stiga calibra tour review

this review is done with a new rubber, so playing characteristics might change a bit over time, I'll keep this updated.

price:
I got it for 37 USD so it's not a bad price.
it's around the same price as tensors but I already know tensors so I wanted to test something different (this is my first stiga rubber ever).

topsheet:
everybody mentions the topsheet of calibra tour and it's true, it's maybe the strangest topsheet you will ever find.
you can perfectly slide your fingers across the rubber and at no point they get stuck or slow down.

sponge:
it doesn't look like a tensor sponge nor like a tenergy sponge.
it's more like a sriver or mark v type of sponge.
really solid with no pores.

speed:
it's quite fast, maybe a bit faster than tenergy, but not too much.
also it depends, if you grab it well with a top spin perfect timing it's super fast, clearly faster than tenergy.
then you do a more passive stroke like just putting the racket there and the ball doesn't even pass the net.
in this way it behaves like tensors, I always noticed they have this problem when comparing them to a tenergy.

spin:
clearly less spin than tenergy.
also less spin than donic bluefire, tibhar evolution and andro rasant.
also I'd say less spin than andro hexer.
maybe similar spin to a used donic acuda.

control:
I didn't find it too easy getting used to it honestly.
this characteristic that sometimes it's very fast and sometimes not fast enough to pass the net makes you hesitant.
also the lack of topsheet grip sometimes makes things harder, because you are not really sure the ball is going where you want it to.

specific shots--->
serves:
there won't be tons of spin but it's ok, it's controllable and you can get some basic spin.

pushes:
it's difficult to get much spin out of pushes and sometimes the fall flies off a bit.
the lack of topsheet grip together with a bouncy sponge is what produces this.

topspin:
spin is acceptable, speed is pretty good too.

blocking:
it's not so affected by incoming spin.
problem is sometimes if you are not too close to the table and you want to make more active block or just a mixture between lob and block then sometimes you'll judge incorrectly the bouncing speed of the rubber.

counter topspin:
a few times I found it hard to do this shot because the topsheet doesn't grab the ball sometimes so it just bounces against the sponge and goes out in a straight trajectory.
if this happens the trajectory is totally unpredictable.
otherwise it's a normal shot, with good speed and some spin.

final thoughts:
I think this is a good rubber for novice players with a more speed flat type of game.
it could also help them learn to deal with spin.
but I wouldn't recommend it to someone who's main weapon is spin variation.