Xiom Hugo Hal from a perspective of a Butterfly ALC User

[po-stit]

Sweet, thanks! It actually seems to be about the same size as the handle on my JRE, and my friend's Palio. I'm using a fabric tape measure though so it's hard to say how precise my measurements are in comparison

Do I spy you're using Vega Korea? I just slapped a sheet on my BH and I'm really liking it so far.

Yes indeed. I’ve only made two serious sessions with the korea on the Hal. To be fair o think the Hal benefits from a harder rubber. I enjoyed it on my harimoto super alc tough. On the Hal o feel it’s a little bit bouncy. Might go back to the Mantra Pro M.

 

[Reaper]

What do you mean? Afaik the lens is metal. I haven’t removed the protective film.

look at the photo, i cant know the material but the tag looks dented already

 

[po-stit]

look at the photo, i cant know the material but the tag looks dented already

It’s not. It’s just a small hair that I didn’t notice when I took the picture.

 

[golden_son]

I ordered one a few weeks ago and finally got a chance to hit with it a little bit, about two hours of training and an hour of match play. Not a lot of time yet, but it has already made an impression. Two words come to mind:

Stability: Probably the best blade I've owned for blocking. It feels firm without being hard, like an old-school memory foam mattress. There are no jarring sensations when meeting a powerful ball. This makes passive blocking a breeze and active blocking easier to control. My coach, who normally excoriates me for my inconsistent blocking, was borderline ecstatic during block practice. Hopefully it wasn't a fluke performance on my part...

Feedback: The hand feel is probably my favorite aspect so far. It gives an "Ah, that's where I hit it" sensation, more toward the index finger, rather than a jarring vibration if you hit outside the sweet spot; and when you nail the ball on-target it just feels natural. (And produces a beautiful ball trajectory.)

Coming from inner carbon as my main blade I was a little nervous that the outer-fiber structure would make it too fast for my taste, but while it is a bit quicker than my JRE it is not a speed monster. I would not rate it as fast as a Viscaria; maybe around the HL5. The speed is more apparent a step away from the table and it has not felt too fast for me to handle. I can see why people say it pairs well with harder rubbers for that extra oomph. It has the control to be a deadly weapon with these newer-generation ESN hybrids. I tend to play closer to the table, though, and am currently satisfied with medium-hard rubbers on both sides (Gold Arc 8 on FH and Vega Pro H on BH, both 47.5°). It would probably pair well with good ol' T05 too, if that's your thing.

 

[Doppelschlag]

I ordered one a few weeks ago and finally got a chance to hit with it a little bit, about two hours of training and an hour of match play. Not a lot of time yet, but it has already made an impression. Two words come to mind:

Stability: Probably the best blade I've owned for blocking. It feels firm without being hard, like an old-school memory foam mattress. There are no jarring sensations when meeting a powerful ball. This makes passive blocking a breeze and active blocking easier to control. My coach, who normally excoriates me for my inconsistent blocking, was borderline ecstatic during block practice. Hopefully it wasn't a fluke performance on my part...

Feedback: The hand feel is probably my favorite aspect so far. It gives an "Ah, that's where I hit it" sensation, more toward the index finger, rather than a jarring vibration if you hit outside the sweet spot; and when you nail the ball on-target it just feels natural. (And produces a beautiful ball trajectory.)

Coming from inner carbon as my main blade I was a little nervous that the outer-fiber structure would make it too fast for my taste, but while it is a bit quicker than my JRE it is not a speed monster. I would not rate it as fast as a Viscaria; maybe around the HL5. The speed is more apparent a step away from the table and it has not felt too fast for me to handle. I can see why people say it pairs well with harder rubbers for that extra oomph. It has the control to be a deadly weapon with these newer-generation ESN hybrids. I tend to play closer to the table, though, and am currently satisfied with medium-hard rubbers on both sides (Gold Arc 8 on FH and Vega Pro H on BH, both 47.5°). It would probably pair well with good ol' T05 too, if that's your thing.

How do you like the Vega Pro H specifically? I’m thinking of buying HAL and putting this Pro H on my FH, and Vega X on BH. (Or Rakza Z on FH).

 

[golden_son]

How do you like the Vega Pro H specifically? I’m thinking of buying HAL and putting this Pro H on my FH, and Vega X on BH. (Or Rakza Z on FH).

I moved away from Vega Pro H, actually. It was a little harder than I generally like on BH, but if you're used to harder rubbers there it is otherwise great. I didn't try it on my FH but I did use Rakza Z on FH for a little while. It was good, it just made the racket heavier than I wanted. If you've got good acceleration on your forehand and good touch on the backhand then Rakza Z + Vega X would probably be a great combination. If you need a little more easy-to-access power, I'd go with Vega Pro H over the Rakza.

 

[Table10Ice]

How do you like the Vega Pro H specifically? I’m thinking of buying HAL and putting this Pro H on my FH, and Vega X on BH. (Or Rakza Z on FH).

I have Vega Pro H on two Xiom rackets (ANJ TXMi and ALX 36.5), unfortunately not on the HAL, which I use together with J&H X47,5 on FH. Anyway, I highly recommend the Vega Pro H rubber. Just go with it on the HAL! On all these rackets I use Vega Korea for BH, another solid choice!

 

[Doppelschlag]

Ok, Guys, thank you for all the help. I purchased a used Hugo HAL yesterday, it’s on its way – pray for the best!!!

Now just one question, this blade is unsealed . Glued once with Butterfly Chack II and allegedly used only for 30 minutes. My local seller told me there is no real need to seal Xiom blades with hart top wood. So my question is:

• Is it at all possible/beneficial to seal a blade after it has already been glued?
• Do you think in general it is a good idea to seal this blade specifically?
• If yes, what is the best brand for a really thin, non-characteristic-alrering sealant?

And btw, ist Andro Pro Glu a good glue?

 

[po-stit]

Ok, Guys, thank you for all the help. I purchased a used Hugo HAL yesterday, it’s on its way – pray for the best!!!

Now just one question, this blade is unsealed . Glued once with Butterfly Chack II and allegedly used only for 30 minutes. My local seller told me there is no real need to seal Xiom blades with hart top wood. So my question is:

• Is it at all possible/beneficial to seal a blade after it has already been glued?
• Do you think in general it is a good idea to seal this blade specifically?
• If yes, what is the best brand for a really thin, non-characteristic-alrering sealant?

And btw, ist Andro Pro Glu a good glue?

Let us know your impressions when it arrives.

I had the opposite impression as the blade seems to not stick rubbers to well and is somewhat easy to peel rubbers off. AFAIK mine is not sealed unless they seal them on the factory. I would play with it as is.

 

[golden_son]

I have Vega Pro H on two Xiom rackets (ANJ TXMi and ALX 36.5), unfortunately not on the HAL, which I use together with J&H X47,5 on FH. Anyway, I highly recommend the Vega Pro H rubber. Just go with it on the HAL! On all these rackets I use Vega Korea for BH, another solid choice!

I also use Vega Korea on the BH of my HAL. It plays very well. I'm thinking of testing Omega 8 Euro next for something of similar hardness but hopefully an upgrade in spin. I'm actually using the older Omega V Tour on my FH right now and it feels really really good.

Ok, Guys, thank you for all the help. I purchased a used Hugo HAL yesterday, it’s on its way – pray for the best!!!

Now just one question, this blade is unsealed . Glued once with Butterfly Chack II and allegedly used only for 30 minutes. My local seller told me there is no real need to seal Xiom blades with hart top wood. So my question is:

• Is it at all possible/beneficial to seal a blade after it has already been glued?
• Do you think in general it is a good idea to seal this blade specifically?
• If yes, what is the best brand for a really thin, non-characteristic-alrering sealant?

And btw, ist Andro Pro Glu a good glue?

I had mine sealed from tt11 when I ordered it and I haven't had issues with rubbers coming off. (Except, actually, my current Vega Korea, but I think I used too thin of a glue layer on the sponge and only one layer of Revolution 3 medium on the blade.) I recommend a thicker glue like DHS No.15 and you should be fine. No experience with Andro Pro but any brand-name glue should be fine, they just each have slightly different characteristics as far as thickness/spreadability, drying time, and ease of removal. With thinner glues like R3 (medium) you might want an extra layer.

As for sealant, I use Minwax Wipe-On Poly if I don't have a blade sealed by the seller (or pre-sealed from the factory). Not sure if it's sold in Europe, but it's essentially polyurethane that's been pre-thinned to make it easy to wipe onto surfaces with a cloth. I'm sure you can find something similar at your local hardware or paint store. I only use one coat, and re-apply if it looks like it needs it after several rubber changes. If you're not an addled, dopamine-craving equipment junkie you shouldn't need to reapply it very often at all. Two coats would protect the blade even more, but you may need to sand it a bit after to help your rubbers stick.

 

[Doppelschlag]

I also use Vega Korea on the BH of my HAL. It plays very well. I'm thinking of testing Omega 8 Euro next for something of similar hardness but hopefully an upgrade in spin. I'm actually using the older Omega V Tour on my FH right now and it feels really really good.


I had mine sealed from tt11 when I ordered it and I haven't had issues with rubbers coming off. (Except, actually, my current Vega Korea, but I think I used too thin of a glue layer on the sponge and only one layer of Revolution 3 medium on the blade.) I recommend a thicker glue like DHS No.15 and you should be fine. No experience with Andro Pro but any brand-name glue should be fine, they just each have slightly different characteristics as far as thickness/spreadability, drying time, and ease of removal. With thinner glues like R3 (medium) you might want an extra layer.

As for sealant, I use Minwax Wipe-On Poly if I don't have a blade sealed by the seller (or pre-sealed from the factory). Not sure if it's sold in Europe, but it's essentially polyurethane that's been pre-thinned to make it easy to wipe onto surfaces with a cloth. I'm sure you can find something similar at your local hardware or paint store. I only use one coat, and re-apply if it looks like it needs it after several rubber changes. If you're not an addled, dopamine-craving equipment junkie you shouldn't need to reapply it very often at all. Two coats would protect the blade even more, but you may need to sand it a bit after to help your rubbers stick.

So the Vega Korea on BH, because it is softer than Fastarc? I am right now dwelling upon if the best for learning (the game, as well as the blade) is to use identical rubbers (or at least identical top sheets) on FH/BH, or if it is better to find the best for FH and BH separately, leaning towards light tackiness on FH, for example. On the other hand, some even top players do play identical on both sides …

Thanks for tip on sealing. Do you think it is possible to use sealant now, even if it has already been glued once? Won’t it trap in and glue residue? Or how do I make sure all glue is gone?

 

[golden_son]

So the Vega Korea on BH, because it is softer than Fastarc? I am right now dwelling upon if the best for learning (the game, as well as the blade) is to use identical rubbers (or at least identical top sheets) on FH/BH, or if it is better to find the best for FH and BH separately, leaning towards light tackiness on FH, for example. On the other hand, some even top players do play identical on both sides …

Thanks for tip on sealing. Do you think it is possible to use sealant now, even if it has already been glued once? Won’t it trap in and glue residue? Or how do I make sure all glue is gone?

My backhand is less consistent than my forehand so I like a slightly softer sponge for more dwell. It helps with arc and placement at a similar swing speed. Harder rubbers fly off a little too quickly for my level of control at the moment. I'll admit I haven't tried Fastarc on the BH though.

I think it really depends on what level of learner one is. For a pure beginners I would suggest identical training rubbers, e.g. Vega Elite/Intro or Mercury II, because those are already very soft and offer a lot of control. But if you already know the basic strokes and are improving to high-level beginner/intermediate, and can keep the ball on the table when applying power, you can try stepping up in hardness on the forehand. I don't recommend hard rubbers on BH unless you already have very solid BH technique and find your speed limited. Most people don't have the power to bottom out (compress the rubber down to the wood) their rubber on the backhand while maintaining control. For me, I can on a 42° sponge but not consistently with 45°.

As for sealing, you can definitely seal a blade that has been glued. Just use a rubber eraser (or your hand) and gently rub both faces to remove any remaining glue residue. Once it feels smooth under your hand (no tiny bumps) then you're good to seal it.

 

[Doppelschlag]

My backhand is less consistent than my forehand so I like a slightly softer sponge for more dwell. It helps with arc and placement at a similar swing speed. Harder rubbers fly off a little too quickly for my level of control at the moment. I'll admit I haven't tried Fastarc on the BH though.

I think it really depends on what level of learner one is. For a pure beginners I would suggest identical training rubbers, e.g. Vega Elite/Intro or Mercury II, because those are already very soft and offer a lot of control. But if you already know the basic strokes and are improving to high-level beginner/intermediate, and can keep the ball on the table when applying power, you can try stepping up in hardness on the forehand. I don't recommend hard rubbers on BH unless you already have very solid BH technique and find your speed limited. Most people don't have the power to bottom out (compress the rubber down to the wood) their rubber on the backhand while maintaining control. For me, I can on a 42° sponge but not consistently with 45°.

As for sealing, you can definitely seal a blade that has been glued. Just use a rubber eraser (or your hand) and gently rub both faces to remove any remaining glue residue. Once it feels smooth under your hand (no tiny bumps) then you're good to seal it.

Ok, sounds very fair. My BH is of course also weaker than FH so far.

I am leaning against FH: Xiom Vega X and BH: Vega Europe/Rakza Z/Vega Japan. Don’t want it too catapultt though. And 'cause I’m not that offensive (yet), I’ll start with 2,0 mm.

 

[kapahoo]

Sorry for the late reply. Measured it and to be fair it is really similar to the Harimoto fl handle despite feeling a little big bigger.

View attachment 37577

Hi and sorry for the inconveniance but do you have the length measurements of the handle as well?

 

[po-stit]

Hi and sorry for the inconveniance but do you have the length measurements of the handle as well?

Hello. Sorry for the late reply. The handle is about 105mm on length.

 

[kapahoo]

Hello. Sorry for the late reply. The handle is about 105mm on length.

No problems. I’ve got my own now! 😄

 

[po-stit]

No problems. I’ve got my own now! 😄

How do you like it?

 

[kapahoo]

Very much!
It is what people say - soft, yet powerful.
The only thing I don’t like, compared to the Viscaria used before is the head heavyness. Got some one and off elbow problems.