BlackDog's Rubber Ratings
Back to blackdog's ProfileHere are BlackDog's ratings and reviews. These ratings are useful because BlackDog has his/her own standard and will rate and review the ping pong equipment accordingly, giving you accurate and useful ratings and reviews to aid you in your next online purchase.
Gambler (1) 
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Gambler Outlaw (Tuned)
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Review of Gambler Outlaw (Tuned)Nice price and decent performance. But crumbling at the edges and rubber/sponge separation almost from day one, along with some cracking of the sponge. I had it FH and BH, and I had to junk one sheet after a week of hitting. I have kept one sheet on BH, because it has not begun to separate and pimple yet; but it is crumbling and tearing at the edges too, despite my using the highest quality, sharpest Xacto knife and cutting surface, and not bumping my bat on the table at all. I can get a rubber that lasts for months for $30US, so some quick math tells you Outlaw is not the deal it at first seems. As far as I can tell, I got the quality I paid for, and I didn't pay much.Dec 03, 2012 | |||||||||||
Xiom (2)
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Xiom Vega Pro
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Review of Xiom Vega ProUPDATE:Have been using this for three months now. I still agree with everything I say below, but WATCH OUT! There is an issue with this rubber (and I have just had the same issue with Vega Europe, so it's not a one off): This stuff drinks up the glue like crazy. I had to put on three coats on the sponge before I could get it to stick. What I discovered later is that it SHRINKS, too, as it absorbs the glue. I don't mean a little; I mean A LOT. I took the rubber off one blade and put it on another, then switched it back. It had shrunk 2mm on every side. It was no longer usable. I work part-time in a pro shop. I glue rackets for others almost every day, and I have never, ever seen a rubber behave like this before. It's a great rubber and lasts well, but beware: it shrinks, and you can lose $70 worth of rubber in the snap of a finger. It's hard to get to stick, and if it comes off and you have cut it flush, you are screwed, i kid you not. ----------------------------------------- Just started using Vega Pro in Max thickness on FH and BH on my Darker 7p-2a carbon. So far, I'm liking it. Vega Pro has a stiff but not too dense sponge. I had to put three coats of Butterfly Free Chalk glue on the sponge before it stopped soaking in and I could put it on the blade. But the sponge works very well. Unlike, say, a cheap Gambler rubber, which has a stiff AND dense sponge, Vega Pro has some give, so that I shrink from calling it HARD, exactly. The ball gets down in there, and I wasn't disappointed with the dwell time at all, particulary since I hit a fast ball. Vega Pro is fast. I'm a middle distance looper, so this is great. But if you play close to the table as a rule, watch out. This stuff is built to grab that ball and chuck it a mile. I wouldn't recommend it for the close player or anyone below strong intermediate in skill. The control and spin is good for me. As long as I hit a quality stroke, Vega Pro delivers. I wouldn't call it forgiving, but not too strict either. And you can spin the ball like crazy. They say on the specs at the top of this page (as of this writing) that Vega Pro is not a tensor rubber. It IS a tensor rubber, says so on the front of the package. Great rubber, 9/10 for me. But it's for a very narrow group: fast, spinny, more advanced attacking players. Others will find themselves knocking holes in the walls. Feb 21, 2013 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Xiom Vega Europe
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Review of Xiom Vega EuropeI have just started using this rubber. But there is something going on here, and it needs to be addressed, a problem I have had with several Vega Series rubbers:Simply put, this stuff SHRINKS like crazy. I just installed it in my Timo Boll ALC. I used one thin coat of Butterfly Free Chalk as I do with all rackets I install (I work part time in a pro shop And glue rubber daily). The sponge sucked up the glue and wouldn't stick. I used a second coat. Same thing. It wound up taking FOUR coats of glue before I had enough glue built up to stick this stuff on! It was ridiculous! But I pro cut it (left about 2mm of overhang on all edges as the pros often do) and went out to play. But that's not the end: The sponge SHRANK and popped off the blade as I used it. I was pissed. When I walked back into the shop to glue it again, I discovered that, while I had left 2mm of overhang on all sides when I cut it, the sheet had shrunk so much that it barely covered the face now! If I had cut it flush, I would have been screwed, with $80 of unusable rubber! I finally wet glued it and put it under a stack of books for the night. That did the trick. Watch out for this. It seems like a good rubber. But i glue rubbers almost daily, have installed dozens. I have NEVER seen a rubber behave like this before, even the tensors. I don't like it. It looks like crap the way it has shrunk, and i paid a good bit for it. I think i will go for Butterfly next time. Feb 21, 2013 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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