5 out of 5 rating for Vega Asia DF
Xiom Vega Asia DF Rubber
Weight: 58 grams uncut, 42 grams uncut
Sponge Hardness: 42.5°
Hardness: Soft/Medium
Speed: Medium/High
Spin: Medium
Blade used: Xiom Vega Tour blade (Dan), Xiom Stradivarius blade (Tom)
Written Review
Initial
The Xiom Vega Asia DF rubber was released in June 2016 alongside the Europe DF Rubber. The rubber uses Xiom’s signature black sponge and has a glossy topsheet. We've noticed this type of grippy surface in a lot of new rubbers post celluloid ball era.
The Xiom Vega Asia DF is the newest rubber in the VEGA series, with the DF standing for Dynamic Friction Technology designed for the plastic ball. This technology was also used on the Omayga 5 rubbers. The Vega Asia DF is slightly softer than their predecessor Vega Asia rubbers. The sponge hardness on the Vega Aaia DF is 42.5 degrees.
Topspins
At the beginning you can feel right away that the Asia DF is a fairly soft rubber and is softer than the original Vega ASia. Although a soft/medium rubber, the impact is very stable and has an impressive loud sound on impact.
Tom found during topspin strokes (as seen the in the video) that the Asia was more direct with its trajectory than the Europe DF. This gave Tom a bit more speed and strong attacks.
Me and Tom both came to the agreement that the Asia worked better for both of us on the backhand side, we felt that this was because of the rubbers more direct nature. The ball did not fly out as much on the backhand side with both rubbers but especially with the Asia.
Open ups and Spin
A big plus point of the DF rubbers are that they are both very spinny. The grippiness of both of these rubbers mean that they both produce considerably more spin than the the original Xiom Vega rubbers. The new tech that XIOM have used with these certainly act well with the plastic ball. The Asia was a bit harder to lift against backspin then the Europe, however we felt a more aggressive shot was produced when we timed the ball well with the Asia.
Speed
In the rally we could generate a fair amount of speed in my shots and enough to put the opponent under pressure. These rubbers are not designed for sheer power however, and would fall in the in the all round offensive category. The Asia DF felt slightly faster than the Europe DF.
Backhand Flicks
The softness of these rubbers allow for superb control especially in the short game. For example, backhand flicks were easy and I had a high room for error especially on 4th ball attacks.
Away from table
This control can be seen when myself and Tom took a few steps away from the table. The rubber gave great safety in our shots with a high arc and not requiring huge amounts of effort. It did feel the Europe had slightly more feel and control than the Asia DF.
Conclusion
Xiom have definitely designed rubbers that have a good ratio between spin, speed and control but are slightly more towards the controlled side. Both the new Xiom Vega Df rubbers are packed with control and posses a topsheet that grips the ball producing lots of spin. As mentioned previously the major advantage with this rubber is its ability to stay in the rally with ease.
The rubbers are not too responsive to spin and are very easy to play with due to sponges softness and stable topsheet resulting in high safety in your strokes. If you are looking for more spin and slightly more arc in your strokes we would recommend the Vega Europe DF. The ball really soaks into the sponge producing lots of spin and acceleration. The Vega Asia DF is slightly harder and a touch faster than the Europe DF, suited for players who want a slightly more direct trajectory.
The Vega DF rubbers are also both excellent when blocking and receiving spinny balls. We would recommend Vega Europe and Asia DF rubbers for developing players looking to improve their stroke efficiency and shot quality. Or for players who want a spinny well controlled rubber without the extreme speed of high end fast rubbers such as the Tenergy 05 or Tibhar Evolution mxp. Xiom have created a well balanced offensive rubber and is a good addition to their rubber selection.