Xiom Vega Korea Review

[kevin.c]

For those of you who have already tried the Vega Korea: Which kind of blade would you recommend to use with it? Should it be rather soft/slow or hard/fast? In Spintester's Vega Korea review they recommend the usual suspects like Harimoto ALC or Viscaria. I don't have a Viscaria but do own a Harimoto ALC, an Innerforce ALC.S and a Yasaka Ma Lin Carbon. Which of these do you think would be a good match with the Vega Korea? I'd prefer to order just 1 sheet for testing purposes rather than 3 😬

I've just tested it on a DHS 301Z and the results are pretty fantastic. Back hand flicks are so easy and spinny. I believe this rubber would suit many blades as the reference blades provided in the article were covering Harimoto (Limba/Inner ALC Carbon) and Viscaria (Koto/Outer ALC Carbon). My test was on DHS 301Z (Koto/Inner Z Carbon)

 

[LoopingLoui]

Interesting, thanks for sharing your results. I might the Korea on a Viscaria then. Been eyeballing a used one for quite some time now. Curious how it’ll feel like as I’ve only used Innerforce blades so far …

 

[Footwork]

Xiom Vega Korea

https://imgur.com/8cIQxEq

https://imgur.com/0DNSjk0

https://imgur.com/LJiQB7z

https://imgur.com/vLqK2rC

https://imgur.com/Wi0fkT8

Weight: 68-70 grams uncut

Speed: Offensive

Spin: Very High
Hardness: Medium Hard (approx. 47 degrees)



I was surprised that Xiom released the Xiom Vega Korea. The last one they have released was Vega X. Do not underestimate this Vega rubber as I think this is the best Vega variant in the market right because of its balanced spin/speed ratio. The topsheet is very grippy and offers better grip than the Vega X or Vega Japan. The rubber colors I have are magenta, blue and black. I had several of these Vega Koreas and a lot of people have used this variant and were really impressed with the Vega Korea’s performance across different levels. I tested this rubber with Xiom Cho Daeseong and Hugo HAL blades.



So what does the Vega Korea offer that makes it different from other Vega rubbers? Remember the Vega Japan? After so many years I think there are still people who use this rubber because it is very spinny and also one of the best handling and control among Vega variants. This is a mid-range rubber that performs better than a mid-range rubber. A mid-range rubber is defined as a rubber that performs the necessary spin and speed shots but falls short of being a high-performance rubber that is needed by higher level players. The price of the Vega Korea is also very affordable. I think it is about USD40 in my area and is worth every penny. Further tests that I have made me conclude that it is a combination of every good thing from several Vega rubbers like, Vega Europe DF, Vega Pro DF and Vega Japan rubbers.



The Vega Korea is a medium-fast rubber. It is not the fastest rubber in the Vega series but the Vega X. The Vega X’s speed can almost be as good as their premium or top of the line rubbers. The Vega Korea is somewhat faster than the Vega Pro and Vega Europe rubbers due to the improved sponge and tuning agent. Mind you, the Vega Pro and Europe rubbers are more than a decade old already and though they still are very good rubbers to use nowadays, they were designed mainly for the 40mm celluloid ball. As of the present, the slowest rubbers in the Vega Series are the Vega Intro, China and Tour are somewhat the slowest rubbers. I would put the Vega Korea as 2nd to Vega X’s speed only if you rank the Vega rubbers from fastest to slowest. The speed is not blindingly fast but fast enough. The speed of the Vega Korea is comparable to premium ESN rubbers that were released about at least 3 or 4 years ago. Honestly, the Vega Korea was not designed to be mainly for speed but with a perfect balance of speed and spin with relation to mid-level performance for players that are on the level of recreational or semi-competitive. My disclaimer on this rubber is that if you are a player that is on a national or international level then this rubber is not for you as there are other high-performance rubbers from Xiom. If you are a player that blocks or considered to be an all-around type of player, the Xiom Vega Korea is a great choice. I have a friend who is a former World Police & Fireman Games Champion that fell in love with the Vega Korea as his backhand rubber. He is using the Omega 7 Asia I gave as a forehand rubber with the Hugo HAL blade. The speed is more than enough for most players and can be still good at medium or far distance from the table. The sponge itself is very responsive when you hit through the sponge and responds really well giving you the power you would need depending on your distance.



The spin is also surprisingly high for this rubber. As what I have stated earlier, this is as spinny as previously released high-performance rubbers a few years back and is definitely spinnier than other non-tacky Vega rubbers. It is not only spinny through its being grippy because of the very grippy topsheet but it is also very easy to produce spin because of the combination of topsheet and sponge enables the rubber to easily grab the ball when doing any types of spin shots. I have extensively used this with the Cho Daeseong blade and with the Hugo HAL which is a personal favorite blade of mine for about a month now and aside from my personal observations, the overwhelming response from people who have used this rubber is that it is very spinny, easy to handle and never lacking speed. Supposedly this will be only released in Korea at first because at the time that this rubber was given to me, Xiom was still not sure if they would release this rubber in other regions at that time. Our local Xiom distributor here ordered the Vega Korea and the sales are still really good upon the time of this writing.



Overall, a fantastic mid-range rubber with above expectations performance and most of all the price is great at around 40USD.

Thanks for the valuable information about the Vega Korean rubber. Recently Xiom has released Vega Pro H rubber and I’m wondering how this rubber is compared to the Korean if anyone had the chance to try it.
Im considering to get the Hugo Hal blade with the Korean rubbers and I want to know how the Pro H rubber is compared to the Korean although both rubbers have same hardness.

 

[AndySmith]

I've been testing Vega Korea for a few weeks now (my season's finished, I get to mess around with equipment for a bit) and it's better than I expected.

It has a feeling of "holding" the ball, with a forgiving short game. The middle gears then have a good level of spin, this is where the rubber works best IMO. The top end isn't amazing, the performance levels off, but it's not terrible. I found it to be a really strong BH rubber for technical over-the-table play - very impressive for openers and flicks, easy to use and forgiving of mistakes. You probably won't overpower opponents with it, but you won't make many mistakes either.

That feeling of dwell (from the topsheet) and nice spin reminds me somewhat of Nittaku Factive, but VK is faster. Also compares well to Glayzer (regular, not 09c), but is softer and I found it easier to get spin on the ball with VK. Perhaps it becomes a slight upgrade on Vege Europe, as opposed to a cousin of Vega Japan.

People have mentioned the edges of the rubber fraying, and I'm seeing some of that after 3 weeks. Where my finger rests on the edge of the rubber is leaving a rough edge, like it's being nibbled by a hamster. It's a bit distracting, haven't seen this before on other rubbers, so I do worry about durability (although it's a good price for the performance really).

Can't compare to Vega H yet (I will order one when it's available, looks to be arriving in stores in Europe this week), but VK should be softer (45 vs 47.5), and VH should have some level of tack on the topsheet. I'd expect noticeable differences.

 

[Migzkulit]

I've been testing Vega Korea for a few weeks now (my season's finished, I get to mess around with equipment for a bit) and it's better than I expected.

It has a feeling of "holding" the ball, with a forgiving short game. The middle gears then have a good level of spin, this is where the rubber works best IMO. The top end isn't amazing, the performance levels off, but it's not terrible. I found it to be a really strong BH rubber for technical over-the-table play - very impressive for openers and flicks, easy to use and forgiving of mistakes. You probably won't overpower opponents with it, but you won't make many mistakes either.

That feeling of dwell (from the topsheet) and nice spin reminds me somewhat of Nittaku Factive, but VK is faster. Also compares well to Glayzer (regular, not 09c), but is softer and I found it easier to get spin on the ball with VK. Perhaps it becomes a slight upgrade on Vege Europe, as opposed to a cousin of Vega Japan.

People have mentioned the edges of the rubber fraying, and I'm seeing some of that after 3 weeks. Where my finger rests on the edge of the rubber is leaving a rough edge, like it's being nibbled by a hamster. It's a bit distracting, haven't seen this before on other rubbers, so I do worry about durability (although it's a good price for the performance really).

Can't compare to Vega H yet (I will order one when it's available, looks to be arriving in stores in Europe this week), but VK should be softer (45 vs 47.5), and VH should have some level of tack on the topsheet. I'd expect noticeable differences.

Same experience, but I don't like the top end ability of this rubber. I wonder what's a progression of this rubber.

 

[AndySmith]

Same experience, but I don't like the top end ability of this rubber. I wonder what's a progression of this rubber.

Around the similar sponge hardness - harder topsheet (Rasanter R45), more top-end catapult (FX-D), or Omega 7 Euro perhaps. Aurus Select?

Or a harder sponged...something I guess. If you like the soft topsheet feel, Omega 7 Pro, Acuda Blue P1, or one of the Nittaku Fastarc rubbers? So many options, depends on which part of the rubber you'd want to tweak, this stuff varies a lot depending on the player.

I think VK is an interesting option for players looking for a more "sensible" rubber, maybe on BH side of a fast blade. I wouldn't call it a beginner rubber exactly, but one of the growing list of easier-to-use, high spin rubbers.

 

[Migzkulit]

Around the similar sponge hardness - harder topsheet (Rasanter R45), more top-end catapult (FX-D), or Omega 7 Euro perhaps. Aurus Select?

Or a harder sponged...something I guess. If you like the soft topsheet feel, Omega 7 Pro, Acuda Blue P1, or one of the Nittaku Fastarc rubbers? So many options, depends on which part of the rubber you'd want to tweak, this stuff varies a lot depending on the player.

I think VK is an interesting option for players looking for a more "sensible" rubber, maybe on BH side of a fast blade. I wouldn't call it a beginner rubber exactly, but one of the growing list of easier-to-use, high spin rubbers.

Tried to figure it out going with harder sponge hardness, Omega 7 pro was slow, fastarc g-1 was too hard, v>15 extra was too dead, coincidentally R53 boosted 1 layer was the best but died very quickly. Vega Korea had too low of a top-end, exposed when you had to counter topspin.

 

[AndySmith]

Tried to figure it out going with harder sponge hardness, Omega 7 pro was slow, fastarc g-1 was too hard, v>15 extra was too dead, coincidentally R53 boosted 1 layer was the best but died very quickly. Vega Korea had too low of a top-end, exposed when you had to counter topspin.

I'll be honest - you can spend a lot of time and money tinkering and experimenting with rubbers which are "just not quite right". It sounds like you've already tried a lot, and I'm more cautious when recommending rubbers these days because I worry about wasting people's time and money. I'd recommend trying as many setups from other players as you can. Guesswork from forum posters like me is nowhere near as useful as real world experience.

 

[Migzkulit]

I'll be honest - you can spend a lot of time and money tinkering and experimenting with rubbers which are "just not quite right". It sounds like you've already tried a lot, and I'm more cautious when recommending rubbers these days because I worry about wasting people's time and money. I'd recommend trying as many setups from other players as you can. Guesswork from forum posters like me is nowhere near as useful as real world experience.

And you're right, I've tried a lot already. All roads lead to Rome I guess.

 

[Draycott old man]

I've just ordered a used sheet on eBay, really looking forward to trying this rubber out as the reviews seem to be very positive!!! Also ordered a nittaku Sieger PK 50 that will keep me going for a few months !!!

 

[Learning]

Around the similar sponge hardness - harder topsheet (Rasanter R45), more top-end catapult (FX-D), or Omega 7 Euro perhaps. Aurus Select?

Or a harder sponged...something I guess. If you like the soft topsheet feel, Omega 7 Pro, Acuda Blue P1, or one of the Nittaku Fastarc rubbers? So many options, depends on which part of the rubber you'd want to tweak, this stuff varies a lot depending on the player.

I think VK is an interesting option for players looking for a more "sensible" rubber, maybe on BH side of a fast blade. I wouldn't call it a beginner rubber exactly, but one of the growing list of easier-to-use, high spin rubbers.

Hi Andy, I’m a newer player still developing my strokes. What is on your list of “easier-to-use, high spin rubbers”?

For context, right now I really like Rakza 7 for backhand on my PG7 and also on my gambler fire dragon touch (slower inner carbon) and was curious about your opinion, since I think once I gain confidence in my backhand I will want a slightly more threatening backhand rubber on attacking loop strokes and flips.

Edit: I read your other posts on this page. Never mind. I’ll try to seek advice from stronger players at my club.

 

[Migzkulit]

Hi Andy, I’m a newer player still developing my strokes. What is on your list of “easier-to-use, high spin rubbers”?

For context, right now I really like Rakza 7 for backhand on my PG7 and also on my gambler fire dragon touch (slower inner carbon) and was curious about your opinion, since I think once I gain confidence in my backhand I will want a slightly more threatening backhand rubber on attacking loop strokes and flips.

Edit: I read your other posts on this page. Never mind. I’ll try to seek advice from stronger players at my club.

easy to use and easy to spin are different.
Easy to spin and high spin = tenergy 05/dignics 80
Easy to use and high spin = mythical rubber
Easy to use and respectable spin = rakza 7