Creature of habit using ALU Power for years. Sell me on something new to try.

[Clash Ah ah]

You're traveling down a rabbit that you'll never get out of. I too have been using Alu Power "full bed" at 48 lbs. for 15 years now. Every year I try a few different strings to see if perhaps I can find a replacement that plays just as well but lasts longer than a couple of hours... but to no avail. There simply isn't anything on the market that can fit the bill once you'e use to Alu. That's just the way it is.

after how many hours do you cut them out?

 

[FIRETennis]

I've found that softening up the ALU mains with Element crosses at the same tension helps a lot with durability.
This setup feels great for ~6h but I can play with them 8-10h. That's 3 matches and 1-2 practices.
I wouldn't wanna keep any poly in there more than 10h anyway so that works out pretty good.
Wilson Gut/Luxilon Element is still the Rolls Royce of string setups but it gets trashed in clay or wet weather.

 

[tennisjaz]

Getting the vibes of 'if it ain't broke then don't fix it' in here.

 

[TennisManiac]

after how many hours do you cut them out?

4 hours

 

[blai212]

one other thing to consider is your personal expectations/preferences out of a string...if you crave that ALU feel and prefer 2 GREAT hours and don’t mind the price then that is the string for you. Also depends on how hard you hit; hard hitters like @J011yroger and it’s gone in 45 mins but @sureshs could probably play 10+ hours with it before it loses its resiliency. That’s the main problem with poly going dead. Dead strings destroy your arm. Spoken from arm destroyed experience. Hitting clean may not be that hurtful but once those shanks start occurring, it can be quite painful. It’s gotten so bad that whenever my opponent shanks, I shudder/flinch in pain.

 

[sureshs]

one other thing to consider is your personal expectations/preferences out of a string...if you crave that ALU feel and prefer 2 GREAT hours and don’t mind the price then that is the string for you. Also depends on how hard you hit; hard hitters like @J011yroger and it’s gone in 45 mins but @sureshs could probably play 10+ hours with it before it loses its resiliency. That’s the main problem with poly going dead. Dead strings destroy your arm. Spoken from arm destroyed experience. Hitting clean may not be that hurtful but once those shanks start occurring, it can be quite painful. It’s gotten so bad that whenever my opponent shanks, I shudder/flinch in pain.

I haven't broken strings ever!

 

[Dishiki]

I was using ALU Power (regular and rough) exclusively for about 5 years until I discovered Solinco Confidential. Below is my comparison between the two.
Feel: Confidential more muted/plush and more ball pocketing
Control/Power: Confidential has less power hence more control
Power: Confidential has more spin potential even after the edges wear out
Tension: Confidential has much better tension maintenance. Slightly more powerful after 15 hr
Durability: Confidential breaks after ~25 hr for me. ALU not playable after 20 hr. Cannot compare because ALU never stayed in until breakage for me.

My switch to Confidential was easy.

16 or 17g?

 

[one-hand]

16 or 17g?

16L. Basically 16.5

 

[the tennis oracle]

ALU is still the goat after two decades.

I would say : Nothing.
Because Alu Power is unique and the best.

Yep. I've tried several of the best reviewed polys on this board in search of a lower priced, longer lasting Alu Power type clone but nothing comes close IMO. The new 1.30 Alu is just as good and lasts longer than the 1.25 so I bought a reel and I get 5-6 sessions (2.5 hrs each - singles matches or practice sets, 4.5 NTRP, aggressive baseliner) before I feel a significant decline.

My setup used to be Alu Power 1.25 mains and Babolat natural gut 15L crosses, but stringing thick gut in the crosses was always a major pain in the butt, not to mention the extra cost. I'm glad I made the switch to a full bed of Alu Power.

 

[ron schaap]

i only read comments from Alu fans but the thread supposedly should about alternatives!
I m beginning ti believe Alu is a sekt. The last grandslams were ALL won by players who didnt use Alu. Despite even most Atp players use alu.. So afterall not that great anymore. loll lol

 

[FIRETennis]

i only read comments from Alu fans but the thread supposedly should about alternatives!
I m beginning ti believe Alu is a sekt. The last grandslams were ALL won by players who didnt use Alu. Despite even most Atp players use alu.. So afterall not that great anymore. loll lol

Any string is an alternative to ALU, but there's nothing that feels like ALU.

 

[Brad N.]

How about Alu Power red, blue, lime or green. They say each color has a different stiffness rating.

 

[One Handed Dynasty]

i only read comments from Alu fans but the thread supposedly should about alternatives!
I m beginning ti believe Alu is a sekt. The last grandslams were ALL won by players who didnt use Alu. Despite even most Atp players use alu.. So afterall not that great anymore. loll lol

Well RG has been won by the same guy for 13 of the past 15 years, so that’s pretty much true every year. However, Djokovic uses ALU so that’s 50% of the the last slams. And Federer uses ALU, along with Murray and Del Potro. So still the majority of slams in this era.

 

[SteveI]

@movdqa I agree with @am1899 - give 17 gauge Silver 7 Tour a try at about 8-10% lower tension than you would use for Alu Power 1.25. Definitely meets your criteria of more spin and lasts longer. Probably not quite as easy on the arm, and control kind of depends on how you define it for your specific game. For me, how I'd define control even differs between singles and doubles.

I'm one of those who have had terrible shear problems with Silver 7 Tour and I tried to get away from it for several months but I'm back to using it because it does so many thing well for me. Fortunately, I'm now on my fourth string job of Silver 7 Tour this go-around and the breakages have been from wearing through and not shearing.

Is it a new reel? Did Tourna ever address your emails?

 

[Injured Again]

Is it a new reel? Did Tourna ever address your emails?

I exchanged several emails with Tourna and the representative seemed interested in seeing the pictures I took of the shear breaks. He kept offering to send me several packs of string to make up for the breakages and I initially declined, saying I just wanted them to be aware that I and others had issues, but the representative was pretty insistent so I eventually took him up on it. I'm on a new reel of it as well, though now that I've switched to a larger frame that requires higher tension, the shear break problems with Silver 7 Tour that mostly went away, have returned with a vengeance. I'm hoping to get some 16 gauge S7T soon to see if it will handle the higher tensions (but still only 57 pounds) better.

 

[FIRETennis]

I exchanged several emails with Tourna and the representative seemed interested in seeing the pictures I took of the shear breaks. He kept offering to send me several packs of string to make up for the breakages and I initially declined, saying I just wanted them to be aware that I and others had issues, but the representative was pretty insistent so I eventually took him up on it. I'm on a new reel of it as well, though now that I've switched to a larger frame that requires higher tension, the shear break problems with Silver 7 Tour that mostly went away, have returned with a vengeance. I'm hoping to get some 16 gauge S7T soon to see if it will handle the higher tensions (but still only 57 pounds) better.

Similar experience, but I didn't get any free reels. They were mostly denying that this is a general problem and blaming it on user error. I doubt it since I never experience sheer breaks with other frames.
If you have like 4-6 frames and string yourself, it's worth using S7T in the 17g and just dealing with the random breaks. For the price they sell it at, it's almost worth it. Closest thing to ALU power that lasts a while. The 16g is miles stiffer and does not play well at all imo.

 

[Irvin]

http://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/learning_center/comparestrings.php

compare ALU to 4G soft

 

[SteveI]

Similar experience, but I didn't get any free reels. They were mostly denying that this is a general problem and blaming it on user error. I doubt it since I never experience sheer breaks with other frames.
If you have like 4-6 frames and string yourself, it's worth using S7T in the 17g and just dealing with the random breaks. For the price they sell it at, it's almost worth it. Closest thing to ALU power that lasts a while. The 16g is miles stiffer and does not play well at all imo.

I really enjoy the Tourna ST7 and I do not have an issue with the breakage. The tension holds very well and the 17G is soft enough for my aging arm even in a full bed. I like the 17G in the Silver round.. but tension loss is a big issue. A few years back.. Tourna changed the 17G formulation and gauge of the BH7 17G. The older version was stiffer and held tension better.

 

[USPTARF97]

Played with Luxilon strings for 15+ years. Went to Tier One Strings and it’s the only brand have found that I have no complaints with the strings. Play with them 6-8hrs and then cut them out. String, grip, rip..repeat.

 

[serveitup911]

I was a long time ALU power user from soon after it was released throughout USTA juniors and Div1 college. I switched from it to Tour Bite and have been using it for about 8 years now. I haven’t tried ALU in a long time to compare, but I remember liking the crisp, clean, powerful feel of Tour Bite when I first switched to it. Those are very similar characteristics to ALU from what I remember.

 

[antony]

I want to try out Tour Sniper

 

[aaron_h27]

I've been using Max Power, but im going back to Alu b/c Max Power is really stiff and the spin isn't as good. I re-string twice a month and was only saving $3 per racket by using Max Power, figured it wasn't worth it.

 

[ZanderGoga]

Well RG has been won by the same guy for 13 of the past 15 years, so that’s pretty much true every year. However, Djokovic uses ALU so that’s 50% of the the last slams. And Federer uses ALU, along with Murray and Del Potro. So still the majority of slams in this era.

Super relevant if you happen to hit 100 mph 7.0+ strokes whipping at 3000+ rpms. Or facing them.

 

[SteveI]

Super relevant if you happen to hit 100 mph 7.0+ strokes whipping at 3000+ rpms. Or facing them.

Just like most folks on Talk Tennis...

 

[TheRed]

Try prince tour xr. Since you use it in the crosses, you won’t even be able to tell the difference. And it’s $5 a set

 

[Sir Faultalot]

Try prince tour xr. Since you use it in the crosses, you won’t even be able to tell the difference. And it’s $5 a set

I was shocked how awesome that string was considering the price. Feeling didn't last long, but that first session was worth it.