Luxilon Natural Gut String Review

Control - Score: 80 / Power - Score: 94

Given that Luxilon Natural Gut is constructed from an extremely elastic material, it's not surprising our team gave it an outstanding score for power. Chris definitely appreciated the power, but he ultimately realized that getting the tension right was crucial. He said, "I really enjoyed the powerful response of Luxilon Natural Gut on serves and overheads, and when I was looking to hit a winner. The ball zipped nicely off my stringbed even when the gut was strung at 60 lbs in my Pure Drive Plus. I tried it at lower tensions as a hybrid (both in the mains with a poly cross and as a cross with a poly main), but I preferred the power/control juxtaposition I found with a full set of gut. At 60 lbs I managed to find the control I needed to swing freely while still having access to all the power I desired. My serves and bigger groundstrokes had noticeably more zip to them than when I hit with a full stringbed of poly. This string felt crisper and lower powered than Babolat VS Gut. I thought my control was improved, but my power level was slightly down."

Andy found this lively natural gut to have surprisingly good control. He explained, "Like any natural gut, this string has impressive power, and the high comfort means you can crank up the tension to add more control. Having said that, Luxilon Natural Gut wasn't as powerful as you might expect. It was deader and more dampened than other natural gut strings I've hit, which gave it more control than, say, Babolat VS Gut or Pacific Tough Gut. So while it should definitely satisfy those seeking power, I found it a little more control-oriented than other natural gut strings on the market."

Spin - Score: 79

Unlike a shaped polyester string, Luxilon Natural Gut doesn't have spin friendly teeth for gripping a tennis ball. However, it was specially designed with a low-friction surface, which is supposed to promote the sliding action required for effective spin. Andy thought the design worked pretty well. He said, "I thought the string's somewhat slick surface allowed it to slide well on itself (or on the poly I paired it with in a hybrid), thus giving me pretty good spin potential. The slightly dead response also allowed me to swing out at the ball without fear of it flying long, which increased the spin potential even more. I definitely get more spin from a full bed of polyester, but I think Luxilon has done a good job on the spin front."

Chris also found decent spin with this string, especially in the beginning of the playtest. He commented, "I enjoyed the spin I found with Luxilon Natural Gut. When it was fresh it allowed the poly mains to slide and snap back well in a hybrid setup. When I had a hybrid setup with the gut in the mains the gut was sliding and snapping back well. However, once the surface of the Luxilon Natural Gut became worn the snap back diminished severely, but spin was still solid. In a full set the gut continued to offer solid spin. Again, it offered good snap back during the first hour of play. Once the surface was roughed up the string started to stick out of position, but I was still getting some nice grip on the ball. In the three different variations I hit the string I never found the consistent spin I find from a full bed of poly. I think the added control from an all poly setup allowed me to swing faster compared to when I added gut to the mix. The added racquet head speed from a full poly set up gave me more spin."

Comfort - Score: 98

Made of ultra pliable serosa fibers, Luxilon Natural Gut is one of the most arm-friendly strings we've ever playtested. If our team has it right, this string will not only add instant comfort to any hybrid, but it will soften the response of your stiffest racquet. Chris was impressed, saying, "The comfort of this string is simply fantastic. In a full set the string offered a beautifully crisp response that was also sublimely comfortable. There are not many strings I would have in my Pure Drive Plus at 60 lbs, but this string absorbed any harsh feedback with aplomb. I would confidently string Luxilon Natural Gut even tighter without worrying about comfort issues. In a hybrid setup the addition of this string made each poly I tried it with feel much more comfortable."

"As with most natural guts, this string offered exceptional comfort and arm-friendliness," said Andy, who clearly sees the appeal of this kind of sting. He added, "It was very soft and comfortable on my arm when I combined it with ALU Power in a hybrid setup. This playtest became a welcome relief on my arm after years of playing with full beds of poly. I'm beginning to understand why players on the tour are partial toward the gut/poly hybrid setup, and it starts with the comfort that gut provides on all those harsh collisions with the ball."

Feel - Score: 92

Natural gut, as a material category, is the softest and most arm-friendly substance in the tennis universe. However, what truly separates it from other soft strings is that it finds a way to feel crisp rather than mushy (the downfall of many soft multifilament nylons). The payoff of this near magical crispness comes in the form of unmatched ball feedback, which provides the player with a heightened connection to ball, both its impact location on the stringbed and the resulting trajectory. According to Andy, Luxilon Natural Gut delivers that "connected feel," but he stopped shy of giving it GOAT status in the feel department. He explained, "Off the stringer Luxilon Natural Gut offers a more muted feel than I was expecting. You still get that addictive and unmistakeable connection to the ball that comes from this string type, but not quite as much as I got with VS Gut. The outer coating seemed to wear down a bit as the playtest wore on, but this actually improved the feel for me. In a way that only natural gut can provide, I was starting to get that sensation of the ball interacting with the individually wrapped fibers of this extraordinary string material."

For Chris, the firmer, more controlled feel of Luxilon Natural Gut was right on the money. He said, "This gut felt crisper and firmer than Babolat VS Gut. I felt a little more connected to the ball with it, though I prefer VS once I've broken it in with an hour or so of play. This string continued to offer impressive comfort when the ball hit outside of the sweetspot. Most strings can quickly feel stiff and jarring on off center hits, but Luxilon Natural Gut reacted with excellent elasticity and comfort. All in all, I felt very connected to my shots with this string and thought the feel was top notch."

Playability Duration - Score: 95

Our team gave Luxilon Natural Gut a near perfect score for playability duration. Like the other natural guts we've tested, this string held its tension and playability noticeably longer than any synthetic string we've hit. However, according to Chris, it didn't age perfectly. He said, "The slick coating on this string didn't last that long for me, but I still enjoyed its playability. I was still able to find decent spin with this string after the coating wore off, and the only downside was having to straighten my strings after each point. It held tension superbly well and I would play it until it breaks."

For Andy, Luxilon Natural Gut not only held its tension and playability, but it also proved quite durable for a natural gut. He explained, "I've come to expect unmatched playability duration and tension maintenance from natural gut, and this Luxilon Natural Gut was no exception. It's been in my racquet for almost a month with virtually no change to tension. In fact, I thought the performance and feel actually improved as the test went on (see previous section). Surprisingly, it's also extremely durable -- I didn't break them like I thought I would."

Overall - Score: 92