Looking for Vega Pro substitute....

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I've used Vega Pro for nearly 3 years and love its blend of speed, spin and control. The overall feel is moderately hard, but not so much where control is sacrificed. It made me feel really confident, and that's what I like in a rubber.

I feel like with the new 40+ ball though, there's less speed and spin. Does anybody know of a rubber that feels similar to Vega Pro but with a bit more speed and spin? I tried Omega IV Pro in past with the celluloid ball, and it was similar but felt a bit harder than Vega Pro with less control. Perhaps the 40+ ball will balance it out?

I'm currently using Sigma II Europe, which is actually fantastic. The overall speed and spin with 40+ ball is about what I'm after, but it's noticeably softer than vega pro, which I don't like as much on my FH.

Thanks
 
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Well, 2 suggestions.

If Sigma II Europe feels soft, try Sigma II Pro. I like both of those.

But, Omega V was designed for the Poly ball so the topsheet is made to grab and spin the plastic better than older topsheets. It is a little faster than Sigma II but it is awesome. If you went that way I would also get Pro.

Oh, one more thing, Omega V Pro feels pretty different than Omega IV Pro. Omega V Pro feels a lot like Sigma II Pro but faster.
 
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I agree with upsidedowncarl that you should definitely investigate the Sigma Pro. You can get two versions - the I and the II. The Sigma Pro I is that bit harder and faster than the II but possibly sacrifices a bit of spin in return.
We've done a lot of experimenting with the Xiom ranges for my two sons to find the best rubbers for them. After a variety of beginner rubbers we found the Xiom range to be fantastic and have not wanted to move away from it so it was finding which was the best for their needs. We literally started at the very bottom with Vega Elite and progressed from there. Sigma is a considerable step up from Vega in terms of quality. The son who is the more advanced player has settled on Sigma Pro I on both sides whilst the other son has Sigma Pro II on the forehand and Sigma II Europe on the back hand. Both say they now have the perfect rubbers for their games and any suggestions by me to test anything else is shouted down straight away. Personally from what you've said I expect you'll be happy with the Sigma Pro II. The best deals we found for the Xiom range are from tt-japan.net so check them out.
 
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Thanks for the suggestions. I forgot to mention that I tried Sigma II Pro recently too. It felt extremely hard to me with.no feeling. I stopped using it pretty quickly. Is the new omega pro similar in hardness?

That is odd. When I had Sigma II I had pro in FH and Euro on BH and they did not feel that far apart. Euro was softer but both had good feeling and similar. Pro was only a bit firmer. Was anything done to the rubber? Or how old was it?


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I didn't treat it and I applied it using free chack immediately after opening package. I had the rubber in its package for a few months though, stored away fromlight etc.

Maybe it was a fluke because it surprised me too. Maybe I'll try it again and re apply.

That does make it a bit scary though. Do you still have that sheet? You could see what would happen if you put a few drops of baby oil on the sponge and let it sink in. That can sometimes get a sponge to soften a bit.
 
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Thanks for the suggestions. I forgot to mention that I tried Sigma II Pro recently too. It felt extremely hard to me with.no feeling. I stopped using it pretty quickly. Is the new omega pro similar in hardness?

Sigma II Pro is indeed harder than Sigma II Euro

Omega V Pro hardness is roughly the same as Sigma II Pro
So I think you can consider Omega V Euro
 
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One thing was that the behavior was really erratic.Like the sponge wasn't compressing and the ball wasn't rebounding in a predictable manner. I flipped my racket around and used the other side as fh and problem disappeared.
Apply a layer of booster, It'll solve the problem without damaging the rubber. And it wont change the characteristics of the rubber much!!
 
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That is odd. When I had Sigma II I had pro in FH and Euro on BH and they did not feel that far apart. Euro was softer but both had good feeling and similar. Pro was only a bit firmer. Was anything done to the rubber? Or how old was it?


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I used Sigma II Pro (FH) for 1 season - around 3 to 4 sheets.
Sigma II Euro (BH) for 2 seasons - around 5 sheets.

I can notice a different in hardness.

Regarding "no feeling", it may just be the rubber is to fast (hard) for Sirs loop-a-lot or he prefers softer sponge rubbers.
I know 2300 level players who can only "feel" the ball with super soft sponges. Anything harder than medium, he would say there is no feeling - so I doubt anything was wrong with the rubber
 
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One thing was that the behavior was really erratic.Like the sponge wasn't compressing and the ball wasn't rebounding in a predictable manner. I flipped my racket around and used the other side as fh and problem disappeared.

This is weird.
I think reglue it (with the normal voc free glue) first
 
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I used Sigma II Pro (FH) for 1 season - around 3 to 4 sheets.
Sigma II Euro (BH) for 2 seasons - around 5 sheets.

I can notice a different in hardness.

Regarding "no feeling", it may just be the rubber is to fast (hard) for Sirs loop-a-lot or he prefers softer sponge rubbers.
I know 2300 level players who can only "feel" the ball with super soft sponges. Anything harder than medium, he would say there is no feeling - so I doubt anything was wrong with the rubber

Question Tony, did you think Sigma II Pro was significantly harder than Vega Pro? My memory was they were about the same hardness. And Sir Loops-a-Lot was saying with this particular sheet of Sigma II Pro that he felt it was too hard and so not a good substitute for Vega Pro.
 
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Question Tony, did you think Sigma II Pro was significantly harder than Vega Pro? My memory was they were about the same hardness. And Sir Loops-a-Lot was saying with this particular sheet of Sigma II Pro that he felt it was too hard and so not a good substitute for Vega Pro.

IMO and my own measuring standards, yes. Sigma II Pro is around medium hard with Vega Pro is a medium rubber.
Very easy for me to spot the difference - as my FH is used to hard rubbers and Vega Pro was just too soft for me.
Sigma II Euro is also harder than Vega Euro. I would say Sigma II Euro feels maybe the same as Vega Pro in terms of hardness.
Sigma Top sheet if i'm correct is harder than Vega series, so this is not just a sponge issue, but also topsheet.

Regarding that particular sheet of Sigma II Pro, I find it weird too.
Of course, there is always a chance of a bad sheet, or bad gluing or bad pairing with blade etc.
 
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Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try re-applying the Sigma II Pro and see what happens. I've never "boosted" before, so just for giggles I may research that and try if standard re-application doesnt give desired result.

FWIW, I found Sigma II Europe to feel noticeably softer than Vega Pro. Vega Pro has this medium hard kind of feel that I havent experienced in any other rubber. I may also try Omega V Euro. Where does Omega V Tour lie in the hardness spectrum? If it's harder than Sigma II euro but softer than SII Pro, that may be just right.

Thanks again
 
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Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try re-applying the Sigma II Pro and see what happens. I've never "boosted" before, so just for giggles I may research that and try if standard re-application doesnt give desired result.

FWIW, I found Sigma II Europe to feel noticeably softer than Vega Pro. Vega Pro has this medium hard kind of feel that I havent experienced in any other rubber. I may also try Omega V Euro. Where does Omega V Tour lie in the hardness spectrum? If it's harder than Sigma II euro but softer than SII Pro, that may be just right.

Thanks again

Omega V Tour is like a Pro, just a little bit faster, but same kind of hardness. So I doubt you will enjoy Tour
I think Omega V Euro is currently your best bet. Fingers crossed
 
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Omega V Tour is like a Pro, just a little bit faster, but same kind of hardness. So I doubt you will enjoy Tour
I think Omega V Euro is currently your best bet. Fingers crossed

So for giggles I tried regluing the SII Pro onto a different blade (Xiom Diva All+), and it was still erratic with no feeling. Even when I felt I made optimal contact there wasnt much spin or feeling.

Eventually my SII Europe wore out on my primary blade, so I recently replaced it with Tibhar MX-P. MX-P is a harder rubber (according to some, harder than SII Pro), but still has good feeling and feels predictable and controllable. I usually like semi-hard stuff on my FH, so I'm thinknig maybe the sheet of SII Pro was a dud or just not for me.

I purchased a sheet of Omega V Europe per your suggestion, and will try that whenever it's time to replace.
 
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