Xiom Musa 3, Vega Intro & Vega SPO

Musa 3

This is surprisingly a very under rated rubber in the market. With the attention much on newer and faster ESN rubbers, the Musa 3 seem to be not given much attention by players. There are ESN rubbers that were released by TT companies that are in the mid-ranged cost of 30-35usd  but seem to have older generation topsheets with newer sponges glued to them. The Musa 3 seems to be different that the topsheet is unlike its predecessors and that it is not a slow rubber with less spin but rather it is surprisingly fast and bouncy. At close inspection, the Musa 3 is a medium soft rubber. You can feel the softness when you are pressing lightly against the topsheet but not as soft as a Vega Elite. It is closer to the softness of Vega Europe. The Musa 3 is very fast and bouncy in the sense that people who have tried it seem to think that it is faster than the Acuda S2 or Bluefire M2 but slower than MXP or Rhyzm 48. The Musa 3 is like a classic Japanese rubber that is spin-elastic. It feels like an improved classic rubber like Mark V but the spin and speed are marginally higher. Spin is very good and it is high. If the likes of the Omega V pro or Euro and even the Omega VII Pro have very high or extreme level of spin, the Musa 3 has high amount of spin. I would put it as having the same level of spin with Acuda S2 or Bluefire M2 but feels softer. The throw is medium to medium high arc when looping. The ball digs deep into the sponge and topsheet when looping producing a very good amount of spin. The power is good up to middle distance from the table. I feel the power diminish at about 6 feet away from the table. It is more intended to be a close to the table rubber that is excellent for quick attacks, controlled blocking and  flicks and drop shots. The Musa 3 is an all around rubber that can basically do any type of shot being an offensive rubber. If the Vega Series like Europe, Asia, Japan and Pro versions were o be phased out in the market, the Musa 3 can actually replace all of them because it is as good as those rubbers mentioned. I would suggest this to players are budget conscious that want to have the best value their limited budget can buy. Even higher level players can actually use this effectively as a backhand rubber. This was tested with the Zeta Offensive Carbon blade at 63-64 grams uncut weight for the rubber.

Vega Intro

Xiom has introduced this rubber suited for beginners and intermediate players to some extent. People would always be recommended with Mark V 2.0mm or Sriver 2.0mm when they are starting out to improve or develop their table tennis skills. I would say Mark V and Sriver have slowed down greatly when used with polyballs. The Xiom Vega Intro fits the description of ann all around rubber for beginners or advanced beginners. At 2.0mm it can be used by people who have taken up the sport for the first time, at max thickness it can be used up to the intermediate level probably as a backhand rubber. The Vega Intro is not a slow rubber but it is bouncy enough to give you the speed needed. The speed and spin is slightly higher than Mark V but has the control of Sriver- EL. The sponge hardness is a little harder than Vega Elite and softer than Vega Europe. The spin is above average. I have tested this with the Xiom Zeta Offensive 7 ply all wood blade. The Vega Intro can smash, spin and block perfectly near the table. if you go past 4 feet from the table, the power of the Vega Intro decreases. This is relatively cheap at 25-30 USD retail price. The Vega Intro has an uncut weight of 62-63 grams.

Vega SPO

The Vega SPO has been released a long time already while I was testing this short pip rubber. I was surprised when Tony of Tony's Table Tennis informed me that the Vega SPO is a best -selling short pip in Japan but seem no to have caught the attention of people outside Japan. The Vega SPO has a medium soft sponge, in fact the sponge feels like a Vega Europe but when combined with the topsheet, the Vega SPO feels like a medium hardness pips out rubber. The pip structure is arranged in a diagonal manner. The pips feel they have some softness like the Royal but and when you compare it to the TSP Super Spin Pips, the Super Spin Pips seems a bit harder. Overall, it is closer to the feel of Stiga Royal to some extent.The Vega SPO has the black carbo sponge similar to that of the Omega series rubbers but I am not sure if it carries the Omega V sponge in particular. If you compare it to the Xiom Zava short pips before, the Vega SPO has a more firm feel while the Zava has like a medium soft feel. The ball sinks deeper with the Zava compared to the Vega SPO as what I can remember.

The pip structure is very grippy but it is not as grippy as a Stiga Radical which feels tacky when you are first opening it out from the box. In terms of spin, you can push-chop with it with heavy amount of spin and it feels spinnier than TSP Super Spin Pips and RICT 802-40. Backhand topspin opening against underspin seem to be very good both in the forehand and backhand. A friend of mine who is not a short pips user tried the Vega SPO as his forehand rubber because he is usually inclined to slap and contact the ball deeply against the sponge. Apparently he was able to easily use the SPO as a forehand rubber because he could easily slap the incoming balls with underspin. This is an indication that the SPO is not hard to use. I like it as a backhand rubber because it is easier to use than the RITC 802-40 and Stiga Radical because of the RITC 802-40's lesser grip and the Stiga Radical's unpredictability. The SPO's effect is more predictable when to expect heavy pin or no spin from it. It could attack really well because the pips can grab the ball better compared to common short pip rubbers that has lesser grip. A good knuckle effect is also observed with punch blocking and the ball sometimes float low and slows down when you are blocking against it sometimes disrupting your timing. ​​The speed is fast at 2.0mm and much more at max sponge thickness. There is a big gap with the their speed. If you compare the speed, Royal and SPO seem to have equal speed but I cannot conclude enough with the Raystorm.