Ashaway Crossfire ZX String Review

Control - Score: 88 / Power - Score: 50

Let's not mince words; the Kevlar main strings in Ashaway's Crossfire ZX are extremely stiff and quite low-powered. As a result, this hybrid, despite having a soft and powerful cross string, errs on the side of control. In addition to giving our crew the kind of precision that breeds confidence on full swings, this combination also made for some impressive pocketing. Mark explained, "The power level of Crossfire ZX is very low, which allowed me to swing fast while still maintaining control over my shots. At 53 pounds, my tight-patterned stringbed felt firm against my hand, and I did not anticipate much ball pocketing. I mention this because this hybrid offered the best ball pocketing I have experienced."

This hybrid's control enabled Michelle to do what she does best: swing out with confidence. She said, "As a player who is looking for more control from a string, I am happy to report this hybrid felt lower powered and allowed me to feel confident when hitting out. You could almost feel the harmony between the stiff, dead Kevlar and the soft, spin-friendly ZX as the ball sunk into the stringbed and came out feeling lively, but not out of control. I felt like this hybrid rewarded big swings with control, but it has a slightly friendlier feel than a full bed of stiff polyester strings. I will note that after a solid two weeks of use, the strings felt like they opened up and became livelier and more powerful."

Spin - Score: 88

In addition to its grippy ball bite, Crossfire ZX has exceptional control on fast swings, making it extremely hospitable to the explosive upward cuts of topspin shots. Not surprisingly, our playtesters gave this hybrid an outstanding score for spin. Even Michelle, our resident flat-ball hitter, got the ball dropping and hopping. She said, "With my flatter mechanics, I'm not swinging up through the ball the way the more modern players are, but I was completely satisfied with how well I could get some grip on the ball and get it rotating if I wanted to. I was able to get some solid RPMs on balls, and I never struggled with net clearance. This came in handy, especially when carving out dippers or trying to change up the height of the ball against my opponents. It was also quite noticeable when serving. Crossfire ZX wasn't lacking spin potential in any way."

Mark was definitely impressed with this hybrid's spin potential. He said, "I ran the Kevlar half set, which does have a slight texture to it due to how Ashaway braids the fibers during production, as my main strings. No doubt, the noticeable ball pocketing and texture of the Kevlar contributed to the easy access to spin, enabling me to develop a tight topspin rotation on the ball, along with improving the quality of my backhand slice."

Comfort - Score: 85 / Feel - Score: 75

Kevlar is the stiffest material in the tennis string universe by a significant margin. Granted, the Kevlar used in Crossfire ZX is softer than Ashaway's original Kevlar used by Andre Agassi. It's also softer than the Kevlar used in Prince Pro Blend and Forten Thin Blend. That said, it's still stiffer than the stiffest polyester monofilament. For this reason, the biggest surprise of this playtest was the comfort level of this hybrid. Mark described, "The phrase 'you can’t always judge a book by its cover' definitely applies to Ashaway Crossfire ZX. I have always regarded Kevlar as being stiff enough to rattle the fillings in my teeth. It wasn’t until I hit a ball with this hybrid that I was convinced this setup would not cause me pain. From when I strung my racquet with Crossfire ZX all the way to hitting the sweetspot against my hand afterward, I was still of the mindset that arm discomfort was sure to follow. It didn’t require more than 10 shots for me to entirely change my mind on the arm-frinedliness of this hybrid."

Michelle was also surprised by this hybrid's comfort. She said, "OK, this is where you guys will need to get the string in your racquet to see for yourself, because everyone I explain this to doesn't believe me. The stringbed was surprisingly comfortable! Yes. Read that again. The stringbed was comfortable. We even had some passionate debates in the office about it. Off the stringer, the stringbed feels extremely firm to the touch. You will be worried it will hurt when you make contact with the ball, but I promise the feel and hitting experience will shock you. It pockets the ball and feels more comfortable than you would ever imagine. I grew up playing with a full bed of Kevlar, and this felt nothing like that. I honestly think this is something you cannot wrap your head around until you try it because, again, the stringbed feels very stiff when tapping it on your hand. I didn't experience any discomfort or any pain after long hitting sessions, and the hybrid got even more comfortable as the playtest went on; it definitely softened up. It even felt more comfortable than some polys strung at the same tension."

Playability Duration - Score: 75

All tennis strings lose tension over time, after which the playability changes, often resulting in compromises to the feel and control. Although neither playtester reported any significant playability issues with Crossfire ZX, Michelle noticed some changes to the response after a couple of weeks. She said, "I thought the playability duration was solid. There was a definite moment when I noticed that the playability had dropped a bit and the stringbed felt a little livelier. I would say that happened after around 10 to 14 hours. I also have a bad habit of playing with strings after I should cut them out. I have hit with this string for several weeks now, and while I should restring it, I am still enjoying it and I’m not struggling with any consistency. I would ideally want the stringbed to be a bit tighter for more control. Even so, the Kevlar keeps the control from falling off too drastically."

"After using one set for around 20 hours, I strung a second racquet with Crossfire ZX, and then alternated between the two,” said Mark. "I did this to try to determine how much of a difference there would be as far as performance and tension. After listening for a change in pitch while hitting the sweetspot of both against my hand, the newer stringbed did exhibit a higher pitched sound, but it was not drastically different. By a small margin, the fresher string setup did provide a more predictable shot response, but it was such a narrow difference that I feel a little nit-picky mentioning it."

Overall - Score: 85