Babolat RPM Blast Orange String Review

Control - Score: 94 / Power - Score: 55

With its low-powered construction and spin-friendly precision, RPM Blast Orange earned one of the highest control scores ever awarded by our playtesters. For Chris, this orange variation played a tad differently from the standard black color, but the control was spot on. He explained, "Compared to RPM Blast in black, this string offered me a little more launch on my shots. The level of control was still very high. I wouldn't say I was getting more power, but my shots were loopier with a higher launch angle. Switching between the two colors strung identically in matching racquets proved seamless. I've been a big fan of the control of regular RPM Blast, and that love continued with this new orange version."

According to Mark, this string's outstanding control did not come with any deal-breaking tradeoffs in the power department. He said, "RPM Blast Orange had good balance for a polyester monofilament. It had great control, but it also never felt dead or caused me to struggle to achieve depth or put the ball away. The Pure Drive Plus is a pretty lively frame, and this string helped tame the power, making it more manageable and predictable."

Spin - Score: 95

Although spin comes overwhelmingly from technique (stroke speed and angle of attack), RPM Blast Orange is uniquely constructed to make hitting spin easier. For starters, it has a low power level, which enabled our team to execute powerful upward cuts without fear of overhitting. Secondly, it has a low-friction surface, which allows the strings to deflect and snap back powerfully during impact, resulting in heavier ball rotation. Needless to say, Mark was impressed. He said, "As with the black version of RPM Blast, I thought the orange version snapped back powerfully and provided excellent spin. In the wide-open 16x19 pattern I tested this string with, hitting effective spin was as easy as it gets."

"I was very happy with the spin I found with RPM Blast Orange," added Chris, who gave this string a nearly perfect score for spin. "The controlled response allowed me to take big, fast swings at the ball, which helped me get it rotating quickly. It felt like the stringbed was biting the ball well, and I was getting plenty of action on my shots. Just like regular RPM Blast, this color update is a spin monster."

Comfort - Score: 73 / Feel - Score: 84

According to Chris, whose polyester palette is more refined than most, one of the biggest differences between the standard black version of RPM Blast and RPM Blast Orange came in the feel department. He described, "I could immediately feel a difference between the black and orange versions of RPM Blast. The orange version pocketed the ball better, whereas the black version felt deader and more muted. While the orange version felt softer, it didn't play noticeably differently, and what I could get on the ball remained very similar despite the differences in feel."

For Mark, the feel of RPM Blast Orange was excellent. He said, "Paired with a notoriously stiff Pure Drive, I experienced a surprisingly high level of comfort with this string. It felt great to me, both at ball contact and from the feeling I had when hitting my targets. Relative to the black RPM Blast, the orange felt a little softer, making it slightly more forgiving on off-center shots."

Playability Duration - Score: 78

The biggest downside of the standard RPM Blast is that it, like many of our favorite polys, loses tension and playability quickly. Although RPM Blast Orange is not immune to the ravages of tension loss, it held up decidedly better than the standard RPM Blast. Mark explained, "The black RPM Blast is one of my favorite polyester monofilaments, but this orange example seems to hold tension and playability longer. I thought maybe it was a perception thing on my part, but after gauging deflection levels during testing, my perception turned out to be a reality."

"There was a noticeable improvement in how long the orange version lasted in my racquet compared to the regular black RPM Blast," said Chris. "With both racquets getting strung back to back, the black version dropped tension much faster than the orange. Into the second week of the test, I was ready to get the black version restrung because it felt like it had dropped off significantly in playability. The orange version was still going strong. I played it into a third week, and I used the same set to wrap up the test with the video review shoot."

Overall - Score: 88