Reviewed: Stiga Boost TC vs Xiom Zeta (Asian sponge) Table Tennis Rubbers
Ideally you should always try a table tennis rubber before you buy. But this is not always possible. And with the influx of “speed glue” effect rubbers and their high cost we decided to ask Ronnie Pennington and Tony Rigby, two of our most experienced and successful members to compare Stiga Boost TC and Xiom Zeta (Asian Sponge) table tennis rubbers in terms of serving, returning, drive, block, loop, chop. We also looked at the relative aspects of speed, spin and control and how the winner compared to using speed glued rubbers.
March 29th, 2010 at 7:24 pm
For a true review I agree – especially as some say different colours of the same rubber play differently too.. Probably two sheets on a clipper wood blade and two on a balsa / carbon treated blade. I have the blades, but at £35 a sheet for the rubber I’d be paying £140 each time I did a review and for rubbers I probably wouldn’t use! Way too expensive for me. Best I can do is name and describe the blades and borrow rubbers – or next time just use one blade and use both rubbers on that.
March 29th, 2010 at 7:28 pm
Really interesting review. The format and style are interesting. I agree however that the results are skewed terribly by the fact that the rubbers were used on different blades.
That, in fact is the problem with *all* rubber reviews, as they many rubbers play wildly differently on different blades.
To balance cost and accuracy of a future review I recommend purchasing 1 red and 1 black of each (4 sheets total). And then split them among two blades (so each blade has one of each).
March 29th, 2010 at 8:20 pm
Thanks for the feedback. Some interesting ideas. Especially like the one about disguising the rubber being tested. I think next time I’ll tape over the name and just ask them to comment on “number 1″ and “2″. At the end I’ll reveal which is which. If I’ve bought the rubber, I can cut it up, roll it etc but If I’m using someone elses it’ll already be cut to size so that type of thing may be difficult – or expensive for me to do! Excellent feedback though johnbozi. Thanks
March 29th, 2010 at 8:50 pm
when I do comparisions on the forum, I put the 2 rubbers on the same blade brand new at the same time.
that is by far the best way to compare. you can give it to your friend to confirm. That way there is no issue of blade
also if you are using the same colour your opponent should be asked to guess which side you are using for a particular shot. and you could close your eyes and see if you can tell which side is which, which feels softer etc….
March 29th, 2010 at 9:45 pm
with the off cuts from the rubber you could do 2 different things. 1. stretch both of the rubber side bits to see which one breaks first under tension and the other is see if you can peel the topsheet away from the sponge.
you could compare smashing sound and finally speak of what kind of bat in your opinion would best suit these rubbers
March 29th, 2010 at 9:56 pm
another thing not sure if you mentioned it is rubber clarity, So far the clearest rubbers i have seen, and they are always the red, are omega III and bryce speed. the topsheet is transparent making the pips very easy to see what they do.
March 29th, 2010 at 10:51 pm
Other things cant remember, I like people to weigh the rubber straight out the pack and then when they cut it, so you could include that. next thing you could do is roll it around in your hands showing how flexible each one is, you know what i mean? say you get hurricane 2 its so bloody stiff if you tried to fold in two it would probbably snap
March 29th, 2010 at 11:17 pm
Thanks. I hate the sound of my voice so I used various filters in Adobe Audition to change my voice over. That and having a cold at the time!
Out of interest, apart from using the same bat, is there anything else you’d like done differently. I’m open to suggestions as these are made to help and entertain, so if they don’t I need to know so I can change them.
March 30th, 2010 at 12:12 am
but seriously I really enjoyed it, it was funny with your deep voice it was very clinically correct I am so looking forward to your next rubber comparison, I wish more people would do these.
March 30th, 2010 at 1:04 am
Yes. I know! Unfortunately both are match bats for different people and they weren’t about to let me take the rubbers off so I nade do with comparing them on blades which should suite them. I also have to bear in mind blades are not all the same size and I cant cut other peoples rubbers to fit my blade! You are right though it would have been better to review them on the same blade. Next time I will.
March 30th, 2010 at 2:02 am
it could have been the best comparison i have ever seen but man man commmon you cant campare anything when youve got 2 different blades, what the hell were they thinking, we are going to spend hours making the best video and forget the most obvious… thanks anyway but i cant use the info now
March 30th, 2010 at 2:07 am
Brilliant review guys!!! I agree that both rubbers should have been tested on the same blade though. Nevertheless, still a fantastic review.
March 30th, 2010 at 2:29 am
At first I thought this review was crap, but actually it’s a pretty good review. Boost TC is softer and easier to control. It’s also more durable. Zeta is much faster and more difficult to control.
March 30th, 2010 at 3:01 am
Yes you’re right caieros. I was hoping that as both rubbers were used on blades used in match play the blade / rubber would match up well. Unfortunately I can’t ask people to take their rubbers off so I can put them on one blade and choosing which blade to use as the test blade would be difficult. However, using the same blade is definitely something I’ll try if we do any more. Thanks for the suggestion.
March 30th, 2010 at 3:25 am
To make it a more accurate comparison, the rubbers should have been glued on to 2 same blade. excellent comparison overall , great job, do more !!!!!
March 30th, 2010 at 3:54 am
As far as i am aware Xiom is a subsiduary of Champion who also make table tennis stuff eg Apache table tennis rubber. I think the Xiom rubbers use tensor bios technology under license and I think they are made by the ESN factory (who manufacture a lot of rubbers for table tennis companies) in Germany. It’s a small world.
March 30th, 2010 at 3:54 am
Sorry man…but XION is sooooooo much better than Boost TC…sorry but I think that europeans don´t have the know how to produce table tennis rubbers. All these rubbers like stiga, donic, joola…sucks…sorry…it´s my point of view…for me…TEnergy and Bryce FX or Speed are the best rubbers!!!
March 30th, 2010 at 4:38 am
XIOM Zeta is much better than Boost TC …. more spin to serve ,is better to returning serve, is very good to close the table topspin play… XIOM is the Best
March 30th, 2010 at 5:28 am
Excellent!
March 30th, 2010 at 6:02 am
I agree with you. I use the Zeta and play as a counter hitter up to the table. I really like it for this style.
I hoped the visual side by side view would still be handy though eg throw height, spin etc. I would like to see or do a comparison of the Omega III or II with tenergy but don’t know of anyone in our league who uses the tenergy and only one who uses the omega which he says is too fast for him. Any other suggestions for comparisons welcomed and I’ll see what I can do in the new year.
March 30th, 2010 at 6:48 am
I think Xiom Omega is a better matchup against Stiga Boost. Zeta is marketed as a specialty inverted for close table play, or ‘Chinese’ play as the marketing materials say. Nice review though. I would be interested in any others you guys would put out.
March 30th, 2010 at 7:18 am
lol – sorry for the spoil.
March 30th, 2010 at 8:02 am
Darn, not if people go giving away the ending! Still waiting for the cheque too – lol
It depends on demand, venue and player availability. Ideally if Jim Clegg is fit and available I’d like to do another coaching video first.
March 30th, 2010 at 8:38 am
on behalf of stiga, we thank you very much and I hope you received our cheque okay…?
joke, joke – hahahahaha – lol
very nice review are you doing anymore?
March 30th, 2010 at 9:12 am
Thanks.
No one involved with this video was paid, nor were Stiga or Xiom involved. It’s an honest opinion. The Boost is on Ronnie’s own match bat which he had to buy. The Zeta is on my own bat which I bought. I like the Zeta a lot – I filmed and edited the video. If we were being biased, I’d have made it seem like the Zeta was the best rubber ever! As we said always try a rubber for yourself first.
Hopefully other people will post what they think of the rubbers too.