked it too be more slow/non-creative due to it's harder sponge, but that is not the case.

This might go down well for most players that do like the regular MK Hybrid and just want more power.

Spin is similar between them, but the active strokes with more than 60% power will be more dangerous.

A player of my club who plays Dignics 05 on his forehand said that he feels that the pro version is very similar to his d05.

 

[Baba3149]

Speed versus razka z, glayzer 09c, h3 BS prov boosting ?

 

[jk1980]

Universaly faster than Glayzer 09c.
Faster in short game than Rakza Z, equally powerful or even stronger in active strokes than Rakza z.

 

[FrenchFrog33]

I saw that tabletennis11 copy and pasted the description of MK to MK Pro, both say 48 degrees. Lazy!

 

[jk1980]

The description on the box does differ slightly though.

 

[turbozed]

Here's WRM's review of MK Pro

 

[khadjeh]

Hey Guys, here is a European Review of the rubber, that I did today:

 

[BHSlap]

MK Pro is preferable to me over the MK which is too bouncy. MK Pro has a nice click when you connect properly, I feel I can hit through more shots for a quicker point win.

MK might work for me with something less than MAX.

 

[vivalavida320315]

K3 both sides for Lebrun, K3 forehand for Jorgic (backhand Infinity MX-P) - so the most recent information.

whats the difference between infinity and evolution mx-p?

 

[Migzkulit]

whats the difference between infinity and evolution mx-p?

It's like a pro version of MX-P. We dont know the exact specs since it's likely modified to each person's needs.