June, 2023
As the games division of GLD products, Viper makes gaming equipment for people who take their games seriously. While they built their name on darts, it’s the attention to detail that put this company on top.
Viper knows how important quality is to experienced, skilled gamers. They make sure that every product they sell is built to the highest standard possible, allowing you to take your game to the next level.
Our Verdict: This full-sized air hockey table comes with all the bells and whistles you could want. The solid build, top of the line hardware and powerful fans make this table one that’s definitely worthy of any mancave or business. Basically, the only real issue here is a lengthy assembly time, but once you get past that, you’ll have a table that’s pro-quality and designed to last. If you have the budget for it, this model is definitely a solid investment and a table that you can enjoy for several years to come.
Quick Tip: Named after Vancouver, British Columbia, this air hockey table is designed for serious hockey enthusiasts. It’s designed to replicate a regulation hockey arena, and the well-designed hardware makes it one of the best air hockey tables we’ve used.
Features That Make It Stand Out
Overall Quality
If you’re looking for and Air Hockey table that rivals the build quality you’d find in the arcade, the Viper Vancouver is for you. Built to the highest possible standard, using multiple layers of wood for reinforcement. The legs are angles slightly outward, allowing it to withstand quite a lot of force without moving – something that you’ll often encounter during an intense gaming session.
The playing surface is laminated with a very hard, smooth surface. This reduces friction on the puck, allowing to travel at quite a high speed.
Product Rating:
- Very durable
- Has a unique design language
- Features a large play area
- Pushers feel great
- Easy to assemble
- Has two return hoppers
From a distance, the air holes are almost completely invisible. In reality, they are just very small. By using a high number of tiny holes, the table is able to more evenly distribute air flow across the table. With a total air flow of 110 cubic feet per minute, the movement across the table is among the best we’ve ever tried.
Design Language
The overall look of the table is designed to simulate a real hockey rink as much as possible. While this doesn’t serve a functional purpose, it gives the game a very realistic feeling. The silk-screened ice rink is built to the same scale as a real one, and the digital scoreboard has the same triangular look as a real score board.
One of our favorite features of the score board is the built-in game styles. You can set it to count down from 10 or 15 points, with the first player to reach 0 declared the winner. Alternately, you can do a timed game. The score board will count your goals up from 0, locking the score once time has run out.
Score Boards
Each player is directly facing their own score board, so you don’t have to struggle to see what’s going on. Once nice touch is that the “home” and “away” score boards are reversed, so each player gets the feeling that they’re the home team with all of the fans cheering them on.
While the bezel isn’t much higher than a standard table, it’s got an inward taper. When the puck strikes it, the angle will prevent it from flipping our bouncing off of the play area. The entire lip of the table is made from a thick, durable plastic.
Super Durable
Even after years of being repeatedly struck by the puck, it’s not going to dent. For this reason, we’re happy that they used dyed plastic instead of painted. Paint could flake or chip off over time, by dyed plastic will remain the same color.
The strikers, or “pushers” as Viper calls them, are some of the best that we’ve used.
The handle is angled towards the player, making for a more ergonomic and comfortable grip. There are two pushers of each color included, so you can easily have a two on two game if you like. Although most game styles only require the use of a single puck, Viper has included four of them.
Return Hoppers
If you ever happen to lose one, this is a nice touch. Personally, we’ve always preferred to keep an extra puck in each player’s return hopper. This allows you to quickly get back into the game after a goal, giving you the opportunity for a comeback.
Speaking of return hoppers, it’s refreshing to find that there is one on each end of the table. Some air hockey tables have a single return on the side, forcing players to reach around and grab the puck mid game. This can really throw off your game, and we always try to avoid them.
Customer Service
While this doesn’t cover the table directly, we thought it would be worth noting now good the customer service is with Viper. During setup, we thought that we had lost one of the included components. We wound up locating it, but Viper was more than willing to send us a replacement if need be.
With products like this, there is always the chance that something could be broken accidentally or misplaced. It’s clear to us that Viper cares about their customers, and the level of service they provide is above and beyond what we expected.
Viper Vancouver Game Table Pros & Cons
Pros
This table gives you the real arcade experience in the comfort of your own home.
- Its biggest asset is the large play area and the durable construction.
- It comes very well packed, and assembles into one of the sturdiest tables we’ve used.
- The pushers are much more comfortable than your standard arcade models, and enough are included to enjoy a fun two on two game.
Cons
Between the thorough packaging and durable construction, setup can take a little while. You’ll probably want to have somebody to help you, as the table is quite heavy. It took us a couple hours to get everything together properly, making us wish we had taken advantage of the assembly service offered by Amazon.
Conclusion and Rating
Air Hockey Geek.com Product Rating as of June, 2023:
If you can afford it, this would definitely be our top recommendation for an air hockey table. The build quality is unparalleled by any table we’ve used, giving you the true arcade experience.
Because of the high-quality fans and air flow hardware, you’ll notice that you have more control over the speed and direction of your puck. If you’re a beginner, you’ll find that you develop your skills more quickly with a table like this.
For experts, you’ll find that you’ll be able to execute your moves much more consistently.
Because of the high-quality fans and air flow hardware, you’ll notice that you have more control over the speed and direction of your puck. If you’re a beginner, you’ll find that you develop your skills more quickly with a table like this. For experts, you’ll find that you’ll be able to execute your moves much more consistently.
Having tested quite a few air hockey tables, we have to admit that this is one of the most complete packages we’ve come across. It includes everything you could possibly ask for in an air hockey table, justifying the cost. To see all of our top choices check out our top choices and comparison chart!
If you’re just looking for a casual, inexpensive game, you might be able to save a few dollars with the Triumph Lumen-X Laser Air Hockey table. It’s a little smaller, but still provides a reasonable gaming experience suitable for beginners.
