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The Xiom Vega Intro is an offering specially tailored for beginning players, putting emphasis on control above everything else.

The Vega Intro aims to be the perfect rubber for players transitioning from premade to custom rackets.

We playtested the Xiom Vega Intro extensively to find out exactly how it plays.

XIOM VEGA INTRO REVIEW SUMMARY

The Xiom Vega Intro is an ESN rubber thatâ€s designed with beginners in mind. Itâ€s a grippy rubber, but not overly so. Hence, its spin levels are adequate but they donâ€t reach the standards of offensive rubbers. The upside is that the Xiom Vega Intro is more spin insensitive, which gives it lots of control when dealing with incoming spins. Speaking of control, the Xiom Vega Intro is one of the easiest rubbers to use. Its sponge is of medium hardness and itâ€s not overly bouncy. Both the speed and spin levels of the Xiom Vega Intro are medium, and thus, the Vega Intro is an extremely versatile rubber. The Vega Intro has a medium-high arc with plenty of clearance over the net. In addition to this, the moderate speed levels of the Vega Intro make it easy to clear the net but also hard to overshoot the table. The best part about this rubber is without a doubt its control, which in turn, makes it an excellent choice for a wide variety of levels and playing styles.Â

Perfect for:Beginner offensive players, all-round players, blockers, and defenders. 0-10 years of playing.

Benefits

Versatility and control.

Linearity.

Ease of use.

Stability, firmness, and consistency.

Spin insensitivity.

Superb at playing out the short game.

Great for learning techniques.

Affordable.ity, firmness, and consistency.

Drawbacks

Not as much speed or spin as ESN tensors.

Canâ€t get much quality in your shots if you donâ€t play actively.

About the Reviewer

Alvaro brings 7+ years of playing experience. He’s tested 20+ rubbers for Racket Insight and his style is The Controller.

About the Review

Blade Used: Stratus Power Wood
Rubber Thickness: MAX
Hours Tested: 10+

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Recommended Playstyles

We recommend the Xiom Vega Intro to players who want to take their table tennis skills a step further by utilizing a controllable, high-quality table tennis rubber.

Design of the Xiom Vega Intro

The Xiom Vega Intro comes in a high-quality sealed package.

Inside, we can find the rubber, covered by a protective film.

When I grabbed the rubber, I noticed that it had quite a bit of inbuilt tension, which I wasnâ€t expecting. This was an early hint of how the rubber would play.

After pressing on the rubber, I found the Xiom Vega Introâ€s hardness to be about medium. Iâ€d say its hardness is around 42.5-45 degrees ESN.

In my view, this is the optimal hardness for a rubber designed for beginners.

Some slower, control-oriented rubbers are too soft, to the point where the rubber loses stability and all the top gears. The Vega Intro is not too soft but itâ€s also not hard, making it easy to get power out of it.

The Xiom Vega Intro is slightly tacky and it has a good amount of grip.

The Vega Intro weighs in at 49 grams, which I quite like.

Iâ€d very much prefer a rubber thatâ€s designed for beginners to be on the heavy side than to be light and flimsy.

The problem with controllable rubbers is that theyâ€re often too light and soft, and thus, they have good control but itâ€s hard to generate power with them.

It was a pleasant surprise to find that the Vega Intro had:

1. Inbuilt tension.
2. The same weight as high-end rubbers such as the Tenergy 05.

The Vega Intro is about as heavy as most European rubbers like the Yasaka Rakza 7 (50 grams), the Donic Baracuda (50 grams), all of the Tenergies (49 grams), the Andro Rasanter R47 (49 grams), and the Nittaku Fastarc G-1 (49 grams).

In comparison to its siblings, the Vega Intro has the same weight as the Vega Pro (49 grams), itâ€s 1 gram heavier than the Vega X (48 grams) and itâ€s 3 grams heavier than the Vega Europe (46 grams).

Specifications

• Weight (Cut): 49g
• Speed:Medium-High
• Spin:Medium-Low
• Control: Very High
• Tackiness:Slightly Tacky
• Hardness:Medium
• ITTF Approved:Yes
• Sponge Thickness:1.8mm, 2.0mm, or MAX

Summary:Master your techniques and outwit your opponents by making use of this rubber’s superb touch and control.

Playtesting the Xiom Vega Intro

The Xiom Vega Intro, as you could tell from my 4.2 rating, was a positive surprise for me, as it ended up being exactly what Iâ€d been looking for for quite some time.

Some people recommend that beginners start with regular offensive rubbers, but offensive rubbers are too fast for beginners coming straight from premade rackets.

What they recommend to offensive beginners is to get relatively fast rubbers with ALL or ALL+ blades.

However, Iâ€m not convinced by this approach, as this would mean that beginners would have to change their blades to faster ones down the road.

Changing blades is something we donâ€t recommend, as the blade is the most important element of the racket in terms of hand feeling and consistency.

Itâ€s very important to keep your blade for years and get to know it very well, so getting offensive rubbers with blades that will need changing doesnâ€t make much sense in my opinion.

The opposite approach is to recommend “classic†rubbers, such as the Yasaka Mark V or the Butterfly Sriver with offensive blades that wonâ€t need to be changed.

The problem with this is that these rubbers are more than 50 years old, and they donâ€t work as well with the plastic ball.

The Mark V and the Butterfly Sriver simply donâ€t have that much speed, but whatâ€s problematic about these rubbers is that they donâ€t have much spin as well, which makes it hard to land topspin shots on the table or to trouble opponents with spinny attacks.

Spin is key in table tennis, and to have offensive beginners attacking with topspin from the get-go is something very important.

What I had been looking for, up until this moment, was a rubber that bridged the gap between classic rubbers that have lots of control but very little speed and spin and offensive rubbers, which have enough speed and spin but not enough control for beginners.

Iâ€m confident that the Xiom Vega Intro is the perfect option for beginners.

The Vega Intro has all the qualities a beginner could want, and they could also pair the Vega Intro with an OFF- blade, which wonâ€t need changing anytime soon.

In terms of spin, the Vega Intro has more than enough quality to trouble opponents with offensive shots such as loops, or defensive shots such as pushes or chops.

However, it doesnâ€t have as much spin as most offensive rubbers, so it also wonâ€t absorb as much incoming spin. This comes in handy when trying to receive spinny serves or blocking spinny shots, which beginners understandably have trouble with.

The speed levels of the Xiom Vega Intro are also not as high as those in offensive rubbers, but theyâ€re more than adequate for offensive play.

The Xiom Vega Intro is a whole lot faster than the Yasaka Mark V, and itâ€s around the same speed level as the Xiom Vega Europe. Itâ€s also easier to get power out of the Vega Intro than with really hard rubbers such as the Hurricane 3 NEO.

Another thing I really liked about the Vega Intro is that itâ€s not too soft.

Very soft rubbers are often relatively bouncy but have few gears. This means that they play at roughly the same speed all the time.

This makes players acquire the bad habit of not hitting the ball with acceleration. It doesnâ€t really matter whether they hit hard or not, as the rubber doesnâ€t have the “top gearsâ€.

The Xiom Vega Intro has a medium hardness, so itâ€s not bouncy and hard to control in the short game, and it also rewards hard-hit shots.

For all these reasons, the Xiom Vega Intro is the perfect stepping stone between premade rackets and offensive custom setups.

We tested the Xiom Vega Intro on both the forehand and the backhand, and it fits both sides perfectly.

Driving and looping

Driving and looping is an area of strength of the Xiom Vega Intro.

Drives are very safe and the Vega Intro has a neutral feel to it. As we mentioned before, the Vega Intro does have some inbuilt tension, but itâ€s nothing too drastic. Drives are safe and controllable, but if you start hitting the ball hard, you get more and more speed.

In terms of looping, the Vega Intro is very good. It doesnâ€t have the pace nor the spin that offensive rubbers have, but it has a lot of control while retaining adequate offensive capabilities.

Something I found with the Vega Intro is that the rubber behaves very well when you start hitting hard.

The Vega Intro doesnâ€t bottom out and itâ€s very stable, and it even produces a loud cracking sound when hitting the ball with power.

When you hit the ball slowly or with average acceleration, you get controlled attacks with medium speed, but if you hit the ball harder, you can actually get very fast and spinny shots. See for yourselves:

As you can see, the Vega Intro can pack a punch when power looping and it doesnâ€t bottom out easily because of its hardness range.

If you hit hard, you get tons of quality. If you donâ€t, then you wonâ€t get much speed or spin on the ball.

The Xiom Vega Intro is also a good looping rubber on the backhand side.

I really liked it on the backhand side because it just has so much control. The backhand wing is a lot more versatile than the forehand wing, the spectrum of shots you can play is a lot greater.

The Vega Intro is a great driving, punching, and looping rubber, among many other things. It doesnâ€t have as much speed or spin but itâ€s quite hard to miss the table with this rubber.

Hereâ€s a clip of the Vega Intro when performing backhand loops:

Backhand loops land on the table 9 times out of 10 and thatâ€s exactly what you want as a beginner, especially if you want to compete in tournaments.

Another thing I really liked about the Vega Intro is that it gives a lot of safety when opening up against backspin, and added to that, I could get lots of spin on the ball.

This is due to the sponge of the rubber. The sponge on the Vega Intro isnâ€t too bouncy and itâ€s medium/medium-soft.

Even if the topsheet doesnâ€t have as much spin, you can really feel the ball sinking into the sponge.

The Vega Intro isnâ€t bouncy at all so you get a very long dwell time with the ball. You can accelerate into the ball with confidence because you know the ball wonâ€t shoot out violently out of your racket.

The Xiom Vega Intro is a great rubber for training and for tournament play because it has tons of control.

When training, you need control to perform many rounds of each exercise, and when playing tournaments, you need a rubber that gets the ball on the table even when youâ€re nervous or you donâ€t know the venue.

As you progress in your career as a player, you will need something faster than the Vega Intro, especially if youâ€re an offensive player, but itâ€s a great rubber to get your feet wet in competitive table tennis.

Another aspect that positively surprised me about the Vega Intro was counterloops, both close and far from the table.

Counterlooping far from the table requires more effort than with a regular ESN offensive rubber, but the Vega Intro feels very controllable and stable.

I can pressure my opponent if I hit with 100% of my power, or I can hit a bit slowlier and land as many balls on the table as I want. The Vega Introâ€s dwell time really helps in this regard.

When countering close to the table, itâ€s the same story. The Vega Intro is very controllable, and if you go for it, you can hit winners off forehand counterloops.

You can either counter with a lot of acceleration to pass the opponent, or counter with medium acceleration to regain the initiative in the point and begin your own attack.

Counterloops with medium acceleration are very safe, and itâ€s a very important quality to have in a rubber for offensive beginners.

The Vega Intro is great for learning how to counterloop because of its dwell time and its control.

The counterloop is one of the hardest shots to pull off, so having a rubber that simplifies the shot is a very strong quality of the Vega Intro.

In short, the Vega Intro is a very controllable rubber. It is a great rubber for performing safe drives, loops, flat hits, open-ups, and counterloops.

Serve and receive

Serving and receiving are very good with the Xiom Vega Intro. The passive serve receive in particular is one of the greatest strengths of this rubber.

Due to the Vega Introâ€s speed levels, itâ€s very easy to keep serves short and low to the net. Itâ€s one of the best rubbers Iâ€ve ever tried in terms of control of the serve.

However, the Vega Intro gets a 3/5 on serves because you canâ€t really put that much spin on the ball.

The spin of a serve is one of the most important qualities, so even if you can control the ball well and place it where you want, you wonâ€t hurt your opponent if your serves arenâ€t as spinny.

This isnâ€t to say that the Vega Intro has little spin, but thereâ€s a noticeable difference between the Vega Intro and regular ESN rubbers, and thereâ€s also a noticeable difference between ESN rubbers and the Tenergy 05 or the Yinhe Big Dipper, for example.

Hence, the Vega Intro is below average in terms of the spin you can generate when serving.

Receiving with the Vega Intro is a dream come true. You can basically do whatever you want.

Flicking isnâ€t hard because the Vega Intro is not bouncy and it isnâ€t a hard rubber.

Touching short is effortless. Short pushes stay very short and low to the net because of the Vega Introâ€s speed levels.

Pushing long is also very good, and you can control the depth of your pushes with ease.

In addition to all this, the Vega Intro doesnâ€t absorb as much spin, so you donâ€t get as penalized if you misread the spin of a serve.

With the Tenergy 05, for example, if you read heavy backspin and the serve is only light backspin, youâ€ll probably pop the ball up quite a bit.

The Vega Intro isnâ€t nearly as reactive in terms of speed and spin, so the passive serve receive is excellent.

This quality is also very important for beginners, since most will understandably struggle when trying to receive tricky serves.

Blocking and chopping

Blocking with the Vega Intro was great.

The Vega Intro has lots of control and a good feel for blocking. I felt like I could block hard-hit loops a lot more easily than with bouncy ESN rubbers.

The downside to this is that itâ€s hard to compromise opponents with your blocks. Itâ€s quite easy to block but my blocks werenâ€t that dangerous.

However, if youâ€re a beginner, what matters most is getting your blocks on the table, and the Vega Intro works perfectly to that end.

Chopping is another strength of the Xiom Vega Intro. The Vega Introâ€s speed, control, and spin insensitivity make it a very consistent chopping rubber.

Alternatives to the Xiom Vega Intro

Overall reflections on the Xiom Vega Intro

As you can tell, I quite liked the Xiom Vega Intro.

The Xiom Vega Intro is a great option for beginners, all-rounders, and defenders because of its control. Itâ€s the ideal choice if you want to get the ball on the table consistently, be it while attacking or defending.

In addition to this, the Vega Intro is more affordable than all of the ESN rubbers, so thatâ€s another plus.

I had lots of fun in my testing of the Xiom Vega Intro and Iâ€ll start recommending it from now on to:

A)Players who are starting out, and

B) Players who value control above everything else but want to retain good offensive potential and adequate spin capabilities.

Check Latest Price at a Local Seller

Find out how much the Xiom Vega Intro costs on a localised Table Tennis store.

Alvaroâ€s a qualified ITTF Level 1 Coach who’s been playing Table Tennis since he was 15 and is now ranked within the top 50 in his native Argentina. He loves to compete in provincial tournaments and is always looking for ways to improve. Alvaro made his favorite memories with a racket in hand, and he joined the RacketInsight team to share his passion with other players!

Blade: Butterfly Fan Zhendong ALC | Forehand: Butterfly Dignics 09c | Backhand: Butterfly Tenergy 19
Playstyle: The Controller

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The Vega X is one of the newest offerings by Xiom, advertised as the “best rubber in the Vega lineâ€. According to Xiom, it is an improved redesign of the Vega Pro, which we’ve also tested.Â

We tested the Xiom Vega X for more than 20 hours to understand exactly how it plays, and therefore which players it will suit.

XIOM VEGA X REVIEW SUMMARY

The Xiom Vega X is a medium-hard, balanced, offensive table tennis rubber. The main characteristics of this rubber are its consistency and its grip levels. Its greatest strength is how confidence-inducing it is to use. In my opinion, it has the perfect arc, not too high, and not too low. Throughout my testing, I missed very few loops with it, and I could easily understand why I missed every time I did. Added to its control, the Vega X has good speed and spin levels. Itâ€s not the fastest nor the spinniest rubber out there but it has more than enough power to finish points by attacking. Added to its great playing characteristics, the Xiom Vega X has a very enticing price. I am yet to find any cons to the Vega X, which speaks for its great design.Â

Perfect for:Offensive players of all levels on either side. 1-15+ years of playing.

Benefits

Perfect balance of speed, spin, and control.

Very confidence-inducing.

Great for looping.

Very good value.

Superb at lifting underspin and countertopspins.

Easy to use, has lots of control.

Good for blocking.

Hard to bottom out.

Linear power delivery.

Ideal arc for looping and counterlooping.

Not too spin-sensitive.

Ball slippage is non-existent.

Great rubber for 3rd and 5th ball attacks.

Drawbacks

Not as fast or spinny as top-of-the-line tensor rubbers.Â

About the Reviewer

Alvaro brings 7+ years of playing experience. He’s tested 20+ rubbers for Racket Insight and his style is The Controller.

About the Review

Blade Used: Stratus Power Wood
Rubber Thickness: MAX
Hours Tested: 10+

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Recommended Playstyles

We recommend the Xiom Vega X to players who want to bring controlled speed to their game, aiming to return the ball back to their opponent in awkward and precise places.

Design of the Xiom Vega X

The Xiom Vega X comes in a high-quality, colorful sealed páckage:

Inside, we can find the rubber, covered by a protective film.

The rubber we ordered is a shiny black, MAX thickness Vega X.

If we rub our fingers across the rubber, we find that itâ€s slightly tacky and very grippy.

As common in most offensive ESN rubbers, the Vega X also has a good deal of inbuilt tension.

The Xiom Vega X weighs in at 48 grams, which is similar or lighter than other rubbers in this hardness range, such as the Rasanter R47 (49 grams), the Yasaka Rakza 7 (50 grams), the Tibhar Evolution MX-P (51 grams) and the Yasaka Rakza Z (53 grams).

Upon pressing on the topsheet, we find that the Xiom Vega X is a medium-hard rubber. It feels as hard as the Nittaku Fastarc G-1, for example.

Specifications

• Weight (Cut): 48g
• Speed:Medium
• Spin:High
• Control: High
• Tackiness:Slightly Tacky
• Hardness: Medium-Hard
• ITTF Approved:Yes
• Sponge Thickness:1.8mm, 2.0mm or MAX

Summary: Create incredible levels of confidence with this European rubber perfect for offensive players at any standard of play.

Playtesting the Xiom Vega X

We playtested the Xiom Vega X mostly on the forehand side, but judging from our tests on the backhand wing, itâ€s also an excellent choice for the backhand side.

The Xiom Vega X is very controllable for an offensive rubber. Its arc is medium to medium-high and it isnâ€t too fast.

The Vega X has all the gears. It isnâ€t too bouncy in the short game, but when you start hitting hard, you get more and more acceleration.

Itâ€s a dream to use when looping. You can really feel the ball sinking into the rubber and it has more than adequate dwell time.

You never feel that the ball shoots off the rubber violently. It is very stable and controllable, and this shows especially when counterlooping.

Something I liked about the Vega X is that it isnâ€t prone to overshooting.

With certain rubbers, especially very fast rubbers (e.g. the Tibhar MX-P), high-throwing rubbers (e.g. the Fastarc G-1), or long-throwing rubbers (e.g. the Tenergy 64), you will overshoot the table if you contact the ball slightly too thickly or slightly misread the spin on the ball.

The Xiom Vega X doesnâ€t have a particularly high or long throw and itâ€s also not too fast, giving the player a lot of confidence when looping.

I found it similar to the Rakza Z in this regard. Both rubbers have plenty of grip, lots of clearance over the net and they arenâ€t too fast, so landing loops on the table feels effortless with them.

Another thing I really liked about the Vega X was its feeling. I felt like it was stable, spinny, and controllable. It delivers a lively feeling on the hand and it produces a loud cracking sound when hitting hard.

As for speed and spin, this rubber behaves like an average European tensor rubber. It has enough speed and spin for every level of play, including advanced levels.

The Xiom Vega X is a bit more about spin than speed, in my opinion. My forehand open-ups in particular carried above-average spin.

It has around 20% less speed and spin than a Tenergy rubber but this isnâ€t necessarily a bad thing. You get more control with the Vega X and itâ€s also more spin insensitive while retaining more than adequate offensive capabilities.

Driving and looping

The Xiom Vega X is an excellent rubber for driving, looping, and flat hitting.

Drives clear the net easily and the lively feel makes it very tempting to hit harder and harder. The rubber will react to the amount of power you put in and keep adding speed to the ball.

Flat hits also work very well with the Vega X as its throw is not overly high and it has the right hardness.

The Xiom Vega X is an excellent looping rubber.

Loops travel with good power and are very consistent. I sometimes feel like I canâ€t miss the table if Iâ€m hitting at 70% speed, and the rubber puts lots of spin on the ball.

Speaking of spin, one aspect I really liked was the spin it could generate on open-ups. The Vega X is not very fast but it has tons of grip, making it an ideal rubber for opening up against backspin.

You can graze the ball upwards and get as much spin as you want out of it.

Another highlight of the Vega X was its counterlooping capabilities. Countering close to the table is just perfect.

It has the ideal throw for countering. Itâ€s not too high that you are likely to overshoot nor too low that youâ€re likely to clip the net.

In addition, it is not too spin-sensitive. However, at the same time it has more than enough grip and a long dwell time, so you can counter with lots of confidence.

When playing with the Vega X, I felt like I could play any shot I wanted and that the rubber would do the rest of the work.

The Vega X is also good when countering away from the table.

Countering away from the table requires more effort but it is a very consistent rubber, and it puts a lot of spin on the ball.

It doesnâ€t generate as much pace as the MX-P or the Tenergy 05, for example, but you can land as many balls on the table as you want.

Serve and receive

The Xiom Vega X is a great rubber for serving and receiving.

Starting with the serves, it has tons of grip and you can load serves with spin. Itâ€s also easier to keep serves short than with other faster offensive rubbers.

However, it wasnâ€t able to generate as much spin as the Tenergy 05 or the Yinhe Big Dipper, for example, and thatâ€s why it didnâ€t get 5/5 for serving. Regardless, youâ€re still able to generate enough spin to cause your opponents problems.

In terms of receiving serves, the Vega X is also a very good rubber.

Itâ€s quite easy to play out the short game and itâ€s also easy to flick the ball. Itâ€s not hard to touch short with the Vega X, in fact, itâ€s easier to play out the short game with it than with most other offensive rubbers.

Itâ€s also not as reactive to incoming spin as top-of-the-line rubbers such as the Tenergy range.

Blocking and chopping

Blocking with the Xiom Vega X is very good.

The rubber feels firm, stable and it has the perfect speed for blocking. Again, itâ€s not fast to the point you lose control but not slow to the point that your blocks arenâ€t dangerous.

In addition, it doesnâ€t have a very high throw, so blocks stay lower to the net than with other rubbers such as the Tenergy 05 or the Fastarc G-1.

Chopping with this rubber was enjoyable, if unspectacular.

The Xiom Vega X has more than enough control when chopping, even on an OFF- blade and in maximum thickness.

I think the Vega X is a good alternative for modern defenders on the forehand side.

On a slower blade, it would chop a lot better while retaining offensive potential.

Matchplay

When playing matches, the Xiom Vega X worked wonderfully.

Lots of rubbers are really good when performing practice drills. You know where the ball is going, so you can play confidently and get good-quality shots in.

However, some of these rubbers donâ€t work as well when playing matches, given that theyâ€re too slow, fast, or unforgiving.

I found that, when playing matches, I could hit the ball with a lot of quality while also having the possibility of landing several loops on the table in a row.

I really liked that I could perform brush loops and go for spin, or hit-loops and go for speed.

The Vega X is an excellent rubber for opening up, for follow-up attacks, for counter topspins, you name it. All of this is because of its high control.

Alternatives to the Xiom Vega X

Overall reflections on the Xiom Vega X

The Xiom Vega X is an excellent rubber that can be used on either side.

Itâ€s the perfect rubber for intermediate offensive players, in my opinion. Open-ups are controllable and have good spin, while loops and counterloops are very consistent.

However, beginners can also make use of the Vega X in its 2.0mm variant, and so can advanced players if they put it on a fast offensive blade.

As of writing this review, I couldnâ€t bring myself to take it off the forehand side of my main racket. I really like playing with it!

In addition, its low price makes it an even more appealing rubber for players all around the world. The playing characteristics are superb and itâ€s one of the cheapest ESN offerings in the market.

Alvaroâ€s a qualified ITTF Level 1 Coach who’s been playing Table Tennis since he was 15 and is now ranked within the top 50 in his native Argentina. He loves to compete in provincial tournaments and is always looking for ways to improve. Alvaro made his favorite memories with a racket in hand, and he joined the RacketInsight team to share his passion with other players!

Blade: Butterfly Fan Zhendong ALC | Forehand: Butterfly Dignics 09c | Backhand: Butterfly Tenergy 19
Playstyle: The Controller

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