Xiom Omega VII Euro vs...

That’s not a market price. It could even be stolen ... At least it should be regarded as second hand or surplus...

Originally Posted by Lazer

That’s not a market price. That could even be stolen stuff...

That is why I specified that I was mentioning offers with proof of purchase.

Edit: proof purchase = receipt or vat invoice.

Sure proof of a purchase... In that case it’s second hand if it’s not stolen...

Originally Posted by thomas.pong

In Europe, Omega VII Pro and Euro are only 2€ less than Tenergy.
I know the difference in price is larger in the US between these rubbers.

Then whole heartedly buy Tenergy. One thing which I find with Xiom O7P is that it is very good rubber to play the ball on the rise. But if you are out of position and you have to lift a ball which is low using topspin then this rubber is really worse in that department. It could be my technique so I don't put the blame on the rubber entirely but when I used to play with Tenergy I never faced such issues.

Originally Posted by thomas.pong

Yea, the way pricing is here, it makes more sense for me to buy Tenergy, if I'm not buying Fastarc, Rakza, Vega (or Evo). I know it's very different in the US where Butterfly prices are completely insane, which will make me think twice when I move back there in a year or two. I'm not a fan of the European brands' ESN rubbers, their sponge is trying too hard to ressemble Tenergy but they're very brittle, then the factory tuning makes the topsheet bubble a bit, and it wears out after a couple of weeks, and their rubbers don't last as long. I do like most of the rubbers ESN makes for Nittaku, Yasaka and Xiom, more simple but effective sponges, no bullshit factory tuning, great quality topsheets that last long. For my BH, I'm between Tenergy (80, 05FX) and Fastarc (G-1, C-1) right now.

Completely agree with you. BTW, I am looking for some inputs on the life of rubbers like Nittaku Fastarc G-1, C-1, Yasaka Rakza X or anything else which is in affordable price range. I met a guy yesterday who came from NY. He was using MXP both sides. He told me that he plays 20 hrs per week and he changes his rubbers every month! That is something which I cannot afford. I play for 9-12 hrs in a week and I want my rubbers to last for about 4 months. Do let me know your experiences with Brands like Nittaku, Yasaka and Xiom.

Originally Posted by KM1976

Completely agree with you. BTW, I am looking for some inputs on the life of rubbers like Nittaku Fastarc G-1, C-1, Yasaka Rakza X or anything else which is in affordable price range. I met a guy yesterday who came from NY. He was using MXP both sides. He told me that he plays 20 hrs per week and he changes his rubbers every month! That is something which I cannot afford. I play for 9-12 hrs in a week and I want my rubbers to last for about 4 months. Do let me know your experiences with Brands like Nittaku, Yasaka and Xiom.

G-1 and C-1 last very long, maybe even longer than Tenergy, G-1 especially. Rakza 7 is up there too, so is Rakza Z. I find that Rakza X is not as grippy, it's more smooth, so it doesn't last as long but still fairly long. Vega's last at least as long as Rakza X, even though they're supposedly less "premium" rubbers, Pro, X and Japan last especially long, Europe a bit less so. I'm not as familiar with Omega VII's life span. I do think you can get 4 good months at 9-12 hours a week out of all the rubbers I've listed so far.

MX-P also lasts a fairly long time, but like all other European brands' ESN rubbers (Andro, Donic, Stiga), it looses its factory-tuned booster effect after a couple of weeks, so it feels different, not bad, but different. Rasanters don't seem to last that long though, in comparison, but I've heard that's been improved with R48. Joola, I'm not familiar with, Victas, not enough.

I play 8-10 hours per week, I seem to change my rubbers every 4-6 months, more often than not every 6 months. Tenergy, Fastarc and Rozena seem to last and keep their quality intact the longest. I have a friend in LA who uses Tenergy both sides and plays 10 hours per week, he changes his rubbers every month, it's a choice. I've bought his used rubbers before, they were in great shape, and I could play with them for another 4-6 months. I bet you could buy that NY guy's used MX-P's and play them for another 2 months at least.

Omega 7 Asia is highly recommended as a bh rubber.

Originally Posted by BrandonClarkson

Thanks for the information.

What information, specifically, was helpful to you?

Originally Posted by latej

Hi Thomas,

when I saw that both you and virtuososiu are looking for BH rubber in the thread about H3, I thought about Rakza Z (even though it is harder on paper than 47.5 which virtuososiu seems to be looking for). I didn't recommend it there, because I thought it would be intruding, even thought I know other people value this rubber too, e.g. IB66 and Tango. I quite liked Rakza Z too. Now I see you tried it... I'd like to ask about your experience with it, and why didn't you stick with it? It is just my curiosity :-)

Hey Latej,

I bought and tried Rakza Z when it first came out, mostly to compare it to R7 (one of my favorite rubbers ever), and to see how sticky it was. While I thought it was a very good rubber, kinda like a slightly harder/upgraded version of R7 if you will with a little stickiness, if I do play with a tension rubber on my FH, I prefer a 45-48 degree one that doesn't feel too hard and is well-balanced like T80, Fastarc G-1 or C-1, or even slightly softer like T05 FX, all of which I like to use on my BH as well. T05 and R7 can also do on my FH, but they feel too hard and heavy for my BH, where I need to feel the ball first then swing accordingly to generate what I want, as hard as I want, without having to stop myself because of the hard feeling from the rubber or thinking/fearing that the ball's gonna too far (with T05, it's a feeling that it's too hard and fast on BH, with R7 that it's too heavy mostly, although it has plenty of safety).

I tried RZ on my Harimoto ALC at the time, because that was my main blade, and I liked the way R7 played on it. Looking back, it probably wasn't the best pairing to try RZ, at least for me, since the Harimoto ALC is thicker, less flexible and more crisp than blades I prefer like the Viscaria (compact, thin and very flexible). I probably would have enjoyed RZ on the Viscaria more, or even on blades like the Innerforce ALC, Apolonia ZLC and even Primorac OFF-, but I sold it (RZ) almost right away since I still had a preference for R7 over it. I can understand why people really like RZ though, on FH and BH (IB66 and Tango's feedbacks are highly respectable, yours too!), especially on a flexible blade, as a harder Rakza that can produce more spin.

Right now, I think H3 is the way to go for me on the FH, it doesn't feel hard to me, I like how straight forward and controllable it is, how amazing it is at serves, serve receives and the short game. If I want to play a faster game on FH in the future, especially do deal with hitters or no-spin push-blockers, I will boost it to see how it feels, or go back to one of my preferred tension rubbers on the FH so I can hit at them more.

Questions for you, do you boost your H3 Neo's? Do you use Provincial or National? Orange or Blue Sponge?

Originally Posted by yogi_bear

Omega 7 Asia is highly recommended as a bh rubber.

Hello Yogi,
Will not O7A be too hard for the backhand? Ya, few players who prefer harder rubbers on the backhand might like it as it is style dependent but normally players who prefer to topspin on both wings prefer harder rubbers on the FH and a bit softer rubber on the backhand.

Originally Posted by thomas.pong

G-1 and C-1 last very long, maybe even longer than Tenergy, G-1 especially. Rakza 7 is up there too, so is Rakza Z. I find that Rakza X is not as grippy, it's more smooth, so it doesn't last as long but still fairly long. Vega's last at least as long as Rakza X, even though they're supposedly less "premium" rubbers, Pro, X and Japan last especially long, Europe a bit less so. I'm not as familiar with Omega VII's life span. I do think you can get 4 good months at 9-12 hours a week out of all the rubbers I've listed so far.

MX-P also lasts a fairly long time, but like all other European brands' ESN rubbers (Andro, Donic, Stiga), it looses its factory-tuned booster effect after a couple of weeks, so it feels different, not bad, but different. Rasanters don't seem to last that long though, in comparison, but I've heard that's been improved with R48. Joola, I'm not familiar with, Victas, not enough.

I play 8-10 hours per week, I seem to change my rubbers every 4-6 months, more often than not every 6 months. Tenergy, Fastarc and Rozena seem to last and keep their quality intact the longest. I have a friend in LA who uses Tenergy both sides and plays 10 hours per week, he changes his rubbers every month, it's a choice. I've bought his used rubbers before, they were in great shape, and I could play with them for another 4-6 months. I bet you could buy that NY guy's used MX-P's and play them for another 2 months at least.

Thanks for the elaborate reply Thomas, I really appreciate your effort and time to answer my query. I also play around 12 hours (max.) every week and I think your choice of rubbers is same as mine. I, however, also read that you prefer H3Neo which might be a completely unexplored option for me as I haven't played with Chinese rubbers ever.
I am getting more and more interested in Nittaku and Yasaka rubbers from the life Vs. Performance point of view and would try them once my current stock of O7P is finished (which might be till 2022 )