Tennis Warehouse Playtest: Luxilon Element Rough 1.30mm

djNEiGht

Legend
  • Tension(s) used for playtest
    • 45# constant pull w 10% prestretch
  • Regular string set up
    • Nothing regular now. I have been using 1.25 shaped or textured polys often with a smooth poly cross. Strings I use as a reference against test string are as follows; Volkl Cyclone, Diadem Solstice Power, Tier One T1 Firewire
  • Racquet used for test
    • Angell TC95 16x19 63RA – 12.4 oz – 6 pts HL
  • Power of test string
    • Medium to high powered
  • Feel (Stiff? Mushy? Muted? Crisp? Comfortable?)
    • Comfortable
  • Spin
    • Spin was a nice highlight of the string but not as high as T1 Firewire
  • Durability
    • Seemed very durable. I must say I am not a string breaker when playing poly strings. Notching was minimal through the duration of the play test. This string though might notch faster than 4G strings.
  • Playability Duration (did feel/control decline over time?)
    • Feel/Feedback seemed to improve after break in time. Initial feel was also great. The characteristics changed to a more powerful string and I think that I was in the prime period of the string bed life.
  • Control
    • I felt that this had very good marks in the control department. Even though it was lively, I could hit different spots on the court.
  • Compare to string used most often
    • This string seemed to best the other strings listed in the following; comfort & feedback
    • This string was on par with (if not a slight edge) on power
    • This string had slightly less spin than the strings listed.
  • List any additional thoughts (optional)
    • This rough version seemed to fill the “wants” I had when playing with the regular/smooth version of Element. It gave that additional spin while retaining the other qualities that I liked. My previous Element adventure was in a racquet that I wasn’t comfortable with and seemed lower in power. The racquet used in this play test has more power and it paired well with this string.
    • What grabbed my attention was how well I played with this gauge of string. I usually prefer 17g. I would consider trying the 17g of this string if there is one but I am more than happy to use this string in its current size offering. It could be that I have been playing with 18x20 racquets more often that when I’m using a 16x19 it really brings the 16g alive.
    • Thank you to Tennis Warehouse and to Luxilon for making these play tests available
-------------------------------------------

I didn't catch the best angle of the TW stencil...but when the light hits it just right I thought it looked grand!

19554837_1779620658726576_4007808129861015771_n.jpg
 

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
I thought spin a little greater with Hyper-G but I was using 18g Hyper G and only a little better. Though I am always told I hit a lot of spin/heavier balls.
I hit 3000 RPM's on my shots as well. but Hyper G is massively spin friendly poly. If Element rough has more spin then that is GREAT but it is bit contradictory to what the play testers are saying above.
 

RVAtennisaddict

Professional
I thought spin a LITTLE GREATER with Hyper-G but I was using an 18g Hyper-g.

My understanding is that 18g may bite a little more and therefore be more spin friendly. But other argue it is less, just was giving for frame of reference.

For me all of the "spin friendly" strings bump my spin up a lot for about 1 hour (and it takes me about 20 min of that to adjust and stop dumping in the net/hitting short). And then they settle back down, still spin friendly but not nearly as much so as they were in the first hour. Textured strings seem to loose more than non-textured strings (maybe wear smooth?).

At this point., I really don't like my strings for the 1st hour. I want them to settle down into what I will really be playing with. I guess if I could restring every 1-2 hours, but my wife keeps me on a tennis budget so I play with them for about 10 hour before I cut them/break them/they degrade in playing characteristics to a point I can not tolerate. In summary, I am in search of the best string for about 10hours, and have come to accept that the first hour of play, while exciting and amazing because I can do more, is not the hour I rate my strings on.

The Element Rough- seemed to hold spinning better that other textured strings I have tried imo.

Because of this play test, I have a new set of Hyper-G going into my racket now (17g @52lbs instead of 1g8) to see how it does and feels.
 
Didn't the string play stiff at 55 pounds? It seems like it would have been quite underpowered at that tension also?
Do you mean this luxilon element @ 55lbs ? Not stiff or underpowered at all!! It very comfortable and rather too powerful. I might go as high as 60lbs if I use this string in the future, but overall this string is probably not the best fit for my game. If you mean hyper g @ 55lbs, that is not stiff either, but yeah underpowered in a good way. These are however my personal preferences, someone else might have different likings which can be totally valid too.
 
Do you mean this luxilon element @ 55lbs ? Not stiff or underpowered at all!! It very comfortable and rather too powerful. I might go as high as 60lbs if I use this string in the future, but overall this string is probably not the best fit for my game. If you mean hyper g @ 55lbs, that is not stiff either, but yeah underpowered in a good way. These are however my personal preferences, someone else might have different likings which can be totally valid too.

Agreed, i also did 55lbs and did not feel like it was stiff or underpowered, would also string higher if I used the string again as well.
 

Blitzball

Professional
I hit 3000 RPM's on my shots as well. but Hyper G is massively spin friendly poly. If Element rough has more spin then that is GREAT but it is bit contradictory to what the play testers are saying above.
I hit with 3200 RPM's with synthetic gut. Imagine if I used Revolve or Hyper G.
 
This is my review of Luxilon Element Rough.

I am a 4.5 all court player who relies on a big serve and forehand, and I like to get to the net to finish points if I have the opportunity.

I had the Element strung in my RF Pro Staff at 55. My regular set up of late is gut mains with Black Zone crosses which I like very much.

I played 3 sets of doubles.

The Element provided plenty of power with very good spin to keep the ball in the court.

Control was of course very good.

The feel was muted. There really was not much feel at all.

The Element performs best when hitting full shots. Ground strokes off sides produced solid dependable results. I could go all out on my forehand and there was a noticeable dip in my ball flight that would keep it in the court. Both slice and top spin one handed backhand drives worked very well with good bite on the slice and top spin.

Volleys and overheads are solid with good control.

The ball goes where you hit it with this string.

On serves, I got very good power and spin on both the first and second serves. i could easily slice the serve out wide with plenty of spin. Kick serves produced a noticeable jump. Hard flat first serves were easy to hit with this string. All serves had very good directional control making it fairly easy to hit your targets.

The string is durable. I cannot tell at this point if it will maintain playability because I played 3 sets of doubles with it.

I definitely recommend that you give this string a try if you are in the market for a control oriented poly with some pop that would be fairly easy on the arm.

Compared to my usual gut/poly set up, I would say that Element may provide more control.

I intend to keep playing with Element for awhile.

Thank you Tennis Warehouse and Luxilon for the opportunity to play test test Luxilon Element Rough.
 

Faris

Professional
I hit 3000 RPM's on my shots as well. but Hyper G is massively spin friendly poly. If Element rough has more spin then that is GREAT but it is bit contradictory to what the play testers are saying above.
I hit with 3200 RPM's with synthetic gut. Imagine if I used Revolve or Hyper G.
Pheesh. You guys need to practice harder. I hit with 3800rpm in just practice. Imagine: just PRACTICE! Game day Im over 4000RPM when I start hitting in rythm...I dont even want to try poly, way too much spin. It breaks opponents spirit and they dont wanna play anymore.
 

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
Pheesh. You guys need to practice harder. I hit with 3800rpm in just practice. Imagine: just PRACTICE! Game day Im over 4000RPM when I start hitting in rythm...I dont even want to try poly, way too much spin. It breaks opponents spirit and they dont wanna play anymore.
dudes,, my RPM was actually measured by babolat sensor
 

swfh

Semi-Pro
Here are my thoughts on this interesting string:

Tension(s) used for playtest: 55/53 strung on a klippermate

Regular string set up: Tecnifibre Black Code 1.24 at 55/53

Racquet used for test: Yonex Ezone DR 98+ with leather grip and lead at 10&2

Power of test string: This string is thicker that what I normally use, and I strung it at the same tension that I normally use, so I expected it to have less power than my normal set up. Interestingly, the setup had just about the same amount of power as my regular set up. There might have even been more power than what I usually have.

Feel (Stiff? Mushy? Muted? Crisp? Comfortable?): This string was soft both during stringing and during play. It was soft in the sense that I didn't get good feedback on the ball. However, because it is so soft, I got nice pocketing when hitting from the back. Sometimes I felt like I didn't know where the ball was going though.

Spin: For a thicker string, the spin was great. I rarely felt like I wasn't getting spin on my shots, and this was more pronounced towards the end of my playtest. Kickserves were ok, but the roughness of the string does its job.

Durability: I felt like the string was ok in this department. Nothing special. See more below

Playability Duration (did feel/control decline over time?): I felt like there was a steady decline in play once I started. It just became too powerful overtime, as I started to hit some of my forehands long. But otherwise it was actually kind of okay.

Control: there is a lot of pocketing here, so from the back I didn't have a problem knowing where the ball was going. I enjoyed hitting from the baseline, but I didn't really enjoy it at the net. I couldn't really punch away my volleys like I was used to.

Compare to string used most often: Compared to my tecnifibre black code 1.24, the only drawback I see is the lack of feel, and I knew that there would be less feel based on the stiffness. The string will certainly have its place among people looking for something softer, but those who want luxilon and something stiffer will have to stick with ALU.

List any additional thoughts (optional): Thank you to TW and Luxilon for the chance to playtest. I apologize for my lateness - life got in the way a bit.

23hsuat.jpg
 
Top