Stiga Genesis M

Way different from Yasaka's Rising Dragon on my Stiga Offensive Classic WRB. The Genesis M has a harder sponge AND a harder topsheet, which isn't tacky at all. This way, it has less dwell time and less control. Throw angle seems a little bit higher, but the ball dips more into the table. I'm still getting used to it. Feels pretty heavy. <<Update 1>> After some time, the feeling of uncontrollability diminished considerably. Maybe the rubber broke in. I also got used to the additional weight of my new setup. Feels very spinny, I've been scoring significantly more with serves and spinny loops. But I still don't find it as reliable as Yasaka's Rising Dragon. There's not that much forgiveness.

Tried this on a Stiga Infinity VPS V. Not a big fan of the rubber but it is ok. The plusside for me is definetly control and feeling. Very easy to control spin and speed from the opponent whether it's blocking against loop or close to the table, serve return etc. Amazing for snakes and chops! When it comes to attack- play, the rubber falls a little bit short for me. Speed is quite slow and you have to practice a lot if you want to find the right technique for playing fast loop- drives. The grip feels really good though and therefore the spin is nice, but not as much as ex. H3N or T05. Especially away from the table you feel this as the opponent quite easily can handle your attacks. Though, I believe you can get decent speed if you use it on a faster blade! Weight is a little downside as it's quite heavy and at the same time doesn't give you that much power. Solid rubber for intermediates, for pros I would use something faster or with more spin instead, as it's a little mediocre.

I was looking for a hybrid rubber to substitute Hurricane 3 Neo and have partially found it. It loses its tackiness fast but remains grippy for a while. Average durability. Not very sensitive to incoming spin. It is faster than H3N, but not as fast as a tensor rubber. It is not bouncy, until you hit hard. Less spin in serves but very spiny when looping. It is less predictable than H3N but much more predictable than tensors. I am losing a point here and there because of this. I don't have this problem with H3N. I still need the hip rotation and forward arm motion to make it work but requires significantly less effort to play. I am now using it in my backhand on a flexible blade, Stiga Maplewood Nct V. It gives me the extra power without loss of control. It feels more uncontrollable and bouncy on carbon blades. Great at counter looping. Players who are inconsistent with tensor rubbers should consider it, either as a forehand or backhand rubber.

Tested in black max, on the forehand, on a Stiga allround classic and an Xiom Offensive S: Speed is just faster than vega pro in 2.0mm. The feeling is much more chinese-like; just a bit of a thicker contact on the ball than the chinese rubbers (such as h3n) that I've tried before probably due to a softer topsheet. It's extremely easy to control the placement and trajectory, partly because the rubber does not react so much to spin. Another feature of this rubber is its trajectory, which especially away from the table (and especially on the allround classic) comes across as having a very pronounced arc, although you've got to put in some effort to pick up the ball first. As you might have guessed, the spin is high - comparable to vega pro and the like. This feels really safe on the allround classic compared to the offensive s, which in contrast provides quite a bit more speed and a longer trajectory. What sets this rubber apart from euro rubbers is the improved linearity, and the main difference to chinese rubbers is the more elastic, dynamic nature. This rubber would suit an allround-offensive playing style which makes use of spin and placement in addition to speed. Enjoy your TT!

Those past seasons, I've played with Vega Pro quite a lot, also spent some time playing with Omega V Pro, TG3 Neo and TG2 Neo. I like spinny and not too dynamic rubbers on my FH. This Genesis M is a good intermediate between traditionnal chinese rubbers (tacky and "dead", need to put the whole body in the shot to get speed and be effective, very demanding if you're not used to it) and euro-jap rubbers (more dynamic, can get some speed even with shorter strokes). You get a rubber that's not too bouncy, can control the ball well (not too sensitive to incoming spin) and impart a good amount of spin. Short game is good because the rubber is not too bouncy, not as good as a classic tacky chinese rubber but better than usual euro rubbers. Still, you don't need as much power as you do with chinese rubbers, which makes it much more forgiving and easier to get more than decent speed. In the end, I find that this rubber gets the best of both world, and like it very much. Other players found that in contrary, you don't get a rubber as spinny as chinese rubbers, and more difficult to play than euro rubbers... I guess it depends a lot on what you're used to playing with. Anyway, if you like not too bouncy rubbers with good spin, but don't want / can't play with traditional chinese rubbers, then this one is definitely worth a shot! Edit after 2 years : I only wish this rubber would exist in "Hard" version. Medium feels too soft for me (I'd say around 42°, euro scale), and even though I really appreciate it, I might change for a harder rubber, especially on my forehand.