Stiga Mantra Control

Perfect, just buy.

Getting back to table tennis after being absent for a couple of years, I’ve taken a liking to this cheap (ish) rubber from Stiga which offers awesome control and a really nice sound to hits.

Just for clarification, I am relatively new to table tennis and have only tried 4–5 rubbers previously. This was the third rubber I bought.

Mantra Control is definitely not slow, but it is definitely not fast either. I mean, it is Stiga’s beginner rubber, so that’s good! Pretty good balance of speed for beginners. Good control, and I felt like the rubber has a medium-high throw angle. Good at blocking, versatile! I would say it lacks in the serve and spin department, kind of hard to generate heavy sidespin, and the serves don’t get much spin either. However, the absolute best part of the rubber is the weight! Very low weight. Overall, a pretty consistent and beginner-friendly rubber, however I would probably get a Yasaka Mark V instead.