Pro Supex Blue Gear

Pro Supex Blue Gear
Gauge: 16 (1.28), 17 (1.25), 18 (1.19)
Price: $10/set
Type: Co-polymer
Color: Pearl Blue, Pearl White

Spin me in the court baby! This string has sick bite. You literally rip the fuzz off the ball every time you come in contact with the ball. After your follow-through, you breathe tennis fuzz.

This string to date, produces the most spin out of any rough/textured string that I played with (gauge relative). No other string compares to the amount of spin you can generate with Blue Gear. The 16 gauge probably generates more spin than a typical 18 gauge poly. What creates all this spin? Pro Supex claims that this string is hexagonal but I say its more like a star with 6 vertices. If you run your nails around this string, you can hear the ribs. Luxilon Alu Power Rough comes no where near how much spin you can produce with Blue Gear. The 16 gauge is probably the most textured.

This string is stiff. Stiffer than Luxilon. If you have arm problems, string LOW, or hybrid it with a synthetic. Not much feel on this string but adiquate power and massive spin. Really nice string if you are looking for spin. Durability is good and tension maintenance is better than the average poly. Only problem with this string is that it tends to get mushy before it breaks. Not a really good feeling at the end. Other than that, very nice string and spin production for its price.

Quick Review (out of 10):
Power: 8
Control: 7
Spin: 10
Stiffness: 9
Feel: 6
Durability: 8
Tension Maintenance: 7

Luxilon Alu Power Rough

Luxilon Alu Power Rough
Gauge: 16L (1.25)
Price: $16/set
Type: Co-polymer+Fluocarbon Resin+Aluminum Fibers
Color: Silver

Oh, the great Luxilon. The brand that boast most of the ATP tour pros use this brand. The brand that claims GOAT Roger Federer uses this specific string. The brand that most recreational players swear by that this brand produces the best polyester strings. So I come across this profound brand and one of its most popular string of all, Alu Power Rough.

So this string only comes in 1 type. No deviations of this string exist. Well there is a non-rough version but that's about it. 1 gauge, 1 color, no options. I string this baby up at 55lbs. This string is fairly stiff when fresh. Great ball bite and spin production. Play about 1-2 hours and you are in the sweet spot with this string. Excellent blend of power, spin, feel, and control. No wonder the majority of players like this string. It's probably one of the most powerful polys that I have played to date and it doesn't compromise on spin, feel, and control.

Then the honeymoon is over. About 4 hours+ tension loss creeps in. Whats even more surprising is that you can feel the loss of tension hour by hour. At this time the roughness is turns into smoothness. The ribs wear off and all you are left is a smooth string. 6+ hours on this string and it feels like a trampoline. At this time its too much power and great loss of control. Really springy feeling. Durability is above average for a string that's 1.25mm. Just a tad bit durable for a typical 1.25mm string. Nothing special.

For the price of the string, you will get a good 2-3 hours of excellent playability. No other poly compares to Alu Power Rough's playability during that time. After that, in my opinion, it's pure garbage. I guess pros use it for those 2-3 hours. After that they cut that baby out for a new set. They have the money and they probably are sponsored by Luxilon. For the general public, pretty expensive routine if you decide to cut them out after only 2-3 hours of play. Price to playability ratio is low in my opinion.

As one guy put it "Alu Power is (metaphorically speaking) Selma Hayek for around two hours. After that, It's still the blonde chick from "Heart" for another six, but after that it's Kim Clijsters. I cut it out at that point, because I didn't see the point of waiting for Hillary Clinton to show up."

Good description

If you have the money go for it. If you don't look elsewhere. There are many strings out there that perform similarly but at a cheaper price.

Quick Review (out of 10):
Power: 10
Control: 10 (first 2-4 hours only)
Spin: 9 (first 2-4 hours only)
Stiffness: 8 (first 2-4 hours only)
Feel: 8 (first 2-4 hours only)
Durability: 7
Tension Maintenance: 4

Topspin Concept Pure

Topspin Concept Pure
Gauge: 16 (1.29), 17 (1.24)
Price: $9/set
Type: Co-Polyester
Color: Natural

Comfort, comfort, comfort!

This string is one of the softest and comfortable polyesters that I have played to date. It is extremely comfortable and the power generation is far above average. Very nice string for those players who are looking for an arm friendly poly. Hybrid this with synthetic gut and the string bed would become even softer. Control and spin production is great but not outstanding when compared to stiffer strings. If one wants to achieve better control and spin, up the tension 3-5 lbs and the string should perform very well. Very comfortable at 50-55 lbs tension. The tension maintenance of the string is very good.

Highly recommended for performance-price ratio

Quick Review (out of 10):
Power: 8
Control: 7
Spin: 8
Stiffness: 6
Feel: 7
Durability: 7
Tension Maintenance: 7

Gosen Polylon Comfort

Gosen Polylon Comfort
Gauge: 16 (1.30), 17 (1.24)
Price: $7/set
Type: Textured Polyester Monofilament
Color: White

This is Gosen's textured polyester string available on the US market. The string itself is very soft compared to the average polyester. It almost feels like a multifilament. This is a good thing if you are looking for a very soft poly that is textured. The string has small slits in them making the string rough for added spin. Power, feel, and control are just average. Nothing special. That's probably the only good thing I can comment on about this string.

Now for the bad part. This string is subpar compared to any of its competitors. After stringing, the string surface is not as rough compared to similar products such as, Luxilon Alu Power Rough and Pro Supex Blue Gear. Added spin? Not much that was noticable. Also the durability on this string is extermely poor for a polyester. It lasted me 6 hours of court time before the string snapped. On the package it says this string has good durability. I am not sure about that one.... After about an hour of hitting, the roughness is totally gone and you are left with a smooth surface.

Quick Review (out of 10):
Power: 7
Control: 6
Spin: 5
Stiffness: 4
Feel: 6
Durability: 3
Tension Maintenance: 7