Xiom Vega Asia DF Review

The main point is - it's much softer in play than I'd imagined.  I remember the original Vega Asia being obviously hard sponged (47.5?) with a very soft topsheet.  This has a very different feel, and I can believe the reports of the sponge being 42.5.  The topsheet feels a tad harder than the original Vega Asia though, but certainly not enough to justify the "hard" label Xiom has put on the packet.

Spin is quite high, it's a bit bouncy but the top speed is quite muted and restrained.  The throw on drives is medium, but hard shots wash out pretty quickly and a lot of my bigger, brushier loops had a very low arc.  This really doesn't suit my FH at all, but those with a less brushy stroke who prefer softer, lower throw rubbers would like it more I'm sure.

For a period of time I twiddled the bat and used it on my BH, and it was much better for me there.  The combination of good topsheet grip, moderate bounce, reasonable top speed (low-ish catapult) gives a safe but effective result.  If I had to compare it, I'd say the sponge was half way between Acuda P3 and P2 in terms of hardness, but the topsheet is a bit harder and feels more stable on loops to me (apart from big shots where the bottoming out is obvious).  I liked P2 a lot but just couldn't get used to some of its quirks - this is like P2 but with a slightly bouncier (and softer) sponge, slightly higher throw, and lower top speed.  It also felt a bit like a "mini" Omega V Europe to me (softer, lower throw, not as fast but easier to use).

Harder sponge, similar-ish topsheet (I think the pips are slightly shorter on the Asia DF).  There's less catapult on the Asia and I find it much easier to use due to linearity and ease of spinning up on softer shots.  Asia also feels a bit slower in the top gears, which is surprising.  I'm going to get a few more bats setup for next week's session to do some more direct comparisons.

Today i bought the Omega V Tour DF, in the passt i tested the no DF version. Let`s see ;)

Are we sure that this is a new rubber?  I wonder if it's just new packaging.  Will be great to know if the topsheet has any mention of DF.

There are some similarities, but the topsheet is very different.  Asia DF has this squashy topsheet, like Acuda Blue/Rasant Beat (bit harder than those though).  JP03's topsheet is more elastic and less...flaccid for want of a better word.  JP03's catapult is more obvious and kicks in earlier.

Vega Euro df on back hand can do everything too. To me, the speed is good enough to finish a point, and sometimes, the returned ball scared my opponent a  little bit if I used a little more power. I like Vega Asia df better than the Vega Asia rubber for the harder top sheet.