Browsing: Victas

Released in 2022, the Victas V > 22 Double Extra is one of the newest top-of-the-line offensive rubbers. According to Victas, their latest offering is “a rubber offering almost unbelievable speed and spin ratings.â€

This new rubber took the V > 15 Extraâ€s place as Victas†flagship offensive rubber. But is the V > 22 the better rubber of the two?

According to Victas†top sponsored athletes, yes. Liam Pitchford, Benedikt Duda, and Koki Niwa are playing (or have played) with this rubber, so we had to purchase a sheet and give it a test.

We played with it for around 10 hours to determine exactly how it behaves, and help you decide if it would be a good fit for your game.

VICTAS V > 22 DOUBLE EXTRA REVIEW SUMMARY

The V > 22 Double Extra features a hard 50° sponge and a grippy topsheet.Â

The strongest attributes of this rubber are its power and directness. It is a very fast, hard, and fun-to-use rubber, and we loved how it performed on our forehand side.

However, it isnâ€t as bouncy as other high-speed rubbers such as the Tenergies, so itâ€s more controllable in the short game. Itâ€s also not as spin-sensitive, so receiving serves, counterlooping, and blocking spinny loops isnâ€t as difficult.Â

We thoroughly enjoyed playing with the V > 22 Double Extra and we recommend it for strong-hitting players who want a fast, hard, and fun-to-use rubber without losing out on too much control.

Perfect for:Intermediate, upper intermediate, and advanced offensive players on their forehand side, advanced players on their backhand side. 3-10+ years of playing.

Benefits

Extreme power.

Superb for powerlooping.

Excellent for blocking.

Great hardness level for the forehand side.

Good control for its speed level.

Great for flat-hitting and smashing.

Drawbacks

Unforgiving for players with timing issues or improper technique.

Not the easiest to use.

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: 2.15mm
Hours Tested: 10+

Page Contents (Quick Links)

Toggle

Recommended Playstyles

We recommend the V > 22 Double Extra to intermediate, upper intermediate, and advanced offensive players who want a fast, hard, and direct rubber without losing too much control.

Design of the Victas V > 22 Double Extra

The Victas V > 22 Double Extra comes in a high-quality sealed package.

Inside, we can find the rubber. The one we ordered is a black, MAX thickness V > 22 Double Extra.

The topsheet of the rubber is very grippy and almost non-tacky.

Its sponge is cream-colored and very hard. We used our durometer to test its hardness, and its adjusted reading was 51° on the ESN scale, 1° harder than Victas claims it to be.

When cut to our Donic Original Carbospeed, its weight turned out to be 52 grams. However, we didnâ€t remove the layer of glue we used, so itâ€s probably closer to 50-51 grams.

Regardless, itâ€s a relatively heavy rubber, but thatâ€s to be expected given its high hardness and speed.

Playtesting the Victas V > 22 Double Extra

We tried the Victas V > 22 Double Extra with our usual testing blade: the Donic Original Carbospeed.

Even though the combination was extremely hard, the blade and rubber complemented each other quite well due to the rubberâ€s lively sponge.

Some rubbers, like the Dignics 05, or the Hurricane 3 NEO, donâ€t mesh well with very hard and stiff blades, in my opinion. The combination ends up as an unforgiving, low-throwing, and hard-to-use racket.

Because of the V > 22â€s bouncy sponge, we can get adequate power and spin even when we donâ€t use 100% of our power. Itâ€s not hard to activate the sponge enough to clear the net and get the ball to dip in time with this rubber.

I believe this to be one of its biggest virtues: It is quite hard so you get more and more power the faster you swing, but you donâ€t need to hit hard at all times to be able to use it.

Other rubbers, such as the Hurricane 3 NEO, the Dignics 09c or the Dignics 05 require you to swing hard at the ball at almost all times. The thing is, 90-95% of amateur players canâ€t swing fast and recover in time to loop the next ball with the same power.

The V > 22 produces tons of quality when powerlooping but you can also loop at 70% power, active block, or punch the ball and the rubber will perform superbly due to its bouncy sponge.

The downside to this is that you lose a bit of control in the short game and when counterlooping, but I think the ease of use when playing a rally vastly outweighs this small loss of control.

If you were to pair the V > 22 with a slightly slower blade such as a Viscaria or a fast 5 or 7-ply all-wood blade, you would get an even more balanced combination.

Such a racket would have a bit more control and spin while retaining this rubberâ€s deadly offensive potential.

Driving and Looping

This rubber, like most offensive rubbers, was made for looping, and itâ€s also great for driving the ball.

Driving and flat-hitting the ball with this rubber feels perfect. The V > 22 has quite a hard and responsive sponge. That allows you to feel a high sense of confidence and feeling on attacking shots.

Other hard rubbers such as the Dignics 09c or the Hurricane 3 NEO arenâ€t as responsive, so you have to swing quite hard to get effective flat hits.

I canâ€t think of many rubbers Iâ€d rather flat hit the ball with than this one.

In terms of looping, the V > 22 Double Extra has distinct strengths that make it an excellent rubber.

Loops have a medium arc. The arc it produces is quite forgiving for a hard rubber like this one, and its base speed makes it easy to clear the net.

In addition, the ball does dip quite a bit from the spin you can easily generate. The parabola is not as long as with other hard rubbers, such as the Dignics 05 or the Hurricane 3 NEO. I found that even though this rubber is hard and fast, I didnâ€t overshoot the table too often.

In terms of speed and spin, the highlight of this rubber is its speed, considering the control and the sense of stability it gives when looping the ball.

Iâ€d place the V > 22â€s speed in line with the slower Tenergies, somewhere around the Tenergy 05 and Tenergy 19 range.

It is not as fast as a Tenergy 64 or a Tibhar MX-P though, but it can still be qualified as a very fast rubber, especially when you hit harder and activate its sponge properly.

When you contact the ball right, you can be sure that your opponent will struggle to return any of your attacks.

This rubber is a great one to use if youâ€re a player who performs 3rd ball attacks often. Because of its speed and its directness, itâ€s very tempting to serve and attack right away.

In terms of spin, this rubber is in line with most other modern offensive rubbers like the Rasanter R47 or the Fastarc G-1.

It does have less grip than the Tenergies, Dignics, and other top-of-the-line offensive rubbers such as the Rasanter C53 or the Hammond Z2, but this isnâ€t necessarily a bad thing.

The Victas V > 22 isnâ€t too spin-sensitive, and this comes in really handy when counterlooping, especially given its speed level.

Counterlooping close to the table is one of this rubberâ€s strengths. You donâ€t need to swing too hard to produce a high-quality counterloop, and if you do, you know that the ball wonâ€t be coming back. See for yourselves:

And, when you take a step back, youâ€ll still be dangerous with this rubber. If you swing hard, your shots will be powerful. It doesnâ€t matter if youâ€re near the table or 10 steps back.

*insert counters away*

As for open-ups, it performs quite well. You can produce high levels of spin, but if youâ€re a player who relies more on spin than speed, you should probably look elsewhere.

Serve and Receive

The Victas V > 22 Double Extra is a good rubber to serve with. It produces as much spin as most modern offensive rubbers. Other rubbers will impart more spin on the ball but you can produce loaded serves with it regardless.

In terms of serve receive, this rubber is a good one to receive with when used on the forehand side.

This rubber is better for performing forehand flicks than backhand flicks because the forehand flick is a more direct shot.

Forehand flicks played with this rubber are fast and aggressive. This rubber has a huge edge over other offensive rubbers such as the Dignics 09c or the Hurricane 3 NEO when it comes to this shot.

In terms of the passive serve receive, touching short is a bit more difficult than with other slower rubbers but you quickly get used to the feeling. Itâ€s not as bouncy nor as spin-sensitive as the Tenergies for example.

Blocking and Chopping

Blocking with the V > 22 Double Extra is superb.

The hardness level, the speed, the clickiness, the directness, the feeling. Itâ€s all perfect.

If youâ€re a player who likes to flat hit, active block, or punch the ball, you should really consider giving this rubber a try.

In terms of chopping, this is a serviceable rubber. I assume that when paired with a defensive blade, you would be able to defend with it if youâ€re a modern defender.

Paired with our Donic Original Carbospeed, it was honestly quite difficult to chop with, but thatâ€s what you get when you pair a fast offensive rubber with an OFF+ blade.

V > 22 Double Extra vs Xiom Vega Pro vs Butterfly Tenergy 64

In my opinion, the Victas V > 22 Double Extra can be compared to the Xiom Vega Pro and the Butterfly Tenergy 64 to illustrate a few points.

This rubber is an upgraded, modern version of the Xiom Vega Pro. If you gave the Xiom Vega Pro 20% more speed, spin, and made it a few degrees harder, you would end up with the V > 22.

Both are direct, to-the-point rubbers. Both of them arenâ€t renowned for their grip, but for their speed, how fun they are to use, their consistency, and their directness.

As for the Tenergy 64 comparison, the V > 22 reminds me of this rubber because it focuses on speed and directness more than anything else.

The Tenergy 64 is faster and softer than the V > 22, but it has a very similar throw angle and feeling.

Alternatives to the V > 22 Double Extra

Overall reflections on the Victas V > 22 Double Extra

The V > 22 Double Extra is a great offensive rubber.

It is hard and fast, making it ideal for forehand attackers who hit the ball powerfully. If you like to impart power and speed on the ball, and like to hit the ball directly forward, this is the rubber for you.

This is a very stable, reliable, and confidence-inducing offensive rubber. It has enough grip to win points from applying spin but not to the point that it makes the rubber too spin-sensitive.

If youâ€re a player who likes to flat-hit or punch the ball, youâ€ll love this rubber. In short, itâ€s the ideal rubber for the player who likes to hit forward and pressure their opponents with sheer speed.

Have you played with the V > 22 Double Extra? Let us know in the comments below if you agree or disagree with my review.

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

Source link