Progression from Vega Pro

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Hi,

I use Vega Pro on my backhand and Rakza 7 on forehand. Blade is Rossi Emotion. The setup offers good control but I struggle to put power on my backhand when I step away from the table. I like Vega Pro for it's linearity and control, but it's lack of speed hinders me at times.
Please advise me on a replacement for Vega Pro, with similar properties but more speed and spin.
I only do backhand serves, both topspin and backspin, so anything which can produce more spin than VP would be welcome.

Thanks,
Ravi
 
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Hi,

I use Vega Pro on my backhand and Rakza 7 on forehand. Blade is Rossi Emotion. The setup offers good control but I struggle to put power on my backhand when I step away from the table. I like Vega Pro for it's linearity and control, but it's lack of speed hinders me at times.
Please advise me on a replacement for Vega Pro, with similar properties but more speed and spin.
I only do backhand serves, both topspin and backspin, so anything which can produce more spin than VP would be welcome.

Thanks,
Ravi

Hi Ravi, just curious, have you tried Rakza 7 on your BH?
 
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Hi Ravi, just curious, have you tried Rakza 7 on your BH?
Yes. I did. Blocks were going a bit long and VP on forehand during the same drill saw me hit more into the net. I guess Rakza 7 could work for me on the backhand after some adjustments.
How is Rakza 7 soft different from Rakza 7?

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Yes. I did. Blocks were going a bit long and VP on forehand during the same drill saw me hit more into the net. I guess Rakza 7 could work for me on the backhand after some adjustments.
How is Rakza 7 soft different from Rakza 7?

Any new rubber is definitely going to necessitate some adjustment.

Rakza 7 Soft is quite a bit softer than Rakza 7. They can both be great BH rubbers, the Soft will help you get more lift if you need it, the regular more speed.
 
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Soft will have very little power at high power shots (the soft sponge cannot store much energy as a spring) so if you're strong and have good technique you probably don't want to use soft for anything but the backhand. It's a good choice in other circumstances but I definitely wouldn't call it a step up from vega pro.
I'm honestly surprised you found the vega pro insufficient. Perhaps a new vega pro?

I really can't think of any rubber with the same properties as the vega pro but really faster and spinnier. The whole idea of the vega pro is how linear it is while retaining good tempo and spin. MS-X is a step up in speed and spin but not... not really. It also plays totally different. Lower throw, a lot more specialized, less forgiving.
I think if you really want a step up in speed and spin you should probably go for T05 or MX-P because the step up from Vega Pro is a different philosophy of rubber altogether.
 
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Hi,

I use Vega Pro on my backhand and Rakza 7 on forehand. Blade is Rossi Emotion. The setup offers good control but I struggle to put power on my backhand when I step away from the table. I like Vega Pro for it's linearity and control, but it's lack of speed hinders me at times.
Please advise me on a replacement for Vega Pro, with similar properties but more speed and spin.
I only do backhand serves, both topspin and backspin, so anything which can produce more spin than VP would be welcome.

Thanks,
Ravi

AFAIK, away from the table, you could be experiencing one of many issues which could result in shots being slower than you want, which each call for pretty different solutions. So it might be worth getting clearer on your needs:

Off the top of my head:

1. The Vega Pro's sponge isn't compressing enough on those strokes.

- If that's the direction of your problem, it's possible that the culprit isn't the speed of the rubber, but the hardness.

2. The vega pro's sponge is compressing a lot, but you want something with more catapult.

- If that's the issue, you should probably look into higher catapult rubbers. Just keep in mind that such a switch can come at a cost in other areas of your game.. (Also, it might be worth looking at how old your Vega pro is as suggested by others. IMO the catapult does tend to decrease quite a bit over the first 1-3 months of use.)
 
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Vega Pro is a fast rubber. If it lacks power, I would suggest a faster blade. I don't know your level or how you play but I think that the best solution is working on your technique and stroke and improving your backhand for more power
 
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If you are on R7 max, try 2.0 or 1.8 on the BH. R7 has more catapult than vega pro, but it's not completely uncontrollable. Especially if you don't have enough power in your stroke to generate fast balls with the vega pro, the R7 should bring the lacking power on your BH strokes.

Also, blocks going long using R7 is natural if you are used to vega pro. The vega pro eats more of the energy than R7 does on passive blocks. You will have to close your bat further since the ball shoots out faster off the block, but once you get used to it, your blocks can get pretty offensive, especially if you engage in more active blocking. You can shoot it back pretty fast, which can be an added weapon to your game :)
 
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Thanks. Yes, I agree there is nothing like the Vega Pro in terms of it's linearity. I should work on the technique a little more - may be get more wrist involved on by backhand. The rubber is still in good condition after two months of use.
Interestingly, I have never used any sponge less than max in any brand. May be I should give R7 2.0 or 1.8 a try later when VP is completely worn out. May be try Aurus Select.
I have had a hit with MX-P and MX-S, and I agree that they are completely different from VP. I'll stay away from them for the time being.
As far as the blade is concerned, I'm super comfortable with Rossi Emotion. I have much better control after switching to it from Zeta Offensive. The feel of RE is just awesome.
 
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That's the question for me too. I need a little more speed; more catapult will change the game drastically for me. Is Stiga Mantra M a decent option? Heard it's quite linear and not as fast as MX-S.

Could be. It felt very t05-like, as does Vega Pro. It might be a little faster. Problem: I played Mantra M only shortly last year (but was VERY impressed, as was a friend from our fourth national league who normally plays sponsor rubbers), and I last played Vega Pro years ago. So there is no direct comparison, just impressions from different times.
You might also want to take a look at Aurus Prime, which also felt quite 05-ish, but in that case I only had a factory sample and never played with a production rubber.
 
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I'm still thinking probably a new sheet of vega pro would solve your issue.
If you change rubbers regularly and VP is too slow and not spinny enough for you, then try taking the next step into tenergy 05 territory.

Although as someone suggested, a faster blade and a new sheet of VP is probably a more suitable solution?
 
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I'm still not clear on whether you need a softer rubber, or a rubber with more catapult.

About linearity and Vega pro: there are certainly more linear rubbers out there - e.g. Nexy Karis, and Tibhar MX-S. But they require more work than VP to get high spin and arc.
Has anyone tried TSP Regalis (either one)? When looking for new stuff I got interested in these, but they haven't caught on all that much. I'm wondering if that's just because this is the case for most TSP stuff (outside of Japan), as early reviews seemed promising. Especially on the linearity front.
 
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If you gain the power away from the table by means of a faster rubber, you need to be prepared to loose control close to the table or over the net ... as simple as that. I just switched from barracuda to acuda s2 and back to barracuda again (bh).

@Maybe Acuda s2 ... medium sponge, quite medium, little hard feel? It didn't pair well with soft blade like Primorac JP, I must say. Xiom Omega Asia V is I think fast and has limited catapult. I don't know how it compares to Pro though.
 
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