Xiom Vega Intro

Thickness 2.0 on a Viscaria Blade

This intermediate rubber is suitable for players in the early stages of competitive play. It requires significant effort to impart heavy spin on the ball, despite its extended dwell time.

Control and Sensitivity

While the rubber is not sensitive to incoming spin, the sponge’s added bounce and springiness compromise its control. This softness also hinders blocking effectiveness.

Comparison to Top-Performing Rubbers

In comparison to premium rubbers like the Tenergy series or Xiom’s line, it exhibits substantial shortcomings. However, it serves as a decent starting rubber for practicing rallies and drills.

Conclusion

For players aiming for competitive play, this rubber may not meet their expectations. It’s suitable for beginners learning the fundamentals of the game but lacks the capabilities for advanced play.

Intro Rubber Review

Initially, I utilized faster tensor rubbers with significant catapult effects. However, transitioning to the Intro rubber provided me with enhanced control and confidence during gameplay. The reduction in speed led to improved accuracy and reduced overshooting. Misinterpreting the spin on an opponent’s serve no longer resulted in automatic point loss.

A notable advantage of the reduced speed lies in improved pushing and short game capabilities. The ball remains on the table for longer durations, allowing for precise placement of pushes. This resulted in a significant reduction in unforced errors.

Regarding attacking strokes, the fast bouncy rubbers previously used caused me to restrain my swings out of fear of overshooting. However, the Intro rubber enables confident and powerful swings, effectively compensating for any perceived lack of speed.

Despite its affordability, the Intro rubber offers decent grip and spin characteristics. Its balance of control and aggression is ideal for winning points by keeping the ball on the table rather than relying on excessive speed.

I highly recommend the Intro rubber, especially for players seeking improved control and versatility. It is an excellent choice for all-around players who value precision and consistency over raw speed.

Yinhe Big Dipper 2 is a very forgiving and easy-to-play rubber. It provides decent spin, but its speed is relatively low. It is not a versatile rubber, offering limited gears. However, it is a good alternative to classic rubbers like Sriver or Mark V, especially for beginners or players looking for a budget-friendly option. Overall, it offers good value for its price.

Review: Vega Intro

The Vega Intro is a tensor rubber with a good balance of speed and spin, making it suitable for most occasions. It offers excellent control for precise shot-making. However, it lacks distinctive characteristics beyond this balanced performance.

The topsheet is thin, and the sponge feels medium soft, providing a non-tacky but grippy surface that grabs the ball effectively. In backhand play, the Vega Intro excels at lifting backspin and blocking, making it an enjoyable option.

For forehand use, it may be too soft, lacking the necessary firmness for aggressive shots. Overall, the Vega Intro deserves an 8 out of 10 rating. While it performs well, similar or better options are available at lower prices.

Consider trying grippy, non-tacky Friendship 729 rubbers (Battle I or Focus II) with a 42 or 44-degree sponge. They offer comparable performance at a more affordable price.

Tensor Rubber Review

It is a tensor rubber, which gives it a springy feel rather than the traditional spongy feel. If you are not familiar with tensor rubbers, you may not appreciate this one.

Performance:

• Drive: Moderate performance.
• Loop: Good performance.
• Block: Excellent performance.
• Push: Moderate performance, but with increased spin capability compared to classic rubber.
• Chop: Good spin, but the high bounce makes chopping challenging.
• Serve: Comparable to classic rubber.

Update:

After additional play, I have developed a preference for this rubber over Mark V on my backhand side. Its speed allows for more aggressive direct shots.

Vega Intro Rubber Review

As a player transitioning from beginner to intermediate, I sought a rubber that balanced spin, speed, and control. After experimenting with various blades (OFF++, OFF, ALL, DEF/ALL+), I found the Vega Intro to be an optimal choice. Despite its non-tacky nature, the rubber offers excellent grip, comparable to the Yasaka Mark V. Its moderate catapult effect generates medium to high spin while maintaining a predictable linear speed.

In my playing style, which emphasizes defensive BH blocks, FH blocks, and FH pushes, combined with offensive BH drives, FH drives, and FH loops, I utilized 2.0mm Vega Intro on the FH and 1.8mm on the BH. While the rubber felt too fast and uncontrollable on faster blades (OFF++ and OFF), it excelled on the ALL blade. This combination provided greater control and allowed me to generate significant power without sacrificing control.

On the combo blade, the 1.8mm thickness on the BH offered excellent control but compromised speed. Conversely, on the FH, the rubber’s slight catapult effect, combined with the blade’s catapult, resulted in increased speed and reduced spin. This enhanced flat hitting and smashes but hindered high-spin loops.

Despite multiple gluing and removal cycles, the rubber has remained flat, but the edges have experienced chipping. Overall, I highly recommend the Vega Intro rubber, ranking it among my top two choices alongside the H3 Nero and Mark V.

Review:

I’ve been using this rubber in 2.0mm on my forehand. It’s a medium-hard rubber that performs well in all aspects.

Chopping is particularly impressive with this rubber. My chops and pushes exhibit excellent control and remain close to the table. When looping and hitting, it offers decent speed and spin, though marginally more than classic non-tensor rubbers like Mark V and Sriver.

As a cost-effective all-around option, this rubber is ideal for players who prefer firmer sponges and wish to avoid the pronounced catapult effect of higher-energy tensors. Due to its high controllability, I recommend using it in 2.0mm or maximum thickness for most players.

Use it for forehand. Ordered it to gain more control and less spring effect, but I ordered the 1.8 mm. Maybe should have ordered the max version.

A great backhand rubber. It also lasts a long time, almost a full season. If you apply a booster, it improves in every way. Highly recommended.

Fairly hard and heavy, but not very responsive or bouncy, which makes keeping the ball on the table very easy. Best with handle-balanced blades or in thinner thicknesses to mitigate weight.

It’s easy to play and good for a kid.

I’m an amateur player who has recently switched from prebuilt rackets to the custom world. The Vega Intro is extremely controllable and is very hard to miss-hit. It produces a significant amount of spin compared to any premade racket. I’ve tried paddles with DHS Hurricane Neo 3 and Dignics 09C. I’m not able to produce any more spin with those rubbers as an amateur than I can with the Vega Intro, but those higher-end rubbers are much harder to control during a match.

The only negative I can find with the Vega Intro is durability. The edges chip or tear relatively easily if you hit the table.

My favorite rubbers for the price. Just change the size of the “mousse” if you want more or less control. My friends want to try it after!

Fantastic spin and speed for a starting player! Enough bounce to outclass most pre-made rackets, but enough gears to do both soft touches and game-finishing smashes in the same rally. Not a ton of spin, but also not as sensitive to it, which is a positive in my book. Very happy!

I bought these rubbers for everyone who wants to learn and have fun with different skills. I have been using them for 4 years and I love them. Four friends tried them, and all four bought them again.

I am a beginner/intermediate player. And I had a bad feeling with this rubber. No control, light effect.

Накладка для игроков начального уровня. Толкая и невнятная.

Good control and spin. Soft sponge provides a beautiful arc and high accuracy. Suitable for beginning training.

Overall, this rubber is average. It has medium speed with a soft touch.

I highly recommend this rubber for new or developing players who desire spin and control. Excellent feel, easy to control blocks and pushes, and gives nice spin for loops.

I’ve used Xiom rubbers for years, and I was very surprised to find them costing only about 2/3 of what they normally cost me here in England. I had to add to the order to get free postage though. So as long as I can make a suitable order up, I will continue to get my table tennis equipment from here.

Good feeling. Xiom rubbers are unique.

Hello, this rubber is good for having great control on the backhand. It is good for those who are coming from classic rubbers like Mark V or Thibar Rapid. It has medium spin for topspin and good spin for chopping. Good blocking. greetings.

I strongly recommend this rubber for beginners because it offers a very sensitive feel of soft touch, plus it’s good quality and inexpensiveness. It matches very well with the Donic Waldner Senso V1 blade.

Excellent rubber for a first tensor.

Very good rubber with a reasonable price.

Review text:

Very light and spinny rubber. Speed is okay. Suitable for the backhand, max sponge is good for the forehand.

Around 40 degrees hardness which fits most styles. Superb for the price.

All-around rubber.

Controlled and spinny, just as expected. Not bouncy, especially since I chose 1.8 mm. I use it on my backhand, for preparing a forehand attack and/or for forcing the opponent’s errors. Fine for serving, too.

Really an introductory rubber to the Vega series. Less bounce and less speed. Good for beginners. Has a reasonable amount of spin when used correctly. Offers quite decent control due to the softer topsheet. Works pretty well for backhand and blocks. Decent quality versus price.

Nice quality at a reasonable price. Described as an ‘introductory tensor’ with reduced catapult. Not much different in speed and spin compared to the popular ‘classics’, and I question whether it’s a worthwhile ‘upgrade’. However, it does have a medium hard sponge with lots of control, offering beginners with some experience and intermediate players an option to progress to a tensor without having to choose a softer sponge for the required control.