OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I played another 3-4h last night with VO 102 1.8 black. Main take-away from this latest session was how well this SP can BH flick over the table. Even short balls that are below net height can be flicked over and past non-believers. Not many inverteds can do this -- especially in this age of 'long trajectory' rubber -- but this SP can. I was also doing drills with a player who liked to rally 6+ feet off the table, and surprisingly, VO > 102 1.8 was able hang just fine with me in similar back-court position.

I briefly picked up a second paddle that has my Moristo SP Ax max and my opponent quickly commented that the Moristo was faster and he felt rushed compared to the VO > 102. But the blades aren't the same (The Moristo blade is faster) so this wasn't really a good test.

Nathanso, anymore to say about the Victas 102?

I found it quite spinny, do you think it blocks as well as other short pimples you have tried?

I love everything about this SP except its high throw angle which causes my BH flicks to fly long all too often. So I'm switching horses to JOOLA Express Ultra which is very similar to VO > 102 except it has a lower, flatter ball path.

I have been using spectol red almost exclusively since Jan 2019, I play a lot and practice a lot. I have probably got most players 2 years into those 4 months.
The main problem I have is it is very very bouncy on touch shots and you almost have to attack everything all the time with it.

in the several short goes I have had with the Victas 102 I have noticed it is a very good rubber for short low bounce tight serves on bh.
It is also excellent for low tight returns, it is also excellent for low long deep pushes. They are almost attacking shots they are so low and direct.
It is very fast on drives.
It feels a little harder to use but I guess i should adjust with repetition and training.

Anyway I am hoping to continue with the victas 102 as it gives me a plan B (the option of playing a little shorter or tighter).
the digs with victas 102 very much remind me of the digs I used to do many moons ago with tibhar super defence 40 in 0.5 or 0.9mm.
Playing tight is very important for me and a big part of my game.

Now to persists and not give up if i have a couple of bad results.

Thought I'd add my opinion on this rubber after having a couple of long sessions with it over the weekend. I've been using the Firestorm Soft from DMS the last couple of months in my journey from inverted to short pips forehand. I played a big team tournament on Memorial Day weekend where I played 20 matches in 2 days (talk about exhausted!) so I feel like I got a good sense for that rubber. It provided me good control and spin, but some players could easily counter it that I didn't expect. Also, I felt like my serves weren't quite spinny enough. So I decided to try a couple of different rubbers, looking for more speed and spin, but still control. My first post-tournament session I tried Yasaka Rakza PO, thought it was a good rubber. On another blade I put a 2.0 sheet of the VO > 102 and right away it felt really good. I played some matches against about a 2000 level player that I've played against for many years, and right away he commented about how much more spin I was getting on my serves, when compared to the other rubbers, and how it was more difficult to play against because he couldn't always read the proper amount of spin. I found counter hitting in warm-ups to be easier than with Firestorm Soft or Rakza PO. I could still block and hit well, but if I got out of position and couldn't get to the ball off the bounce, I could use a traditional loop stroke that was very effective. After a couple of matches, he told me that I should stop testing different short pips on the forehand and commit to the Victas. This carries a lot of weight for me, as he is higher level than I am and knows every aspect of my game well. I have another smaller tournament on Saturday, at which I will probably use this rubber and give more feedback.

_________________
"The greatest teacher, failure is"
USATT Rating: 1667
Blade: Dr Neubauer Matador
FH Rubber: Tibhar Evolution MX-P 1.9
BH Rubber: DMS Scandal 1.2

I have the Victas on my backup blade in 1.8 and I really enjoy it! My main setup has Moristo SP 1.4 (just made the switch from 1. and I think it plays very similar to V>102.

Wondering, has anybody tried both Victas VO>102 and Yasaka Rakza PO? Those are the two I've started trying now, curious if anybody has comparisons. In my initial hits with them, the Victas seemed more spinny, but perhaps the Rakza was a little faster, but I've only had a couple of sessions with each so far.

_________________
"The greatest teacher, failure is"
USATT Rating: 1667
Blade: Dr Neubauer Matador
FH Rubber: Tibhar Evolution MX-P 1.9
BH Rubber: DMS Scandal 1.2

I am actually looking for a fast spinny SP for my FH and got to test Victas VO>101, VO>102, Xiom SPO and this weekend Rakza PO.
So far, VO>102 is by far the spinniest and fastest (in Max). I was able to play away from the table with it.
I will report after the weekend about Rakza PO.

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VKM / Victas V01 Limber 2.0mm / Spectol 21 1.5mm

Before Modern Defense (in black playing a 2100+ player:https://youtu.be/if__7emBFqA

I've used the 102 for about a month now.

Topsheet: medium soft, similar to the Hexer pips, although pips are slightly larger in diameter.

Sponge, soft, again similar but slightly harder than the Hexer.

Speed is rather high on low impact (very bouncy). But high impact speed plateaus more noticeably than the Spinpips Red (due to the red having slightly harder sponge, although both are very soft nonetheless). Overall a similar level to the red, maybe slightly behind the Hexer. Not the speed demon I was expecting.

The ability to generate spin is a little disappointing, I would say slightly less than the Spinpips, noticeably less than Waran, and far behind 802-40. One thing of notice is it is very susceptible to humidity (all rubbers are, but 102 nearly turns into anti when moist). More spin than the Hexer.

Smashing and blocking consistency is great. Flicks are great, but looping underspin requires a bit more effort.

I'm alternating between this and the 802-40 42 degrees. The 102 flicks better and smashes more consistently, faster pushes and blocks. But the spin and versatility of 802-40 allows me to be more aggressive and get to the smashing phase earlier, and the harder sponged 802-40 has a higher too-end speed.

I'm not writing it off just yet, it's a good balance for single sided short pips, just enough spin to be versatile.

VO>102 vs Rakza PO:

I just hit for few minutes with Rakza PO and few differences were noticeable:
. VO102 pips grip slightly better (better for short game, serves)
. Rakza PO is very spinny and the ball bites really well in the sponge (best for fast strokes)
. Bouncy: Rakza PO > VO102
. Speed on fast strokes: VO102 >PO
. Throw: VO102 > Rakza PO ... very noticeable! making VO102 much easier to play away from the table

I will test Rakza PO this weekend but I can already tell that for someone coming from inverted wanting to play SP on FH; Victas VO>102 is much easier for transitioning.

_________________
VKM / Victas V01 Limber 2.0mm / Spectol 21 1.5mm

Before Modern Defense (in black playing a 2100+ player:https://youtu.be/if__7emBFqA

Are the Rakza PO pips oriented vertically or horizontally?

Horizontal for both SPs

_________________
VKM / Victas V01 Limber 2.0mm / Spectol 21 1.5mm

Before Modern Defense (in black playing a 2100+ player:https://youtu.be/if__7emBFqA

So I tested the Rakza PO for few hours and I just couldn't play well with it (vs VO>102).
Flat strokes kept going in the net or too long.
Rakza PO is really fast (so is VO102) but the control was lacking (maybe due to the Max sponge I was using).
Active blocking worked great but that's about it.

Coming from inverted, I highly recommend Victas VO>102 for FH.
It's really fast but stay controllable. Short game is good.
The topsheet is really soft (softer than Rakza PO) but the sponge feels slightly more dense.
More spin for VO102 also.
I will stick to VO102 but decided for 2.0mm (vs max) to save few grams.

_________________
VKM / Victas V01 Limber 2.0mm / Spectol 21 1.5mm

Before Modern Defense (in black playing a 2100+ player:https://youtu.be/if__7emBFqA

Anymore news on Victas 102
I had used SP on my BH for 8 years up until 2010 then reverted back to inverted after all the rule changes especially the one regarding the aspect ratio which my previous SP failed. They were very short for their width, Grrrrr I thought that rule was only to stop LP from being to long.
Anyway I have tried various SP in the last 2-3 years but only in practice and I haven't found anything that comes close to my original SP.
Although I haven't played with any of them for more than 2-3 hours I can usually tell immediately if they are going to be any good.
Some are terrible and I think anyone would have to completely change their shots, a bit like changing to LP and having to push through the ball on chops and pushes against a backspin ball.
I'm 64 and haven't got the time left to spend finding a completely different game.
I am tempted by Victas 102 from the previous posts.

Oh? What rubber was this? If you look at Technical Leaflet T4:

https://www.ittf.com/wp-content/uploads ... .pdf_0.pdf

Section B, part 4:

4. Aspect ratio Aspect ratio, i.e. pimple height (h) / pimple diameter (a), shall not be > 1.10.

So there is no way wide, short pips can fall afoul of the aspect ratio rule.

There WAS a problem with some SP rubbers not falling within the Pimple Density Rule (section B, part 5):

5. Pimple density The minimum and maximum pimple densities per cm2 are 10 and 30 respectively, as specified in Law 2.4.3. These are regarded as statistical measures of density, not counts of discrete pimples within a specific area.

Because pimples must be evenly spaced and the pimple layout is symmetric, the density is found by measuring the linear pimple spacing (dimensions “a” + “b”) and calculating the resulting pimple density as: [1 / (spacing * spacing * cos30)].

Iskandar