Luxilon Alu Power Feel String Review

Many of the best tennis string manufacturers have added more nuanced models to their most popular lines in recent years. These help to fill the gaps in an ever expanding market, where both professional and recreational tennis players look to get the most out of their games.

Where a softer multifilament or natural gut string typically offers comfort, power and forgiveness, a firmer polyester string tends to be geared more towards control and spin.

However, big brands like Luxilon have softened off some of their firmer polyester strings to make them more comfortable, feelsome and powerful.

The aim is to do this without compromising too much of the control or spin that players are used to. This is supposed to create a middle ground between stiffer and more supple models, that effectively negates the need to play with a hybrid string setup.

In the case of Luxilon ALU Power Feel, the main talking point is that the gauge has been stripped back to a 1.20mm.

Thinner gauges offer more power and feel thanks to their greater elasticity and more of that trampoline effect more commonly associated with a natural gut or multifilament string. Thinner gauges also help with spin generation, so hitting heavy balls is not a challenge for ALU Power Feel.

This definitely ups the power levels of ALU Power Feel compared to the original. There is a noticeable increase in the pop felt when you strike a ball cleanly in the sweet spot.

Where the original gauge ALU Power can feel a little underpowered at times, the Feel variant packs a solid punch for a poly. The high quality materials used to produce it do a great job of combining that familiar control and spin with power when you need it.

However, there isn’t any noticeable drop in performance or crispness as a result of adding power to the string.

If you are an intermediate to advanced level player that loves the iconic original version of Luxilon ALU Power but perhaps fancies something a little more forgiving, ALU Power Feel is well worth a try.

It will give you just a little bit more easy power on your groundstrokes and serves which definarly comes in handy towards the end of a long hitting session or a tight match!

Control and power are very often opposing forces when it comes to both tennis rackets and tennis strings. The properties that naturally give a racket power tend to take away from control or precision.

However, in the case of ALU Power Feel, Luxilon have managed to find a great balance between controllable power and pinpoint accuracy.

There is plenty of control with this string, which players familiar with the ALU Power line will recognize. You can place the ball with a great deal of precision and there really isn’t much sacrifice for having that extra power from the thinner gauge.

The string definitely encourages you to swing through your shots and compliments this by generating plenty of power and spin. It feels like the more aggressively you swing at the ball, the more the string will help guide the ball with more accuracy.

The spin the string can generate is better than expected too, which again gives you more confidence to attack the ball and hit with authority.

The string being slightly more lively can detract from that absolute rock solid feel that players more used to a stiff poly may love. But, by the same token this opens the string up to a wider audience.

This is the sort of string that will also give you a bit of a safety net if you miss time or miss hit the ball. It somehow always manages to find the court!

Touch was another area in which ALU Power Feel performed surprisingly well. Most stiffer polyester strings tend to feel a bit muted and lack that sense of connection that a softer, more pliant string tends to offer.

However, the thinner gauge of this Luxilon string definitely helps with the feel on the ball.

You can place the ball with a great deal of accuracy, whilst the combination of spin and power helps you punch through the ball with confidence on approach shots and volleys.

You of course don’t get the same degree of feel as a natural gut string, but this is to be expected from a string that has this much control and spin potential.

The response is fairly consistent, which again helps with predictability and control. There’s nothing worse than a string that leaves you second guessing all the time. In this respect, ALU Power Feel helps instil confidence in your game and allows you to swing freely and trust in your shots.

Spin is another area where the thinner gauge used in Luxilon ALU Power Feel improves. For a round polyester string that is not textured like a Luxilon 4G Rough for example, it produces an impressive amount of spin.

Again, this is helped by the fact that you need to swing fast to get the most out of the string, which in turn generates more racket head speed and more RPMs on the ball.

Considering this is not designed to be the most spin friendly string in the world, it does a great job of combining spin, power, control and feel all at once.

There is more than enough spin to get the ball dipping when you need to hit heavy, you can also easily knife your slices and volleys to keep them low. Acute angles and passing shots are also easy to dig out when using ALU Power Feel.

Overall durability as far as ALU Power Soft is concerned is good, but not outstanding. Naturally, the thinner gauge makes the string more susceptible to notching, which hinders performance.

Whilst the string is still a good option for string breakers, it isn’t quite as robust as the original version and there are other, stiffer strings out there that will last longer overall.

However, tension maintenance is remarkably good throughout the life of the string due to the added flex. This makes it ideal for a performance player that is looking for that consistent response from their string, even after hours of hitting.

Polyester strings tend not to score as highly on the comfort scale. This is to be expected as their main job is to offer spin and control for high performance players that take big cuts at the ball.

These types of players are most likely used to a stiffer racket and string setup and actually crave this feel to get as consistent of a response from their equipment as possible.

That being said, with more and more recreational players converting to polyester strings nowadays, there is something to be said for a slightly more pliant string that still offers all of those  familiar poly playing characteristics.

Luxilon ALU Power Feel does a great job of being just soft enough to discourage arm issues, but not feel mushy.

You still get that crispness that lovers of the original ALU Power and Big Banger strings will enjoy, but with a bit of edge taken off.

There is a reassuringly firm feel to the string which lets you know when you’ve hit one off centre, but it is supple enough to be forgiving. If there are any concerns from a comfort perspective, it would be well worth experimenting with a lower tension or using ALU Power Feel as part of a hybrid setup with a softer string.

Overall, Luxilon ALU Power Feel is a very high quality all rounder, that successfully bridges the gap between some of the harsher, more performance focussed polys, and softer multifilament and natural gut strings.

It isn’t necessarily outstanding in one particular area, but it is more than the sum of its parts.

ALU Power Feel definitely leans more towards control and spin, but it still manages to combine power, touch and comfort brilliantly well.

If you are an intermediate to advanced level player that loves the feel of a Luxilon poly string but is seeking just a touch more forgiveness and power, ALU Power Feel could be the next string for you!