Tennis Warehouse Playtest: Laserfibre JB Tour 100 1.25

[therecanbeonlyone]

A little note before this review: I was on the Laserfibre Vorso playtest a couple of years ago. Vorso is a textured poly which i really liked a lot (and still do). Shout out to Vorso for any of you who missed it.

I am a 38-year old 4.0 rated league player with an all court style, finishing a lot of points moving forward. One handed backhand.

Tension(s) used for playtest 50lbs; 1 piece on a lockout machine

Regular string set up I've been all over the place recently. I've been playing with a few different Tier One polys, Diadem Solstice Pro, and Angell Halo 3 (the multi) lately. I also still go back to Kevlar/Zyex from time to time.

Racquet brand and model used for test Angell TC 97 (18x20).

Power of test string Low powered but probably towards the higher range of low powered for poly strings.

Feel (Stiff? Mushy? Muted? Crisp?) At first this string felt muted, though somehow i feel like it grew stiff after it settled.

Spin For a 17 gauge, spin was not a strong attribute. I felt like this string gives you what you put into it. I hit a variety of top, slice, and flat during all of my matches (singles and doubles). Spin isn't really enhanced with this string, but the response is consistent and predictable. Honestly, I may not be the target audience for this string with my tight stringbed and playing style.

Comfort After the first hitting session, I thought comfort would be fine. However, I quickly changed my mind each of the following times out. I have a tender wrist from an injury last August. I still wear a brace when I play and normally once I get through warmups, I don't have any bad sensations during the rest of the match or afterwards. This wasn't the case with JB Tour, as my wrist just didn't like this string during or after playing.

Durability I am not a string breaker, so am not the best judge. Notching or more accurately, denting, started around 3 hours, but doesn't look like it will break soon. The denting is shallow too, which still allows for snap back pretty well. The surface of this string seems smooth and resilient.

Playability Duration (share thoughts on if/how the playability changed over time) Honestly, I have not noticed a drop off in playability. Depth and control are still there. Nothing is sailing on me at this point.

Control (predictable trajectory? Easy to control depth? performance on different strokes and swing speeds?) I didn't have to adjust for launch angle. Depth control is the most important factor in my game and this string was pretty great on depth and directional control. This string did what I wanted/expected. Serve was pretty good, actually with nice power and directional control. Volleys were solid. I was able to create pretty good lateral movement on slices too. Groundstrokes felt consistent and predictable, as you got what you put into them.

Compare to the string you use most often In each of my hitting sessions I pulled out another racquet to compare in the moment. I felt that JB Tour was probably more consistent and predictable than the Tier One poly I had in one racquet (but lacking in spin, pop, and feel). Where I really had an ah-ha moment was when compared to my racquet strung with Halo 3 (the multi). in that comparison, the gains that you get from JB Tour in spin and control were actually way less than I would have thought. Meanwhile the multi had so much better comfort and feel. I just don't think for my game with an 18x20 string pattern that the gains were worth the losses. That said, I had much higher hopes from my experience with Laserfibre Vorso, which I really like.

Tension recommendations (after hitting it, would you recommend a different tension? Why?) I would go way looser if stringing this one again. Down at least 5 pounds or so. Maybe going lower would solve some of my problems.

List any additional thoughts (optional) I'm probably not the target audience for this string. That said, this string is predictable and consistent, giving you what you put into it. I'm just no JB. Thanks to both TW and Laserfibre.

 

[topspinlob]

Tension(s) used for playtest 51lbs; 2-piece on a drop weight 17G String

Regular string set up I don’t have a regular setup. My recent use is Hyper-G 17 G ( 53 lbs) and Pro’s Pro Blackout 16g (50 lb)

Racquet brand and model used for test Customized Pure Strike 100 (2017)

Power of test string: This string has a lot of power especially when you hit the dead-on in the sweetspot and with a flat stroke. I recall a couple times that happened to me a couple time and I was amazed. Even on hitting feeds for groundstroke rally I can really feel the ball launch.

Feel (Stiff? Mushy? Muted? Crisp?) This was crisp. I knew where the ball was hitting on the string bed. I defintitely knew if I was hitting the sweetspot or not. When I wasn’t hitting the sweetspot, I really knew I wasn’t hitting the ball well.

Spin The spin is ok for this string. There is no “extra spin that come with the string”. If you really wanted to hit good topspin/slice or kick, you really had to make sure your mechanics were in-line that not rely on the string. I noticed that when I went for a good topspin groundstroke, I could really feel the snapback.

Comfort This string was really comfortable. I didn’t notice any jarring feedback when I didn’t hit the sweetspot. It felt medium stiff to me.

Durability I am not a string-breaker but I did notice during stringing the racket that this string kinks easily than other polys I have used.

Playability Duration (share thoughts on if/how the playability changed over time) I only used the strings for 3 hours (groundstroke drills and a tiebreak) I didn’t notice any drop off in playability.

Control (predictable trajectory? Easy to control depth? performance on different strokes and swing speeds?) I felt that sometimes that the ball would leave the stringbed too quickly but the ball wouldn’t sail on me. It’s strange because I felt like I knew where the ball was going but the feel of the initial felt like it was going to sail on me. I think upping the tension would take care of the “springy” feel I was getting. Like I said before, when I hit the sweetspot with a flat stroke I was getting a good combo of control and power.

Compare to the string you use most often: I will compare to Pro’s Pro Blackout 16. JB Tour 100 is much more lively than Blackout. Sometime I felt like I was hitting with a syngut because of the liveliness and power I was experiencing. Then again Blackout is a deader poly without any real inherent power.

Tension recommendations (after hitting it, would you recommend a different tension? Why?) I For myself I would up the tension (maybe 55lbs) to get rid of the liveliness and initial unexpected feeling that I didn’t know where the ball was going.

List any additional thoughts (optional) I think I would have enjoyed this playtest more if I used 16G of this string or if I upped the tension. I must say though. On the initial hour I used it , it hit some flat lasers when I hit the sweetspot. Thanks to both TW and Laserfibre!!

 

[tennis_nut]

• Tension used for playtest: I normally play with a poly/multi hybrid at 56 lbs so for this full poly playtest I went with a lower tension of 50 lbs. Strung using a constant pull machine.

• Regular string set up: My normal setup is a poly/multi hybrid consisting of Head Hawk 17 gauge mains and Head Velocity 16 gauge multifilament. Both mains and crosses strung at 56 lbs

• Racquet used for test: I’ve been trying out a lot of racquets these past few years but I have come back to my old faithful 2012 Pure Drive Roddicks with leather grips and 2 grams of lead at 12. Crushing serves and groundstrokes with these racquets is absolutely addicting!

• Power/Control of test string: I would say these are definitely low powered strings. Need to bring your own power with these. I would say the power level is on par with a full bed of Babolat RPM if you’ve ever hit with that string. A side benefit of the low powered response is the fantastic control with this string. Makes playing pretty much point and shoot. Although I enjoyed being more consistent with these strings, sometimes I found myself in trouble during points when my groundstrokes were landing shorter than usual. I had to make more of an effort to hit with a little higher trajectory to get more depth on my groundstrokes. Once I made that adjustment, hitting my spots on the court was pretty easy. My serves lost a little pace but not enough as to bother me while serving. Volleys were point and shoot. The lower powered response allowed me to be more aggressive and carve the ball more on tougher volleys.

• Feel/Comfort (Stiff? Mushy? Springy? Muted? Crisp? Off-center shock?): The feel was Ok. Coming from a poly/multi hybrid it did feel stiffer but not by much. The string has a crisp but muted feel. The muted feel made touch volleys a little more difficult. It’s a full bed of poly and it definitely feels like it. I’m not a big fan of full beds of poly hence the hybrid that I normally use. Off center shock was not bad at all. I was sort of worried about this because of the infamous stiffness of the Pure Drive but I was pleasantly surprised. Mishits didn’t cause any discomfort. Just less power, which is to be expected.

• Spin: Spin was pretty good when compared to my usual setup. I haven’t played full poly in a while and this stringbed reminded me of how fun it is to hit with. That last minute, dipping spin that you get with full beds of poly is there. It’s been a while since I played with shaped poly so I can’t really make any comparisons there. I can say though that there is enough spin potential there for all but the most demanding of spin players.

• Playability Duration (did the feel/response change over time? Explain): I cut it out after about 12 hours of play. The string started out crisp for the first 8 hours but became pretty mushy after that and very springy after the 10 hour mark. I was unable to break it during my playtest but it was deeply notched when I cut it out. It might have had another 2 or 3 hours in it.

• Would you install it at a different tension next time? Explain: Yes, I would string it 5 lbs lower to get a little more power and depth on my shots.

• List any additional thoughts (optional): I really enjoyed this playtest. I haven’t played with a full poly setup in a while so this was fun. This string reminds of a longer lasting version of RPM Blast. It has a very slick feel to it like RPM and the power level is very similar.

Thanks again T-Dub for providing this opportunity. You guys rock!

 

[Wldarsp]

I had heard that during James Blake's ATP career he hit with Luxilon ALU Power and he strung it at 60 lbs or more. He strung it at such a high tension for maximum control. I was excited to playtest JB (James Blake) Tour 100 1.25 hoping that Laserfibre had created a string that had all the fun hitting characteristics of ALU Power, but with the extra control James Blake was seeking. I was not disappointed.

• Tension used for playtest: 45lbs
• Regular string set up, Shaped Copoly 16g, 16L or 17g, Right now I have both Solinco Tour Bite 16L at 45lbs, and Solinco Hyper-G 17g at 48lbs
• Racquet used for test: Wilson Burn 100s
• Power/Control of test string: The Power and control combination is where this string shines! This copoly allowed me to take HUGE whacks at the ball. Control resulted from great dwell time and ball pocketing. While hitting with this string, it would feel as though a bit of extra wrist flick could direct the ball to exactly where I wanted. This resulted in big rallies from the baseline. This string is battle ready and I'm sure James Blake loves it.
• Feel/Comfort (Stiff? Mushy? Springy? Muted? Crisp? Off-center shock?) This is a lively, yet still crisp copoly. It isn't as pin-point crisp as some strings, but I found that I preferred JB Tour 100's liveliness on serves and heavy rallies from the baseline. I felt that the "Feel" is excellent. I'm not a player that searches for a string with "Feel", but I definitely noticed that I had better accuracy on volleys and great touch around the net. Difficult half-volleys just seemed to always go in.
• Spin: Spin was solid. I notices great "hop" on kick serves and low biting slice backhands. My hitting partner also said that my topspin forehand and backhand both had their characteristic heavy feel.
• Playability Duration (did the feel/response change over time? Explain) Durability was typical for a round copoly. I expected to experience the typical copoly deadening after an hour of heavy hitting, but I didn't. I'm not sure if that is because I strung it so loosely. I didn't feel any major change in playability until after 5 or 6 hours of hitting. This change however was more characteric of strings locking, or losing the ability to slide over the crosses, when the strings become notched (about a quarter to half way through the diameter of the string). At this point, the fun characteristics were gone and some balls were getting away from in dynamic rallies. I could still hit comfortably in big rallies. I cut the string out at around 8 hours. This is better than my regular shaped copoly. I feel like the sharp edges of shaped string saws into the cross string and notches faster and deeper than round copolys.
• Would you install it at a different tension next time? Explain: I would feel confident stringing anywhere between 40lbs (winter) and 52lbs (warm weather). Next time I would string at 48lbs hoping that I would get bit better control for longer.
• List any additional thoughts (optional): This is a great string! I was suspect that Laserfibre could make a high quality string, at a competitive price in the USA. I did not see any quality issues while stringing or playing. I'd like to see a slightly thinner 17g and/or textured version.

Thank you Laserfibre for the chance to hit a really fun string. I look forward to hitting this string again.

 

[Laserfibre Official]

I want to thank the TW team and all the paly-testers for testing the new made in USA JB Tour 100. Your feedback is very valuable to us, as we take all this information into consideration as we develop future products.

Best regards,

Team LF

 

[SteveI]

I want to thank the TW team and all the paly-testers for testing the new made in USA JB Tour 100. Your feedback is very valuable to us, as we take all this information into consideration as we develop future products.

Best regards,

Team LF

Keep making those great products!!!

 

[djNEiGht]

I want to thank the TW team and all the paly-testers for testing the new made in USA JB Tour 100. Your feedback is very valuable to us, as we take all this information into consideration as we develop future products.

Best regards,

Team LF

Cheers!

 

[mike schiffer]

This minor adjustment and and that new string....Poly is for suckers...I hope you all stay healthy but after losing my ability to play for 15 plus years with bad strings-racquets....I stay away from arm stress and the manufacturers baloney and bless everyday i can without pain....18 gauge syn gut and Volkl racquets and at 66 I'm a grateful and happy tennis junkie...Also gummy Forten 17 g is the ****e...Love to all you smart players....

 

[SteveI]

This minor adjustment and and that new string....Poly is for suckers...I hope you all stay healthy but after losing my ability to play for 15 plus years with bad strings-racquets....I stay away from arm stress and the manufacturers baloney and bless everyday i can without pain....18 gauge syn gut and Volkl racquets and at 66 I'm a grateful and happy tennis junkie...Also gummy Forten 17 g is the ****e...Love to all you smart players....

Some of the co-polys today are softer than the syn guts out there. Having said that brother... I hear ya!! Pain free is where it is at!!

 

[mike schiffer]

I just want to reach out to all players who like me came back to the sport.... and finding hidden arm threatening traps like demoing rackets with poly....C 10 felt jarring and too stiff...Head radical also was rejected because of full poly....and my wilson Triad 6 was strung by the geniuses at ***** with poly and they forgot to tell me....I almost walked away from the sport I love today after coming back from afib and having a life I love because of tennis and being able to run again like a kid....Life retreavel thru Tennis...oh yeah...roger is god

 

[Doubles]

This string hasn't gotten that much discussion, but I had the chance to try it again in one of my friends frames. This post is currently a placeholder for the review I'll leave later today, but I will say that I was very much impressed by how this string played in a rather different racquet from my 18x20 Blade. I believe that Laserfibre really has produced a quality string, but one that I don't believe is suited for denser patterns.

I realized I forgot to actually follow through on this, but I had another opportunity to play with JB Tour 100 in a more open Pure Control frame. It certainly grabs at the ball better with a more open 16x20 string patern compared to my usual 18x20. The open pattern also allows for a softer feel, and the Pure Control has more pop than what I normally play with, so it made for a nice feeling string bed.

I could feel the ball coming off my strings a little faster, and certainly a higher bounce on the court. While I felt that spin was mediocre in a more closed string pattern, it certainly comes alive in an open one. With that said, I don't want to change frames to use a certain string, when I can more easily adjust strings. I can definitely see why people would like this string, especially because it does hold its tension well, and maintain playability. But still, not for me.

 

[styksnstryngs]

I realized I forgot to actually follow through on this, but I had another opportunity to play with JB Tour 100 in a more open Pure Control frame. It certainly grabs at the ball better with a more open 16x20 string patern compared to my usual 18x20. The open pattern also allows for a softer feel, and the Pure Control has more pop than what I normally play with, so it made for a nice feeling string bed.

I could feel the ball coming off my strings a little faster, and certainly a higher bounce on the court. While I felt that spin was mediocre in a more closed string pattern, it certainly comes alive in an open one. With that said, I don't want to change frames to use a certain string, when I can more easily adjust strings. I can definitely see why people would like this string, especially because it does hold its tension well, and maintain playability. But still, not for me.

It seems the general consensus is that this string doesn't do the best in tight patterns, and jb himself uses an open 16x19 so I guess it makes sense.

 

[SteveI]

It seems the general consensus is that this string doesn't do the best in tight patterns, and jb himself uses an open 16x19 so I guess it makes sense.

Pretty sure it is 18 x 20 for James...

 

[styksnstryngs]

Pretty sure it is 18 x 20 for James...

Welp