travlerajm
Talk Tennis Guru
Background:
I'm a 5.0+ player. I've been using Kevlar hybrids for a long time. The main reason that I use Kevlar is the durability - it's saves me money. I'm a hard hitter, but since my current racquet is flexible (NXG OS) I can go months until it breaks. Another advantage of Kevlar that I'd discovered is that a Kevlar hybrid with synth gut crosses gives me more spin than pure synth gut. The Kevlar mains add stiffness to the stringbed which decreases the power level, and the Kevlar mains lock in place where they meet the crosses. The synth gut crosses have good elasticity, which allows them to stretch well in the tangential direction in the plane of the stringbed. So, since the power to spin ratio is high, Kevlar hybrids are very spinny strings. And I've always liked them. But after reading a lot about the new Luxilon strings, about the mechanism for how they work, and especially Blake's comments of how it has changed the game, I decided it was high time to give the Luxilon a try.
The Setups:
Racquet: Prince NXG OS
Kevlar: Ashaway Crossfire, 1.30mm Kevlar mains, 1.30mm synth gut crosses, 65 lbs, been in racquet for 50-60 hours of court time.
ALU: Prince Synth gut 1.38mm mains, ALU Power 1.25mm crosses, 68 lbs, freshly strung. (I had found that 65 lbs is a tad loose for me, which is why I strung tighter than my usual racquet).
Pre Playtest Observations:
When I pull the mains out of place on the Lux setup, they snap back into place like rubber bands. When I pull the Kevlar mains out of place, they stick with absolutely no recoil. This excited me, because it suggested to me that the sliding string technology really works.
The Results:
Power Level: The Kevlar setup generated noticeably more power, but it was about what I would expect from the 3 lbs tension difference. I dont usually worry about power level of a string since I always adjust the tension to get my desired power level anyway.
Edge: EVEN
Spin: I had really high expectations for the Lux here. Unfortunately, the Kevlar hybrid generally gave me noticeably more ball bite, and noticeably more action on the groundstrokes when hitting against a partner. Particularly telling was that every time I switched between racquets, I had to adjust my racquetface angle to account for the difference in grip between the two stringbeds. I needed to close my racquet face more with the Kevlar. The difference in spin was more than can be accounted for by tension difference alone. I was able to keep the ball in easier with the Kevlar even though the power level was higher.
Edge: Kevlar
Predictability of Ball Response: This was where the Lux really underperformed. If I swung hard against a hard-hit ball and hit the sweet spot, I could get almost as much spin as the Kevlar. But if I hit the ball either very high or very low on the stringbed, the spin level decreased drastically, and the ball seemed to slide off the strings flat and into the bottom of the net since my racquet face was closed in order to hit topspin. Also, the spin level with the Lux hybrid dropped off a lot when I tried to hit a lot of spin against slow moving balls. It's almost as if it requires a hard impact in the sweetspot to get the sliding effect that makes it work. The Kevlar, in contrast, gives me reliable and predictable heavy bite, regardless of the spin or pace of the incoming ball, and the spin level is not very sensitive to the location on the stringbed of the impact.
Edge: Kevlar, hands down
Comfort: The Lux hybrid stringbed felt particularly harsh and uncomfortable, with almost no springiness. The Kevlar hybrid gives a very soft and springy response in comparison, but to be fair, it could be due to the tension difference and the fact that the Kevlar was broken in.
Edge: Kevlar?
Volleys: This is the only spot where I might give a slight edge to the Lux, but it's mainly because the reduced spin level, higher tension, and less springy ball response gave me fewer errant rebounds.
Edge: Lux?
Overall: Kevlar hybrid in a landslide.
The Lux was a big disappointment. Maybe I should try it at low tension? Based on this experience, I don't think it's worth trying. I'm still a Kevlar guy until someone convinces me that something better is available.
I'm a 5.0+ player. I've been using Kevlar hybrids for a long time. The main reason that I use Kevlar is the durability - it's saves me money. I'm a hard hitter, but since my current racquet is flexible (NXG OS) I can go months until it breaks. Another advantage of Kevlar that I'd discovered is that a Kevlar hybrid with synth gut crosses gives me more spin than pure synth gut. The Kevlar mains add stiffness to the stringbed which decreases the power level, and the Kevlar mains lock in place where they meet the crosses. The synth gut crosses have good elasticity, which allows them to stretch well in the tangential direction in the plane of the stringbed. So, since the power to spin ratio is high, Kevlar hybrids are very spinny strings. And I've always liked them. But after reading a lot about the new Luxilon strings, about the mechanism for how they work, and especially Blake's comments of how it has changed the game, I decided it was high time to give the Luxilon a try.
The Setups:
Racquet: Prince NXG OS
Kevlar: Ashaway Crossfire, 1.30mm Kevlar mains, 1.30mm synth gut crosses, 65 lbs, been in racquet for 50-60 hours of court time.
ALU: Prince Synth gut 1.38mm mains, ALU Power 1.25mm crosses, 68 lbs, freshly strung. (I had found that 65 lbs is a tad loose for me, which is why I strung tighter than my usual racquet).
Pre Playtest Observations:
When I pull the mains out of place on the Lux setup, they snap back into place like rubber bands. When I pull the Kevlar mains out of place, they stick with absolutely no recoil. This excited me, because it suggested to me that the sliding string technology really works.
The Results:
Power Level: The Kevlar setup generated noticeably more power, but it was about what I would expect from the 3 lbs tension difference. I dont usually worry about power level of a string since I always adjust the tension to get my desired power level anyway.
Edge: EVEN
Spin: I had really high expectations for the Lux here. Unfortunately, the Kevlar hybrid generally gave me noticeably more ball bite, and noticeably more action on the groundstrokes when hitting against a partner. Particularly telling was that every time I switched between racquets, I had to adjust my racquetface angle to account for the difference in grip between the two stringbeds. I needed to close my racquet face more with the Kevlar. The difference in spin was more than can be accounted for by tension difference alone. I was able to keep the ball in easier with the Kevlar even though the power level was higher.
Edge: Kevlar
Predictability of Ball Response: This was where the Lux really underperformed. If I swung hard against a hard-hit ball and hit the sweet spot, I could get almost as much spin as the Kevlar. But if I hit the ball either very high or very low on the stringbed, the spin level decreased drastically, and the ball seemed to slide off the strings flat and into the bottom of the net since my racquet face was closed in order to hit topspin. Also, the spin level with the Lux hybrid dropped off a lot when I tried to hit a lot of spin against slow moving balls. It's almost as if it requires a hard impact in the sweetspot to get the sliding effect that makes it work. The Kevlar, in contrast, gives me reliable and predictable heavy bite, regardless of the spin or pace of the incoming ball, and the spin level is not very sensitive to the location on the stringbed of the impact.
Edge: Kevlar, hands down
Comfort: The Lux hybrid stringbed felt particularly harsh and uncomfortable, with almost no springiness. The Kevlar hybrid gives a very soft and springy response in comparison, but to be fair, it could be due to the tension difference and the fact that the Kevlar was broken in.
Edge: Kevlar?
Volleys: This is the only spot where I might give a slight edge to the Lux, but it's mainly because the reduced spin level, higher tension, and less springy ball response gave me fewer errant rebounds.
Edge: Lux?
Overall: Kevlar hybrid in a landslide.
The Lux was a big disappointment. Maybe I should try it at low tension? Based on this experience, I don't think it's worth trying. I'm still a Kevlar guy until someone convinces me that something better is available.
