XIOM Omega II
Before I opened this rubber from its case, I had a pretty good idea about what it was going to do. I normally don’t have that intuition of any new rubber that I haven’t tested before. It met my expectations of an offensive rubber for extreme top spin game. In few words, I would say the XIOM Omega II is an excellent offensive rubber that I have ever used.
I have tried the European version of XIOM Omega II MAX. The European version has a softer sponge (40 degree) than the Asian version. The Asian version comes with a harder sponge (47.5 degree). The rubber has excellent quality and is made in Germany. The XIOM claims the world top table tennis player Ryu Seung Min of Korea uses Omega series. I believe so after using it and seeing its performance for few days. The XIOM Omega II is a tensor rubber with BIOS.
I have used speed glue before. I have used new speed glue alternatives also like the pressure box, booster. I really hate wasting time setting up the paddle every day. I would like to have the rubbers attached to the paddle, and use it ever after. That’s where XIOM Omega II fulfilled my dream. The XIOM Omega II has extreme speed glue effect. When I say “extreme speed glue effect”, I really mean it. All the time when I was using this rubber, I felt like I was exploding with heavy top spin and speed. It was hard to calm my mind after seeing its behavior. I would say it is equivalent to speed gluing Butterfly Shriver with 5 layers of speed glue.
The XIOM Omega II is not a rubber for a passive player. It is for professional top spin players. The top sheet of Omega II is not tacky, but grippy enough to play heavy top spin game. The amount of spin generated is from its sponge and the way the top sheet glued to the sponge.
The XIOM Omega II Asian generates spinny high arc trajectory by nature. If you have seen the Forehand Loop Mastery video (available on our site), you might have wondered what kind of rubber you can use to generate the same stroke Coach Tao Li doing in the video. Or someone watching the Table Tennis Lifestyle video may be wondering how they can execute the strokes Ryu Seung Min, Werner Schlager or Michael Maze executing. Without a doubt I would recommend Omega II (2.2 or MAX sponge size) for players. The XIOM Omega II Euro version has low arc.
The high arc loops from Omega II Asian are headache for me in a match. I would like to keep the trajectory of the ball low. It will help my backhand defense and keep my opponent guessing the amount of top spin. Against many high rated top spin and hitters I tried exactly the same. I was able to keep the trajectory low. But that needs more work. I had to use my legs more and fast hip rotation to achieve that. Can I do that all the time? I would say no. So, you have to consider your physical condition when you buy this rubber.
Is this rubber good for cutting? I would say it is an excellent rubber for cut defense. But this rubber is not made for cut defense – this rubber is an offensive rubber for a professional top spin player. The European version of Omega II will only help in cut defense. The Asian version will not help you in this area.
Against some tough top spin players, I was able to increase my offense and dominate them. They took stance further from the table to stop my aggression. It was the spin and speed of this rubber pushed them back. I was able to block their lobs and win points. However I was not satisfied by the high arc it generates while blocking. I certainly believe with a little more effort from my side, I would be able to keep the arc low. I’m taking about the touch strokes that Waldner does to get points.
I played against a long pips player. I was little dissatisfied and that’s where I found one of its weakness. I had better control on top spin and under spin than a no spin ball with this rubber. I had to carefully execute the loops to keep the ball on the table. Still I was not able to have ultimate control. In a nutshell I will say you need to play against some long pips players to get good control before playing in a tournament with this rubber. I see you need more practice against no spin balls with XIOM Omega II.
I would ask anyone using this rubber to clean the surface regularly. I don’t recommend anyone to use rubber cleaners regularly on this rubber. The surface of the rubber is very soft, and the rubber cleaners can change its characteristics. It is okay if you want to apply the cleaner occasionally. You have to avoid any heavy impact on this rubber especially on the edges – the rubber potentially can break. The surface of the rubber is highly brittle.
I have seen the weird behavior of the rubber shrinking with many tuned and specially treated rubbers like XIOM Omega. The specially treated rubbers don’t require speed glue and is not necessary to remove the rubber from the blade to reapply glue. You have many options to keep the rubber to the size of the blade. Put this rubber on the blade at least twice without cutting by using regular glue with few hours of gap between. Now put the rubber on the blade and cut to its size.
Warning!
The XIOM Omega II rubber is not for a fainted heart. It take few weeks to fully understand its potential. Before you migrate to Omega II, it is good to start with Omega I or True Innovation. The very important you see in Omega II is the dwell time. As soon as ball touches the top sheet of the rubber, the ball has so much tendency to catapult. So, it is important to react to the ball as soon as it touches the rubber. You need power generating blades like Kiso Hinoku blades to explode the full potential of Omega II.
There are different sponge sizes of this rubber available. I would recomment 2.0 mm or MAX for offensive players. A 1.8 mm version may not be a good choice for an offensive player. The MAX version can grant what all the speed glue can do for you.
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