Q: Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power vs. Ashaway Kevlar ?

[Bubba Bubbs]

1. How do these tennis strings compare as far as durability,
playability:

Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power (16L) vs. Ashaway Kevlar (17) ?

2. What are the major differences between:
Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power (16L)
vs.
Luxilon Big Banger Orig. (16)
vs.
Luxilon Big Banger TiMO (17)
vs.
Luxilon Big Banger Ace (18)

3. How does Klip K-Boom compare to all of the above?

I am a 4-4.5 NTRP player, baseliner hitting with lots of topspin,
playing with ProKennex Kinetic 5G. Currently stringing with Gosen
SynGut 17-crosses/Ashaway Kevlar 17-mains, thinking of switching from
Ashaway to Luxilon, but not sure which of the Big Banger flavors to
choose.

TIA

 

[Bubba Bubbs]

Hello! Any Big Banger users out there?

 

[hummer23]

A friend of mine used alu 16L and consistantly popped it with in 5-6 hours. Now he uses ashaway 16 and loves it. ITs much more durable, about 10 hours or durability, and it has a good solid feel . The luxilon tends to go dead after a few hours of great feel. The ashaway stays balanced, doesnt lose tension too fast, and is a great overall value. The biggest differnces are going to be in feel/playability. Kevlar vs. Poly is a choice that requires as much personal preference as it does careful research. My advice: try a set of alu 16L, or big banger original, and see what you think in htat hybrid. Pay attention to feel, durability, and playability. When it popps, consider your expereince, and figure out where to go from there.

 

[gonzalocatalino]

Hi, i´m playing for the fisrt time with Alu power rough, and after a few hours of play the strings feel pretty bad: i think it loss a lot of pounds (originally strung at 58 in my npro 98) and have an annoying "metalic" sound with and without dampener).
Its normal??

Thanks!

 

[basil J]

I honestly don't get what the big deal is with BB strings. I suppose if you have your own string machine and don't mind changing strings after every 3-4 hours of play, they are good, but I have tried them several times, alone and as a hybrid and they just lose tension way too fast. I saw an interview on the Tennis Channel and james Blake made a comment that he had to Change his ALU power string after every 2 hours of use. For those of us who play recreational tennis, that seems absurd. I have found that Klip polyester is easier on the arm, cheaper and lasts longer tha BB poly's. Klip also has some excellent hybrid sets w/nat. gut for the same money as ALU Power. I have recently started to use Crossfire kevlar mains with sensation/NXT or gut crosses and love it. tension retension is excellent. I string at 2-3# lower than my usual tension and I don't get that trampoline effect I seem to get with every poly string I have tried. The best thing about kevlar is that it lasts, it offers great control and spin, and so far has not been harsh on my arm.( I have been using a crossfire sensation set up at 62# on my 03 tours now for 3 weeks and they still play great.) Crossfire is also less expensive than Poly.
Hope this helps.

 

[legolas]

luxilon bb all the way dude

 

[Jack the Hack]

The luxilon tends to go dead after a few hours of great feel. The ashaway stays balanced, doesnt lose tension too fast, and is a great overall value. The biggest differnces are going to be in feel/playability. Kevlar vs. Poly is a choice that requires as much personal preference as it does careful research. My advice: try a set of alu 16L, or big banger original, and see what you think in htat hybrid. Pay attention to feel, durability, and playability. When it popps, consider your expereince, and figure out where to go from there.

^^ hummer23, this is good advice... ^^

My experience with various polyester strings is that they lose tension very rapidly and become unplayable after a few sets. On the other hand, kevlar (Ashaway's is the best) retains tension very well and has many of the same playing characteristics of poly. The biggest difference is whether a you are having arm problems playing with kevlar (in which case, you should switch to a synthetic) or prefer the feel of poly (and can afford to restring often).

 

[joe1987]

[/QUOTE]
My experience with various polyester strings is that they lose tension very rapidly and become unplayable after a few sets. On the other hand, kevlar (Ashaway's is the best) retains tension very well and has many of the same playing characteristics of poly. The biggest difference is whether a you are having arm problems playing with kevlar (in which case, you should switch to a synthetic) or prefer the feel of poly (and can afford to restring often).[/QUOTE]
I agree with what you said.
I've used the kevelar from ashaway, all the guages 16.17.18 by far I found 18 the best for generating spin, much more that the BB. If you a flat hitter maybe try the 17guage. But make sure your arm can take the stiffness of the string. I once strung it too high and found it boardy. Another recommendation is to string the crosses 3lb below the mains. If your consern with cost go for the kevlar. 18 guage gives good feel.

 

[joe1987]

double post

 

[basil J]

Joe 1987 is right on the money. Crossfire gives you all the benefits of poly minus the tension loss. They last twice as long.

 

[diredesire]

Joe 1987 is right on the money. Crossfire gives you all the benefits of poly minus the tension loss. They last twice as long.

I'll disagree. Although I'm not saying kevlar is worse, the tension loss is pretty terrible. It's just that you can't really feel it because the stringbed is so stiff. Of course, this is all my humble opinion. I believe that studies have shown that kevlar is the worst at holding tension, but I'm of the opinion that the play characteristics of kevlar don't change too much (stiffness, ball bite, durability) as the entire job wears down.



As far as the OP:
Durabilitywise, kevlar is tops.

Kevlar is stiffer

Kevlar has more spin potential (IMO). It's textured, stiffer, and the ball stays on the strings longer, giving more potential for topspin.

Kevlar is less comfortable. Although i don't think either string(s) are really comfortable, i'd say that kevlar is much LESS comfortable than Alu, which isn't saying much. It's not recommended for tired joints or sore arms.

Kevlar has a more "revealing" feel. Alu plays very muted, and feels like it stretches, but isn't "resilient." I prefer a stiff string bed, some would call it boardy, but i feel that kevlar really bites the ball and you get a raw, untampered with feel.

Kevlar is less powerful: Alu is more springy than kevlar due to construction, so you may like Alu better in that respect.

Comparing the BB strings is pretty hard to do, they're all unique but have their own characteristics. If i were to summarize as Alu as the base string...

Original: No experience with it, so can't compare

TiMO: Timo is the best control string of all the lux's IMO. It's 2nd least comfortable, and has quite a harsh feel, but the pinpoint accuracy is UNREAL. I have never played with a string like it, but i don't care much for the price.

Ace 18: I hated this string. It was very muted in feel, had less spin potential than similarly gauged strings (i was pretty disappointed), and the feel and control were not there. Comfort (which i expected to be high) was no better than ALu. Disappointing.


If you are considering switching FROM kevlar, i'd try the TiMO first. The ALu i feel should be less popular in favor of the TiMO, but the TiMO isn't as comfortable as the ALu. I think if you really like the kevlar feel (crisp/"hard") then you will either love or hate the lux line. I played it and really liked the TiMO and thought the ALu was good, but i wouldn't switch to them unless i had tons of money to spend.

 

[tnig469]

ALU freaking rules guys im sorry

 

[equinox]

ALU rules for 8 hours tops. Then quickly sinks to the bottom.

 

[joe1987]

I didn't have any problems with tension maintenance when I was using kevlar. But I snapped it within 3 weeks(usually the crosses breaking 1st).
Yeah but 1 thing is for sure. If you string it at too high a tension it'll kill ur arm. Happen to me before, I had to cut and restring even though i only used it once.
But now I'm using a poly. Well, each has his or her own preferences so its up to you.

 

[basil J]

Well it has been 3 weeks since switching over to crossfire and I now have a nagging ache in my shoulder that is starting to be of concern. I cut them out of one of my frames and switched back to some prince Synthetic gut duraflex at 63#. I have played 3 days in a row and usually the more I play, the better I feel. Not so with kevlar.Today I used the prince string and won my match easily and also added about 10mph back on my serve. My arm also feels no worse for the wear. It seems that the kevlar is great for control and spin, not so great to serve with and slowly but surely will break down your arm if you string it tight(I had mine at 62#). I like the benefits of kevlar but at 44 years old, I like my arms and shoulders better. After trying numerous polyesters full on and with hybrid set ups it seems that the old standard cheap $3.79 prince string may not be that bad of a deal. I like gut the best, but the 03 tour is such a lively racquet, I would probably be stringing it at 65-66#, and at 1/10the of the cost, and being a 4.0-4.5 on my best days I think I will keep things simple going forward and avoid any strings that may be harsh on the arm. I want to keep playing well into my twighlight years and this point of my life, I need to only be doing things that will make me better and or stonger, not toying around with technologies that may or will eventually bring me harm.
Marius, you can now say I told you so ...

 

[Midlife crisis]

I'll disagree. Although I'm not saying kevlar is worse, the tension loss is pretty terrible. It's just that you can't really feel it because the stringbed is so stiff. Of course, this is all my humble opinion. I believe that studies have shown that kevlar is the worst at holding tension, but I'm of the opinion that the play characteristics of kevlar don't change too much (stiffness, ball bite, durability) as the entire job wears down.

I agree with this. I think that kevlar's ultimate elongation is pretty low, so even if it does lose some tension, it rapidly ramps up the stringbed stiffness as it reaches the maximum it can stretch, which kind of gives you the best of both worlds in a way - it's a bit softer when hitting softly but firms up when hitting hard.

 

[basil J]

Tight kevlar=sore arm.....