Strings for new 2nd racquet, should I try Luxilon?

[JCourt]

Finally bought a 2nd racquet, and I'd like to get some advice on what strings to try. Here's my personal situation: 3.5 player, average swing speed, all court player. Historically, I've used an eastern forehand and a one-handed backhand, but have been changing up my game and style with a semi-western forehand, and am trying to learn the two-handed backhand. I'm currently playing with an AeroPro Drive GT strung with Hurricane Tour + Xcel hybrid (16 gauge) at 55ish. New racquet is the same frame.

I've been hearing good things about Luxilon, but my research has brought up some mixed reviews. Yes, great spin potential and feel, but it only produces great spin for players who know how to do it properly, ie: fast swing and big hitter, which I am not. Tension maintenance also an issue, although Luxilon claims no tension loss? Also durability seems to get mixed reviews. Some on the forums say 8 - 12 hours, some say it lasts longer. Not sure what to believe.

If Luxilon is not a good fit for my skill level and playing style, that's cool. Wanted to be open to trying something new. Also looking at some other Babolat strings that a local store has on sale: RPM Blast (probably similar to Luxilon), Synthetic Gut, Xcel, Pro Hurricane Tour, all full beds.

 

[JCourt]

Also, forgot to mention that I've never had any issues with arm/elbow/shoulder pain, so string comfort is not really a concern for me. I've read that Luxilon are not that comfortable, but that's not an issue here fortunately.

 

[newpball]

Assuming you realize you have a very stiff racket and that polyester is also stiff and that the optimum playing period is very short and you are not 40+ I'd say try it out, yolo!

And let us know how it feels!

 

[MikeHitsHard93]

I've never hit lux, but I've used poly in general. In my opinion, if you're not a big hitter or use much topspin then you should stick with multi or syngut and maybe consider a softer poly with better tension maintenance in a hybrid job only. Even though you've never had elbow problems, poly+stiff racket might just be your ticket to arm hell.

 

[vandre]

in my experience, big banger feels much deader and more muted than pro hurricane so keep that in mind.

if you have the money for a full lux bed and want to try it, go ahead.

so on a sidebar, are you looking for spin and feel since you say you are not a big hitter?

 

[ricki]

Alu power is good also for slower swings...

 

[lightthestorm]

Give it a shot.. who knows it might work for you!

I personally use Solinco Tour Bite with the Aeropro Drive (not GT) and it works great.

 

[drgchen]

If you use Luxilon Big Banger Alu Power at the 3.5 level it should last you much longer than 8-10 hours, particularly if you play often. It is not as easy to break as people would have you believe. If you play a few hours a week you may get a few months of play. If you do not hit hard, the string will likely go dead before you break it. Alu power feels less stiff than BB original IMO. It is worth trying Luxilon at least once. I would string it 5-10% looser than a full bed of multi.

RPM Blast feels less stiff than Luxilon, probably a bit less durable. A full bed of Xcel will play nicely if you don't break strings often.

I find that the benefits of poly are more evident at higher levels of play. I play tennis with all levels, including teaching. When you play against big servers and big hitters (4.0+) you will notice more control off of your string bed using a poly.

 

[lightthestorm]

If you use Luxilon Big Banger Alu Power at the 3.5 level it should last you much longer than 8-10 hours, particularly if you play often. It is not as easy to break as people would have you believe. If you play a few hours a week you may get a few months of play. Alu power feels less stiff than BB original IMO. It is worth trying Luxilon at least once. RPM Blast feels less stiff than Luxilon. A full bed of Xcel will play nicely if you don't break strings often.

I find that the benefits of poly are more evident at higher levels of play. I play tennis with all levels including teaching. When you play against big servers and big hitters you will notice more control off of your string bed using a poly.

No way... I usually restring Solinco every 1-2 weeks (I play 4-5 times a week at least) usually due to unbearable tension loss. Even if you dont break poly, you should never go over 3 weeks with it. NEVER EVER.

 

[drgchen]

I assume that you play at the 4.5 level or higher if you are going to division 1, and you probably play a few hours each time you play. When I played in high school, it was 3 hours practice and matches 5 times a week. That's 15-30 hours before each restringing.

Often recreational players play 1-2 hours a week and do not hit as hard as you. Each month that amounts to 8 hours. Two to three months amounts to 16-24 hours. Playing 1 hour hitting continuous fast ground strokes back and forth is different from playing in a park and picking up balls after a 3-5 ball rally. Pros change tennis balls several times a match...many recreational players use balls for several weeks.

A racquet sitting in a closet, even with poly, does not lose that much tension...it is the act of hitting 100+ mph serves and big groundstrokes that loosens up and makes the strings dead. I string a number of racquets nowadays...A racquet that was strung a week or month ago which sits unused is about the same...sure a pro can tell the difference between 1-2 pounds of tension loss between days 7-30 but there isn't a big decrease after then initial 10 lbs or so of loss after the first day or two. There is zero additional risk of injury from playing with a poly that has been strung 3 weeks ago but has been sitting in a controlled environment, i.e. closet.

All this being said, recreational players are best suited playing with gut or a full bed of multifilament string. They will likely benefit more and enjoy the experience more from using Gut, Wilson NXT, Babolat Xcel, Prince premier, etc, etc. More touch, more control, more accuracy.

 

[newpball]

I assume that you play at the 4.5 level or higher if you are going to division 1, and you probably play a few hours each time you play. When I played in high school, it was 3 hours practice and matches 5 times a week. That's 15-30 hours before each restringing.

Often recreational players play 1-2 hours a week and do not hit as hard as you. Each month that amounts to 8 hours. Two to three months amounts to 16-24 hours. Playing 1 hours hitting fast ground strokes back and forth is different from playing in a park and picking up balls after a 5 ball rally. Pros change tennis balls several times a match...many recreational players use balls for several weeks.

A racquet sitting in a closet, even with poly does not lose that much tension...it is the act of hitting 100 mph serves and big groundstrokes that loosens up and makes the strings dead. I string a number of racquets nowadays...A racquet that was strung a week or month ago which sits unused is about the same...sure a pro can tell the difference between 1-2 pounds of tension loss between days 7-30 but there isn't a big decrease after then initial 10 lbs or so of loss after the first day or two.

I hope this is not meant as an excuse for leaving polyester for months on in a racket.

 

[drgchen]

When I played USTA juniors, high school, and college, I played with the strings until they broke. My family didn't have the finances to buy me six of the same racquet and let me restring every day.

As a reaction to the above, now I have a stringer, a decent job, and am a weekend warrior. That allows me restring every time I go out onto a tennis court. My point is that for the Division 1 player or highly ranked HS player, restringing every 1-2 weeks is realistic and practical. For a person who has a job, kids, other family obligations the reality is that the next time you play could be in a month or two. I've strung and left poly unused for 2-3 months or more with no drastic difference in feel or tennis elbow.

It is worth trying Luxilon at least once. It was the first poly to make it big on the pro tour, and it is often the standard to which other strings are compared. I like it personally, but experiment often with different strings.

 

[lightthestorm]

I wouldnt use poly if i didnt break strings. Go with a multi that retains tension well like PPA or Fibergel rather than Lux or Solinco...

 

[newpball]

I've strung and left poly unused for 2-3 months or more with no drastic difference in feel or tennis elbow.

I was afraid of that, and I think there are many like you.

All they want now is a stiff Babolat and polyester just because they see the pros playing with it. Then they do not want to be bothered with hassles like restringing. And then later they are surprised they have problems with their arm. Go figure!

 

[drgchen]

If you string luxilon and cut it out a day after stringing there is no visible difference in the elasticity of the string vs if you string it and leave it for 3 months and cut it out. That is if you don't play with the string at all. I've tried that experiment many times.

Tennis elbow is often related to technique and underlying strength of the muscles and tendons. Equipment contributes but is not always the factor. Young players and strong players are less prone to injury even with dead strings.

I like my babolat storm because it is extended and I serve bigger with it. Otherwise I prefer my head prestige. People who pick racquets because it is endorsed by a pro are idiots. People who leave an UNUSED string in their racquet because they don't play often are not idiots.

 

[JCourt]

Good feedback everyone. A few quick comments...

Even though you've never had elbow problems, poly+stiff racket might just be your ticket to arm hell.

This I do worry about.

if you have the money for a full lux bed and want to try it, go ahead. so on a sidebar, are you looking for spin and feel since you say you are not a big hitter?

Looking for spin and power. Sounds like Lux will give the spin, but only with proper technique and swing speed.

If you use Luxilon Big Banger Alu Power at the 3.5 level it should last you much longer than 8-10 hours, particularly if you play often. If you play a few hours a week you may get a few months of play.

Good to hear. I play about 3-4 hours per week.

It is worth trying Luxilon at least once. I would string it 5-10% looser than a full bed of multi.

I have a buddy with a Head Radical strung with Lux ALU Power Rough. Next time we play, I'm going to give his racquet a try to see how it feels. I'm currently at 55 lbs (multi + copoly) but feel that 58 lbs might have been a better tension. So with Lux, 58 lbs - 5% would be back at 55 lbs.

A racquet sitting in a closet, even with poly, does not lose that much tension...it is the act of hitting 100+ mph serves and big groundstrokes that loosens up and makes the strings dead.

Interesting. I was thinking that was the case, but I wasn't sure.

All they want now is a stiff Babolat and polyester just because they see the pros playing with it. Then they do not want to be bothered with hassles like restringing. And then later they are surprised they have problems with their arm. Go figure!

Not so here. I went with a Babolat stick because I personally like what the company is doing and where they've come from. Don't really care what pro is using it. I don't mind restringing when needed, I just don't want a string that will go dead after a few outings.

 

[Fuji]

Most of the popular Lux strings go dead rather quickly. The only one I've noticed that lasts slightly longer is 4G, just because it's fairly dead feeling to start with. The biggest issue is when your strings stop snapping back. For most people it's within a few hours.

-Fuji