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Xiom Vega iSwitch Rubbers
https://imgur.com/ktkwq72
https://imgur.com/lzw9q8W
https://imgur.com/rRzlbKO
https://imgur.com/rvcKqS1
https://imgur.com/A8z3rnM
https://imgur.com/ZaKKyvu
https://imgur.com/PoOG2FB
https://imgur.com/Lzn0iNI
https://imgur.com/rPCQvzv
https://imgur.com/4KWIGA6
https://imgur.com/MM9QRn2
The Xiom Vega iSwitch rubbers are the new innovation from Xiom this year. The Vega rubbers have been famous all throughout the world for the past 10 years and the Vega Series rubbers in the market are always on top of the list when it comes to suggesting rubbers to beginners or intermediate players. Despite the ball change, the Xiom Vega Pro, Asia and Europe continue to sell very well in the market and also being used by a lot of players. The iSwitch technology has been researched and designed by Xiom for a few years now and only now has it been perfected and released in the market. The iSwitch technology was designed to enable players attach the Vega iSwitch rubbers to their blade directly without using water-based glue or VOC glue. Before, the concept of direct attachment of rubbers were limited to double-sided adhesives for OX or no-sponged pimpled rubbers. Xiom saw the need of ready-to-glue rubbers and decided to release this in the market. Upon closer inspection of the backside off the rubber, there is a thin semi-transparent sticky layer on the sponge. After you remove the film you will notice this layer immediately. I have tried adding booster to the sponge without removing this but it makes the sponge almost non-permeable to the booster oil. Unlike the layer in a Hurricane 3 sponge which can be dissolved by the booster or allows the booster to be absorbed, the glue layer in the iSwitch rubbers is hard to absorb the oil.
These are the steps I made to attach the iSwitch rubbers:
Can the built-in glue rubber be removed and re-used?
It is a big YES! The iSwitch rubbers were designed to be removable for the convenience of players. I would suggest removing the rubber sideways in a slow and gentle manner for protection of your blade surfaces. After removing the iSwitch rubber, I suggest cleaning the blade surface before reattaching the iSwitch rubbers. I have done experiments on removing and reattaching the iSwitch rubbers. I did the process 5-6 times with no problems on the glue having reduced stickness but starting at 4th or 5th time that I removed the rubbers, I can see the varnished layer thinning out so I would suggest re-varnishing the blade. If you play regularly and use the rubber for a long time, 5 or 6 times removal of the rubber is enough in my opinion but Xiom said this is good until 10 times removal and re-attaching.
Does the Vega iSwitch rubbers have any differences from their regular counterparts?
I did feel a little difference with both series in which the Vega iSwitch rubbers seem to have a more firm sponge due to the added layer of iSwitch but does not seem to affect play at all. The Vega Pro is still the spinniest but a bit slower than the Vega Asia which has a more balanced speed-spin ration while Vega Europe is the slowest among the 3 but with a more controllable output.
The iSwitch Innovation is good for players who do not want to go through the process of messy gluing their rubbers, waiting for it to dry and attaching it to their blades. This comes in handy at times and who knows if this will have a good reception in the market, Xiom can maybe apply the iSwitch to other Xiom rubbers. Overall, a good innovation!
https://imgur.com/ktkwq72
https://imgur.com/lzw9q8W
https://imgur.com/rRzlbKO
https://imgur.com/rvcKqS1
https://imgur.com/A8z3rnM
https://imgur.com/ZaKKyvu
https://imgur.com/PoOG2FB
https://imgur.com/Lzn0iNI
https://imgur.com/rPCQvzv
https://imgur.com/4KWIGA6
https://imgur.com/MM9QRn2
The Xiom Vega iSwitch rubbers are the new innovation from Xiom this year. The Vega rubbers have been famous all throughout the world for the past 10 years and the Vega Series rubbers in the market are always on top of the list when it comes to suggesting rubbers to beginners or intermediate players. Despite the ball change, the Xiom Vega Pro, Asia and Europe continue to sell very well in the market and also being used by a lot of players. The iSwitch technology has been researched and designed by Xiom for a few years now and only now has it been perfected and released in the market. The iSwitch technology was designed to enable players attach the Vega iSwitch rubbers to their blade directly without using water-based glue or VOC glue. Before, the concept of direct attachment of rubbers were limited to double-sided adhesives for OX or no-sponged pimpled rubbers. Xiom saw the need of ready-to-glue rubbers and decided to release this in the market. Upon closer inspection of the backside off the rubber, there is a thin semi-transparent sticky layer on the sponge. After you remove the film you will notice this layer immediately. I have tried adding booster to the sponge without removing this but it makes the sponge almost non-permeable to the booster oil. Unlike the layer in a Hurricane 3 sponge which can be dissolved by the booster or allows the booster to be absorbed, the glue layer in the iSwitch rubbers is hard to absorb the oil.
These are the steps I made to attach the iSwitch rubbers:
- Seal your blade! This is the number one precaution when using the iSwitch rubbers. Imagine the double-sided films for OX pips out rubbers are very sticky, the iSwitch glue are at least as sticky or even more sticky than the former. The Xiom Vivid blade is designed to be glued with iSwitch rubbers and there is a thin protection on the blade surface that can withstand the stickiness of the iSwitch glue layers. For blades with no built-in sealants, I suggest using a thin layer of varnish for protection. I sanded the blade surface with a fine sandpaper after the varnish dried.
- After attaching the rubber partially to the blade surface, use a roller gently to fully attach the rubber to the blade. It is important to note that I have observed the rubber having resistance to
- I used a common office disposable box cutter to cut the rubber with no problems at all.
Can the built-in glue rubber be removed and re-used?
It is a big YES! The iSwitch rubbers were designed to be removable for the convenience of players. I would suggest removing the rubber sideways in a slow and gentle manner for protection of your blade surfaces. After removing the iSwitch rubber, I suggest cleaning the blade surface before reattaching the iSwitch rubbers. I have done experiments on removing and reattaching the iSwitch rubbers. I did the process 5-6 times with no problems on the glue having reduced stickness but starting at 4th or 5th time that I removed the rubbers, I can see the varnished layer thinning out so I would suggest re-varnishing the blade. If you play regularly and use the rubber for a long time, 5 or 6 times removal of the rubber is enough in my opinion but Xiom said this is good until 10 times removal and re-attaching.
Does the Vega iSwitch rubbers have any differences from their regular counterparts?
I did feel a little difference with both series in which the Vega iSwitch rubbers seem to have a more firm sponge due to the added layer of iSwitch but does not seem to affect play at all. The Vega Pro is still the spinniest but a bit slower than the Vega Asia which has a more balanced speed-spin ration while Vega Europe is the slowest among the 3 but with a more controllable output.
The iSwitch Innovation is good for players who do not want to go through the process of messy gluing their rubbers, waiting for it to dry and attaching it to their blades. This comes in handy at times and who knows if this will have a good reception in the market, Xiom can maybe apply the iSwitch to other Xiom rubbers. Overall, a good innovation!