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Hi Community,
I tested the Omega 8 Pro recently and wrote an extensive review that I have posted on my blog. I will post a summary here:
Hardness: 47.5
Weight Uncut: 67g
Cut to my AJH TMXi Pro blade (160x152): 50g
Drive:
During warmup, the feeling was very stable and controlled despite the catapult effect. The catapult kicked in fairly early but was not extreme, providing sufficient support to drive the ball on the backhand side. In comparison to the Omega 7 Pro, the feeling was quite a bit softer and there was a greater feeling of the ball sinking into the sponge when playing on low-medium effort. While O8P is quite direct when driving, I would not say that it was very different from similar rubbers in that hardness category. The overall speed is high but still controllable. For punch-type shots on the backhand (which are not my strength), the Omega 7 Pro feels a bit more solid.
Loop:
The Omega 8 Pro feels very good when looping close to the table. The grip is just excellent and it is very clear to me that the O8P grips the ball better than O7P. The feeling overall is quite a bit softer, maybe even softer than 47.5 degree hardness but still harder than a 45 degree hardness rubber. Because of this softness, there is a really nice feeling of dwell and contact time even with a short movement. With my technique, the arc was of medium height and was very stable, though not going as deep as with the O7P. Because of the superior grip of the O8P, it is very easy to impart high amounts of spin even with a fine brush, which is more difficult to do with the O7P.
My playstyle on the backhand involves a game where I stay close to the table and take the ball early when its rising. This was good for countering because the combination of grip and catapult made it easy to send the ball back while adding spin. Opening up against backspin was also very easy and the spin was enormous due to the amazing grip.
When looping from mid-distance, I did not feel like the O8P provided sufficient support for very powerful shots. The catapult helps with speed but when I was going for winners even on my less powerful backhand side, it happened a few times that the rubber bottomed out and there was a loud clicking noise. For those kind of shots, O7P still felt a bit more solid.
Block:
I personally was fine with blocking with the O8P, thought it doesn’t feel as solid as with harder rubbers. It is not as precise due to the slightly softer feel but its quite easy to let the ball sink into the sponge and send it back. You have to be aware of not sending the ball long though due to the catapult effect of the rubber. Active blocking was very nice though since the superior grip helped me to overwrite the opponents spin, and in general, I had good confidence in matching my opponent’s loop in open play.
Serve-Receive:
The O8P was quite interesting in serve-receive. First of all, the serves are very spinny and had more spin than O7P. In terms of receive, the O8P is quite sensitive to spin so you need to be more aware of racket angles and reading the opponents spin correctly. There are always advantages and disadvantages and due to the increased grip of the O8P it is also more spin sensitive. It happened a few times that I dumped a push into the net where it would not happen with the O7P, but I still got used to it fairly quickly. Also, it is still much easier to receive heavy spin with the O8P in comparison to something like Dignics 05.
On the other hand, somehow, it was quite easy to keep my pushes low. Where the O7P is very easy to receive with but the ball tends to go up slightly, with the O8P as long as you find the right angle, it is much easier to create a low and spinny push. I played several matches with the O8P and did not feel like receiving was an issue at all. It was very rewarding to use active strokes when receiving due to the spin I was able to create. So in terms of serve-receive, I believe it is a matter of preference.
Flick:
I really liked flicking / chiquita with the O8P. I am not the best at flicking but my technique is solid. Sometimes you just have to go for this shot because opponents have awkward serves that are just not that easy to push. I played vs. a higher rated leftie who has a mean reverse-pendulum serve and the grip + catapult combination of O8P really helped me to put good quality and spin into my flicks.
Comparison with O7P and Final Thoughts:
I believe a lot of the initial statements that XIOM made about the Omega 8 series and the Pro version specifically are correct. The Omega 8 Pro is a light rubber (for its hardness) that has improved grip over the Omega 7 Pro. Due to its slightly softer feel and high level of grip, it feels easier to create spin and there is a longer feeling of dwell. Serving, flicking and opening against backspin can reach very high levels of spin even without perfect technique, which is a plus. On the other hand, the O8P feels more spin sensitive than the O7P.
To me, looping and blocking still felt better with the O7P. While the O8P was very good to play with, the O7P, to me, is more solid and direct in the higher gear, arguably due to its slightly harder feel. The O7P also feels slightly more aggressive with its low and long arc that lands close to the end of the table. I am not sure which rubber produces more spin for amateur or semi-pro players; it might be the O8P especially in low-medium gears. But for me, while the arc of the O8P was higher and safer, it gave my opponent slightly more time to deal with the incoming loop. I also don’t mind the bouncyness of the O7P in serve-receive because it is easy to put the ball on the table which keeps me in the rally. However, I was able to perform higher quality returns with the O8P.
Personally, I still prefer Omega 7 pro due to its slightly harder feeling and lower and longer arc. It is more comfortable for me in the blocking and looping department, not so spin sensitive but very spinny and deadly when you activate the sponge. Omega 8 Pro can be worthy successor of the Omega 7 Pro for someone that looks for a slightly softer feel, slightly higher arc and significantly increased levels of grip.
The full article can be found here: https://doppeldropshot.wordpress.com/
I started this blog for fun recently so I am glad if you check it out
Hope this review was helpful!
I tested the Omega 8 Pro recently and wrote an extensive review that I have posted on my blog. I will post a summary here:
Hardness: 47.5
Weight Uncut: 67g
Cut to my AJH TMXi Pro blade (160x152): 50g
Drive:
During warmup, the feeling was very stable and controlled despite the catapult effect. The catapult kicked in fairly early but was not extreme, providing sufficient support to drive the ball on the backhand side. In comparison to the Omega 7 Pro, the feeling was quite a bit softer and there was a greater feeling of the ball sinking into the sponge when playing on low-medium effort. While O8P is quite direct when driving, I would not say that it was very different from similar rubbers in that hardness category. The overall speed is high but still controllable. For punch-type shots on the backhand (which are not my strength), the Omega 7 Pro feels a bit more solid.
Loop:
The Omega 8 Pro feels very good when looping close to the table. The grip is just excellent and it is very clear to me that the O8P grips the ball better than O7P. The feeling overall is quite a bit softer, maybe even softer than 47.5 degree hardness but still harder than a 45 degree hardness rubber. Because of this softness, there is a really nice feeling of dwell and contact time even with a short movement. With my technique, the arc was of medium height and was very stable, though not going as deep as with the O7P. Because of the superior grip of the O8P, it is very easy to impart high amounts of spin even with a fine brush, which is more difficult to do with the O7P.
My playstyle on the backhand involves a game where I stay close to the table and take the ball early when its rising. This was good for countering because the combination of grip and catapult made it easy to send the ball back while adding spin. Opening up against backspin was also very easy and the spin was enormous due to the amazing grip.
When looping from mid-distance, I did not feel like the O8P provided sufficient support for very powerful shots. The catapult helps with speed but when I was going for winners even on my less powerful backhand side, it happened a few times that the rubber bottomed out and there was a loud clicking noise. For those kind of shots, O7P still felt a bit more solid.
Block:
I personally was fine with blocking with the O8P, thought it doesn’t feel as solid as with harder rubbers. It is not as precise due to the slightly softer feel but its quite easy to let the ball sink into the sponge and send it back. You have to be aware of not sending the ball long though due to the catapult effect of the rubber. Active blocking was very nice though since the superior grip helped me to overwrite the opponents spin, and in general, I had good confidence in matching my opponent’s loop in open play.
Serve-Receive:
The O8P was quite interesting in serve-receive. First of all, the serves are very spinny and had more spin than O7P. In terms of receive, the O8P is quite sensitive to spin so you need to be more aware of racket angles and reading the opponents spin correctly. There are always advantages and disadvantages and due to the increased grip of the O8P it is also more spin sensitive. It happened a few times that I dumped a push into the net where it would not happen with the O7P, but I still got used to it fairly quickly. Also, it is still much easier to receive heavy spin with the O8P in comparison to something like Dignics 05.
On the other hand, somehow, it was quite easy to keep my pushes low. Where the O7P is very easy to receive with but the ball tends to go up slightly, with the O8P as long as you find the right angle, it is much easier to create a low and spinny push. I played several matches with the O8P and did not feel like receiving was an issue at all. It was very rewarding to use active strokes when receiving due to the spin I was able to create. So in terms of serve-receive, I believe it is a matter of preference.
Flick:
I really liked flicking / chiquita with the O8P. I am not the best at flicking but my technique is solid. Sometimes you just have to go for this shot because opponents have awkward serves that are just not that easy to push. I played vs. a higher rated leftie who has a mean reverse-pendulum serve and the grip + catapult combination of O8P really helped me to put good quality and spin into my flicks.
Comparison with O7P and Final Thoughts:
I believe a lot of the initial statements that XIOM made about the Omega 8 series and the Pro version specifically are correct. The Omega 8 Pro is a light rubber (for its hardness) that has improved grip over the Omega 7 Pro. Due to its slightly softer feel and high level of grip, it feels easier to create spin and there is a longer feeling of dwell. Serving, flicking and opening against backspin can reach very high levels of spin even without perfect technique, which is a plus. On the other hand, the O8P feels more spin sensitive than the O7P.
To me, looping and blocking still felt better with the O7P. While the O8P was very good to play with, the O7P, to me, is more solid and direct in the higher gear, arguably due to its slightly harder feel. The O7P also feels slightly more aggressive with its low and long arc that lands close to the end of the table. I am not sure which rubber produces more spin for amateur or semi-pro players; it might be the O8P especially in low-medium gears. But for me, while the arc of the O8P was higher and safer, it gave my opponent slightly more time to deal with the incoming loop. I also don’t mind the bouncyness of the O7P in serve-receive because it is easy to put the ball on the table which keeps me in the rally. However, I was able to perform higher quality returns with the O8P.
Personally, I still prefer Omega 7 pro due to its slightly harder feeling and lower and longer arc. It is more comfortable for me in the blocking and looping department, not so spin sensitive but very spinny and deadly when you activate the sponge. Omega 8 Pro can be worthy successor of the Omega 7 Pro for someone that looks for a slightly softer feel, slightly higher arc and significantly increased levels of grip.
The full article can be found here: https://doppeldropshot.wordpress.com/
I started this blog for fun recently so I am glad if you check it out
Hope this review was helpful!
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