Customer review for XIOM Vega Asia

External Review for XIOM Vega Asia on June 1, 2013

This is a very good rubber, don't be scared off by the fact that Xiom is not as known a brand as say, Butterfly. While Tenergy may be slightly better, the difference is small enough that this rubber is a better choice especially for the value, $38 vs $68. There are a few things to consider when buying this rubber.

Let me start off by saying I recently switched to modern defense play style and I used to be a two-wing looper. Still, I incorporate plenty of attack into my game as a modern defense, but with more of an affinity for pushing and chopping as well. I'm using this rubber at a 2 mm thickness on the forehand side of my BTY Primorac with BTY Feint Long II 1.3mm on the backhand side. It is definitely very fast and I could not really control it for the first 20 minutes or so, because my previous rubber of choice was the slow Sriver. As a high tension rubber, Vega Asia is a big change but I managed to adjust to it, and it has a satisfying cracking sound upon flat drive impact.

Of course this is very nice for blocks, but loops are important as well. It is worth noting exactly how nontacky this rubber is. You can't see the pimples in like with Sriver or other rubbers, which usually only happens with black rubbers. Because this one is red though it is interesting that the topsheet is completely opaque and very nontacky. As a result I am happy with that because it means the rubber will have spin durability, but you will have to use very good technique for pure spin loops. Still, though, there is ample spin for loop drives, and the high throw angle is good for keeping your loops against backspin over the net.

Naturally as a modern defender I still will need to chop every once in a while with the smooth rubber when twiddling is not possible. For that, this rubber excels. It produces a surprising amount of backspin and control for such a fast, nontacky rubber. I can get good consistency on my chops against medium-powered loops, and only will have problems when the opponent starts smashing loop-drives. This is fantastic for a high-tension inverted rubber like Vega Asia.

Counterlooping is also an important shot with the smooth rubber and this produces phenomenal amounts of kick when countering the opponent's loops from mid to far distance from the table. The control is very difficult however and needs time to get used to. After adjusting though, your opponents won't know what happened when the ball lands on their side of the table and jumps like a kangaroo upon impact.

OVERALL
+ Extreme Speed
+ Satisfying Crackling Sound
+ Nontacky topsheet (Spin Durability)
+ Thick Carbo Sponge (i'm using 2 mm)
+ Good control for chops
+ High throw angle keeps your loop drives out of the net
+ Good kick on counterloops
- Pure spin loops are difficult
- Loops are hardest shot to control with this rubber
- Must take time to get used to speed
- Huge adjustment required when twiddling between super slow long pips and extreme fast Vega Asia
- Flat shots need a very closed angle when driving or blocking because of the high throw angle

Overall it is a very high quality rubber and good for the price. If you're the type of player who likes to have good control and tons of spin on loops, you should probably go with a different rubber, but if you're the type of player who enjoys flat drives and smashes you'll have a lot of fun with it. This is the offensive player's rubber. Of course like me, you could have long pips on the other side and this could be very nice for you to control your chops while still having plenty of power for the attack, making your slower blade faster than a carbon blade upon flat drive.

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