OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I had a few sessions with the new Xiom Vega Europe DF, and I thought I'd share my thoughts.
The sheet I had was Xiom Vega Europe DF max black, on a TSP Trinity Carbon. Weight was only 56g for a 168mm x 170mm, ie. 0.196 g/cm2, which is really light for a modern Tensor.

Topsheet feels elastic and very grippy. SPonge is relatively soft (42deg from memory).

Loops: not that fast on slow/medium impact, but really spinny. Speed similar to something like T05fx. On high impact when you engage the sponge completely it does feel relatively fast, a little faster than something T05. Loads of spin, producing a real low kick off the table for topspin, or a sharp side-kick for sidespin. Although the sponge is quite soft, it did not really bottom out except on the highest impact.

Short game: Good for flicks, slightly bouncy for short pushes, but the high grip helps keep it down.

Serving: Just a bit of a flick of the wrist, and you get really good spin and it's not hard to keep it short & low.

Blocking: For passive blocks it's real easy, and it does not feel that fast, so it's easy to keep on the table. Surprisingly not that sensitive to incoming spin.

Smashing: As with most soft sponged Tensors, the sponge bottoms out, making smashing real easy and insensitive to spin.

In summary, it's a Tensor that's really easy to play with, and produces loads of spin with relatively little effort. Most modern Tensors are very heavy, so if you don't like this, this rubber might be a good alternative. I would even recommend it for lower level players in 1.8mm. It feels quite similar to Victas > V01 Limber.

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OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

thanks for the review!

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instagram: rokphishtt

With the warning that I am very newly back into table tennis (50 year break), I have just bought a new Xiom Vega Pro blade with Vega Europe DF 2.0mm on both side. This was after a week or two (trying to accelerate the process of finding a setup ) of using a Xiom Stradivarius with XVE DF Max on FH and DHS H2 on BH. I have to say that I felt very confident of going to the new setup after using the earlier, and I would agree with Haggisv's comments about the ease of use/adaptation to this rubber.

Of course, I will be using it for the first time in anger tomorrow night, so we'll see. But I gave my robot a damn good thrashing .

Take that, Skynet!

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Other setups:
SDC Custom Blade/Butterfly Dignics 80/Butterfly Glayzer
BTY Viscaria/Tibhar K3/Tibhar K3

I was wondering how this rubber would be for some chopping, it's rather new with very few reviews. The reviews seem to say it's good for developing though. I sent a PM to ask about some rubbers as well haggisv if you don't mind.

I'm sure that it can be quite good for chopping in 1.8mm, but you'll lose some offensive ability.
Yes it's a new rubber, released 2016.

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OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

This rubber is much softer than the original Vega Europe and does not give much feedback. Very easy to lift back spin and slow loop. Probably a good rubber for someone learning a loop base game especially on Bh.

Went for Vega Asia Df 1.8mm as this is more like a updated Vega Europe and better for chopping and all round play with good control and not bouncy at least not in 1.8mm on my Def+ blade

I came across this thread and for the sake of posterity I feel the need to confirm and deny the accuracies/innacuracies stated in this review as this is my inverted backhand rubber of choice.

Yes, the topsheet is extremely grippy and elastic.

No, the sponge is not 42 degrees, it is 37.5. Even softer.

No, it is not nearly as fast as stated. Comparing it to the speed of 05fx is inaccurate but comparing it to the speed of normal 05 is absurd. The speed of Vega Euro DF is rather unique but it's something I love about it. Close to the table it can play rather quick, less than 05FX but it can still produce a decent level of speed. However, the greater the distance from the table, the less effective its speed becomes. Basically, it has a rather low ceiling for speed. This means that while it has no high gears, it is saturated with low gears in the best way possible. The speed of this rubber allows you to remain highly offensive close to the table but as soon as you step off, it turns into a beautifully controlled rubber that maintains its high level of spin and fantastic feeling. It gives you the option of controlled looping or like in my case, great chopping. I think Haggisv might be confusing speed with the kick it has on the table from extreme spin.

His comments on the short game are correct. Yes, slightly bouncy for short pushes but it's on the low end of bouncy for a tensioned glue effect rubber and the spin helps stabilize it and keep it lower.

His comments on serving are correct.

His comments on blocking are correct.

His comments on smashing are correct but it should be noted that even though it's easy to smash, it's not that good at smashing due to the lack of high gears as stated earlier.

One thing not mentioned was the throw angle. It has quite a high throw angle that helps when attacking underspin but it also has a very very short trajectory. This means that it needs to be played much more forward, as if it were low throw, in order to make your attacks land deeper and be more threatening. This is much more conducive on the backhand than on the forehand side.

Thusly, I can't suggest this rubber for anyone's forehand, especially that of an adult's. However, I consider this to be an absolutely phenomenal backhand rubber for myself and for a great many people as long as they recognize its strengths and weaknesses and play to them accordingly.

I've known Haggisv through the forums for what is rapidly approaching a decade. I mean zero disrespect to a very admirable and important member of the international table tennis community. I just felt the need to clarify a few things about a rubber that I hold very closely to my heart.

My son plays Vega Europe both sides. Not the DF version, but they are very similar.
I find it to be a great rubber for kids and intermediate players. It's grippy, easy to use, soft sponge, has a nice feel, yada yada.
It's somewhat slow (~10-15% slower than T05) due to the soft sponge and yes it bottoms out on power shots. Can you smash with it? Yes. Can you still loop with it? Absolutely.

Here is something funny. According to the site below (and this site appears to be pretty popular and accurate) Yuto Muramatsu swtiched to Vega Europe from Tenergy 64. I don't know how he can make it work, but he is PRO and knows what he's doing:
https://tabletennis-reference.com/player/detail/94

While they aren't too dissimilar, regular Vega Euro is a little harder at 42 or 42.5 degrees, a little faster, and less spinny than the DF version.

For the forehand if Europe DF proves a bit too soft I would suggest Vega Asia DF which has the same very spinny top sheet of Europe DF but the firmer rubber gives it a more direct feel and more power away from the table. To reduce bounce in short game then just go down to 2mm or 1.8mm sponge.

Asia DF to me feels more or less equivalent in hardness to the old Europe with a lot more grip.