Tension(s) used for playtest
55 pounds on both mains and crosses.
Regular string set up
Topspin Cyberflash 17 mains, Gosen OG Sheep Micro 16 crosses, both at 55 pounds.
Racquet brand and model used for test
Prince Warrior OS.
Power of test string
About average for a modern poly. Perhaps this is a happy medium between ALU and 4G. It has more power than the 4G, but not as much as some of the springier newer polys. I found this to be a pretty good power level – not too dead, but not out-of-control.
Feel (Stiff? Mushy? Muted? Crisp?)
Somewhat stiff and muted. I prefer a crisp stringbed, but this was a bit softer than what I usually use. It’s a bit more comfortable feel, not as muted as 4G, but not really what I’d call a crisp string. Not mushy, though, so still pretty easy to control.
Spin
OK spin for a poly, although nobody’s going to call this a “spin” string. You have to think about producing spin more with this string, rather than just getting the sort of automatic spin you can get with some of the more textured polys. This string may be a better choice for flat hitters. I hit a lot of spin on most shots, so this wasn’t the best type of string for me.
Comfort
Definitely seems intended to be a more “comfort” poly. I don’t generally have comfort issues with crisper strings, so no problem here for me with this softer string.
Durability
After about 10 hours, the tension is still holding pretty well, but I’m seeing some notching, and the strings are locking in instead of sliding on my spin shots. So, not as long-lived as 4G, but about average for most other polys.
Playability Duration (share thoughts on if/how the playability changed over time)
There are a few polys that fall off a cliff in a few hours, but this is thankfully not one of those. The falloff is pretty gradual, and I actually liked this string a bit better after a few hours of play then when it was right off the stringer, but towards the end it became a bit tougher to really crank up the spin. Spin is important to me to control depth, so that’s where this test ends for me. A pretty decent performance compared to most other polys, though.
Control (predictable trajectory? Easy to control depth? performance on different strokes and swing speeds?)
Really nice side to side control. Depth control could have been better, as I depend on spin to control depth, and these are just OK for spin control. As I said before, these may be better suited for flat hitters, but for spin monkeys like me, there are better choices.
Compare to the string you use most often
This string has better comfort and feel than Cyber Flash. Spin is pretty similar, but I give the nod to CF on spin as I think it notches less and holds its spin longer. Tension maintenance is about the same. Control is about the same at first, but CF stays spinny longer, which I need to control depth. I suppose that this is going to cost more than CF, so it’s pretty dependent on the player whether the improvement in comfort and feel is worth the difference in price.
Tension recommendations (after hitting it, would you recommend a different tension? If yes, why?)
55 pounds worked OK for me, and that’s my usual starting tension for poly strings. New users should try this out at whatever they normally string poly at.
List any additional thoughts (optional)
This seems like a compromise string to me, between crisp/spinny ALU and muted/long-lasting 4G. That could be a great middle-of-the-road starting point for someone new to poly and Luxilon. After getting used to this string, you could eventually move to ALU or 4G, depending on what characteristics you wanted to improve on.
As always, thanks to Luxilon and Tennis Warehouse for giving us the opportunity to try out these new strings.