Xiom Vega DEF and Vega LPO Reviews

Vega DEF

Weight: 75 grams
Speed: ALL+ to OFF-
Type: Euro


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The Vega DEF is a new rubber from Xiom along with the Vega Tour and Omega VII series rubbers this year. The Vega Def is a different rubber from the rest listed in the Vega Series because it is a slower rubber meant for defensive chopping and all-around type of play. At first look, the topsheet of the Vega Def looks like any other Vega rubber topsheet but when you first lay your fingers on it, it seems
to be a little tacky. I have mistaken it for a Chinese rubber especially with the sponge because it is a non-porous sponge that is attached to it and it looks like a Chinese sponge to me but Xiom told me that
it is still an ESN rubber. The Vega Def is somewhat a heavy rubber because it is about 75 grams uncut so it is heavier than a Hurricane 3 or 2 rubber. I glued this to an Omega Tour blade which is an OFF blade that is very stiff due to it having an ebony/rosewood outer plies. On the other side, I attached the Vega LPO. I do not have any defensive or all-around all wood blades as of the moment so I had to use the Omega Tour.

The Vega Def is a very spinny rubber. The spin is high and when you slow loop, it can be almost as spinny as Chinese rubbers minus the tackiness. It is particularly good with spinny pushes, drop shots, spinny serves and defensive chopping. It outclasses its Vega variants and Omega variants on these types of strokes. I have a clubmate and friend who can chop really well and he could chop with the Vega Def even with the Omega Tour as a blade meaning the Vega Def has impact absorbing sponge and can do well with controlling incoming topspins . I tried blocking with it and blocking is like using a faster Hurricane 3 but with no tackiness and less sensitivity to spin.

The Vega Def can also attack like looping and smashing to some extent. In looping I would say it is limited to slow, spinny looping and not so much on spin drives. It can counter loop and it is pretty controllable but it was not designed to do heavy counter looping away from the table. It still has enough speed, probably Mark V or Sriver-EL level of speed but speed is not its main good point but rather producing spin. A 2.0mm probably is much better for defensive chopping near and far from the table. This rubber probably is best for all-around types of players where they would usually block and do spinny pushes all the time instead of attacking or just do occasional attacking. This is best for choppers as this can chop and produce spin the way a thin Chinese rubber can.

Vega LPO

Type: euro Long Pip
Sponge thickness: 1.0mm

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I was expecting this to have an OX and 0.6-0.5mm variants but it only comes with a 1.0mm thickness sponge. The Vega LPO has been out in the market for some time so I tried using it out of curiosity.
I have not used a long pip rubber for a long time since I stopped coaching 2 years ago so the Vega LPO is the first for me after a long while. The Vega LPO has very soft pimples. It has softer pips compared to RITC 837, Double Fish 1615 and TSP Curl P1R. The pips would easily sway when you are rubbing them against with your fingers. I attached the LPO with the Omega Tour blade and with the Vega Def on the other side. As what I have stated I do not have any ALL+ or defensive blades in my stash to use so I have to settle with just a hard blade. My question on why the Vega LPO is just a 1.0mm LP rubber is because it is very slow. Yes, it has 1.0mm but when I was using it, it is very slow that it is like you are using a 0.5mm or 0.6mm long pip rubber. I had to make some adjustments especially with the angle of the blade. Usually I would receive with a 70-90 degree angle on other rubbers like RITC 755 but with the Vega LPO, the angle when receiving needs to be more open like 90 degrees and above. I had to adjust because the ball hits the net at first few tries. Also, the slowness contributes because trajectory falls short if you do just passive blocking against weak balls. This is just a matter of adjustment for people who will use it as a blocking rubber or as an attacking long pip. When you block against incoming strong topspins, you can really see the ball slow down as if you are blocking with an OX or a very thin sponged LP. In terms of reversal, the Vega LPO has a very predictable reversal but it can produce very hard underspin reversals when somebody is chopping or blocking against strong topspin balls. It has some wobbling effect but it is not that profound. The Vega LPO is geared toward more on strong spin reversals. Even with hard and fast blades, the LPO was able to chop and it was easier to chop block and above average as an attacking LP. I would recommend this more on LP blockers rather than having an attacking LP style. This could work well with defensive choppers near and away from the table. It has good variations when you have the skill but the wobbling effect is minimal. On the good side, it produces really hard chops and sometimes hard to lift with regular topspins.
 
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