how does it compare on spin to Alu power rough or Babolat RPM blast or RPM blast rough ?? Thanks
I already know what Element feels like.... I acutally like the feel of Element compared to RPM blast rough. Rpm blast rough felt like paper,, poor feel, just weird.... I thought Element provided very nice feel for the ball with ball pocketing.... when the string pockets the ball,, that is when you feel the ball. and element did much better job. and I am hoping element rough does the same with much added spin. I always felt like Rough version with carved out string surface really didn't add that much spin...............like the shaped strings do. that is why I had suspicions about how much more spin the Element rough will have.....Don't let the "rough" name fool you. RPM Blast Rough and Luxilon Element Rough are totally different categories. I think, if you like RPM-Blast-Rough, I dont think you would like the Element-Rough, and if you like the Element-Rough you wont like RPM-Blast-Rough. Probably the common feature is that both provide good depth and spin, kind of baseline topspin bashers strings. But they do feel totally different on racket even though both are relatively lively for a poly. Element-Rough feels a bit more lively with less feedback (some call it forgiving, since slight mishits does not feel bad)... and RPM-Blast-Rough provide a bit more feedback. In fact Element-Rough has a lot similar feel of regular Element in the racket, just that the slight roughness on surface provides a good ball grab on fast swings, helping with the loop to baseline. I will save further details for the full review.
I am hoping element rough does the same with much added spin. I always felt like Rough version with carved out string surface really didn't add that much spin
I get 3000 RPM with RPM blast rough... can poor swing path do that ?That exactly is the idea behind element rough, and it does provide extra spin. But I am a huge believer that the spin/shape of the ball is 99% from the swing path. If you are not already getting a good loop from regular element, you are not going to see much difference with rough.
I get 3000 RPM with RPM blast rough... can poor swing path do that ?
So far I'm a big fan of the soft, yet crisp feel I'm getting from the string
I feel that it is superior in every category, other than tension maintenance. I was surprised to see it had dropped 6lbs from my first hit. I'll post the actual pictures from RacquetTune in my review, but my 'fresh off the machine' reading was 47 (45 was the setting, but I did a 10% pre-stretch). 1 set and 48 hours later, it was down to 41.What do you think about how this string compares to Black Code 4S 17?
Totally agree on the ball pocketing. It feels great. I went back and forth today between BC4S and Element Rough and I really do like the Element feel more. It's way more comfortable. But it has so much power sometimes I had a hard time keeping it from going long on flat balls. Shapes the ball very nice though.I feel that it is superior in every category, other than tension maintenance. I was surprised to see it had dropped 6lbs from my first hit. I'll post the actual pictures from RacquetTune in my review, but my 'fresh off the machine' reading was 47 (45 was the setting, but I did a 10% pre-stretch). 1 set and 48 hours later, it was down to 41.
But, I agree w/ @samprasbackhand: soft, crisp, but slightly muted. The big difference between it & Black Code 4S is the ball pocketing. I really feel as it the ball is staying on my strings longer.
I'm just disappointed that is only offered in 1.30mm (this according to their site: http://www.luxilon.com/en-us/strings?tennis_racket_string_category=2505).
Has anyone in the playtest hit w/ 'normal' Element? Can you compare if you have?
Will note down full details in my review but my initial thoughts are that Element Rough plays very similar to regular Element. Where it differs is that it is softer than regular Element, and has marginally more spin. Same level of power (I would consider both higher powered) and similar sort of muted feedback. Very similar pocketing feel where you feel ball stays on strings for longer. Also, regular Element had terrible tension maintenance as well, and it lost the Luxilon magic after maybe 4-5 hours for me.I feel that it is superior in every category, other than tension maintenance. I was surprised to see it had dropped 6lbs from my first hit. I'll post the actual pictures from RacquetTune in my review, but my 'fresh off the machine' reading was 47 (45 was the setting, but I did a 10% pre-stretch). 1 set and 48 hours later, it was down to 41.
But, I agree w/ @samprasbackhand: soft, crisp, but slightly muted. The big difference between it & Black Code 4S is the ball pocketing. I really feel as it the ball is staying on my strings longer.
I'm just disappointed that is only offered in 1.30mm (this according to their site: http://www.luxilon.com/en-us/strings?tennis_racket_string_category=2505).
Has anyone in the playtest hit w/ 'normal' Element? Can you compare if you have?
Errr how tight are you stringing it? I've never had ALU Power Rough snap on me.It's happened with ALU Rough too
Yeah seems weird. I'm saying something is up with the gripper on the stringing machine or the grommets are worn out and cutting into the string. Or possibly the clamps are too tight.Errr how tight are you stringing it? I've never had ALU Power Rough snap on me.
Review: Luxilon Element Rough 1.30
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Tension(s) used for playtest: 50 lbs
Regular string set up: RS Lyon 1.25mm
Racquet used for test: Angell Custom TC100 (332grams, 6pts HL strung)
Power of test string: Definitely on the powerful side compared to other Luxilon offerings such as ALU, BBO and 4G. I thought it was quite a lively string (just like regular Luxilon Element) immediately as I started hitting.
Feel (Stiff? Mushy? Muted? Crisp?): Felt quite muted and soft. Not at all like ALU and ALU Rough which feel crisper, or most other Luxilon offerings. I had good dwell time on string bed and very nice ball pocketing as well.
Spin: Found it lacking in this department. It is definitely better than regular Luxilon Element in spin, but overall, not its forte. Certainly no match for other spin oriented polys like say Hyper-G, RPM Blast or Cyclone.
Comfort: This is where this string stood out. It was extremly comfortable but not mushy. For a poly string, it played very soft. I would not hesitate to recommend stringing tighter (even though I don't like poly strung at high tensions) and that too in a full bed.
Durability: No issues with durability. I typically have no problems in breaking any strings thicker than 17G and this seemed to do ok. I had to cut it out after 6 hours as the magic was gone and I knew string had died. I did do heavy hitting in those first 6 hours or so that included drills, free hitting and match play. For a string that is soft like this, it held its own in durability.
Playability Duration (did feel/comfort decline over time?): Definitely typical Luxilon string in that department. Not good. I get 8-10 hours from other polys but just like ALU and regular Element, this string was only good for first 4-5 hours. The performance of the string stayed pretty even right until the 4 hour mark. Then, I started spraying balls and everything started going long. The string lost its magic. By the 5th hour I knew it was gone. I played another hour to make sure, and cut it out at exact 6th hour.
Control: I found the control to be excellent on groundstrokes and serves for the first 4 hours. After that the balls started going long and I had to adjust. The shot trajectory was very consistent and predictable in the first few hours and I found that it was easy to take big swings and keep ball deep. Played similar to regular Luxilon Element which I thought was also great in control department.
Compare to the string used most often: I have used a wide variety of strings in my tennis life, and these days I am using RS Lyon in my Angell racquets. I found Luxilon Element Rough to be quite a bit more lively than RS Lyon. Comfort, spin and control, while great, were lacking compared to LS Lyon as well.
List any additional thoughts (optional):
A few observations:
1. I string my own racquets most of the time using a basic drop weight and I found Luxilon Element Rough easier to string compared to most, as it is soft and did not kink when stringing.
2. Nice balance of power, control and comfort. Softer and marginally more spin than regular Element. All other attribues were very similar to regular Element.
3. For first time users coming from low powered polys, I will also recommend stringing this string couple of pounds tighter to tame the power and increase control as this is on the livelier side.
Finally, thanks @TW Staff for giving me the opportunity to playtest this string. I always appreciate it.
That's very interesting. What is your tension?I'm surprised by all the "great ball pocketing" comments. I'm still in the midst of my playtest but I have very little sense of pocketing with this string. The ball feels lost on the stringbed and it rockets off the strings before I know it.... Especially during service returns.
That's very interesting. What is your tension?
disappointing on the spin department
Yes that is a very good point. This string's high launch angle coupled with the fact that even at full swing speed spin wasn't very impressive didn't allow me to get much rotation on the ball in general.Again, I believe, spin is 90+% you and less than 10% string. I believe what really matters in practical world, is that the string should allow player to hit at full confidence, and that would generate maximum spin, for the right person. For the same reason, the optimal max spin generating string would be different for different persons.
Yeah I wish I pre=stretched mine.Luxilon Element Rough (16g)
Background: 4.5/5.0, played D3 college (many years ago), Eastern forehand, 2-handed backhand
Tension used for playtest: 45lbs strung on a constant pull (WISE 2086) with a 10% prestretch
Fresh off the machine, it registered at 47lbs, which is close enough given that (a) I don't have a 'string factor' to calibrate against, and (b) there was a 10% prestretch, which normally results in a higher initial tension.Regular string set up:
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Indoor/Hardcourts: 17g Pacific Tough Gut main, 1.25mm YPTP crosses, strung at 54/52
Clay: 1.25mm Tecnifibre BLack Code 4S, strung at 48
Racquet used for test: Fischer Black Granite Pro No 1
Power of test string:
It had an average amount of power as compared to my normal setup of gut/poly, but slightly more than my usual full poly setup. From the start I felt comfortable swinging my 'normal' swing, as many times I struggle to get depth in a full poly setup. Not sure if that's due to the added spin, or just the nature of a poly, but I had no issues keeping the ball deep off both sides, but still retaining decent net clearance.Feel:
I fell in love w/ the feel from the very first swing. I had to do a double take to make sure I grabbed the right frame. Crisp yet very comfortable. No odd 'ping', no harshness at all. I could really feel the increased dwell time, as if the ball was stuck to the frame for an added second. Felt like I was hitting the sweet spot every time, which I know isn't possible (at least for me). I could easily find myself using this string in a full bed year-round.
Spin:
My strokes are fairly flat, but I definitely saw an increase in spin. When I took a huge cut at the ball and saw its trajectory, I would think "well, that's 5ft out", and it would drop in almost every time. Kinda felt like I was cheating... Second serves definitely had a bit more bite on them.Durability:
One experiment I did was to play a set with my normal gut/poly setup, then another with the Element Rough (same racquet). Immediately I noticed my returns and serves were either clipping the tape, or going into the net. They seemed to have the same amount of pace, so I assumed this was due to the increased spin. Once I adjusted the swing path to give the ball more clearance, I was back to getting good depth & net clearance.
Once again, I don't break gut/poly, so I'm not going to break 1.30mm full poly. The biggest concern will be playability duration as I'd bet my house this becomes unplayable well before it breaks, at least for my game.
Playability Duration:
Unlike others, I didn't notice much of a drop-off throughout the playtest. 2 singles matches and 2 doubles matches, as well as a few hours of just hitting/drilling for a total of around 7 hours, and it still plays nicely for me. Maybe a slight increase of power due to the drop off in tension, but even that wasn't as bad as I had expected. The following photos are from (1) 24 hours after stringing, (2) after the first hit, and (3) after approx. 7 hours of play:Control:
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You can see there was a fairly large initial drop after just 24 hours (approx 15%), but after that, it settled in and stayed fairly consistent.
Again, unlike some others, I had no problems controlling the ball with this string. I never felt as though the ball was 'flying' on me, and my only issue was my one experiment switching between setups mid-match when I had issues taking the net out of play. Power was still there when I needed it, but I really had to swing badly to miss by 4-5ft or more. Volleys were 'spot on', and I was able to move my serve around with confidence.Compare to string used most often:
While it doesn't have the feel of a gut/poly hybrid (really, what full poly setup does?), it is the most comfortable poly I've ever hit with. Compared to my Black Code 4S/YPTP clay setup, it is essentially better in every category, and I really like that setup.
List any additional thoughts:
Really loved this string from the start. While I play full poly on clay, its really a 'price' thing as I don't want to burn through my gut quicker. But this is a poly I could use on all surfaces. My only complaint is that it is not offered in a thinner gauge. Hopefully they will offer it in at least a 1.25mm.
Having said that, I'm a convert...almost. I'm ordering a pack of the Element Rough 1.30 and a pack of Element 'regular' 1.25mm. I'm going to hybrid, using the Rough in the mains, to see if I can get over the thicker string mental block. I'll be heading to Florida mid-March, so I'll get a good test on clay. Really looking forward to hitting w/ some of my clay court specialist friends with this string (unfortunately, @mikeler is sidelined from knee surgery, so that will have to wait until the fall).
Thanks again to TW and Luxilon for the opportunity to playtest this string. You got at least one new customer from this...
When is this coming out ? should I buy this and try it ? I currently use solico hyper G 17G
My thoughts vs Hyper G is very similar, little more pocketing with this string (despite thicker gage) and softer. I thought playable life similar.When is this coming out ? should I buy this and try it ? I currently use solico hyper G 17G