Xiom Omega VII Asia

Weight: 71 grams uncut

Speed: OFF+

Spin: Extremely High

Hardness: 52.5 degrees

 The Omega VII Asia (O7A) is the 3rd rubber to be released among the Omega VII rubber series. The O7A offers a hard sponge and medium topsheet. It has the same sponge with all the rubbers in the Omega VII series.  So far, the Omega VII Asia has the hardest sponge at 52.5 degrees and topsheet cannot be even considered as soft like the Omega VII Pro. If the Omega VII Pro is more or less comparable to Tenergy 64 then the Omega VII Asia is the Tenergy 05 of the Omega VII Series. I am not saying it is a clone or has the same feel with Tenergy 05 but rather the playing characteristics of the Omega VII Asia is comparable to it as it does have the power and spin with more on power. The change of the ball material has forced manufacturers to have better rubbers to counter the loss of spin and speed initially with the polyball being introduced but nowadays it has become an arms race again so I think the rubbers nowadays have fully adapted to the polyball era. The O7A feels like a very hard rubber almost as hard as a 39 degree DHS Hurricane or feels as hard as Tenergy 05.

The Omega VII Asia is built mainly for speed and power. Speed is very fast and it is almost as fast as the Rhyzer 48 wherein both rubbers are already under the extremely fast category of rubbers. The O7A is so powerful that even at long distance the power does not diminish and like the Rhyzer 48 sometimes overshoots the table. The control is much better as it is a notch slower than the Rhyzer 48. If I compare this to the Omega V Asia, the difference in speed is about 20-30%??? but it is really hard to quantify but the speed difference is obvious. The O5A version has a softer topsheet and softer sponge at 50 degrees. At least with the Omega V Asia, you can sink the ball easier into the rubber while with the Omega VII Asia, even with  just a little stroke, the speed produced is really fast. Think of it as a faster Tenergy 64 but has a very hard feel. Only the Rhyzer 48 has a greater speed compared to the Omega VII Asia but I think you do not need too much speed and power. So if  would I rate the rubber speed nowadays for newly released ESN rubbers, from fastest to the least fast (because all rubbers mentioned are already off+), Rhyzer 48 > Omega Vii Asia > Rhyzer 43 >Omega VII Pro > Bluestorm Z1 = Rasanter R47 = Victas V15 Extra > Aurus Prime. The O7A produces a very long trajectory and semi high or medium high arc when hitting the ball or doing do hard topspins. It takes a bit of time to adjust to the power and speed because when I was using this on my Xiom Feel AX blade, I was a bit shocked for the speed. I even had to shift to a 7 ply limba blade to partially adjust to its power. I could guarantee that even using a 5 ply off- blade (all wood) with the O7A can still produce fast speed at middle distance from the table. It also produces a semi-high pitched loud sound when you are hitting with it and compressing the sponge. With the Omega VII Pro, you would need to compress the sponge to produce power and speed but with the Omega VII Asia minimal sponge compression is required.

People would think the Omega VII Pro is not that spinny at first basing on initial reactions of testers. I did point out to them that the way the Omega VII Pro can be fully utilized in producing spin is to compress the sponge more this is why to people who brush a lot and have lesser sponge engagement would at first find the Omega VII Pro not spinny. With the Omega VII Asia, it has more gears. It is slow when you need it slow and the speed increases in a linear way the moment you also increase your power. Outright, it is already very spinny on thin contact brushes when you are doing heavy looping. It has the characteristics of a Chinese rubber when you are doing spinny loops, doing push chops which is also very spinny. Serves are also spinny and has better control for short strokes like drop shots and flicks. The Omega VII Pro is more bouncy on slower shots than the Omega VII Asia if you are doing the short strokes while the hardness of the Omega VII Asia's sponge feels dead at first for dropshots. The beauty of the Omega VII Asia is more on hard topspins and counter topspins. Spinny and slow looping is above average but it is more suited for loopdrives above the table and counter topspins away from the table. You will appreciate its spin and power once you have compressed the sponge more away from the table

Well this is not the rubber for lower level players. It has a very high potential for speed and spin but also requires a very good set of skills. If you want a high performance rubber for a higher level of play, hands down this is one of the best ESN rubbers in the market right now. For lower level players, I would advise to use it in all wood blades like Xiom Offensive S, Extreme S and Feel S7. If you are into composite blades, I would place this on a Feel AX, HX or ZX3. I would find it too fast if I would place it on an Axelo or Ignito already. The best pairing I've had with this blade is to pair it with limba outer ply blades or choose blades that have a softer feel. Be wary of the weight because this is a heavy rubber and as heavy as Hurricane rubbers. Overall, this rubber is an awesome attacking rubber suited for an all out offensive player.