This comparison has been a long-time coming and finally it is completed. It is here...for the people...dying to know, is Isospeed V18 the replacement for our dearly departed, illustrious, and highly underrated Luxilon Big Banger Ace 1.12?
Let's find out..
-In a rare, never before seen feature, the end of each category will conclude [similar or different].
Power: This is clear from the first hit, v18 has more pop than Ace. I would actually say this is a benefit of v18, it has a softer feel and is a little springier (you feel it when stringing) which results in extra pop. Really nice if you use a denser pattern or lower-powered racquet but unfortunately does set itself apart from Ace. While Ace is not a dead, control poly like a BBO or Razor Soft, it definitely has a more moderate power level, probably right down the middle between power and control. For me, Ace hits a great balance of control, power, and predictability. V18 has a little extra pop but it becomes more noticeable the longer you play and it was slightly more unpredictable. It wasn't crazy launchy or losing all control, but directional control got worse.
-[Different]
Spin: This is an area where they're actually more similar than different. They're both thin, round poly and while neither grip or bite the ball they both produce decent spin. I have to place them both near the middle of the spectrum in terms of spin production maybe leaning slightly toward more than less. I think you get more pocketing from v18 because it's softer but it doesn't necessarily give you more spin just more feel. Ace is fairly typical Luxilon, at least from my experience with their round strings, good spin but not outstanding. Neither let me down and they both gave plenty to the 18x19 pattern I was using. It never felt like I was lacking any spin but if you think the thinner guage gets you more spin, I don't think that's accurate. Both also lost spin in a similar fashion, you could start to feel the elasticity going as the hours increased.
-[Similar]
Control: This is kind of tough but I have to conclude that Ace has more control. I think if you swing confidently, it doesn't matter what string you're using but inherently Ace is a little crisper and has a little more direct feel to help with directional control. The slightly lower powered response and predictability of Ace also gives you the confidence. V18 as a trade-off gives you more pop but in tight situations and imperfect mechanics you may be worried about it launching. I do think because v18 has extra pop and is softer, you could just up the tension a few pounds for more control. As I noted in another comparison, tension makes a huge difference especially for control. The other thing I noted above was v18 loses tension and the power goes up and directional control goes down, this forces you to pick bigger targets. At the same amount of hours used on Ace, I still feel like I have more control.
-[Different]
Feel: So this should be obvious by now, they're different. This is one of the hallmarks of Ace, its direct and comfortably crisp feel. It's a Luxilon, it has that Lux DNA. V18 has a great feel too...but it's different. In addition to thin poly, I'm an afficionado of soft poly, so I really enjoyed v18 for that reason. As an aside, it worked particularly well in 40-50(F) [cold] temperature weather while Ace was powerless and dead. So for those cold weather players, consider v18 as an option. I digress, the feel of v18 is dampened and softer with a hint of springy. It feels nice and I enjoyed it, but it isn't the same. Unfortunately, a defining characteristic of a string is how it feels and its response and these two are quite a bit different. While Ace has a more predictable, neutral, direct response, v18 has a little springier, softer, dampened response. Neither is necessarily better than the other it just depends on your preference. If you need arm-friendly, v18 would long-term be a better option.
-[Different]
Tension maintenance/durability: They are pretty equal here with a slight [very slight] edge to Ace for durability. V18, as I said, increased its power a bit and lost some directional control as the play-time wore on. Sitting at about 8.5-9 hours I think it is nearly 75 percent notched, mains are moving out of place, but it isn't unplayable. It still feels ok just more springy. At about 8 hours, Ace is maybe 60-70 percent notched but mains are also moving out of place. The slightly stiffer Ace naturally has a little less notching, but not enough to say there's a significant difference in durability. The main difference is Ace is losing some of its nice feel and just getting a little deader feeling. This is pretty customary to Lux strings. They start to sound pingy and the feel goes. So v18 actually has an edge here because it notches a very little bit faster but the softer feel keeps it comfy.
-[Similar but kind of a Draw]
Finale: Sadly, for those who've run out of Ace, v18 isn't a one-to-one replacement. In the main categories that count, they're just too different. The feel is quite a bit different as is the stringbed response, and these are the key features of Ace for me. In its own right, v18 is a very nice string, especially for those who like really thin poly. Good bit of pop, arm-friendly, enough control and spin for most players but for more spin players durability could be an issue.
Where do we go from here? I'm not sure, ALU 1.15 isn't similar and neither is v18, I'd be on the look out for a crisp, thin, direct (or raw) feeling string as a replacement. Poly Tour Pro in a thinner guage could have a bit of that crisp feel but isn't as clean feeling and a bit more dampened and plastic-y.
For me, it is back to the drawing board to find a suitable replacement that I can recommend to Ace lovers who don't have a stash.
And a moment of silence for this great loss...