Xiom Vega China VM Review

[navuzor]

xiom changed the formula of the vega china and it is now less tacky with a more porous sponge that makes it less chinese and more like a standard esn hybrid. that means easier activation, easier first speed, less spin and less power. that is the reason i changed back to rxton 9

since the cover didn't change, you only know that you bought the new version if your protective sheet is sticky and the sponge is porous. the old had a non-sticky protective sheet and a sponge without pores.

That explains it then. Mine came with a sticky protective sheet indeed, and the sponge is dense but porous. I like it a lot, but I was expecting much more tack; it's almost nonexistent. did the rubber code change when the formula changed? Or is that not necessary?
I guess the only actual hybrids that have some decent tack are the Rakza Z/ZEH and Codexx 52/54? Sieger and tango been discontinued and I have even read that the sheets of H3 are barely tacky these days.

 

[Porta_07]

Is anyone tested Xiom Tau III?

 

[Scarfed Garchomp]

That explains it then. Mine came with a sticky protective sheet indeed, and the sponge is dense but porous. I like it a lot, but I was expecting much more tack; it's almost nonexistent. did the rubber code change when the formula changed? Or is that not necessary?
I guess the only actual hybrids that have some decent tack are the Rakza Z/ZEH and Codexx 52/54? Sieger and tango been discontinued and I have even read that the sheets of H3 are barely tacky these days.

I think Hybrid K2 is also available but not everywhere. And while they are hybrids on technicality, rubbers like TDE and Hurricane Turbo essentially just act like straight up Chinese style rubbers

 

[doppelmoral]

xiom changed the formula of the vega china and it is now less tacky with a more porous sponge that makes it less chinese and more like a standard esn hybrid. that means easier activation, easier first speed, less spin and less power. that is the reason i changed back to rxton 9

since the cover didn't change, you only know that you bought the new version if your protective sheet is sticky and the sponge is porous. the old had a non-sticky protective sheet and a sponge without pores.

interesting, where did you that info from?
do you have pictures of the old and "new" version?

I wonder if they really changed the formula of a rubber that has been doing well for over 10 years

 

[belllfador]

I bought my XVC during the winter, and can lift the ball for 1-2s same as the black H3. The sponge is not porous, but very elastic. Topsheet feel softer than H3 with higher throw. Tesnsor effect is small.

 

[navuzor]

interesting, where did you that info from?
do you have pictures of the old and "new" version?

I wonder if they really changed the formula of a rubber that has been doing well for over 10 years

I found that interesting as well, because the rubber I got is basically a hard tensor, barely tacky at all. I bought it just a couple of weeks back and the protective sheet was sticky as KK described. What I wonder is whether they can change the formulation of a rubber and still keep the same code

 

[K.K]

interesting, where did you that info from?
do you have pictures of the old and "new" version?

I wonder if they really changed the formula of a rubber that has been doing well for over 10 years

got the info directly from xiom europe, they said the factory changed the production process and therefore the sponge and topsheet changed too

 

[doppelmoral]

recently tried an old sheet of vega china on my harimoto super alc. I still love this rubber, can be used like h3

unfortunately I practise less nowadays, and without regular practice, its a bit difficult to hit through the 54 degree hard sponge

does anyone have an alternative to vega china thats a bit softer, with the h3 characteristics? new gen hybrids definitely dont do it for me, they have a short life span and dont feel like h3

if there isnt any I will just keep using vega china

 

[navuzor]

recently tried an old sheet of vega china on my harimoto super alc. I still love this rubber, can be used like h3

unfortunately I practise less nowadays, and without regular practice, its a bit difficult to hit through the 54 degree hard sponge

does anyone have an alternative to vega china thats a bit softer, with the h3 characteristics? new gen hybrids definitely dont do it for me, they have a short life span and dont feel like h3

if there isnt any I will just keep using vega china

It would be great if you could test the newer version and let us know what you think.

 

[TTL]

recently tried an old sheet of vega china on my harimoto super alc. I still love this rubber, can be used like h3

unfortunately I practise less nowadays, and without regular practice, its a bit difficult to hit through the 54 degree hard sponge

does anyone have an alternative to vega china thats a bit softer, with the h3 characteristics? new gen hybrids definitely dont do it for me, they have a short life span and dont feel like h3

if there isnt any I will just keep using vega china

Maybe Rakza Z or Rakza 7 Hard, dont feels like a H3 but less demanding, if you some more closer to H3, should try H8-80 38 much more dynamic and easier to activate. There are some other good options too, Loki Rxton 7, Loki Arthur China and maybe Jupiter 3 Asia 38, but the last one has a low arc.

 

[K.K]

It would be great if you could test the newer version and let us know what you think.

recently tried an old sheet of vega china on my harimoto super alc. I still love this rubber, can be used like h3

unfortunately I practise less nowadays, and without regular practice, its a bit difficult to hit through the 54 degree hard sponge

does anyone have an alternative to vega china thats a bit softer, with the h3 characteristics? new gen hybrids definitely dont do it for me, they have a short life span and dont feel like h3

if there isnt any I will just keep using vega china

i would say the newer version is easier to activate since the sponge is a bit more porous and gives more easy speed. you could also try gewo codexx 52. it is the only rubber i know of besides vega china that has the durability of old gen and not this high trajectory like most newer hybrids.

but from the newer ones the bluegrip j1 is pretty close to vega china, so you could try the softer version j2.
the problem with them is that the topsheet is really soft and you need to creates spin with the sponge and i don’t really like that to be honest

 

[doppelmoral]

i would say the newer version is easier to activate since the sponge is a bit more porous and gives more easy speed. you could also try gewo codexx 52. it is the only rubber i know of besides vega china that has the durability of old gen and not this high trajectory like most newer hybrids.

but from the newer ones the bluegrip j1 is pretty close to vega china, so you could try the softer version j2.
the problem with them is that the topsheet is really soft and you need to creates spin with the sponge and i don’t really like that to be honest

do you have a picture of this newer vega china version? I bought my last sheet last year but I think its still the old version?

edit. I just read now that you got the info from xiom europe, and the sponge and topsheet both changed? what kind of rubber is vega china now after the changes?

does codexx also have a softer topsheet or is that only for the j1?

 

[K.K]

do you have a picture of this newer vega china version? I bought my last sheet last year but I think its still the old version?

edit. I just read now that you got the info from xiom europe, and the sponge and topsheet both changed? what kind of rubber is vega china now after the changes?

does codexx also have a softer topsheet or is that only for the j1?

codexx 52 & 54 is old gen so hard topsheet and closer to chinese, bluegrip j1,2,3 is newer gen with soft topsheet same es codexx 53 & 55

 

[doppelmoral]

codexx 52 & 54 is old gen so hard topsheet and closer to chinese, bluegrip j1,2,3 is newer gen with soft topsheet same es codexx 53 & 55

thank you for the infos!

and can you compare the old and new vega china versions?
does the new vega china version still feel like old gen / h3 feeling?

 

[K.K]

both changed? what kind of rubber is vega china now after the changes?

i would say the difference isn’t super huge, but the topsheet is less sticky and the sponge is more porous wich makes it easier to activate but less stiff and less powerful. there was that addictive clicking feel like a boosted rubber that the old gen had on harder shots wich is now lost in the newer version, but it is still a really durable and spinny rubber that is better for me than most newer ones, because it still has the chinese characteristics in terms of trajectory and how you spin the ball with the topsheet if you know what i mean

 

[doppelmoral]

i would say the difference isn’t super huge, but the topsheet is less sticky and the sponge is more porous wich makes it easier to activate but less stiff and less powerful. there was that addictive clicking feel like a boosted rubber that the old gen had on harder shots wich is now lost in the newer version, but it is still a really durable and spinny rubber that is better for me than most newer ones, because it still has the chinese characteristics in terms of trajectory and how you spin the ball with the topsheet if you know what i mean

interesting, thank you so much. maybe I will just try the newer version. tbh its a real shame though that they changed the formula, original vega china version was like boosted h3 os, cheap, durable, the perfect h3 replacement tbh

are you tempted to try new tau rubbers? apparently they are made in china and come vacuum sealed

 

[K.K]

interesting, thank you so much. maybe I will just try the newer version. tbh its a real shame though that they changed the formula, original vega china version was like boosted h3 os, cheap, durable, the perfect h3 replacement tbh

are you tempted to try new tau rubbers? apparently they are made in china and come vacuum sealed

yes really sad, i really fell in love with the older version - no more boosting, but are back to chinese rubbers now

i read about the tau rubber and really excited to hear more reviews, if it is like the old vega china i would definitely try it out!

 

[navuzor]

xiom changed the formula of the vega china and it is now less tacky with a more porous sponge that makes it less chinese and more like a standard esn hybrid. that means easier activation, easier first speed, less spin and less power. that is the reason i changed back to rxton 9

since the cover didn't change, you only know that you bought the new version if your protective sheet is sticky and the sponge is porous. the old had a non-sticky protective sheet and a sponge without pores.

@doppelmoral the cover did not change, so it's imposible to tell from that alone. The protective sheet was sticky on mine as K.K pointed out, so that checks out, also tackiness is very mild. Never played with H3 before but this new version just plays like a hard tensor. I would like to read your opinion because you have used the H3 a lot.