Firephoenix's Rubber Ratings
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Here are Firephoenix's ratings and reviews. These ratings are useful because Firephoenix 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.
Andro (1)
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Andro Upgrade
Speed  |
6.0 |
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Spin |
6.0 |
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Control |
9.0 |
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Weight |
4.0 |
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Gears |
4.0 |
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Tackiness |
0.0 |
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Throw Angle |
2.0 |
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Sponge Hardness |
3.0 |
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Consistency |
5.0 |
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Overall |
7.0 |
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Review of Andro UpgradeGood for beginners to learn the basic techniques, but after some time you will become limited. Greate value for the price.
Dec 20, 2024 |
JOOLA (1)
Xiom (4)
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Xiom Vega Elite
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Speed |
6.0 |
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Spin |
8.0 |
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Control |
8.0 |
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Weight |
2.0 |
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Gears |
1.0 |
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Tackiness |
0.0 |
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Throw Angle |
6.0 |
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Sponge Hardness |
0.0 |
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Consistency |
10.0 |
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Overall |
7.5 |
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Review of Xiom Vega EliteLight and soft, good amount of control and catapult. Too mushy and not enough speed/gears for forehand but solid choice for backhand. Catapult helps away from the table but sometimes also interferes when playing close to the table. Hard smashes will bottom out pretty fast. Slow and soft topspins against backspin are the prime discipline of this rubber. Despite this I will probably switch to the Vega Europe.
Jun 21, 2025 |
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Xiom Vega Europe
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Speed |
7.0 |
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Spin |
8.0 |
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Control |
9.0 |
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Weight |
4.0 |
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Gears |
7.0 |
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Tackiness |
0.0 |
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Throw Angle |
6.0 |
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Sponge Hardness |
3.0 |
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Overall |
8.0 |
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Review of Xiom Vega EuropeThis rubber really has a good price to performance ratio. With the slightly harder and different sponge the Europe does not have the main issue of the Elite, that it has to much catapult even when using a small amount of force. Chop block and top spin loop work fine, but nothing great. I really like flicking (banana) with this rubber. Elite was to soft and mushy, but the Europe provides the perfect amount of sponge resistance. Does not bottom out on backhand for me but probably would on forehand. Can recommend for beginner to intermediate on backhand. I am currently using it in 1.8 and it has enough power due to my strong wrist flick but if you want a bit more speed in general or are more the slow looper I would choose 2.0mm sponge thickness.
Jun 21, 2025 |
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Xiom Vega X
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Speed |
9.0 |
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Spin |
9.5 |
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Control |
8.5 |
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Weight |
6.0 |
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Gears |
10.0 |
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Tackiness |
0.0 |
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Throw Angle |
8.0 |
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Sponge Hardness |
7.0 |
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Overall |
10.0 |
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Review of Xiom Vega XI tested this rubber in red and 2.0 mm sponge thickness. In the first session the rubber felt very hard and was super springy, which led to a lot of errors, but luckily after the second training session this changed. The rubber became softer, and the catapult became very linear. This is an offensive rubber, so unsurprisingly topspin is where it really shines. Hard topspins against chops are easy, and it doesn't matter if this is the second, 5th or 10th ball; you can just always loop it back (if you have enough stamina). Power loops/smashes are a lot of fun and most often direct points, but it's easy to overshoot the table a bit, so be careful. Blocks can't be played passively, period. If you do, every ball will fall into the net. In general this rubber needs to be played very actively also due to the pretty high spin sensitivity. For topspin you either have to decide between a very open angle for a spin-focused loop or a very closed angle for a speed/counterspin-focused loop; anything in between doesn't work well, and then fully commit with no hesitation and full power. If you do, you will get an amazing spin on every shot. Flicks are fast but need a bit more clearance over the net, in my opinion, or they go over the line. Short balls are easy to keep short but not easy to keep low. Going in with your whole body and a good forward motion is key. Chopping is possible with good spin but a very high arc; this is an all-out offensive rubber, not an all-round one!
Jan 23, 2026 |
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Xiom Vega Korea
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Speed |
8.5 |
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Spin |
9.5 |
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Control |
8.0 |
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Weight |
8.0 |
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Gears |
7.0 |
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Tackiness |
2.0 |
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Throw Angle |
6.0 |
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Sponge Hardness |
5.0 |
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Overall |
8.5 |
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Review of Xiom Vega KoreaI used Vega Korea on BH, and it comes only in max thickness, which is unusual. I measured it to be around 2.1 mm instead of 2.3 mm, but the sponge is very dense. This made it much heavier compared to other rubbers I tried. Out-of-the-box spin is monstrous, even higher than Vega X, but after a few trainings it stabilizes at the Vega X niveau. Serves are spinny and easy to do, though they go slightly long sometimes. A short short game is excellent; if you just let the dense sponge absorb the impact, you can let the ball drop directly behind the net without spin. With spin, the ball goes longer but not long enough for the opponent to start a counterattack. BH Topspin goes with a medium arc over the net but needs good timing and forward motion when the ball is not very low. If you forget to start low enough, it will go straight into the net. Chopping works great with not much force applied and is very effective with high spin and low straight trajectory. Passive blocking is stable but slower, requiring a carefully chosen bat angle. Active blocking and flicking overwrites the opponent's spin beautifully if you use enough wrist, which is a bit hard due to the weight, in my opinion. In conclusion, this is a very capable rubber for focusing more on generating spin, as speed comes by itself with a slight loss of control.
Mar 11, 2026 |
