I was in Europe last year. I had a chance to meet Alexander Karakasevic of Serbia. I had to confirm the rumor that I was hearing from a lot of people about the forehand and backhand rubbers he uses. He handed over his paddle to me to hit few balls. I could not withstand the smell of the speed glue, but I have found out he uses Joola Mambo H Max on his backhand and forehand.
The Joola Mambo H regular rubber is a favorite rubber among many world top players. I can say it is not really like a Chinese rubber neither I can consider it is like a European rubber. The top spin players can migrate to this rubber without much adjustament. What I have got is not Joola Mambo H regular, but the tuned version of Mambo H.
Among the Mambo series of Joola, the Mambo H has high friction – the H stands for high friction. The friction on its top sheet can generate good spin, not extreme spin unless you brush the ball fast. The sponge is little harder than other mambo rubbers – the hardness comes to 42.5 degree.
Let me talk about its weakness. The Joola Mambo H is not a cut defense rubber. It is not suitable for defensive shots; however it can generate ample spin to keep your opponent from hitting. The amount of spin does not come to level that Joola Drum can produce – the Joola Drum is a tacky rubber.
The rubber is a tuned version. A careful removal of glue from its sponge is always necessary because it is possible the portions of sponge can come out. I would suggest the users of this rubber to remove the glue build up only after the sponge develops a thick layer.
The Mambo H tuned is a fast rubber. It has the speed glue effect built in, but that is not permanent. To keep that effect going, you have to keep the rubber in a pressure or tuner box for some 8 hours. The speed glue can spoil the sponge, so don’t apply speed glue to the sponge to put on the blade – use only VOC free regular glue.
The Mambo H is a very good looping rubber. It can generate extreme top spin with proper stroke. The arc of the ball is not that high, but medium enough to keep your opponent away from smashing the ball.
I have tried many strokes with this rubber - from close to the net flip / flick stroke to looping far away from the table. Since this rubber does not generate high arc, all the strokes should be returned at the table level – not close to the table but table level from anywhere in the court.
I have seen the behavior of tuned rubber shrinking after we remove the rubber from the paddle. I have not seen that behavior with Joola Mambo H.
If you are planning to buy a Mambo H Tuning, buy a pressure or tuner box also. You can save money on speed glue, and the tuner can give consistent performance for the rubber. The rubber costs less than $50.
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