Xiom Vega Europe DF

Initial thoughts from warming up and rubber characteristics: I tried these rubbers on both sides of an Xiom Ignito blade. First think I noticed was the noise, quite a high pitch click when striking the ball. You could feel the ball really sink into the soft black carbo sponge and fire it back. When hitting a harder topspin shot you could definitely feel it bottom out and the ball would penetrate right through to the blade. However, I did have total control on placement with a safe stroke.


Topspins: Topspin shots were nice with a nice safety over the net again could place wherever, but when trying to gain maximum power the ball would deffo bottom out so it's got nice gears until you get to the highest ones where sadly there isn't that big power. Plenty sufficient to win points through placement and spin though but the big hitters wouldn't feel it had enough. Against backspin I could open up nicely, create good grip to lift the ball and the arc was plenty to bring the ball down on the other side whikst creating enough rotation to cause the other player to block long.


Touch/Blocking: Touch shots were again very easy to play, could keep the ball low over the net and the dynamic friction rubber had plenty of grip to generate spin also. Blocking again was so so easy, my partner would do topspin drills and I would block the ball without any worries. Not sensitive to the incoming topspin and great control.


Off the table: Top to top rallies were good but again lacked the top gear to finish the point, it would bottom out again. I found also if you were off the table and out of position it was also quite hard to get enough power to get the ball back safely too.


Overall: A great rubber for someone looking to improve their game, not sensitive to incoming spin and generates plenty of its own through the new 'Dynamic Friction' technology. It is east to control the ball in blocking, it really shines in this department I think. But for the more offensive player it would lack that top end speed and soft sponge could feel a bit mushy on certain shots. Still more suited to the backhand with maybe the harder Vega Pro on the FH would be a good combination on the Ignito blade.

Xiom Vega Europe DF Rubber
Weight: 41 grams cut (151x157mm blade)
Sponge hardness: Soft
Speed: Off-

I have not used the Xiom Vega Europe for a while. In 2009 it was my favorite rubber when it first came out. I wanted to go back to XVE because I missed the feel and control plus spin I got when I started playing with the polyball. I contacted my local Xiom distributor in Philippines, www.pingpongonline.com, they sent me the new Vega Europe DF. The blade I used in the review was the STIGA Exclusive blade.

The Xiom Vega Europe DF feels very much like a 35-degree European hardness. When I pressed against the rubber it felt soft. When comparing side by side the original Vega Europe and Vega Europe DF the original felt a bit harder. The Vega Europe feels more of a 37 degree sponge hardness. The pimple structure looks identical between the two with the only difference it seems is the hardness. The Vega Elite is still the soften Vega Rubber in the series. When comparing all 3 rubbers in terms of hardness the Vega Europe DF is between the original Vega Europe and Vega Elite.

While testing the rubbers I used the Nexy 3* polyball, I felt right away that the original Xiom Vega Europe is slightly faster than the newer DF version. The speed of the DF felt between the Vega Elite and Vega Europe. The sound of the Vega Europe DF was very loud, the Vega Series is known for its sound, the DF was louder by a few notches. In terms of categorising the speed, the DF ranged from ALL+ to OFF- speed, but in general the speed on all of my strokes was OFF-.

I found the DF rubber to work well inside the table on shots such as short pushes, drop shots and serves.Serves in particular are very controllable and not too bouncy. The spin on my serves and sharp pushes seemed very high when you compress the ball onto the sponge.

The topsheet of the Xiom Vega Europe DF is very spinny and feels grippy, infact spinier than the original Xiom Vega Europe.

Comparing to Rasant Beat: The Vega Europe DF is spinier than the new andro Rasant Beat rubber, however the Beat is faster. The advantage with the DF is looping and spinning the ball.

The DF rubber produces a medium arc which I liked when looping or spinning the ball. When contacting the ball thin strokes were not the way to go with the DF version. Even with the plastic ball the DF rubber is very spinny. The rubber is not to sensitive to incoming spin and is highly controllable on blocks and controlling the heavy spin. I found the Europe DF more suited for the Forehand. This was because it is designed for close to the table producing lots of spin, at mid distance you need more effort because of the softness of the rubber. On the backhand I could have done with a bit more pace. If you are a player who likes to block, spin and drive on the backhand then the DF would suit you well. I think to make the rubber faster you need it on a faster blade like the Xiom Zetro Quad or the Stradivarius blade. This rubber would pair well with carbon blades as the spin and control would balance well.

Overall, the new Vega Europe DF rubber is a great all round attacking rubber designed for the plastic ball. The high control and forgiveness of this rubber would even be suitable for beginners. This rubber is excellent for learning the strokes because its very balanced between spin and control and a reasonable amount of speed.

Very good rubber for this price.What I don´t like if want to hit realy hard power topspin winner after service it becomes uncontrolable ball goes out or to the net.I like it more than vega pro .Vega Europe DF has softer feeling,but maybe too soft..Vega pro seems to me dead feeling.