TW Review of new Luxilon 4G string --Good as Gold

[davidl7]

My quick review, 4G 1.30

Rac - Tecnifibre 320 16x19
Tension - 52/49 lbs
ERT - Day after stringing 30. My string of choice Luxilon Original reads 31 day after. Lower # could be due to its stiffer compound. I noticed that it didn't "stretch" as much as LO on my Wise head, and once it reached the tension, it doesn't keep pulling like other strings.

Play - Didn't have to adjust much. Played similar to LO. But noticed that balls weren't as heavy. So after about 10mins, I had to adjust....I started to hit harder. Now I was getting the similar heavy ball as the LO. I was struggling a bit with flattening out shots, as they didn't seem to penetrate as usual. Took me few mins to find the timing. But once I found the timing, good heavy shots.

It plays little bit "deader" than LO but it feels like a 1.20mm. Weird but nice! I usually practice pretty hard so after about 1.5hrs of hitting my ERT reads at 26 with LO. I measured 4G after 1.5 hr of hitting(day after stringing), it read 28.
It did play nice and crisp throughout the whole sessions.

I'm not convinced after 1 session but this isn't for all players, at least the 1.30 in full. 4G really rewards those that can hit heavy and hard. but with better feel and tension maintenance ability.

I'm going to hit again and do a final review in few days.

Cheers!

[Power Player]

I lold reading this thead. I have the exact same tension to time ratio as drak. 4g is so far an amazing string for me. I cross it with ogsm.

It is not alu in terms of spin, but it is on another level in terms of consistency and control. For me that is more important as i can generate my own spin.

I fail to see so far how any cheap poly can hold a candle to this stuff. All i play is cheap polys, and this is like driving a ferrari in comparison. I am 6 hours in and only lost 4 pounds off the stringer.

If this suddenly drops off a cliff, ill update, but so far this is playing like one of the best polys on the market for me.

[purple-n-gold]

Hey PP I've been saying this all along. Right now I've got one bat strung with 4G and Hollow core cross',,,simply excellent doubles stick in terms of feel and playability.

[SteveI]

Still not a big fan of this stuff. Had some great weather this weekend. Got the frame out with the 4G installed..played side my side with my Tourna set-ups. Guess I do not have the game/hand speed/strokes to get the full impact of this new 4G string. For those of you that do.. enjoy. I am...too much to pay for a nice cross string...give me Forten Sweet..

[TimothyO]

I have 4G 1.25 in one frame and have been trying different crosses in the other (matched for weight, balance, and SW).

I like various aspects of other poly crosses. Some offer a little more comfort. Others a little more spin. But none have offered the whole package: extraordinary control, great comfort, solid spin potential, and the best durability of any poly I've tried as a cross. I just keep coming back to my frame with 4G crosses as the reliable, confidence inspiring weapon of choice. Hitting flat or with spin I feel like I can "trust my strokes" more with 4G in the crosses.

[Power Player]

I get the same feeling in the mains. Probably even more so with this setup.

[Torres]

Been hitting with the 1.25mm as a full bed for the last couple of weeks (50lbs CP, JP 96/16x20).

Interesting and unusual characteristics to this string.

Firstly, it absolutely is not a spin orientated string. If you're looking for grab and bite on the ball this absolutely is not it. There many polys out there that offer spin and grab on the ball. Any one of Big Hitter Black 7, Tour Bite, B5E, Black Magic etc, offer significantly more spin potential.

Its much more of a control orientated string that produces a consistent ball off the stringbed, probably because there's not much 'give' to the string. Consistent, consistent, consistent.

It plays stiff(ish) though not uncomfortable to start with, but this is one thing I do not like about it - it stiffens and gets harder with hitting. Whatever little elasticity it had to begin with gets knocked out of it pretty quickly and it does become stiff. If you want a 'pockety' feeling poly, this aint it. If you want a string that's comfortable on the arm, this aint it.

Doesn't really have the best feel, even when freshly strung. It plays slightly dead.

Tension maintenance seems pretty good. I'm not noticing significant tension loss and when you put that together with the string stiffening, I'm guessing that SBS remains pretty constant or at least declines predictably.

I have to admit though that I'm less than thrilled by it as a full bed. If you're looking for a stiffish string that remains pretty consistent and not bothered by the lack of spin and bite, this may be of interest. Those with any arm sensitivites should tread carefully because it is not a soft co-poly and it tends to stiffen with repeated hitting.

I suspect its real potential may lie as cross with natural gut mains. That stiffness and good tension maintenance would complement the natural gut.

[Power Player]

I wouldnt play it in a full bed. It hybrids so much better, but i agree with about everything you said. Same findings here. It is my main string in the wilson blades. Just an amazing poly to hybrid as a cross or main.

[sansaephanh]

Originally Posted by Power Player

I lold reading this thead. I have the exact same tension to time ratio as drak. 4g is so far an amazing string for me. I cross it with ogsm.

It is not alu in terms of spin, but it is on another level in terms of consistency and control. For me that is more important as i can generate my own spin.

I fail to see so far how any cheap poly can hold a candle to this stuff. All i play is cheap polys, and this is like driving a ferrari in comparison. I am 6 hours in and only lost 4 pounds off the stringer.

If this suddenly drops off a cliff, ill update, but so far this is playing like one of the best polys on the market for me.

have you played with beast xp?

[Maui19]

Originally Posted by Torres

Been hitting with the 1.25mm as a full bed for the last couple of weeks (50lbs CP, JP 96/16x20).

Interesting and unusual characteristics to this string.

Firstly, it absolutely is not a spin orientated string. If you're looking for grab and bite on the ball this absolutely is not it. There many polys out there that offer spin and grab on the ball. Any one of Big Hitter Black 7, Tour Bite, B5E, Black Magic etc, offer significantly more spin potential.

Its much more of a control orientated string that produces a consistent ball off the stringbed, probably because there's not much 'give' to the string. Consistent, consistent, consistent.

It plays stiff(ish) though not uncomfortable to start with, but this is one thing I do not like about it - it stiffens and gets harder with hitting. Whatever little elasticity it had to begin with gets knocked out of it pretty quickly and it does become stiff. If you want a 'pockety' feeling poly, this aint it. If you want a string that's comfortable on the arm, this aint it.

Doesn't really have the best feel, even to freshly strung. It plays slightly dead.

Tension maintenance seems pretty good. I'm not noticing significant tension loss and when you put that together with the string stiffening, I'm guessing that SBS remains pretty constant or at least declines predictably.

I have to admit that I'm less than thrilled by it as a full bed. If you're looking for a stiffish string that remains pretty consistent and not bothered by the lack of spin and bite, this may be of interest. Those with any arm sensitivites should tread carefully because it is not a soft co-poly and it tends to stiffen with repeated hitting.

I suspect its real potential may lie as cross with natural gut mains. That stiffness and good tension maintenance would complement the natural gut.

This matches my impressions of the string almost exactly. I had it in a hybrid with gut mains, so I didn't feel the stiffening quite to the extent of Torres. If you are looking for tension maintenance in a gut hybrid,4G isn't bad. But for spin, power and comfort, there are better choices IMO.

[neverstopplaying]

Originally Posted by sansaephanh

have you played with beast xp?

My two main setups are gut/XP and gut/4G, both in a P1.

IMO:
feel: 4G a little softer; XP a little crisper
power: XP a little less power
spin: I see no difference, both are adequate
tension maint: both a really good

The only reason I may keep an XP setup is to tame the power of the P1. But I prefer to play with 4G.

[Torres]

Just had a look at TW University. The 17 has got a stiffness rating of over 270, so its going to be right up there in terms of stiffness, which given its characteristics (or lack of characteristics) points to it better used as a cross with natural gut.

[Power Player]

Its real comfortable though for being stiff. I am surprised. I have it at 49#s in the mains crossed with OGSM at 51 and it is a very arm friendly setup.

I have a TW demo of the APDC with RPM Blast at 48, and I know the APDC really well and how boardy it is, but when I go back to the Blade with 4g mains, the difference in comfort is off the charts.

will be hitting with full 4g tonight in a steam 105s so that could get interesting.

[Torres]

Originally Posted by Power Player

Its real comfortable though for being stiff. I am surprised. I have it at 49#s in the mains crossed with OGSM at 51 and it is a very arm friendly setup.

But that's due to the fact that you've mixed it with a infinitely softer nylon string.

[tlm]

Originally Posted by corners

Everyone is confused about "power", with both strings and racquets. If you look at the TW racquet reviews you'll also see wild swings between players' perceptions of racquet power.

The truth is that there is very little difference in power between different racquet models. A little more difference in strings, but only when comparing completely different materials, like natural gut vs. poly or kevlar. The difference between one copoly string and another, in terms of actual speed of shot, is very small, less than 1 mph.

All this talk of power originated with the racquet and string manufacturers, who have to have something with which to lure in buyers. But it's mostly BS.

When people talk about power differences between strings or racquets they are really discussing actual power - ball speed - but also the angle at which the ball comes off the strings (which is the primary determinate of depth), as well as the feel of impact and how quickly the ball leaves the strings (dwell time).

The problem is that we're not equipped, as humans, to separate the actual from the perceptual. When someone says such and such a string is more powerful than another what they are actually saying is that such and such a string seemed more powerful to them. Another player might have the opposite experience. And neither of them really know for sure.

This forum is sustained by babbling about string "power", so you can expect some nasty responses to this post. But just pick a string that feels good and allows you to hit the shots you want and try not to get caught up in illusions of powerful equipment.

You say there is very little difference in power in different racket models? How did you determine this? By some lab tests or from seeing the difference when on the court.

When trying different rackets it sure seems like there are some pretty big differences in power levels. You maybe right that a lot of it has to do with the trajectory, but there is definitely a pretty big difference in the power levels I have experienced when trying different frames.

I was using a blx 90 asian version racket last year and am now using a prince rebel 98 and when both are strung the same there is a big difference in the power levels. The 90 if struck just right can still produce some very good power and on some shots maybe even more, but on the average rally shots there is a big difference.

The speed and trajectory is less with the 90 and if you are a little off or lazy it produces a much weaker shot. I didn't know how much until I got used to the prince and then went back to try my 90 after not using it for a month and it was amazing how much shorter and weaker my shots were after getting used to the rebel.

As far as different poly strings having a big difference in power I would say I have found that to be more true than the difference in rackets. But I would still say that there is a noticeable difference. With my new prince I have tried a lot of different full poly set ups. When I tried luxilon bb ace which is a string I really like and played very nice in my old stick it turned into a rocket launcher on the prince.

I had to go to thicker lower powered 16 gauge polys like dunlop black widow to tone the power down. Maybe lab tests don't show that big of a difference but actually hitting the ball sure does.

[Power Player]

Originally Posted by Torres

But that's due to the fact that you've mixed it with a infinitely softer nylon string.

Yes. That is why I said I will never play it in a full bed. My point is that as mains in a hybrid, it is very comfortable and is a great buy if you want a control string.

[Torres]

Originally Posted by Power Player

My point is that as mains in a hybrid, it is very comfortable and is a great buy if you want a control string.

That doesn't mean that the 4G is soft. It means that the nylon synthetic gut is soft.

4G is stiff, with very little give to it. After 15-20 hours of hitting with this string during the last couple of weeks, the sinews and tendons in my arm feel like chopped liver. This is a hard string on the arm.

And if a subjective view isn't enough, the TW stiffness data for the 17g shows that its stiffness is right up there (medium tension, medium swing speed):-

1. Sheep Micro 17 ------------ 168.0
2. Synthetic Gut 17 Duraflex -- 192.6
3.ALU Power Rough 125/16L --- 218.3
4. Revenge 17 ---------------- 249.7
5. 4G 17 ----------------------292.0

[rdis10093]

4g is more stiff than revenge?

[TimothyO]

Originally Posted by Torres

That doesn't mean that the 4G is soft. It means that the nylon synthetic gut is soft.

4G is stiff, with very little give to it. After 15-20 hours of hitting with this string during the last couple of weeks, the sinews and tendons in my arm feel like chopped liver. This is a hard string on the arm.

And if a subjective view isn't enough, the TW stiffness data for the 17g shows that its stiffness is right up there (medium tension, medium swing speed):-

1. Sheep Micro 17 ------------ 168.0
2. Synthetic Gut 17 Duraflex -- 192.6
3. Revenge 17 ---------------- 249.7
4. 4G 17 ----------------------292.0

Frame is also a factor here.

I love 4G crosses in my 200 Tours with VS mains.

Hate it in my new Pure Storm GTs finding it uncomfortable but it is usable. Replaced it with PHT for the cross.

found it completely unusable in my 4D 200s even as a cross with VS mains. Very harsh in such a dense pattern / small head.

[Torres]

Originally Posted by rdis10093

4g is more stiff than revenge?

According to the TW data, yes.

It's a strange thing because when you actually hit with it, it doesn't feel too bad at all. But then after about a week's hitting, my forearm started feeling a bit 'hot' and the sinews a bit tender. Carried on into the 2nd week and the tissues in my arm were feeling like that had been beaten with one of those wooden steak mallets.

It's a string that I would describe as 'deceptively stiff'. Doesn't necessarily feel stiff when you hit with it (unlike say Solinco Tour Bite), but that stiffness catches up on you. Someone else on here said that they were icing on the way home after the 99S/4G playtest. My experiences weren't that extreme, but its certainly a string that's hard on the arm. I suspect that the string is dead after about 8 hours, but it doesn't give much indication that it's died because its already stiff, slightly dead feeling to begin with, and has pretty good tension maintenance so unlike other polys (which may show big tension loss, or lose alot of their original elasticity), its hard to detect when 4G has gone / is going dead.