Xiom Vega China VM Review

Xiom Vega China VM
Weight: 73 grams uncut
Hardness: Hard, 54 degrees
Thickness: Max
Speed: OFF+
Spin: Extremely High







The Xiom Vega China is a best-selling rubber in China. It has been out in the market for quite a while now but this is the first time I have tried it since I am looking for an H3 Neo alternative. The Vega China has supposedly 2 versions because I saw another version with VH marking on it but I asked Xiom for this info and they said this was not released. Out of the package, the rubber is covered with plastic and when I removed it, it was sticky. It was sticky that it could hold the ball for a second before it drops it. The topsheet is can sometimes be mistaken as a Chinese rubber but this is a tensor type rubber. The sponge is very identical to the Vega Def rubber which has a non porous and black sponge texture. The sponge is very hard and I can compare it to the 39-40 degree. It is very hard when you press it against your fingers. I have used it on several blades like Xiom Feel AX, Adidas Strikewood 7 and Sanwei Fextra blades. I also have a friend who has tried it on his Nexy Arirang blade.



The rubber is fast despite being tacky. The Xiom Tau before which was also a hard and tacky rubber does not have this speed. The Tau rubber before seem to lose bounce when you are hitting with it and the energy of the ball dissipates faster when hitting with it. With the Vega China VM, speed is fast and comparable to that of Vega Pro if not a little slower. The rubber has this high pitched hitting sound when you are driving or hitting the ball. Imagine a boosted Hurricane 3 but a bit faster by few levels, that is how fast the China VM is. Maximum distance for this is middle distance from the table if you are using an all wood blade. If you are using a carbon composite blade then even away from the table it is fine.

The Vega China VM is the spinniest rubber among Xiom rubbers because of its tackiness but it needs good technique to bring out its potential spin. A friend of mine who uses the Sanwei Target National rubber as a forehand rubber finds the China VM spinnier than Target National. I myself find it as spinny as Hurricane 3 in which I forgot to mention I tested in the same blade as the Vega China VM just to have a head to head comparison. The Hurricane 3 rubber that I was using had the purple packaging in it and was boosted by falco 3-4 layers. The Vega China has a higher arc. When you are looping the ball even with a closed racket, it has a higher arc compared to the Hurricane 3.

This is not a rubber for beginners. It needs good brushing technique but it is easier to use than regular Chinese rubbers because it does not hit the net as often as Chinese rubbers when you are flat hitting with it. As what I have mentioned, speed is almost at the Vega Pro rubber level but when you are brushing the ball, the power of the Vega China VM is above the Vega Pro because of the combination of speed and tons of spin. You are literally using a Hurricane 3 neo on steroids if you are using the Vega China VM rubber. I have been a Chinese rubber user for so many years now, I have tried a lot of rubbers and settled with either Hurricane 3 neo or Globe 999 National boosted. I like the Vega Tour rubber but I miss the tackiness of the Hurricane 3 rubber so I am settling down with this now and try to see how much the rubber can give me. Although the boost in speed is a big plus factor already, the amount of spin is a quite a big surprise for long time Hurricane 3 users. Only thing I need to adjust with it is that using it needs good brushing technique. You can sink the ball into the sponge fine but you should be able to brush the ball properly. The moment you can brush the ball or have been used to brushing the ball when using a Chinese rubber then this rubber is awesome. Even with just a slight flick of the wrist, the Vega China Can lift underspin easily. Serving with it is yields very good amount of spin and when you do spinny underspin pushes, it can produce a sharp and spinny push. Adjustment also needs when doing blocking as the rubber is a bit sensitive to incoming spin typical of a Chinese rubber type or like make up. Also, when doing smashes, you have to brush the ball a little bit and have a more closed angle drive smash. I also do no encourage doing punch blocks with it when the ball is low with it.

For people who are fond of looking for an alternative rubbers for a forehand and backhand Hurricane 3 like the ones they are seeing CNT players have, the Vega China VM is a good alternative since if you use the rubber as a backhand rubber, you will have a vicious backhand topspin drives and also killer pushes. I suggest to use this on a limba or koto outer ply blade. I also like it better with all wood blades so this would be good for blades like Xiom S7, Zeta Offensive and if you want something lighter probably the Solo or Offensive S. Mind you, the rubber is heavy so you need to have a lighter blade with this.

I recently bought this myself with the same reason as you. I also use hard Chinese rubbers and want to find a replacement as boosting gets tiring and I have to say this is probably the best hybrid I've tried. However it did come with an unbelievable strong smell. I presume it's also been heavily tuned so we will see how long it lasts!

I have to say the packaging is superb. Even the clear plastic wrap was of good quality and the plastic sheet on the rubber is so thick it can be your rubber protecting sheet!

I've played for about with the rubber for about 100hrs now. Perfect FH rubber for me. Durability wise it needed to be rebooted to be playable again. The sponge became rock hard after 3 months (I've put it on in the January or December, now its June, but April and may went through the window because Corona). After applying a mild booster it's great again. This rubber sucks ultra hard in cold moist conditions.