puppybutts
Hall of Fame
Got back into tennis after many years. Tried Luxilon Element Rough at 54lbs. Tried Babolat Xcel at 56lbs. I couldn't tell a difference in comfort. For me, tennis elbow is not a problem, but I have some knuckle pain and back of hand tightness due to computer overuse for work, so I've been trying different things that feel better on my hand. Now, disclaimers:
While I couldn't tell much difference in comfort, I definitely could notice a difference in play. The multi was just very slippery (not in a positive snapback way, but in the sense that it had no grab on the ball, could not slice, drop shot, or slice serve as effectively, topspin was OK since I don't hit with a lot of topspin anyway). What I did love about the multi was how little tension loss there was. Once I got used to the multi, I didn't have to adjust my swing to account for lost tension after just one or two weeks. I'm not a string breaker, esp. with my 18x20, so I could keep going and going. I have a few more strings lined up to try...would love it if I can find a good multi since I appreciate not having to cut out my strings too often (trying Triax next)
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update: after trying a lot of other strings, i can definitely tell a difference. it was the combination of element rough being a soft poly at a lower tension than the Xcel at a higher tension that made it harder to distinguish
- Element Rough is known to be a more lively, fairly comfortable poly
- Xcel is known to be a deader, more controlled multi
- I use an 18x20 racquet (Pure Strike), so that probably stiffens the string bed regardless of the string I'm using
While I couldn't tell much difference in comfort, I definitely could notice a difference in play. The multi was just very slippery (not in a positive snapback way, but in the sense that it had no grab on the ball, could not slice, drop shot, or slice serve as effectively, topspin was OK since I don't hit with a lot of topspin anyway). What I did love about the multi was how little tension loss there was. Once I got used to the multi, I didn't have to adjust my swing to account for lost tension after just one or two weeks. I'm not a string breaker, esp. with my 18x20, so I could keep going and going. I have a few more strings lined up to try...would love it if I can find a good multi since I appreciate not having to cut out my strings too often (trying Triax next)
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update: after trying a lot of other strings, i can definitely tell a difference. it was the combination of element rough being a soft poly at a lower tension than the Xcel at a higher tension that made it harder to distinguish
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