Reviews, detailed information comparison of the new rubbers for 2014 from Victas, the  VS > 402 Double Extra and VS > 402 Limber. These German-made rubbers focus on extreme spin and offer a variety of sponge hardness options to suit the particular style and preference of players.

The VS stands for “Victas Sticky”, referring to their very high topsheet grip, which makes them highly suitable for a high-spin based game, and also particularly suitable for the new plastic balls which require a high-grip topsheet to generate high spin.

 

VS > 402 Double Extra

The VS > 402 Double Extra is a further development of the very popular VS > 401. This innovation combines the very tacky, elastic top rubber sheet with a modern, slightly harder offensive sponge. The new sponge/top rubber sheet combination makes this High Energy Tension rubber the ideal weapon for any spin-oriented allrounder.

The extremely tacky and flexible top rubber sheet virtually tacks the ball and produces fantastic spin both in topspin play and in defensive strokes with heavy backspin. Thanks to the optimized offensive sponge, the VS > 402 Double Extra is even more dynamic than the VS > 401, which is a great advantage in topspin play. However, even with the higher speed, the rubber still provides for high control and tackiness for dangerous backspin variants.

VS>402 Double Extra is now available from the Australian Vistas Distributor here

 

VS > 402 Limber

The VS > 402 Limber is the softest variant of the tacky VICTAS VS series. The tacky, elastic top rubber sheet was combined with the high-catapult Limber offensive sponge and opens up a new dimension of playing. Thanks to the new 40° sponge, this High Energy Tension rubber provides for outstanding control in offensive play and great sound.

With the highly tacky top rubber sheet you can put pressure on your opponents with dangerous serve/return variants and spinny topspin/backspin strokes. This unique sponge/top rubber sheet combination creates countless opportunities for flexible allrounders.

 

VS>402 Limber is now available from the Australian Vistas Distributor here

 

Who are Victas?

Victas is an extension of the TSP company, one of the major Japanese table tennis manufacturers in Japan. It is led by my Koji Matsushita (pictured right), a defensive player, and one of the greatest players ever from Japan.

Although the design of these rubbers are Japanese, the rubber is manufactured in Germany, presumably by ESN, the manufacturer of all major German rubbers.

Packaging is shown above. The rubber is well packaged in carton & plastic, with a paper protection sheet on the top-sheet, like most modern rubbers from Japan or Germany.

Victas Sponge Hardness Terminology

In case you’re wondering what the strange names, like Double Extra, Limber and Stiff  refer to, they are an indication of the sponge hardness, on the German ESN scale:

Double Limber: 37.5deg
Limber: 40deg
Regular: 42.5deg
Stiff: 45deg
Extra: 47.5deg
Double Extra: 50

Strangely the VS 401 is left out, as this has a supposed hardness of 57.5deg.

 

Review 1. By my friend “Yogi Bear” (with permission and thanks!):

Click to zoom into pictures.

Got this with gratitude from Haggisv. High quality rubbers remind me of Nittaku Fastarc series.

I was a bit apprehensive on this Victas Brand because maybe it’s just another brand with similar euro tensor rubbers at first but using and testing them changed my first impressions on these 2 rubbers. The 2 rubbers come with a good and elegantly designed packaging. Upon opening these 2 rubbers you could see immediately the time spent to design the packaging and the rubbers themselves are one great sight to look at. The topsheets have this high quality and grainy look. They have this kind of very grippy surface when I first inspected them. As what I have said, the topsheets have these grip reminiscent of the Nittaku Fastarc series.

VS 402 Limber

weight: 70 grams (approx.)
thickness: 2.0mm
hardness: 40 degrees

VS 402 Double Extra

Weight: 72 grams (approx.)
Thickness: 2.0mm
Hardness: 50 degrees

The Limber and Double Extra were labelled as 40 and 50 degrees respectively but when I pressed the 2 rubbers it seems Victas has a different scale of hardness for their rubbers. Unlike Joola or any other European brands, the Limber’s 40 degrees rating was a but harder than it was labelled. I am not gonna blame Victas for this because it’s their rating but I would rate the Limber has similar to a 45 degree Euro Rubber and the Double Extra probably 48 degrees. This is just my estimate and trying to compare sponge hardness of the 2 rubbers. The Limber has smaller pores on its sponge while the Double Extra has larger pores.

 

My findings:

Feel

The Double Extra feels hard on my blade (Stiga Intensity and Avalox 550). I used this 2 blades to test the 2 rubbers to try and see which blade would likely suit them. The Limber on the other hand seems just right. I preferred the Double Extra on a limba blade like Avalox 550. The combination of hard sponge and medium soft wood of limba had this great feel when driving or hitting the ball. I also compensated on the hard feel of the Double Extra that it somehow made the ball easier to hit with.

On a harder blade like Intensity, it felt strong maybe even stronger feedback on a carbon blade. The Limber however is a rubber that suits different hard and soft blades. It felt good both on a limba and walnut outer ply blade. You can also feel the ball sink into the sponge but not too much and it doesn’t bottom out or hit the wood.

 

Speed

The Limber is rated as off and the Double Extra as off+. The Limber is on the speed level of Tibhar Evolution EL-P, Joola Maxxx 450 and Adidas Tenzone Ultra. The Double Extra seems as fast as a Joola Rhyzm 48 degrees – hard and fast rubber more suited on hitting oriented styles. Surprisingly,
when I was doing drop shots, the Limber was more bouncy than the Double Extra. The Double Extra seems less bouncy on delicate soft shots which I would attribute to its hardness. The Limber is more linear on speed while the Double Extra has a bit more gears wherein there are levels of speed on which you can perform.

The speed of the Double Extra comes alive when you begin to hit more through the sponge especially on power shots like smashes and counter hitting away from the table. The Double Extra has this very long trajectory even at long distance from the table, the speed is constant. The Limber is more or less up to the middle distance only. Note that if I have both as max versions or maybe 2.1-2.2mm thickness of the sponges, the speed of the Double Extra and Limber could have been greater.

 

Spin

Both Limber and Double Extra rubbers have very high amount of spin generation. Had they been at max thicknesses I could have felt more spin when looping with them. The Limber has low to medium arc when looping and the Double Extra has a medium arc. The Double Extra was consistent with having the higher throw between the 2 Victas rubbers. The amount of spin which the Limber can Produce is comparable to that of the FX-P evolution or Bluefire M2. The Double Extra is a few notches spinnier on very strong shots and slow looping shots. The Limber is already spinny but it generated spin better when combined the use of the topsheet and more on the sponge. The Double Extra can spin great when you brush loop or use more of the topsheet to brush the ball and very minimal on sponge like using or looping with a chinese rubber. The speed and spin increase kicks in when you compress more on the sponge of the Double Extra and brush the ball especially far from the table where it exceeds the Limber’s spin. On serves and pushes, the Double Extra seemed spinnier by a few notches than the Limber.

Control

Since both rubbers are at 2.0mm they are controllable. I have yet to fully experience their full speed if I have the max versions. Both at 2.0mm are already very fast with good amount of control. The Limber is a better blocking rubber than the Double Extra because it is more forgiving and having a softer sponge helps a lot. Both rubbers are at normal reaction against incoming spin not too sensitive but controllable.

Drawback

I think the only drawback for both Limber and Double Extra rubbers are their weight. At only 2.0mm both are at 70 and 72 grams respectively. I have used both rubbers on the 2 test blades at the same time and I can feel the weight but this drawback is not that much of an issue if your other rubber is a bit lighter. All in all both very good rubbers with high performances. I am looking forward to Victas having newer and better products that could continue to compete with other brands.