Xiom Vega China VM Review

[doppelmoral]

Can someone compare the Vega China to Omega 8 China?

Just get a sheet of VC, its a cheap rubber.

I tested VC and D09c next to each other and VC feels just as spinny. I doubt any regular club players will get more spin out of D09c than out of VC.

Even though I havent tried omega 8 china, just based on that knowledge, I dont think the 20€ more expensive omega 8 line will be worth it.

VC really plays like a well boosted h3

 

[hayhayc86]

I have used both Vega china and omega 8 china. I switched to Vega china from BS H3 and I didn't find too much issue with the transition. Vega china have similar dead feeling as Chinese rubber which makes it good for short in table play. I don't boost my rubber so Vega china feels more alive than h3 so I suppose as others were saying, it plays like a nicely boosted h3. I find vc to be relatively linear.

I moved from vc to omega 8 china. However, that was after a 3 months hiatus due to injury and I switched blade so I can't give a good comparison. However I find the o8c to be similar dead feeling in short game, quite controllable. However on more powerful shots, I have trouble knowing when the catapult from the sponge will kicks in hence less stable. The absolute spin, speed and power ceiling is definitely higher with the omega 8 china but personally I think I find it too difficult for me to use.

 

[Zwill]

My Vega China plus arrived and after gluing it my racket is light. It has good grip after just quick testing and I get why it feels dead, but it's more lively than the unboosted Chinese rubbers that state they don't need boosting. It's for sure like 70% of the bounce of Glayzer, but with protector on it's bouncer than Glayzer, so I think it has potential.
I will try tonight, I did a fast glue job just now so I can test it today.

 

[hayhayc86]

I don't mean dead in a bad way. In fact I prefer them compare to tensor type rubber. It is certainly more reactive than hurricane, I just try to find the word to describe them.

 

[Zwill]

I think everyone's assessment that it feels dead is on the spot. I can feel it too. It is very much like a medium boosted 41+ hardness Chinese rubber with a more relaxed topsheet. By relaxed I mean not as hard, not as snappy. The sponge is faster than Chinese rubbers that are advertised as they don't need boosting, not by a lot but it is faster, especially if you hit hard it does have some springiness to it.
Actually maybe my racket is too light now, I feel it on my backhand that it's slower even tho I move my arm faster so maybe that also contributes why it feels a bit dead. Even my backhand feels a bit dead.

But the rubber is very stable, very good for off the bounce 3rd ball attacks, but also good from under the table and very precise and accurate. The ball goes as intended even when I was trying bullshit angles.

My Ice Cream Azx pro is a pretty fast blade and with it I would say this is not a bad rubber but still very demanding, but also very rewarding.
With like a Ma Long 5 blade I guess this would be too slow for me.

Normal Vega China felt much more lively and like everyone says it is like boosted 39deg H3 OS. I totally get why most people would prefer it, maybe I prefer it over this one too.

Stickiness is not much either, I don't think this is C-touch even tho it is advertised that way but the stickiness is about that much. I just don't think it's that since I get ball marks in C touch rubbers after 5 minutes and in this one I didn't get any after 2 hours.

I guess I would only recommend it to someone who wants a light 41+ degree chinese rubber feel without actually needing to boost your rubber.
With a heavy Viscaria this might be an ideal choice.

But 90% of people probably would like the old Vega China, and I might be in that 90% too, it just felt very comfy.

 

[mihalichtheone]

How come that I never heard of this rubber 🤔
It happened that my friend just yesterday gave me this (regular Xiom China VM) rubber to try out and I glued it today for a test.

I have to say I am impressed, indeed as many pointed out in this thread it's a very good h3 substitution. Will stick with it for a while

 

[Zwill]

I compared the Vega China Plus and Vega China and it's obvious the Vega China Plus has harder sponge and ESN thin topsheet. So the thin topsheet is why it feels so light and more relaxed. Vega China is nicer.

One more thing, both suck bad with Yinhe plastic ball. I don't like the Yinhe ball but it's super bad with these rubbers.

 

[K.K]

@doppelmoral you tested the vega china and recently tested the rxton 9 that i play too. can you compare those two?
i thought of switching to vega china after your review on your blog, because i am pretty new to boosting and had some mixed results where it is sometimes quite hard to switch between my two blades. one rubber is a bit dead and the other bouncy and mushy, then one is just perfect and feels amazing but not able to recreate that. compared to vega x that is mostly identical, i thought of maybe paying a bit more and get a more consistent rubber.if you think it is not worth double the price (i pay 18€ for rxton 9)

 

[doppelmoral]

@doppelmoral you tested the vega china and recently tested the rxton 9 that i play too. can you compare those two?
i thought of switching to vega china after your review on your blog, because i am pretty new to boosting and had some mixed results where it is sometimes quite hard to switch between my two blades. one rubber is a bit dead and the other bouncy and mushy, then one is just perfect and feels amazing but not able to recreate that. compared to vega x that is mostly identical, i thought of maybe paying a bit more and get a more consistent rubber.if you think it is not worth double the price (i pay 18€ for rxton 9)

let me start by saying that I used rxton 9 for only 1 session, and I used the 39 degree
its also a few months back that I used vega china. so dont my words as an absolute truth

I dont know what it is about rxton 9 , but it doesnt feel like h3. I really like rxton 9 though, spin and arc are great and i felt like I cannot miss. Vega China on the other hand also doesnt have the 'bite' that h3 will give you, however, it feels more like h3 to me. Vega China feels harder than rxton 9 39 degree, it has a lower and deeper arc, it is faster, and much more aggressive. then spin level of vega china is really high, something you wouldnt expect out of an old generation rubber. It is very very spinny. rxton 9 felt more balanced.

you can still feel that it is an ESN rubber with the vega china, so you get advantages on flat hits and blocking. if you dont impact properly though (remember the sponge is quite hard), the ball is just dead, similar to h3. you can also opt for pure brush looping for safety shots with Vega China, less spinny than h3 but gets the job done.

I dont know if Vega China or Rxton 9 fits you better. Of course, Rxton 9 wins in terms of price. Vega China is consistent across sheets (similar to your vega x), so if you want a h3 substitute that is playable out of the box for around 35€, I would say try it out

 

[lightning_bot]

Does vega China or d09c feel harder?

 

[K.K]

i tried vega china and was really suprised! it plays nothing like any hybrid i tried expect maybe for joola golden tango, but this rubber is discontinued and i tried it over 5 years ago. it doesn't feel as hard as the sponge would suggest, because the topsheet is heavily stretched so the ball dwells for a long time when you brush and the sponge is not as reactive and doesn't shoot out the ball like more modern hybrids. it really feels boosted, but way beyond I normally would do, so i still need to adjust to this stretched topsheet effect that shoots out the ball way more than i am used to from rxton 9 or other chinese rubbers (maybe even hybrids like bluegrip c2).

to the people who played with this rubber for a longer time: what are the reasons you switched from this?

 

[doppelmoral]

i tried vega china and was really suprised! it plays nothing like any hybrid i tried expect maybe for joola golden tango, but this rubber is discontinued and i tried it over 5 years ago. it doesn't feel as hard as the sponge would suggest, because the topsheet is heavily stretched so the ball dwells for a long time when you brush and the sponge is not as reactive and doesn't shoot out the ball like more modern hybrids. it really feels boosted, but way beyond I normally would do, so i still need to adjust to this stretched topsheet effect that shoots out the ball way more than i am used to from rxton 9 or other chinese rubbers (maybe even hybrids like bluegrip c2).

to the people who played with this rubber for a longer time: what are the reasons you switched from this?

I played with vega china maybe 3 months. love the rubber, my favourite hybrid and really feels like h3 os 40 degree boosted

reason I changed back is just comfort. used h3 now for over 2 years, I can engage the sponge or just brush with the topsheet. vega china is okay with brushing but you really want to get into the sponge. not always easy to do that close to the table.

blocking is much better than h3 but sometimes the catapult on flat hits was much higher than I was used to. still VC is 9/10 for me, cheap, great durability, actually feels like h3 unlike the modern hybrids, and super spinny

on a side note, I play g1 max atm on forehand on my backup hsalc just because I enjoy the clicky feel of hitting through the sponge. anything is playable but when it matters h3 provides the most confidence. h3 short game is on another level for me in comparison to vc and g1

 

[K.K]

a really good rubber with it‘s own DNA! kinda like a mixture between a strongly boosted chinese rubber with a pinch of esn bounce and feeling. such a relief to go to the training hall and not worry about the loss of booster effect, because this rubber plays the same all the time like G-1 and Vega Pro. You should totally try this if you want a reliable rubber and already play boosted chinese rubbers. If not then this is not like the regular hybrids that came out over the last 4 years and i think this is the reason why nobody cared about this rubber or even knew it‘s existence. too far away from the regular tensor rubbers, so if you play bluegrip or d09c you should only consider this if you want to lean more to hurricane style, so slower and harder to play flat.

thanks to @doppelmoral for the tip and the revive of the thread! if nothing weird happens over the next few months, this will be my new forhand rubber

 

[Scarfed Garchomp]

a really good rubber with it‘s own DNA! kinda like a mixture between a strongly boosted chinese rubber with a pinch of esn bounce and feeling. such a relief to go to the training hall and not worry about the loss of booster effect, because this rubber plays the same all the time like G-1 and Vega Pro. You should totally try this if you want a reliable rubber and already play boosted chinese rubbers. If not then this is not like the regular hybrids that came out over the last 4 years and i think this is the reason why nobody cared about this rubber or even knew it‘s existence. too far away from the regular tensor rubbers, so if you play bluegrip or d09c you should only consider this if you want to lean more to hurricane style, so slower and harder to play flat.

thanks to @doppelmoral for the tip and the revive of the thread! if nothing weird happens over the next few months, this will be my new forhand rubber

There are quite a few rubbers fairly similar to XVC imo- from experience I feel Rakza Z Extra Hard, Codexx 54, Hybrid K2 and Golden Tango all belong to roughly the same technology generation. Rubbers like Rakza Z, Codexx 52, Sieger PK50, Hybrid K1 Euro and Golden Tango Powersponge being the softer variant(s). They are all actually pretty sticky for European manufactured rubbers and have a less bouncy and firmer feeling sponge, as opposed to rubbers like Dragon Grip (bouncy type sponge) or Bluegrip C (less tacky top).

 

[K.K]

There are quite a few rubbers fairly similar to XVC imo- from experience I feel Rakza Z Extra Hard, Codexx 54, Hybrid K2 and Golden Tango all belong to roughly the same technology generation. Rubbers like Rakza Z, Codexx 52, Sieger PK50, Hybrid K1 Euro and Golden Tango Powersponge being the softer variant(s). They are all actually pretty sticky for European manufactured rubbers and have a less bouncy and firmer feeling sponge, as opposed to rubbers like Dragon Grip (bouncy type sponge) or Bluegrip C (less tacky top).

yes you are right, the older generation of hybrids were all closer to chinese. most of them have been discontinued or are not available in europe like hybrid k2. from the ones left to buy i only tried rakza z extra hard and for me it felt a bit more lively, more tensor style with a way higher trajectory but on the other hand really dull, doesn’t have this great feedback of boosted rubber and cracking sound like VC has, less spin and is way more expensive. codexx i don’t know but not had good experience with gewo rubbers in the past and they are also way more expensive for me.

 

[Kilogramme]

I agree

a really good rubber with it‘s own DNA! kinda like a mixture between a strongly boosted chinese rubber with a pinch of esn bounce and feeling. such a relief to go to the training hall and not worry about the loss of booster effect, because this rubber plays the same all the time like G-1 and Vega Pro. You should totally try this if you want a reliable rubber and already play boosted chinese rubbers. If not then this is not like the regular hybrids that came out over the last 4 years and i think this is the reason why nobody cared about this rubber or even knew it‘s existence. too far away from the regular tensor rubbers, so if you play bluegrip or d09c you should only consider this if you want to lean more to hurricane style, so slower and harder to play flat.

thanks to @doppelmoral for the tip and the revive of the thread! if nothing weird happens over the next few months, this will be my new forhand rubber

The VC is really the best alternative to boosted H3. Super Tacky, and sometimes, I feel like it gets tackier with time. But amazing Spin, control, and speed when you have proper technic. I am the player with the fastest FH in my club, yet not the fastest equipment. This rubbers rewards a lot more the Hit-Brush technique than any other rubber, even H3 I feel like sometimes. H3 is better at brush only than VC, so going hard on FH is kinda safer than a smaller shot.

I am only considering trying the Tau 3 and Tau 5 (yet to find available for Europe), as they are advertised like the VC, but more modern. I somehow, expect a 2025 rubber to be better than a 2011-2012 rubber. But if my test is not positive with Tau 3, I will stick to Vega China.

 

[navuzor]

There are quite a few rubbers fairly similar to XVC imo- from experience I feel Rakza Z Extra Hard, Codexx 54, Hybrid K2 and Golden Tango all belong to roughly the same technology generation. Rubbers like Rakza Z, Codexx 52, Sieger PK50, Hybrid K1 Euro and Golden Tango Powersponge being the softer variant(s). They are all actually pretty sticky for European manufactured rubbers and have a less bouncy and firmer feeling sponge, as opposed to rubbers like Dragon Grip (bouncy type sponge) or Bluegrip C (less tacky top).

Interesting that most of those rubbers are now discontinued. I wonder why that's the case if I only read positive reviews about the Sieger PK50, K2, and the Golden Tango. Is the "new" hybrid generation actually better? I play NUZN and I wouldn't even call it a hybrid in the first place. Just curious.
On another note, how similar are Rakza Z and Codexx 52? given that those are the few still in production

 

[Scarfed Garchomp]

Is the "new" hybrid generation actually better? I play NUZN and I wouldn't even call it a hybrid in the first place. Just curious.

Depends on what you want tbh. These older gen hybrids are pretty hard and actually pretty sticky compared to pretty much any hybrid (or "hybrid" like Nuzn which I wouldn't call it a hybrid either tbh), they have more characteristics I would say make them closer to Hurricane than more modern releases. For ex K3, Bluestar, Dragon Power are pretty bouncy and dynamic in comparison to rubbers like K2 and RZEH, they are more similar to Euro tensor style rubbers, and rubbers like J&HC, Bluegrip J and HC Trinity are less bouncy and explosive than Bluestar/K3 but are still more lively and dynamic than RZEH/K2.

On another note, how similar are Rakza Z and Codexx 52? given that those are the few still in production

I think they are reasonably similar but Codexx is a bit firmer and has better speed when hitting through the rubber. I felt with RZ even if I hit really hard it still felt like my shots came off kinda slow. If anything Codexx felt a bit more grippy but also more spin-sensitive as well.

 

[navuzor]

Well, I decided to give Xiom Vega China a try since @victormanriquey is taking too long for his more professional review XD. I've always wanted to try this old but "purer" concept of hybrid. It's very cheap for today's standard, plus it was on discount, so it was an easy purchase (that's the lie I tell myself, learned from the misus XD)
A bit of background, I have never ever tried anything chinese or proper hybrid. I started many moons ago with a cheap premade palio bat, then rakza 7 on both sides, then G1 FH, then Nuzn 48 FH.
The first thing I noticed it wasn't very tacky at all, it can lift the ball for a split second. I was a bit surprised by this. The non-sticky protective film that I have sticks to it easily tho'. That was a bit puzzling, but then again the reports on that are mixed. Yogi said "The tackiness goes away after 2-3 days but the spin still remains." Then Kilogramme said " I feel like it gets tackier with time". Time will tell. Other than that, the initial impressions were as expected; it's much heavier and harder than anything I had tried before. Club session on Monday, and I was surprised by how little I had to adapt, it reminds me of the G1 when you haven't broken it down. To me, it feels very tensorish, but again I have never tried anything chinese so I don't have much of a reference. very heavy got fatigued in the arm much quicker. The grip is excellent even if the tackiness is very mild at best. Now, the spin is very high when you accelerate, and the kick is very pronounced, this was mind-blowing to me. I played againt a fellow club member I always struggle to beat, very defensive player that returns everything. He struggled a lot with the kick on my top spins, and the rubber is fast, it scales massively with what you put in your shots. Beat him 3-0 easily, never done that before. Now the rubber is demanding, you need good technique and I would even say a decent level of fitness and strength to make it shine. Throw angle is medium-high, hard to judge but I was afraid this was going to be an issue because I am used to high throwing rubbers, like G1. I've had a lot of issues with a low-throwing rubber before that I ripped from my blade after two months ( that was the omega 8 pro). Had zero issues with the vega china. Anyway, just some very quick impressions from just a two hours club session but so far I like it a lot. Hopefully it gets tackier with time.

 

[K.K]

xiom changed the formula of the vega china and it is now less tacky with a more porous sponge that makes it less chinese and more like a standard esn hybrid. that means easier activation, easier first speed, less spin and less power. that is the reason i changed back to rxton 9

since the cover didn't change, you only know that you bought the new version if your protective sheet is sticky and the sponge is porous. the old had a non-sticky protective sheet and a sponge without pores.