Follow up for Xiom Vega intro

[riemsesy]

My daughter (21yr) played one year with Xiom Vega intro on her Primorac JPN.
She considers herself still a novice.

Dunno much about non tacky wubbers

Is the X V Europe a nice next progress?
Her best skill forehand drive and backhand flicks.

 

[Novarac23]

I have not used intro but I am currently using Europe on a BH. Great BH rubber. Soft, easy to control and plenty of speed and spin! I don’t think I would use it on a FH, for me its too soft but might be good for your daughter if intro is soft (not sure never used it).

 

[John_]

I'd say get her vega Asia, it's more suited to the modern game. A bit harder to use than the others, but it's worth it.

If you want her to actually learn though, there's no better teacher than cheap Chinese rubber. Back in the day we had dawei 2008 and 388a, now yinhe mercury 2 and 729 super fx are the golden standard. Plus they can be used up to a good level, especially the super fx.

 

[\_Kairos_/]

My daughter played one year with Xiom Vega intro on her Primorac JPN.

Dunno much about non tacky wubbers

Is the X V Europe a nice next progress?
Her best skill forehand drive and backhand flicks.

Hmm, does she want to change rubbers at all? Well, perhaps it's just a non-binding question in general...
Anyway, Vega Intro and Vega Europe are quite unlike. Intro is an entry-level Tensor with reduced catapult and a 47.5° sponge while the Europe is a softie, just like @Novarac23 pointed out, at 42.5 sponge "hardness" with a soft topsheet.
If your daughter has really "mastered" the Vega Intro after a year, I don't really see a reason to replace it with the Europe. That wouldn't make much sense and would likely be a step in the wrong direction, if not to say a step backwards. The Europe is a fine bh rubber, again, just like @Novarac23 mentioned, but that's about it. It's also a little trickier in the short game due to the fact that it has more catapult than the Intro, and even if she has outplayed the Intro, I would probably hesitate to use some of the more catapulty rubbers with a hard sponge...could be a frustrating experience.
Does the upgrade rubber need to be by Xiom? If so, you might want to look at the Vega Asia. It also has 47.5° sponge hardness and (coincidentally) the same topsheet as the Europe; or you could look at the newer Vega Hybrids...
If other brands are fine too, you might to take a look at the Rakza Z or the Joola Rhyzen Fire. They are not quite as demanding as some other rubbers out there, such as the MX-P or T05; even the regular Vega Pro could be too much for her if she is not really used to catapulty rubbers. How old is she by the way?

 

[riemsesy]

Thanks all.

Vega Asia mentioned twice. Always thought intro was the ultimate starter and Europe a step up.

She’s no young kid 😉 21 now.

Doesn’t have to be Xiom but price / performance wise they are fine rubbers. We are looking for something in that price range like € 3o - € 40 a rubber.

 

[Ultravisitor]

Maybe just get the same rubbers again in max thickness.
Nittaku Fastarc G1/C1 are or similar hardness and not super catapulty. They are faster and spinnier though. These last a long time, great value for the money

 

[Arkady]

Thanks all.

Vega Asia mentioned twice. Always thought intro was the ultimate starter and Europe a step up.

She’s no young kid 😉 21 now.

Doesn’t have to be Xiom but price / performance wise they are fine rubbers. We are looking for something in that price range like € 3o - € 40 a rubber.

Also consider Victas Ventus Limber.

 

[Lazer]

My daughter played one year with Xiom Vega intro on her Primorac JPN.

Dunno much about non tacky wubbers

Is the X V Europe a nice next progress?
Her best skill forehand drive and backhand flicks.

Europe is waaaaay soft, better to get used to something harder....

Cheers
L-zr

 

[riemsesy]

Maybe just get the same rubbers again in max thickness.
Nittaku Fastarc G1/C1 are or similar hardness and not super catapulty. They are faster and spinnier though. These last a long time, great value for the money

this is a very good advise.. she plays fine with the Intro.. so why change..
vielen Dank

 

[\_Kairos_/]

Thanks all.

Vega Asia mentioned twice. Always thought intro was the ultimate starter and Europe a step up.

She’s no young kid 😉 21 now.

Doesn’t have to be Xiom but price / performance wise they are fine rubbers. We are looking for something in that price range like € 3o - € 40 a rubber.

21? OK, didn't expect that. Thought that your girl might be 10 or 12 or so. Is she actually still considered to be a starter?...given that you said:

...Always thought intro was the ultimate starter...

Of course it is somewhat difficult to assess someome's level without seeing the person play. If she is comfortable with the Intro she could still refine her technique with is as well as generate more and more power on her own. At 21 she should be able to...
In any case, if you guys want to upgrade from the Intro, I probably wouldn't want to get her into EJing too much; narrow it down to maybe 5-6 rubbers and go from there.
My rubber recommendations remain intact for the most part. Perhaps she is even able (under your guidance) to handle rubbers such as Vega Pro or Donic Barracuda. If not, take a step (or half-step) back and adjust accoordingly with the other rubber options mentioned here.

 

[riemsesy]

21? OK, didn't expect that. Thought that your girl might be 10 or 12 or so. Is she actually still considered to be a starter?...given that you said:

Of course it is somewhat difficult to assess someome's level without seeing the person play. If she is comfortable with the Intro she could still refine her technique with is as well as generate more and more power on her own. At 21 she should be able to...
In any case, if you guys want to upgrade from the Intro, I probably wouldn't want to get her into EJing too much; narrow it down to maybe 5-6 rubbers and go from there.
My rubber recommendations remain intact for the most part. Perhaps she is even able (under your guidance) to handle rubbers such as Vega Pro or Donic Barracuda. If not, take a step (or half-step) back and adjust accoordingly with the other rubber options mentioned here.

Do you know the difference of the topsheet of intro and Europe/ Asia?

 

[\_Kairos_/]

Do you know the difference of the topsheet of intro and Europe/ Asia?

Well, as mentioned the topsheet of the Europe and Asia are identical...it's really soft; the topsheet of the Intro feels a (tiny) bit firmer imo. Also, even though the Intro is categorised as a Tensor, it's topsheet feels not as much under tension compared to the Asia/Europe topsheet. Short game in general is a bit easier with the Intro because of the less tensioned topsheet (as well as the reduced catapult), hence the term "entry-level Tensor" in regard to the Intro.

 

[Hurricane AON]

I'm using it. It soft, so spin and good grip

 

[John_]

Thanks all.

Vega Asia mentioned twice. Always thought intro was the ultimate starter and Europe a step up.

She’s no young kid 😉 21 now.

Doesn’t have to be Xiom but price / performance wise they are fine rubbers. We are looking for something in that price range like € 3o - € 40 a rubber.

There's no need at that age to go with these rubbers. Give her a proper Chinese hybrid rubber, the game is moving in that direction, get her up to the times. Vega Asia is good if she was 15 or played in 2018, at 21 it's a waste. The game has progressed.

Battle 2 gold, jupiter 3, loki rxton 3/5 pro are the name of the game. Stay away from soft rubbers, they were made for old standards and now we have a better understanding of the plastic ball and the game it's made.

 

[PickleRick]

There's no need at that age to go with these rubbers. Give her a proper Chinese hybrid rubber, the game is moving in that direction, get her up to the times. Vega Asia is good if she was 15 or played in 2018, at 21 it's a waste. The game has progressed.

Battle 2 gold, jupiter 3, loki rxton 3/5 pro are the name of the game. Stay away from soft rubbers, they were made for old standards and now we have a better understanding of the plastic ball and the game it's made.

What are you talking about? Almost everyone I know still plays with semi-hard or semi-soft grippy rubbers. It's not because the manufacturers and some people on this forum say that hybrid/tacky rubbers are the future that it reflects reality. Rubbers like Vega Asia are still good rubbers that are perfectly okay for the plastic ball.

 

[John_]

What are you talking about? Almost everyone I know still plays with semi-hard or semi-soft grippy rubbers. It's not because the manufacturers and some people on this forum say that hybrid/tacky rubbers are the future that it reflects reality. Rubbers like Vega Asia are still good rubbers that are perfectly okay for the plastic ball.

Hurricane 3 is the most popular rubber in the world by a very big margin. Tenergy 05 and Fastarc G1 don't even make the sales of the Hurricane. And now that more and more people start to use yinhe and loki rubbers, they will only continue to rise in popularity.

Plus the price difference and durability being much better on tacky rubbers, it's just weird that they didn't catch on sooner. Top sheet with good maintenance remains tacky for years and the sponge after a few months retains a state that's very nice and playable for years. Esn, daiki and bty rubbers die after 6 months of use, Chinese rubbers don't.

And of course the performance being much more consistent on the Chinese rubbers with tons more grip is also a very important factor.

 

[PickleRick]

Hurricane 3 is a good rubber. No doubt about that. But not everyone is willing to boost. And officially it's forbidden. I don't know many hobby players that have the technique and physique to play an offensive game with unboosted H3.

Your advice might make sense if it's about a 9 year old who starts to play but not for people who start table tennis when they are older than 20.

 

[riemsesy]

Why does the age matter?
Why could an 9 year old kid start on Chinese rubbers but a 21 young woman can’t?
Isn’t the older one stronger than the 9 year old?

 

[Lazer]

Too many urban myth about equipment floating around… There is no such thing as too old equipment if You start at the 70’s. There is a place and time for all.
Everybody is praising H3 but according to some it should be too old…

Cheers
L-zr

 

[enoxzr]

I think the route to go is, does she like the Xiom Vega Intro feeling wise?

If so, logical next step would be stepping up the Xiom Vega ladder, with Europe (DF), Asia (DF) as next steps.

But, since you are a tacky rubber user, you could also let her try some of your equipment and see if she likes that of course.

If I'm correct @riemsesy believe you are Dutch. If she wants to stay with Euro/ESN type rubbers, I think its worth while to visit a shop like Game11 if thats a possibility for you. They have many test bats with all ranges of rubbers, so she can try out and feel herself whatever she likes!