Luxilon Alu Power Rough 16L String Review

Power - Score: 60

Players with shorter strokes are not likely to find the power in Luxilon ALU Power Rough. However, Troy's experience suggests that big bangers might be able to unlock a fifth gear. He said, "I have found this to be one of the more high-powered co-poly strings on the market. From the first hit I noticed the nice pocketing and good pop off the stringbed. When I tried this string a couple of years ago I found too much launch on the ball, especially after the initial tension loss. For this test I pre-stretched the string and found that I was still getting better than average ball pocketing and power, but I didn't notice the big drop-off in tension and loss of control that I had in the past."

Andy also found a little extra pop. He said, "Just like the rest of the strings in the ALU Power line, the Rough 16L offers an ample amount of power. Compared with other polyester strings, this one is going to provide above average power and pop off the stringbed. I'm not sure if this directly relates to power, but I felt like the texture allows the string to grab and shoot the ball off at a slightly higher trajectory, giving the impression that you are getting more power than you would normally get."

Stringing it tight in his classic Donnay Pro One OS, Chris found the low-powered response his big strokes need. He said, "Like a typical monofilament, power is not the strong point of this string. Rather, it encouraged me to swing fast and bring my own strength to the fight. That being said, I find Rough to be slightly more powerful than regular ALU. I'm guessing that is because the scoops in the string, which give it its rough texture, thins out the gauge over the length of the string. The thing I liked most about the power was the consistency. This string delivered a very, very predictable level of power that allowed me to swing with confidence and stay on the gas. The low level of power was exactly what I look for in a string."

Spin - Score: 92

The phenomenal control and bite of Luxilon ALU Power Rough enables advanced players to uncoil with a more explosive upward whip. This allows heavy hitters like Andy to load the ball with massive spin. He said, "This string is a spin monster! To steal some of Apollo Creed's thunder, the Rough 16L is the Master of Disaster, the King of Sting, when it comes to spin! This string bites the ball like no other and shoots the ball off the strings with a monstrous amount of spin. Balls that seem to be going long dive down at the baseline at the last minute, and slices stay low and bite the court like a hovercraft gliding across the water."

Also finding easy spin was Chris. He said, "I got a lot of spin from this string -- definitely more than the average co-poly. Being able to take a big cut at everything is a huge asset when it comes to finding spin, and this string let me swing with abandon. I was getting a lot of bite from the stringbed and finding all the spin I needed to hit my targets with pace. I felt completely dialed in on both slice and topspin shots."

"Spin was above average for me in comparison to some of the other co-polys I've tried," said Troy, who was slightly less enthused than the others. "I found the pocketing helped with spin, but I didn't seem to notice a big difference in spin potential compared with the regular version of ALU Power. However, I was able to create a lot of rotation on the ball when hittting cross-court dipping shots. I have found other co-poly strings, such as Babolat RPM Blast, Poly Star Energy and Kirschbaum Pro Line X, to be a bit more spin-friendly than this string."

Comfort - Score: 73

Though Luxilon ALU Power Rough is made from firm material, none of our players complained about harsh feedback. In fact, Chris found it to be pretty comfortable. He said, "The response of this string was decently comfortable. It is not as soft and plush feeling as some of the more modern co-polys, but it was not overly harsh, either. Again, I found the response to be a tad softer and more lively compared to regular ALU. It felt very comfortable in the oversize racquet I chose for this test, but I've also hit it in a Prestige Mid (small head, tight string pattern) without any comfort issues."

The power Andy got put less stress on his arm, making it a more comfortable ride. He said, "It's middle of the road when it comes to comfort. It's not the softest, most comfortable string out there, but since you get a lot of power from the string (for a polyester) you don't feel like you have to slug the ball until your arm falls off. It is slightly on the stiffer side, but again, because it's so lively it's not going to be an arm killer."

"I had mixed feelings on the comfort of this string," said Troy, who shows us that tension is key to comfort. "In the past I strung this in the mid to lower 50 lb range on a fairly stiff racquet, and it was pretty jarring on the arm. This is not surprising since I typically string polys in the mid-40s. For this test I strung my racquet at 44/42 lbs, and I pre-stretched it to find a more comfortable and consistent feel. I found a much better feel on the arm, even if I hit slightly outside the sweetspot."

Control - Score: 90

With its excellent control, ALU Power Rough was designed to unlock the lightning fast topspin mechanics of the modern power game. According to Chris, mission accomplished. He said, "There's good reason this string is so popular on the pro tour; the level of control is awesome. I felt dialed in on every shot. I loved the way I could be very aggressive with my swing and still consistently find my targets. The level of spin I was finding had me feeling like I had pinpoint control from the baseline and on serves. The string offered a clean and crisp feel at the net that helped me find my targets with great consistency."

Though occasionally having trouble calibrating the trajectory, Andy still found decent control. He said, "The massive amount of spin I was able to get out of this string enabled me to control the ball well. Even though the ball seems to come off at a higher trajectory than normal because of the bite, if I accelerated and finished my swing the ball would dive down at the last moment and I did not lose control. However, I did feel that when I did not use a full, fast stroke, the ball would sail on me a bit and I would lose some control. Due to the massive bite the string has on the ball, I sometimes felt the response off the stringbed was not as consistent as a non-textured string."

Troy was able to make the exceptional control last longer through pre-stretching. He said, "The first time I tried this string, without pre-stretching it, I felt that control was superb for about the first 2-3 hours of hitting time, but then the tension dropped, and my control dropped with it. When the tension dropped my baseline shots were less predictable, and I found the ball flying long on occasion. It was a complete turnaround when I pre-stretched the string. I had great control for roughly 10-12 hours of play! I was getting a little less power initially compared with my first try with this string, but the improved control throughout the test was much appreciated."

Playability Duration - Score: 87

Though Luxilon ALU Power Rough lost its fair share of tension over the course of the playtest, the playability remained quite high for Andy. He said, "I felt the tension maintenance was average, but the playability remained good for a long time. It's been in my racquet for over two weeks now, and it still feels great. It almost seemed to get livelier and easier on my arm as it loses tension."

Chris got more distance than usual out of this string. He said, "I had no issues going my requisite two weeks with this string. I like it when I can get a solid two weeks of hitting out of a monofilament, and I kept this one in my racquet for a full three weeks without issues. Yes, playability dropped off, but the drop was not dramatic and the string only began to feel harsh to me for the last hitting session or so."

Players who think that polys lose playability too quickly might want to follow Troy's lead. He said, "The times I have tried this string without any pre-stretching I felt like the string played great for about five hours, then it loosened up and control became sporadic. By pre-stretching I found the playability to just about double, getting a solid 10 hours of good control and consistent tension."

Overall - Score: 85

Scores

(Scores are determined by averaging individual play test scores)

Playtester String Setups

Review date: October 2012. If you found this review interesting or have further questions or comments please contact us.

All content copyright 2012 Tennis Warehouse.

Click here to see all Tennis Warehouse reviews