Review: Luxilon Eco Rough 1.25mm – Sustainable Tennis Strings with a Catch

Luxilon has long been synonymous with premium tennis strings, and they’re used widely on the ATP and WTA tours due to their performance-driven capabilities.

The introduction of the Luxilon Eco line aims to combine their renowned string technology with a sustainable approach, targeting environmentally conscious players seeking top-tier performance without compromising the planet.

Luxilon Eco Rough 1.25 mm, as part of this eco-friendly string range, instantly caught my attention.

Having admired Luxilon’s track record for delivering high-quality strings, I found the Eco line’s promise of sustainability alongside enhanced spin capabilities to be a perfect fusion of innovation and ecological responsibility.

Yet, while pleasing in some areas and the noble intentions behind the eco-friendly initiative, my experience with the Eco Rough 1.25 mm string did highlight some discrepancies between promised capabilities and actual performance.

In this review, I will disclose all the details of my experience with Luxilon Eco Rough. Let’s go.

Luxilon Eco Power Specification

Specifications

Racquet Setup For Testing

A Few Words From the Stringer

Luxilon Eco Rough presents a distinct rough texture that’s immediately noticeable, and its coating feels premium quality when touched. Like other rough-coated strings, it carries a noticeable rigidity, often delivering a firm impact sensation. Surprisingly, despite the roughness, it manoeuvres through the verticals while stringing, avoiding bothersome tangling. Yet, it does have a somewhat delicate nature, demanding extra caution during stringing to prevent premature damage to its coating. While not my top choice for stringing due to this delicacy, it didn’t pose any significant issues that would deter me from working with it again. Overall, its unique texture, quality coating, and manageable stringing process, although delicate, ensure a satisfactory experience without causing undue frustration in the stringing process. Stringing with Eco Rough

Luxilon Eco Power Playest and Review

In my playtest, I will delve into the Luxilon Eco Rough 1.25 mm string, evaluating its performance across critical aspects: power, control, spin, and durability. I also assess its value for money and compare it with similar strings on the market to offer insight into its on-court capabilities.

First Impressions

Luxilon has always maintained a reputation for crafting aesthetically pleasing strings, and the Luxilon Eco Rough 1.25 mm lives up to this tradition.

Despite its 100% recycled material composition, the string’s appearance looks top quality. The silver hue, complemented by the rough coating, shimmers nicely under the lights.

Upon first glance, the string’s surface reveals intricate diamond shapes and a dented texture, signalling its potential to generate remarkable spin while offering a soft and forgiving feel on impact.

However, this visually appealing string raised immediate concerns about potential durability issues. The juxtaposition of a rough texture with the string’s softer feel sparked doubts about its ability to withstand extended play without premature wear and tear.

How did it perform?

Power, Spin & Comfort

Luxilon Eco Rough 1.25 mm performs well in control and spin capabilities, and it has a very high resilience peak, which gives it a swift response during ball impact. This means more dwell time on the string bed, and it offers plenty of feel.

In terms of power, I found that Eco Rough wasn’t quite to my taste for flatter groundstrokes and flat serves. It felt like the rough coating held back the string’s power, causing the ball to lack the expected speed.

On the flip side, the string’s textured surface provided ample topspin and the ability to hit precision shots. It gave me a fantastic feel on the ball, enabling better control.

I noticed a significant improvement in shots requiring delicate spin adjustments, like backhand slices or those tricky drop shots.

Despite not offering me the type of power from a string I like, it compensated impressively with enhanced accuracy and finesse, mainly when I used it with my power-orientated Yonex VCORE 100 racket.

Moreover, I noticed that the string did not need any break-in time, and I could enjoy a pleasant feeling of impact starting from the first shot.

What also surprised me was the string’s comfort. Despite its roughness and countering forceful shots against my hitting partner, it absorbed vibrations exceptionally well.

It made my playing experience more comfortable, reducing the strain on my arm during intense rallies.

Durability and Tension Maintenance

In my experience with the Luxilon Eco Rough string, I’m disappointed to say it exhibits a significant weakness in durability.

Surprisingly, wear signs emerged after just five minutes of play, and unfortunately, it snapped around 20 minutes of play. Regular readers will know I broke Luxilon’s Eco Power string in just over an hour.

After the premature breakage, I carefully examined the string to rule out external factors like the stringer’s mistake or racket defects. It was evident that the string had grooves across the vertical strings, and the rupture point was in the middle of the stringbed, confirming the issue was solely due to string durability.

This rapid wear and tear poses serious concerns for players seeking a durable, long-lasting string option, raising doubts about the string’s ability to withstand the rigours of competitive play or even regular practice sessions.

Update: Further Playtesting

Upon reporting my findings to Wilson, they sent me more strings to see if it was an anomaly. Again, I tested the Eco Rough in my Yonex VCORE 100 racket, and it was the same story – durability, while slightly longer, was under an hour of intense play.

However, I decided to see if it performed differently in another racket; for this, I chose the Wilson Blade 98, which has a denser string pattern that made a difference with the string lasting over an hour of play.

Based on my experience, if you’re a string breaker with an open string pattern racket like a VCORE, you will burn through Eco Rough quickly, but for non-string breakers, or those who prefer more closed 18 x 20 rackets, it will last longer.

Regarding tension maintenance, Luxilon Eco Rough retained its tension and properties until the breakage. However, the speed at which it degrades makes it hard to judge.

Given the early breakages, I did look around to see if other players experienced the same; in the Tennis Spin review, Jared broke Eco Rough in under an hour, but on the TW forums, most playtesters didn’t have an issue with durability.

This is probably related to playing level and how a player hits the ball. Very few players hit the ball hard enough or with enough spin to break strings frequently at the recreational level, so the short playing life becomes less of an issue here.

Luxilon Eco Rough vs Tecnifibre Razor Soft

In comparing the Luxilon Eco Rough with Tecnifibre Razor Soft, both strings exhibit excellent spin potential, great feel, and a power deficit.

However, the Tecnifibre Razor Soft string notably lacks more power than the Luxilon Eco Rough, and the Eco Rough manages its attributes better. Despite their similarities, the Luxilon Eco Rough feels more comfortable and reliable.

However, Tecnifibre Razor Soft comes at a lower price point than the Luxilon string and lasts longer, potentially lasting an entire match with a single racket. At the same time, the Luxilon may break after only 4 or 5 games.

Despite its slightly lower qualitative edge, this durability contrast could steer players toward the Tecnifibre option.

Similar Strings

Value For Money

Luxilon Eco Rough, despite its impressive playability, faces a critical challenge in justifying its high price ($14.95) due to its lacklustre durability.

Its initial performance is commendable, showcasing excellent spin and offering players a smooth playing experience. However, the abrupt breakages I experienced significantly undermined its value for money.

Players seeking a long-lasting, cost-effective option might find the Luxilon Eco Rough falling short of their expectations.

While it excels in many performance aspects, its limited durability somewhat overshadows its spin and feel, which impacts the string’s overall value proposition.

If you have 4 or 5 rackets and do not mind stringing them all before a match, then Eco Rough could be a good choice as it plays very well. 

Or if you rarely break strings, give this string a try, as it might have the sort of response you are looking for in a poly.

Who is Luxilon Eco Rough For?

Luxilon Eco Rough, 1.25 mm string, will suit the following players:

Based on my testing, Luxilon Eco Rough is well-suited to someone just starting with poly strings or a more senior player looking to transition to a more comfortable poly as it’s a forgiving string.

It can also work for players at the recreational level who don’t hit the ball with the velocity of advanced players yet (therefore don’t break strings) but still like a string that can produce good topspin while maintaining the forgiveness and comfort seen in synthetic strings.

Pros

Cons

Have you tried Luxilon Eco Rough? Let me know in the comments.