I'm finally revisiting Luxilon's 4G after having tested it about a year ago. I received sample sets again, so I am not sure of the gauge, but I believe it to be the 1.30. Racket is a Pure Storm Carbon Xtreme with a TW leather and a small amount of lead at 12.
Stringing: Strung 2 pieces at 54# on a CP Dropweight. Strung up like a normal Lux offering. A little bit of coil memory, but nothing excessive. Came off reading 51.9 on rackettune.
Groundstrokes: Really nice feel here. Tons of control. I can really keep the ball in the court with this even at the low-ish tension. Spin was not lacking, but it's not exceptional either--you get what you put into it. The most prominent characteristic is the stiffness and dead feel of the string. It's not so stiff that it's uncomfortable or jarring, but it's just dead.
Serves: Not a lot of free pop here, but control is at a premium. I could place the ball well, and when I really went for a big serve, I was rewarded. There's no free pace though, so racket head speed is essential. Kickers were fine, but I wasn't getting the same amount of hop I would with Tour Bite or Black Widow.
Volleys: Surprising feel here. Really a nice poly for serving and volleying simply because placement is outstanding. I feel like I can't reiterate enough how well I can place the ball with this string. You need good technique and weight transfer on the volleys to hit a penetrating one, however. Drop shots were fun too.
Durability: I got 24 hours out of this string, so I give it an A. If anything can give me 24 hours and consistent play the whole time, it's a great string in my book.
Value: This is a string that may become my go-to practice string. I wouldn't use it, at least in a full bed, for matches, but it works great for practice because of the consistent play. The $17 price point is justified for somebody who wants a durable and predictable string. I may try it with gut and see how that fares as well.
Overall: I am glad that I revisited this string. It's a good offering for the advanced player with developed strokes and a fast swingspeed. It does not give you anything in terms of extra power, but the control it offers allows you to do pretty much anything you want with the ball. It seems like it would tame the power of big hitters well too. The best way I can describe it is that it plays, for its entire lifespan, like ALU rough does from about 3 hours of play (after its exceptional qualities have faded a bit) until it (ALU) has become useless and needs to be cut out.
Stringing: Strung 2 pieces at 54# on a CP Dropweight. Strung up like a normal Lux offering. A little bit of coil memory, but nothing excessive. Came off reading 51.9 on rackettune.
Groundstrokes: Really nice feel here. Tons of control. I can really keep the ball in the court with this even at the low-ish tension. Spin was not lacking, but it's not exceptional either--you get what you put into it. The most prominent characteristic is the stiffness and dead feel of the string. It's not so stiff that it's uncomfortable or jarring, but it's just dead.
Serves: Not a lot of free pop here, but control is at a premium. I could place the ball well, and when I really went for a big serve, I was rewarded. There's no free pace though, so racket head speed is essential. Kickers were fine, but I wasn't getting the same amount of hop I would with Tour Bite or Black Widow.
Volleys: Surprising feel here. Really a nice poly for serving and volleying simply because placement is outstanding. I feel like I can't reiterate enough how well I can place the ball with this string. You need good technique and weight transfer on the volleys to hit a penetrating one, however. Drop shots were fun too.
Durability: I got 24 hours out of this string, so I give it an A. If anything can give me 24 hours and consistent play the whole time, it's a great string in my book.
Value: This is a string that may become my go-to practice string. I wouldn't use it, at least in a full bed, for matches, but it works great for practice because of the consistent play. The $17 price point is justified for somebody who wants a durable and predictable string. I may try it with gut and see how that fares as well.
Overall: I am glad that I revisited this string. It's a good offering for the advanced player with developed strokes and a fast swingspeed. It does not give you anything in terms of extra power, but the control it offers allows you to do pretty much anything you want with the ball. It seems like it would tame the power of big hitters well too. The best way I can describe it is that it plays, for its entire lifespan, like ALU rough does from about 3 hours of play (after its exceptional qualities have faded a bit) until it (ALU) has become useless and needs to be cut out.
