Upgrade from Donic Coppa JO Gold

Mantra is generally faster, especially Mantra H, which most people who try them prefer to Mantra M.  Karis can be just as fast as Mantra H but you need to really swing hard.  Karis is better in the short game. The thing they both have is very short pips under the top sheet.  However Karis takes that to an extreme, and I think the underlying sponge is slightly slower compared to Mantra H.  The very short pips makes the deformation of the top sheet when the ball strikes a lot more predictable but it also means the rubber does less of the work for you.  The overall effect is something that is very "linear" and predictable.  A lot of people will not like that, especially if they are used to boosted fast rubbers.  I very much like it.  But I didn't like it the first couple of times I used it.  Some other people who have used it maybe can chime in.

I don't really have a setup.... it depends on which way the wind is blowing.

last setups I used were

tibhar chila with joola rhyzer

tibhar iv-l with tenergy 05

I think I even played a league match with the coppa gold and the persson powerplay back then.

but later I sold everything.

but in a match it's serve receive, block, maybe loop once or twice.

the not so bouncy coppa gold with a rather sticky topsheet is great for this.

I might become a man and go back to the

setup

Well, this year I have not played a lot, I play in a league every Friday for 2-3 hours, but I very rarely train mid-week. I attached the rubber in March 2019, and it is still perfectly good. 

So I can confirm that it is durable. I did not boost it or anything, however, Since I attached it, basically I spent 3 weeks playing everyday for 3-4 hrs, then I played only once a week on average with some weeks being twice a week.

However, I am not one of those players who needs a rubber to play exactly like new, nevertheless, I'd say there was less than a 10% drop in performance.

Also Remember that currently Mantra M is on my BH with MX-P on my FH - my game is FH looper, BH blocker / hitter, opening loop. I always try to get into a position for my FH if I can, so I think I hit less with my BH in a game than with my FH.

Maybe if you are particular and want peek performance, u could change a sheet after 6 months, but for me, I just don't need to. It still has 95% of it's power and spin.

Ah! Then you will adjust after just few sessions, that is a rubber characteristic, happened to me too. On BH it is less noticeable but still there (when you play a very touch opponent, you will notice it).

I think u will have it sorted after 3-4 times playing with it :) :) 

I find it very controllable , excellent control over direction and placement. Excellent spin game.

I do find that it has a long trajectory and therefore some balls can go out off the edge of the table until you adjust (is this the adjustment you mentioned?). 

With this rubber, I almost never hit the net, and yet it is not too bouncy (less than MX-P).

What are the control adjustments you think you need to make on FH? What was happening? Long balls, or another problem? I think I'd be bale to relate to this since I use Mantra M a lot. 

Yes, you really should play Mantra M both sides then! I wouldn't say MX-P is faster, but Mantra M has maybe a little bit more gears in that it plays soft touch shots and low power placement shots slightly better, so it appears that MX-P is faster. In actual fact, at full power Mantra M is just as fast as MX-P - try smashing and power looping and you will immediately realise!

Mantra M has a slightly longer trajectory than MX-P and Tensors like Rakza 7 etc... so one thing you do have to be careful is not to send the ball long, but it is very easy to adjust to it. 

Yes. I liked Coppa Gold quite a lot but only wished for some more spin without losing other good characteristics like the good speed, not much affected by opponent spin etc. It seems like Mantra M is quite close to that.

I play with MX-P and Mantra M - I personally use MX-P as FH and Mantra M as BH, however I use the Mantra M on FH too against certain opponents.

My honest opinion is that Mantra M would be a better choice coming from Coppa JO Gold. I think you would enjoy the feeling more, it is very crisp, direct, fast.  I think both Mantra M and MX-P would be excellent choices though.

I also saw Rakza 7 was mentioned, I used this rubber and it is excellent too, but MX-P and Mantra M give more confidence in that they are able to make a 100 identical shots, where as I felt Rakza 7 sometimes played differently when I wanted it to play the same shot....possibly because Rakza 7 is more spin sensitive that MX-P or Mantra M. Rakza 7 is also more sensitive to the incoming power of an opponent's shot, where as especially Mantra M acts as a wall on the block and as a sniper on the counter loop...no issues at all to control the counter attack in any way you want - direct, spinny, counterloop, flat hit punch block, placed ball etc...