I was fortunate enough to get some samples of Laserfibre JB Tour 100 tennis string; from the things that I was told about this tennis string, it was sounding very promising. I was very excited to review this tennis string that was designed in collaboration with former ATP #4, James Blake. You can read more about the Laserfibre JB Tour 100 collaboration over here.
Laserfibre JB Tour 100 17 Review: Installation
The string had what seemed like a waxy coating that was very slick. So stringing a full bed of Laserfibre JB Tour 100 was extremely easy; weaving was a breeze, the intersecting mains with the crosses didn’t give much resistance and strung up nicely.
With most of my poly tennis string reviews, I go with a lower tension; lower tension with poly strings lets the string perform the way it was designed to. I strung up Laserfibre JB Tour 100 17 at 46lbs (20.8kg) on the mains and 48lbs (21.7kg) on the crosses on my Yonex VCORE Duel G 97.
I would note, be very careful with this polyester tennis string, Laserfibre JB Tour 100 tends to kink very easily. Any potential kinking can seriously weaken the tennis string, this leads to premature breakage. Stringers should always be mindful of kinking, though I would pay extra attention to this string.
Laserfibre JB Tour 100 17 Review: On Court Testing
I didn’t really know what to expect from this tennis string, I was told that it has some good power and decent feel. When I got out to the courts for my first hit, I was honestly struggling to find my range with this string. I felt that I was over swinging and everything was going long. The launch angle seemed to be way high; most of my forehands were flying several feet over the net and going out. I was quite a bit frustrated with this string. That was, however, until I found my range.
Once I found my range, Laserfibre JB Tour 100 really showed me what it was most capable of. Let me tell you, if you’re looking for a powerful poly tennis string, Laserfibre JB Tour 100 is the string to try! Holy forehands Batman! It had been a while since I was hitting my forehands with such confidence. I felt like I was absolutely CRUSHING the ball wit this string. The ball was moving so quickly, I could hardly believe it. For a hot second, I thought that I had made a mistake with the tension and strung it in the 30lbs range (13Kg). I was all over every single ball I hit, power power and MORE POWER! It was outrageous, honestly. I was having a blast with this string and I loved every minute of it.
Even the feel was very very nice. Yes, Laserfibre JB Tour 100 17 is a little on the stiff side, but it’s crisp. I didn’t feel much tenderness in my elbow when playing with it. The pocketing was very very nice, especially after it settled. I found it to be a very forgiving stringbed and that would be a decent option for players with any arm issues (maybe don’t go with a full bed, though). Even as the tension dropped, the strings didn’t get muted or dull, they kept playing nicely.
With all this power there had to be a way to control all of it, right? Well, this is one of the pain points with Laserfibre JB Tour 10, the string lacks spin so getting the ball to move and dip were kind of a struggle for me. Don’t get me wrong, I was able to move the ball around without much effort but getting the ball to spin (topspin specifically) where I wanted it to, was definitely the real struggle. I was hitting flat most of the time, which is nice for the power that the string offers, but if the ball goes with that power then it’s not worth it. I certainly had to make some adjustments to my grip and swing to get the extra spin I needed. Even still, Laserfibre JB Tour 100 lacked in spin.
Because of the lacking spin, I struggled finding the balance of power + spin for my serves. I could hit massive, flat, first serves but when it came to hitting a kick or slice serve (where I had to spin the ball a little more), I found that was unable to get the speed dialed in. Because the string isn’t super spinny, I had to brush a lot more on those serves to get the rotations required to slice or kick. Those serves became pretty predictable and was losing points off serve. I had to rely more on flat, powerful, serves to keep my nose in front.
I was told that this string is comparable to Luxilon ALU Power, so I expected it to lose tension very quickly and basically need to cut it out after a few hours of play. Surprisingly, the string had better power than ALU and played exceptionally well for a long while after the lifespan of ALU. I had been hitting with Laserfibre JB Tour 100 17 for 8+ hours and haven’t needed to cut it out, it is still very playable. Sure, the string move around a little bit but the tension is still holding fairly well and there is only maybe 20% notching at the intersection string. So there’s no indication of it breaking at this point.
Laserfibre JB Tour 100 17 Review: Final Thoughts
Well, this is definitely a “must try” tennis string in 2018. Hands down. If you are fond of ALU Power, then I highly recommend this as an alternative. It’s a few dollars cheaper and lasts a bit longer. I normally recommend stringing your poly tennis strings at a lower tension than normal, so I would consider stringing Laserfibre JB Tour 100 17 at or slightly above your normal tension. You’re going to want to harness some of that power that you’re going to be hitting.
For players who are looking for a powerful, durable, tennis string but have arm issues; I would strongly recommend blending Laserfibre JB Tour 100 with a multi or your favorite synthetic gut tennis string. I am confident that this string will only add to your game.
Want to share your own views on Laserfibre JB Tour 100? Let me know your comments/review in the comments below!
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